OMG! Yellowjackets’ Shauna Eats Jackie’s [Redacted] After Death in Season 2

Warning: This story contains spoilers from the season 2 premiere of Yellowjackets.

Working through her trauma? Shauna’s attempt to move on from Jackie’s death takes a wild turn when she eats her late friend’s ear during the Yellowjackets season 2 premiere.

At the end of the new episode, which aired on Sunday, March 26, Shauna continues to struggle with the reality of Jackie’s death. She keeps speaking with her and even has visions of Jackie responding to her — until a fight ends with the late girl’s ear removed from her body. Shauna carries Jackie’s ear around with her until the temptation proves to be too strong and she eats it.

The hit Showtime series, which debuted in November 2021, focuses on a group of teenage girls in the ’90s who have to find a way to survive after a plane crash leaves them stranded. The show then picks back up in the aftermath of their return two decades later in 2021.

The shocking events in the season 2 premiere kickstarts the group’s eventual descent into cannibalism, which Yellowjackets has been hinting at since season 1.

Showrunner Jonathan Lisco recently teased that things will only get darker in the upcoming season. “If we do our job right, the eating of a person will not be the most transgressive thing that these young women do in the wilderness,” he told Entertainment Weekly earlier this month. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

At the time, Lisco discussed how the first season shaped their approach to season 2.

“If season 1 was about our teen characters learning to adapt to their harsh surroundings, season 2 is where it all just really explodes,” he continued. “Each one of them is gonna make choices that they never dreamed possible. And, and as we cut forward 25 years, we’re gonna watch those terrible actions surface in ways that I would say irrevocably changed the fate of their lives.”

That same month, creator Bart Nickerson weighed in on how Yellowjackets fans have come together to share their theories about the show online.

“People seemed to either be watching it together or immediately connecting after to talk about it and have theories,” he shared, with his fellow creator and wife, Ashley Lyle, adding, “We gave total strangers nightmares, I feel so powerful.”

Scroll on for a breakdown of where each character started out in the Yellowjackets season 2 premiere:

Past: After discovering Jackie’s frozen body in the season 1 finale, Shauna has trouble letting go. She keeps talking to her best friend’s dead body in the meat locker while hallucinating as if the late teen is still alive. During an imaginary fight with Jackie, Shauna accidentally tears off her ear and keeps it in her pocket. By the end of the season 2 premiere, Shauna eats the body part when no one is watching.

Present: In the aftermath of Adam’s death, Shauna worries that she will be linked to her former boyfriend’s murder. She ultimately takes Jeff with her to Adam’s art studio to search for evidence that could incriminate her — and the couple have sex before they burn the remaining mementos of Adam.

Past: Taissa is still dealing with her sleepwalking — which girlfriend Van helps her face during the winter. Taissa grows concerned about Shauna’s behavior in response to Jackie’s death.

Present: The congresswoman attempts to make amends with Simone but her estranged wife refuses to speak to her until Taissa gets help. After adopting a new dog, Taissa discovers the chilling shrine in her basement with late Biscuit’s head.

Past: Misty remains an outcast after accidentally getting the group high during their season 1 prom. At the end of the episode, Misty appears to have made a new friend.

Present: After Natalie’s disappearance, Misty starts to look into what may have happened to her friend. Misty can’t get in touch with the rest of the survivors while putting the clues together about how Natalie was forced out of her hotel room.

Past: The high school student helps Travis look for his brother, Javi, every single day since his disappearance. The pair walk miles around the cabin to track the boy down — but they don’t locate him or any potential game for food.

Present: Natalie wakes up in a mysterious room and attacks one of the people who helped Lottie kidnap her. While trying to escape, Natalie runs into Lottie during one of her rituals in the woods.

Past: Van attempts to help Taissa face her ongoing sleepwalking issues — and gets injured as a result.  

Past: In a flash forward, viewers see how Lottie’s parents had her committed to a mental institution following her rescue. Lottie undergoes involuntary electroconvulsive therapy for the trauma she faced. Meanwhile in the woods, Lottie learns more about her potential powers.

Present: Viewers are reintroduced to Lottie as the leader of a self-help group. Through motivational speeches, Lottie shows others how to face their issues. After reuniting with Natalie, Lottie tells her she has a message from the late Travis.

Past: Travis keeps searching for Javi even though the chances of him being alive appear bleak. He has a panic attack at the end of the season 2 premiere, which he overcomes with Lottie’s help. As a result, Travis starts to believe in her powers more.

Past: During a scene that Shauna envisions with Jackie, the pregnant teen recalls how a chance encounter started her affair with Jeff.

Present: Jeff’s attempts to put Adam’s murder behind him don’t work when Shauna asks for help searching his studio. The businessman burns all the remaining evidence in their grill — which Jeff and Shauna’s daughter, Callie, finding the remains.