Reviews
“Yellowjackets” Season 2 Review – Episode Seven Forces Its Characters to Face Harrowing Truths
Episode seven of “Yellowjackets” Season 2, “Burial,” offers a temporary calm after episode six’s tempestuous storm. As the season faces its final few episodes, “Burial” dials back the turbulent intensity just enough to develop individual character arcs further as the Yellowjackets finally reunite. Episode seven explores the fallout of “Qui,” forcing its characters to confront truths, grapple with their inner turmoil and traumas, and steel themselves for another raging storm.
With all the surviving (that we know of) Yellowjackets gathered at Lottie’s (Simone Kessell) wellness center, each finds themselves tasked with forms of therapy of their choosing. Unlike her teen counterpart, Nat (Juliette Lewis) has become a believer under Lottie’s care over the season. Unlike her teen counterpart, Van (Lauren Ambrose) wants to steer clear of Lottie’s tactics and sway. Misty (Samantha Hanratty) finds herself examining her feelings about Walter (Elijah Wood), while self-care becomes a Herculean task for Shauna (Melanie Lynskey).
Steven Krueger as Ben Scott in YELLOWJACKETS, “Burial”. Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME.
In the past, Shauna’s (Sophie Nélisse) loss weighs heavy like an oppressive blanket. A reprieve from the weather gives the group room to step outside for fresh air, away from the suffocating melancholy, but it also exposes cracks in their precarious existence. No one is okay, despite how survival forces them to push forward. Unlike the present, though, starvation and malnourishment exacerbate the precarious balance of the group dynamics. While we know what happened to Crystal (Nuha Jes Izman), none of the girls, save Misty, knows where she is, and quiet whispers of cannibalism pervade the cabin. It’s one of the more prominent clues that “Burial” is preparing the audience for a ruthless finish to Season 2.
Perhaps the biggest clue is with Coach Ben (Steven Krueger). The sole holdout of the Jackie feast earlier this season, Ben’s physical and mental state has steadily declined. Episode seven brings him closer to the brink in multiple ways. Ben’s authoritative role among the Yellowjackets has slowly eroded along with his sanity, while his moral compass hasn’t wavered. A late-episode confrontation devastates, leaving Ben with a decision to make that’ll affect them all.
That captures the entire theme of “Burial.” Everyone gets prompted to take a hard, honest look at themselves and determine where they go from here. For some, that brings discomforting, shocking truths. Others, like Misty’s dazzling musical fantasy complete with John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) cameo, bring charming and necessary levity. While that makes for what superficially comes across like a bottle episode, all of it is essential groundwork in developing the individual story threads.
(L-R): Christina Ricci as Misty and John Cameron Mitchell as Caligula in YELLOWJACKETS, “Burial”. Photo Credit: Colin Bentley/SHOWTIME.
“Yellowjackets” never ceases to impress in how it weaves together its dual timelines thematically to tell its overarching story and how the larger brushstrokes are just as relevant as the minute details. Everything matters; every small line of dialogue or facial expression is representative of the whole. As “Burial” builds to its climax and a stunning burst of violence ensues, the way the camera lingers on each face observing the act conveys so much depth about every character. Some recoil in repulsion and horror, while others don’t even hide their bloodlust at the sight. It all at once communicates the growing divide among their ranks while foreshadowing impending doom.
It’s where the episode ends that signals a jaw-dropping, intense final two episodes, most of all.
Episode 7 of “Yellowjackets” Season 2 is available to stream now for Showtime subscribers and the episode will make its on-air debut on Sunday, May 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Not even death can slow Chucky in “There Will Be Blood,” the penultimate episode of “Chucky” Season 3. With the killer receiving a mortal blow in the last episode, Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) can now take full advantage of the White House’s bizarre supernatural purgatory, leaving him free to continue his current reign of terror as a ghost. While that spells trouble for Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson), and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind), it makes for an outrageously satisfying bloodbath heading into next week’s finale.
“There Will Be Blood” covers a lot of ground in short order, with Charles Lee Ray confronting his maker over his failures before he can continue his current path of destruction. Lexy, Jake, and Devon continue their desperate bid to find Lexy’s sister, which means seeking answers from the afterlife. They’re in luck, considering Warren Pryce (Gil Bellows) enlists the help of parapsychologists to solve the White House’s pesky paranormal problem. Of course, Warren also has unfinished business with the surviving First Family members, including the President’s assigned body double, Randall Jenkins (Devon Sawa). Then there’s Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly), who’s feeling the immense weight of her looming execution.
CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: (l-r) Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray, Chucky — (Photo by: SYFY)
Arguably, the most impressive aspect of “Chucky” is how series creator Don Mancini and his fantastic team of writers consistently swing for the fences. That constant “anything goes” spirit pervades the entire season, but especially this episode. Lexy’s new beau, Grant (Jackson Kelly), exemplifies this; he’s refreshingly quick to accept even the most outlandish concepts – namely, the White House as a paranormal hub and that his little brother’s doll happens to be inhabited by a serial killer.
But it’s also in the way that “There Will Be Blood” goes for broke in ensuring it’s the bloodiest episode of the series to date. Considering how over-the-top and grisly Chucky’s kills can be, that’s saying a lot. Mancini and crew pay tribute to The Shining in inspired ways, and that only hints at a fraction of the bloodletting in this week’s new episode.
CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray — (Photo by: SYFY)
“Chucky” can get away with splattering an insane amount of blood on the small screen because it’s counterbalanced with a wry sense of humor and campy narrative turns that are just as endearing and fun as the SFX. Moreover, it’s the fantastic cast that sells it all. In an episode where Brad Dourif makes a rare appearance on screen, cutting loose and having a blast in Chucky’s incorporeal form, his mischievous turn is matched by Tiffany facing her own mortality and Nica Pierce’s (Fiona Dourif) emotionally charged confrontation with her former captor.
There’s also Devon Sawa, who amusingly continues to land in Chucky’s crosshairs no matter the character. Season 3 began with Sawa as the deeply haunted but kind President Collins, and Sawa upstages himself as the unflappably upbeat and eager-to-please doppelganger Randall Jenkins. That this episode gives Sawa plenty to do on the horror front while playing his most likable character yet on the series makes for one of the episode’s bigger surprises.
The penultimate episode of “Chucky” Season 3 unleashes an epic bloodbath. It delivers scares, gore, and franchise fan service in spades, anchored by an appropriate scene-chewing turn by Dourif. That alone makes this episode a series highlight. But the episode also neatly ties together its characters and plot threads to pave the way for the finale. No matter how this season wraps up, it’s been an absolute pleasure watching Chucky destroy the White House from the inside.
“Chucky” Season 3: Part 2 airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on USA & SYFY.
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