Yellowjackets Season 3 Trailer Teases A Major Character Return

Yellowjackets is almost back for another season that might be its most feral and deadly yet. In the first full season 3 trailer we see the plane crash survivors in the past and the present fighting for their lives and turning against one another to ensure their own survival. But amidst all of the running and fighting, we also get a shot of Jackie (Ella Purnell) smirking at someone off camera with flecks of frost in her hair.

Now we already know that this version of Jackie is very likely a figment of Shauna’s imagination, her trauma manifesting as a visual representation of her friend. We all saw Jackie die at the end of season 1 and we all saw her body get barbecued and eaten by the stranded Yellowjackets in season 2. Talking to Jackie after her death is also already something we’ve seen Shauna do in the past, but what if this time, it’s present-day Shauna who is hallucinating Jackie’s presence?

Though the shot of Jackie is incredibly brief, it does look like she is indoors. And while there is definitely precedent for the plane crash survivors hallucinating parts of the real world out in the wilderness – Lottie’s (Courtney Eaton) vision of the mall, Coach Scott (Steven Krueger) imagining his apartment with his boyfriend – the wall behind Jackie looks an awful lot like an industrial kitchen. Just like the kitchen that we briefly see present day Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) and Misty (Christina Ricci) working and potentially fighting in in the trailer.

As we’ve seen in previous seasons, and especially in season 2, the past is not as easy to escape as the Yellowjackets want it to be. It’s not unlikely that present-day Shauna could start to see Jackie again as whoever, or whatever, is after them this season starts to get closer. Trauma is a fickle thing, it rears its head whether you want it to, or not – no matter how healed you feel like you may be.

Jackie’s return may be a bit of a surprise given how viscerally she met her end, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t excited to see her. She is clearly an important part of Shauna’s life, even in death, and it will be interesting to see what role she plays this season. Past and present Shauna seem to be struggling with the weight of what she and the others have gone through, and an appearance from Jackie in either timeline is further proof of that.

Regardless of which version of Shauna is seeing Jackie, it’ll be fun to have Ella Purnell back in season 3 and we can’t wait to see just how feral and unhinged (complimentary) this season gets.

Yellowjackets season 3 premieres Friday, February 14 on Paramount+ with Showtime.