In this episode, “Old Wounds,” all of our present-day survivors get behind the wheel at some point. Nat goes on a pretty random side quest with Lisa to help run the honey stand at the farmers’ market, and when Lisa stops by her mom’s house to visit her fish, it does kind of feel like Lottie is helping her. We do learn that Lottie is restrictive in where her cult members can go and who they can see, and Nat eats this information up. However, she also wears her heart on her sleeve, and she’s come to respect Lisa a bit. So, she steals her fish for her.
Nat and Lisa’s stop makes them late for the farmers’ market, which is too bad because that’s where Walter and Misty are headed. Walter has proven himself to be nothing but a lovable kook so far. Later, we find out that this dude has six million dollars from a scaffolding settlement, which makes one seriously wonder why he hasn’t invested in a CD player or a Spotify account so he can play his beloved musicals without the hassle of having to physically rewind cassettes.
Walter seems really into Misty, but she has her doubts. She accuses him of being obsessed with her history as a Yellowjacket, even saying, “I am honored that I seem to be your favorite Yellowjacket.” Walter counters, saying that he just admires her savvy mind and ability to reference Sweeney Todd, but Misty isn’t buying it. In a frustrating sequence, the two go about their very similar yet peculiar bedtime routines in separate rooms at a lovely B&B. Poor Walter thought this night was going to go very differently.
Elsewhere, Shauna tells Callie about her murderous ways and Jeff’s blackmail plan — “He was the blackmailer!” — but stops short of telling her about what she did in the wilderness. There are still things that must be kept secret. When Jeff finds out about Shauna’s move toward brutal honesty, he’s shocked at first, but his fears are assuaged when Callie offers to help with dinner. If prestige dramas like Ozark have taught us anything, it’s that scheming nuclear families who eat dinner together can literally get away with murder.
On the other hand, Tai has blown up her family as she hitchhikes across the country to get to her old lover. (We demand to know who’s taking care of Steve!) Evil Tai prompted the journey, but regular Tai goes along with the plan, finding Memento-style clues as to where she’s supposed to be going — a video rental store in Oberlin, Ohio — and continues on the trajectory even in the moments when she regains control of her body and mind.
Back in the wilderness in the 1990s, Tai’s instincts also lead to the return of another character: Javi. While Natalie and Lottie are embarking on their hunting competition — more on that shortly — Van cajoles Tai to keep searching for trees that bear the mark of the mysterious symbol that is plaguing (or helping) the survivors. Their investigation leads them to a bizarrely melted patch of snow, and then, out of nowhere, Javi appears darting through the forest. They grab him and bring him back to the cabin, where he is disoriented and unable to recognize his older brother, Travis, who rightly starts to suspect that Natalie fooled him about Javi’s death, while Van tries to convince Tai of her own role in saving the younger boy. “There is something deep inside of you that is connected to all of this,” Van, becoming a real believer, says, while Tai looks scared and doubtful.
But here’s my fear: What’s left for this show other than to provide answers to some long-term questions, like how were the Yellowjackets rescued, who among them survived, did they end up, you know, eating more people, what happened to Shauna’s baby, and what kind of supernatural forces are involved – if at all? But I don’t see a world where any of these answers are provided until the series ends. Does that mean we’re just going to get seasons full of filler?
