Them's the Brakes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Episode 3
- Jonathan Lisco
- Ashley Lyle
Bart Nickerson
| "Them's the Brakes" | |
|---|---|
| Yellowjackets episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | Jonathan Lisco |
| Written by |
|
| Cinematography by | Shasta Spahn |
| Editing by | Jeff Israel |
| Original air date | February 23, 2025 |
| Running time | 54 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Them's the Brakes" is the third episode of the third season of the American thriller drama television series Yellowjackets. It is the 22nd overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Jonathan Lisco and series creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, and directed by Lisco. It aired on Showtime on February 23, 2025, 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, Taissa begins to question her purpose, while Lottie continues influencing Callie's actions. Flashbacks depict the group's attempt to find Mari, while the latter is kept captive in Ben's cave.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.079 million household viewers and gained a 0.01 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received mixed reviews from critics, who were polarized over the episode's climax.
Flashbacks
At the cave, Mari (Alexa Barajas) tries to escape by spraying Ben (Steven Krueger) with bear spray, but he uses the spray back on her, and she is unable to escape. After they recover, they both share different experiences over their respective lives and conflicts. After hesitating, he finally decides to release her.
When Mari returns to the group, she claims her injury is due to falling into a hole, but Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) questions her. Mari finally reveals that Ben saved her and took her to his cave. Shauna decides to go to the cave, with the other girls joining her. As they descend, Shauna, Van (Liv Hewson) and Akilah (Nia Sondaya) split up and begin experiencing hallucinations. In Van's vision, she enters a cabin and sits before the fireplace in an airplane seat. When the cabin goes up in flames, she is trapped in her seat by her seatbelt and the hands of Javi, Laura Lee, and the cabin man. In Akilah's vision, she is tending to a farm, but is approached by a talking alpaca, who tells her that "It's gonna get what it wants." She is then swallowed up into the earth. In Shauna's vision, she is floating in a lake and sees a young boy, presumably her son, waving for her on the shore. She tries to swim to him but seemingly cannot move, and is suddenly dragged violently down below the surface.
The three girls' hallucinations converge, and they find themselves in a classroom taught by Lottie (Courtney Eaton), with Jackie (Ella Purnell) in attendance. Jackie throws a slap bracelet around Shauna's neck, causing her to bleed, and Akilah and Van try to take it off. They regain consciousness, having been pulled to safety by Ben, who warns them that the cave is full of some kind of poison gas. Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) and Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) arrive and hold Ben at gunpoint, demanding that he come with them.
Present day
Van (Lauren Ambrose) visits a doctor, who informs her that her cancer has stopped metastasizing, which is extremely rare for her condition. She tells the news to Taissa (Tawny Cypress), but is shocked when Taissa reveals that the waiter who chased them died from a heart attack. Taissa deduces that the waiter's death was a "sacrifice" needed to save Van.
Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) meets with Misty (Christina Ricci), who claims to have new intel. She reluctantly accompanies Misty on a few errands, but while driving, she finds that the brakes suddenly stop working. Shauna avoids cars and pedestrians, eventually managing to stop the car in a field. She blames Misty, who angrily leaves the car. Lottie (Simone Kessell) babysits Callie (Sarah Desjardins) for the day, helping with errands. Callie takes her clothes shopping, and Lottie gets her to shoplift. That evening they cook together. Shauna tries some of the food, but is shocked that Lottie gave Jackie's necklace to Callie and angrily kicks Lottie out of her house.
While watching a VHS tape with Van, Taissa is shocked to see the Man with No Eyes in a commercial for an ice cream shop. She forces Van to accompany her to a closed venue, where they find a fox with a dead rabbit staring at them. Van then says, "We know what It wants. It wants more."
Development
Production
The episode was written by executive producer Jonathan Lisco and series creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, and directed by Lisco. This marked Lisco's fourth writing credit, Lyle's sixth writing credit, Nickerson's sixth writing credit, and Lisco's first directing credit.[1]
Writing
On Jackie's return during Shauna's hallucination, Sophie Nélisse explained, "I think it's just a metaphor that your demons will haunt you forever until you've made peace with it. [Shauna] still holds a lot of grief and a lot of guilt for Jackie's death. She feels extremely responsible, even though it wasn't fully her fault, and she can't forgive herself for those events. So, I think, obviously, the demons keep chasing her is the reason why she also sees her son in her dream."[2]
Casting
Besides bringing Ella Purnell back for the hallucination sequence, the episode also features a voice cameo by Vincent Pastore, who voices a talking llama in Akilah's hallucination. Lisco said, "We wanted that New York Brooklyn mobster type of accent. But it's basically like the llama and the animals that she allegedly loves are delivering this message that these screams are for her — as she gets sucked down into the earth by the very blackberry vines that she's been having a delightful time eating. The signs are not good."[3]
Filming
Sophie Nélisse explained the process of filming her hallucination sequence, "We shot it in a lake and I had a diver underneath that was holding ropes that were tied to my legs, so I was treading water. So that part of it was shot in the lake, and then whenever I'd go down, they would pull me down really hard."[4]