The year is 1996. Your high school soccer team, while a little rough around the edges, makes it to nationals. This means an all-expenses paid plane ride to wherever nationals are being held. But your plane never makes it there. Instead, you and all your teammates are stuck in the wilderness in the middle of who knows where. Now, you must all figure out how to survive and winter is coming. Yes, I did just use a Jon Snow reference in the year 2025.
This is the plot of Showtimes hit TV series Yellowjackets, which premiered on November 14th, 2021. Since its initial release, Yellowjackets has been critically acclaimed and nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards. It follows a parallel storyline between 1996 when the team crashes into the wilderness and descents into violence and mayhem to 2021, following the characters in the aftermath and consequences of the plane crash 25 years later, and features a very prominent cast such as Christina Ricci, Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cyprus, and Juliette Lewis. It now has two seasons with a third set to premiere this year on February 14th. In preparation for this upcoming season, I binged the entire show for the 4th time.
I think this show has some great representation of female rage and finally gives us the female counterpart to Lord of the Flies. The show not only has some of the best camerawork and nature shots I’ve ever seen in a TV show but also some incredible, albeit horrifying, characterization.
The first season really keeps us guessing as to what exactly is going on in those woods. We start out with the year 1996. Immediately, we’re introduced to some character dynamics. Jackie, team captain and all-around it-girl, and her best friend Shauna, shy and put together, have some noticeable tension. Their love and affection for one another are clear from the beginning, but Jackie seems to get her way in every way possible. In addition to being team captain, she has a hot jock boyfriend named Jeff, and assumes that Shauna is going to Rutgers with her after they graduate. She has it all. Meanwhile, Shauna is hiding the fact that she got into Brown University and isn’t planning on going to Rutgers. Uh oh. Jackie’s not going to like that.
We also get introduced to our other main characters. Taissa is fiercely competitive, so much so that she breaks one of her teammate’s legs during practice to ensure they have every chance possible of winning nationals. A little crazy, if you ask me. Natalie is a rag-tag rebel who drinks and smokes, whilst also playing soccer. Then, there’s Misty. A musical theatre-loving outcast bullied by her peers. They all have their flaws, and they all give you many reasons to love them.
But my personal favorite is Misty Quigley. Played by Christina Ricci in the 2021 timeline and Samantha Hanratty in the 1996 timeline.
Misty is a character that you don’t really see in the pilot episode unless you look closely. She’s in the background and instead of playing soccer on the field, she’s actually an assistant to Coach Scott. You can see her setting up cones when the Yellowjackets are doing drills and passing out snacks. I think it’s interesting how the writers made the other main characters very prominent in the first episode to begin with, except for Misty. She doesn’t get her shining moment until episode two, where we figure out that Misty is incredibly well-versed in medical knowledge.
After the plane crashes, Misty becomes a hero, bandaging the wounded and teaching her teammates how to help the others. She even amputates Coach Scott’s mutilated leg, much to the horror of both her teammates and the viewers. She becomes needed and necessary to their survival. We see in flashbacks that all Misty has ever wanted is to be, well, wanted. So, the plane crash turns out not to be the worst thing in the world for her. She enjoys being wanted so much that when she is out in the woods using the bathroom and finds the plane’s tracker, she smashes it to smithereens with a rock.
Misty is by no means a good person. To be fair, none of them are. In the modern timeline, she’s a nurse for the elderly by day and a community detective by night. We see how cruel and masochistic Misty can be when she withholds a patient’s pain medication after said patient purposefully throws her food onto the floor. Yikes. Elder abuse is certainly not a good look, Misty.
I know what you’re thinking. How can a character who commits elder abuse be your favorite?
Well, dear reader, it’s because she is such a well-thought-out and dynamic character. She will do whatever is necessary in order to get something she wants or needs. Her true motivation is to always be needed, and to be loved. She sounds like a villain, and yet, the show still gets you to root for her. Whether it’s because of her love for her pet African Grey Caligula or because of her charming frenemy relationship with Natalie, the viewers can sympathize with Misty and her constant battle of trying to fit in. You can tell that even her costuming demonstrates how she attempts to be up-to-date with trends but misses the bar. She mixes old-school grandma patterns with more modern jackets and bright makeup.
In season two, we not only get to see more of a caring side of Misty as she searches for a kidnapped Natalie, but we also finally get to see someone who truly appreciates Misty for who and what she is. Walter, a guy that is on the local detective forum that Misty is a part of, becomes involved with the season’s events. He gets teamed up with Misty and the two search for Natalie together. Every scene with those two on the screen makes me giddy. They are perfect for one another.
They both listen to musicals and have a passion for solving crime. We also get a super cute montage of Walter and Misty in separate hotel rooms doing the same exact nighttime routine. It’s absolutely adorable. What’s even lovelier is that we find out that Walter realizes how crazy Misty is, believing her to be the one who killed Adam Martin for her friend. And he doesn’t care! He wants to be with her anyway, which seems to frighten Misty.
It’s something that she isn’t used to.
Misty is a character for the outcasts and the underdogs. She mirrors many of our insecurities and struggles with something we all struggle with, a sense of belonging. Maybe that’s why, as crazy and horrible as she is, she is near and dear to my heart. I hope we get to see even more Misty antics in season three and maybe even a confirmed relationship with Walter.
All images belong to Showtime.