It Chooses
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Episode 8
- Sarah L. Thompson
- Liz Phang
| "It Chooses" | |
|---|---|
| Yellowjackets episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Daisy von Scherler Mayer |
| Written by |
|
| Editing by | Kevin D. Ross |
| Production code | Francois Dagenais |
| Original air date | May 21, 2023 |
| Running time | 51 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"It Chooses" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American thriller drama television series Yellowjackets. It is the eighteenth overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Sarah L. Thompson and co-executive producer Liz Phang, and directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer. It aired on Showtime on May 21, 2023, but it was available to stream two days earlier on Paramount+ with Showtime.
The series follows a New Jersey high school girls' soccer team that travels to Seattle for a national tournament in 1996. While flying over Canada, their plane crashes deep in the wilderness, and the surviving team members are left stranded for nineteen months. The series chronicles their attempts to stay alive as some of the team members are driven to cannibalism. It also focuses on the lives of the survivors 25 years later in 2021, as the events of their ordeal continue to affect them many years after their rescue. In the episode, Lottie gets the group to reveal their secrets, while also explaining there might be a reason for their state. Flashbacks depict the team's desperate attempts in finding food, concluding that they must sacrifice one of themselves.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.143 million household viewers and gained a 0.03 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received critical acclaim, with critics praising the flashbacks, revelations and performances.
Flashbacks
The team begins to experience hallucinations, with Akilah (Nia Sondaya) shocked that her pet rat is actually dead. During this, Ben (Steven Krueger) discovers that a secluded Javi (Luciano Leroux) has been drawing a tree with a strange symbol. He reconfigures his crutches to better suit the snow, hoping to find the location where Javi stayed. He finds a tree that resembles the drawing, and discovers a hot spring underneath, realizing this is where Javi survived.
Lottie (Courtney Eaton) is still recovering from Shauna's beating, and tells Misty (Sammi Hanratty) that if she dies, she does not want them to waste her body as they are running out of food. Unwilling to let Lottie decide her own fate, the group decides to use cards among themselves, with the person that draws the only Queen in the deck is selected to die. Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) finds that her card is the Queen of Hearts and prepares to let Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) kill her. Before Shauna slices her neck, Travis (Kevin Alves) pushes her, allowing Natalie to escape the cabin. A group of the girls chases after Natalie. Javi also runs out and meets up with Natalie, saying he can help her by taking her to his cave. As they run across a frozen lake, the ice cracks and Javi falls in the icy water. Natalie tries to save Javi, but Misty prevents her efforts. Choosing Javi as their sacrifice, none of the other girls intervene, allowing him to freeze to death in the lake.
Present day
Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) tells the group that the police found Adam's body, and that Jeff (Warren Kole) already knows, frustrating Misty (Christina Ricci) as Shauna did not follow her plan. As they argue, Shauna reveals Jeff was the real blackmailer and Misty reveals that Taissa (Tawny Cypress) hired Jessica Roberts to spy on them. Misty subsequently shocks the group by telling them she orchestrated Jessica's death.
With the body found, Kevyn (Alex Wyndham) and Matt (John Reynolds) obtain a search warrant for Shauna's house. They question Jeff, making him wonder if Shauna was truly capable of dismembering Adam's body. After they leave, Jeff talks with Callie (Sarah Desjardins) over Shauna's condition, explaining that she went through a lot. He also reveals that she had and lost a baby in the wilderness, shocking Callie. During this, Walter (Elijah Wood) decides to get involved with Adam's case, and emails the police that he has information.
Taissa apologizes for starting their problems by having Jessica begin oppo research on each of them. Lottie (Simone Kessell) explains that they have a greater purpose for their reunion, referring to "it" as wanting something from them. She then presents the group with six cups, one containing phenobarbital, believing that "it" wants a sacrifice. Lottie maintains that they have ruined their own lives, and explains that they cannot decide who dies, as "it" will choose, making them question her sanity.
Development
Production
The episode was written by executive producer Sarah L. Thompson and co-executive producer Liz Phang, and directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer. This marked Thompson's fifth writing credit, Phang's fifth writing credit, and von Scherler Mayer's third directing credit.[1]
Writing
Regarding Javi's death, Sophie Thatcher explained that this layered out more of Natalie's character, "You're like, “OK, so this is why she's so fucked up.” That feeling that I was waiting for and that I kept talking about waiting for was connecting the dots between the two. It always felt like younger Nat, out of everybody, had her shit together. And I think this, Javi's death, is the beginning of the unfolding of Natalie. She's always been focused on survival and so determined. But this kind of taints her morality, and she becomes selfish. And it makes her just a different person."[2]