Yellowjackets Season 3's Major Character Return Gets Heartfelt Reaction From Star

Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Yellowjackets season 3, episode 4!With the past still looming large over the main characters, Melanie Lynskey shares her thoughts on a major Yellowjacketsseason 3 return tied to the show's past timeline. The Showtime thriller series follows a group of plane crash survivors both throughout their ordeal stranded in the Canadian wilderness, and their later lives when their past comes back to haunt them. Lynskey stars in Yellowjackets season 3 as Shauna Shipman, who found herself reconnecting with her fellow survivors when a blackmailer emerges and attempts to threaten to expose the truth.

As Yellowjackets season 3 saw Ella Purnell's Jackie Taylor return to haunt the older Shauna for the first time since season 1, Lynskey stated to Deadlinethat she was glad to work alongside Purnell once more. Lynskey praised Purnell as both an actor and as a friend, including recalling a unique experience they enjoyed together off the set of the show. Check out Lynskey's full explanation below:

It was really fun. She and I had a lot of stuff in an earlier season. I guess in Season 1, she was haunting me a lot. Then I think she was too busy to haunt in Season 2. So, it was nice to have her back again. She’s so wonderful. She’s such a good actor, and she’s a very cool person. I was at her house on election night, and it was a great place to be. It was really fun just to kind of try to forget about it all.

What Jackie's Hauntings Mean For Yellowjackets Season 3

Jackie's Fate Might Still Be Weighing On The Other Survivors' Minds

Despite her prominence in the marketing materials for Yellowjackets season 1, popular girl and team captain Jackie Taylor met her end after earning the ire of her teammates and gradually becoming alienated from the group due to personal bonds shattering and their continued descent into their wilder selves. As things reached boiling point, Shauna (played by Sophia Nelisse) exiled her out of the cabin, succumbing to the cold of the outdoors after receiving an ominous vision. Despite this, Purnell still reprised her role to both taunt the guilty Shauna throughout her time in the wilderness and the present.

Van, Akilah & Shauna in Yellowjackets season 3 episode 3 hallucination

Shauna, Van & Akilah's Yellowjackets Season 3 Hallucination Explained: Why THAT Character Returned

Yellowjackets season 3, episode 3 features a weird hallucination segment involving Shauna, Van, Akilah, and the return of a popular character.

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However, while Jackie had previously only appeared to Shauna in past seasons,Yellowjackets season 3 marked a major escalation in her presence, as she appeared in a shared vision between Van (Liv Hewson), Akilah (Nia Sondaya), and Shauna. No longer the nice girl being pressured by the situation, the sequence was a cryptic warning of their future, as she wounded Van and slit Shauna's throat with a snapband, stating only Akilah could save them. While the meaning behind the vision is unclear, season 3's developments could suggest Jackie could haunt other survivors going forward, and not just Shauna.

Our Take On Purnell's Yellowjackets Return

The Star's On-Screen Relationship Is A Far Cry From Their Real-Life Bond

Ella Purnell as Jackie in a vision in Yellowjackets season 3

Teased as a final girl only to become the first to fall, Jackie Taylor has maintained a grip on audiences long after her death. The unfolding of her tragic fate left an impact on viewers, as, despite her personal baggage with Shauna, she remained one of the few sane voices of the survivors' group who'd tried her best to help, despite her lack of skills. As such, Jackie's death is both tragic as it shows how the Wilderness may be changing the girls, and also because it was brought on unintentionally, forever traumatizing Shauna.

Jackie (Ella Purnell) looking back in front of her house in Yellowjackets season 2 episode 2.

It’s Time We All Admit The Truth About Jackie In Yellowjackets

It is now time to admit an undeniable truth about Jackie Taylor from Yellowjackets, one of the main characters from the show's first season.

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As such, her post-death hauntings have become eagerly-awaited moments for some viewers, not just for the return of the fan-favorite character and actor, but as she directly challenges Shauna about her past, with season 3's latest incident carrying a twisted parallel as Jackie manifests while Shauna is trapped in a large freezer, mocking her on how she may die the same way. While things may have long been cold between the two Yellowjackets characters, however, it is clear that Lynskey and Purnell are close friends.

New episodes of Yellowjackets season 3 release on Paramount+ with Showtime every Friday and every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on linear.

Source: Deadline