Sarah Desjardins Talks About The Wild ‘Yellowjackets’ Season 3 Finale

Yellowjackets left fans with a shocking third-season finale. We now know what led up to the rescue in the Canadian wilderness, just how much Shauna enjoyed it out there, and that Callie inherited her mom’s killer instincts.

This followed season two’s shocking finale death of Natalie Scatorccio, and while fans said goodbye to Juliette Lewis, who played the adult version of the character, we still got to see Sophie Thatcher, who had a huge part in this season’s rescue.

In an interview pegged to the finale episode, Sarah Desjardins talked about her character Callie’s wild arc. Callie is a unique character. Not only is she the daughter of Shauna Sadecki (portrayed by Sophie Nélisse as a teenager and Melanie Lynskey as an adult), she’s also the sole bloodline from any of the survivors of the girls–gone–wild crew.

The other survivors, including Taissa Turner (Jasmin Savoy Brown/Tawny Cypress), Misty Quigley (Samantha Hanratty/Christina Ricci), Van (Liv Hewson/Lauren Ambrose), and Lottie (Courtney Eaton/Simone Kessell), either adopted, have step-children, or did not have children.

Now, Callie has discovered that perhaps whatever the evil “it” is from the wilderness is within her and infecting her life all these years later. Despite what she’s learned about her mother and her friends, Desjardins explained that as far as Shauna is concerned, she’s a victim of her past trauma. “I think a lot of what our show is about is the effects of trauma on human beings. When you’re in survival mode, that can bring out parts of you that you didn’t know were there; it can bring out parts of your personality you didn’t know existed.”

When Lottie tells Callie that she’s the daughter of the wilderness, Callie reacts by pushing her down the stairs, killing her. “We shot that scene several times. I think Callie is very much like her mother, but more powerful, according to Lottie. That’s a scary thing for a 17-year-old to hear!”

Callie, like Shauna, is capable of things no one could’ve thought possible. Trauma is passed down between generations, and now she must contend with the truth of who she is and where she comes from.

Before the 1996 plane crash that stranded a girls’ high school soccer team in the brutal wilderness, no one could’ve imagined that they’d turn into a clan of cannibals, but as Yellowjackets co-creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson said in an interview during season one, long before they became stranded in the middle of nowhere, they were “already ravaging one another.”

This survival series was co-created and executive-produced by the husband-and-wife duo, who also serve as co-showrunners alongside Jonathan Lisco. Fans have followed their harrowing tale for three seasons (all 29 episodes are now streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime) as the trio has meticulously “dissected the oftentimes ferocious depth of female friendships.”

Each season toggles between the aftermath of the crash in the remote northern wilderness, where they spent roughly 18 months, and the present day to show just how horrendous things got out there and how that time continues to impact their lives. The ensemble cast is fantastic. Elijah Wood and Ambrose joined in season two, and this season saw Hilary Swank and Joel McHale join the cast.

Lottie has consistently stood by her beliefs that the darkness of the wilderness has followed the survivors into adulthood and is now also in Callie, which made for a dream character arc for Desjardins.

“Season three has been fun, especially as we’ve delved more into Callie,” said Desjardins, adding that the writers are very secretive, even with the cast. “They like things to be revealed over time. Season two was about Callie trying to understand her mom. This season pivots inward, and she’s trying to understand herself. I think Callie is afraid that she’s like her mom. I believe that part of her reason for wanting to understand her mom more is the fear of just how alike they are.”

At the end of the third season finale, fans learned through Shauna’s voiceover as she wrote that letter that she enjoyed her time in the wilderness. While the others were in survival mode, she was having fun. Knowing this is who your mother is would be a heartbreaking realization for a teenage girl.

“We get glimpses into how similar they are, even back in season two when Callie has the gun and this season when she spills the guts all over those girls at school. In those moments, Callie is conflicted and scared that she’s like her mom,” details Desjardins. “She’s enjoying it, too. There’s an energy within her, and she’s exhilarated. She’s also scared when she kills Lottie. Callie didn’t want to believe that the wilderness is a part of her, and she got worked up. She had all of these emotions, and didn’t know what to do with them, and she pushed Lottie down the stairs.”

Per Desjardins, Callie is struggling to understand herself. “I don’t think she’s ever learned how to emotionally regulate. She doesn’t know what to do with herself because she was raised by somebody who didn’t know what to do with herself. In that moment with Lottie, Callie wasn’t thinking clearly. She was also dealing with adrenaline. I don’t think she meant to kill her.”

Lottie has always had a deep connection to the wilderness and its energy. The writers did a good job of making viewers wonder if she was crazy or if this was a prophecy all along. “It’s interesting because we don’t know if it’s real yet. I’m not necessarily religious, but I believe in the universe and energy. We’re all made up of energy. So, maybe?”

Perhaps killing Lottie will be the thing that finally brings Callie closer to her mom. “Shauna has always purposely kept Callie at a distance because she’s scared that if she loves her, something bad will happen.”

Rather than judge these characters, Desjardins finds empathy. “People do horrible things to survive in horrible circumstances, things that they would never do otherwise. So, it’s hard to label characters as good or bad.”

For fans wondering about a season four, Lyle and Nickerson have confirmed they have a five-season story arc in mind. There is so much more story to tell, including what happens immediately after the rescue and what will happen to the Sadecki clan. For now, viewers must wait to find out. We do want to know what Shauna will do next, now that she has confronted her darkest secret yet when she admitted she enjoyed her time in the wilderness.

“I think it would be a very confronting thing for Shauna to have the reality that her daughter has killed somebody,” concluded Desjardins. “I hope it will bring them closer, but not in the way that we would expect. Shauna was forced to face herself at that moment when she was writing that letter.”