Who knew that a simple piece of jewelry could cause such a stir? In Episode 3 of Season 3 ofYellowjackets, called “Them’s The Brakes,” Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) furiously kicks Lottie (Simone Kessell) out of her house because of this necklace that has found its way through every season of the show. Now that fans have the answer to where it has been for the last 25 years, the question is: How did it get there, and what symbolic meaning does it truly hold?
The necklace, a simple chain with a heart-shaped pendant, was originally owned by Jackie (Ella Purnell), Shauna’s best friend before she perished. But its journey to Lottie clearly took many twists and turns that fans still have questions about. The necklace has a deep symbolism for the women, and that’s solidified through its appearance again in a flashback scene from Episode 5, “Did Tai Do That?”
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The Necklace Found an Unlikely Home Before Lottie
Inthe flashback scenesof Season 3, Episode 5, the necklace makes an appearance in one of the most unlikely ways. In Episode 4, the teens decide to hold a fair trial for Ben (Steven Krueger) to decide his fate. Not everyone thinks he’s guilty or that he should be killed. A mock trial is seemingly the only fair way to decide. Ben’s impassioned speech about how he grew to love and care for the girls while coaching them stirred up some emotions. His pleas that he simply feared that the ladies didn’t need him anymore and that’s why he left (still swearing he did not start the fire) also seemed to have convinced at least a few of the ladies who were on the fence.
Thus, the trial ends in a hung jury, but Shauna’s (Sophie Nélisse) intimidation for others to fall in line finally leads to a two-thirds vote in favor of guilty, and Ben’s fate is sealed. They decide to use playing cards, and the person who draws the King of Hearts must do the deed. The decision, as chosen by Natalie (Sophie Thatcher), is a humane death by a single execution shot to the head from close range.
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As the ladies sit Ben up against a tree and prep him for death, Natalie tearfully removes the heart pendant necklace from her neck, reminding fans she is the last to have been wearing it up to that point, and places it around Ben. When adult Shauna sees her daughter wearing the necklace, she panics and asks where she got it. Callie (Sarah Desjardins) nonchalantly replies that Lottie gave it to her. Fuming, Shauna kicks Lottie out of her home, but Lottie insists, “It never meant what you thought it meant.” Clearly,there’s far more significance to this necklace than viewers realize.
The History of the Necklace in ‘Yellowjackets’
Where did this necklace first come from? Prior to becoming a symbol of the wilderness,Jackie is first seen wearing the necklace back at home. On the plane, before the ladies' crash landing, she hands it to Shauna and tells her it is a good luck charm, solidifying that the ladies were, at one point, one of themost important friendships on the show, albeit one with a lot of resentment and secrets.
After the crash, as the ladies are desperately trying to survive, Jackie is feeling down because the others are scoffing at her lack of assistance with chores. To help cheer her up, Shauna says some kind words and gives the necklace back to her, believing that she needs it more in this moment.Jackie then wears the necklace all the way up to her death. Before her body is burned (rather, roasted), the necklace is removed.
The necklace eventually makes its way to Natalie, and this time, it’s a symbol of sacrifice. During the frigid winter, when food is scarce and the ladies are suffering from extreme hunger, Natalie draws the Queen of Hearts card, which deems her the one to willingly give her life to feed the others. The act of placing the necklace on her happens right before her throat is supposed to be slit. But Natalie runs through the forest, and, as fans recall, Javi (Luciano Leroux) ends up falling through the ice, and they let him die, believing the wilderness chose him instead.
Based on how the necklace had been used for Natalie,it’s likely that she removed it from her own neck and put it on Ben’s to suggest that his death is a sacrifice and not a revenge murder. She does it so empathetically, as if to try and create it as a symbol of honor prior to death. Perhaps, if she buys into Lottie’s beliefs, it’s also a symbol that the wilderness has chosen him.
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The next time the necklace appears is on the mysterious “pit girl” who is seen running through the woods in the pilot episode, chased by the ladies. It’s presumed she decided to let the wilderness choose her fate in the iconic game of cards. But rather than get caught, she fell into a pit and died. It’s entirely possible that this is the same pit that Ben discovered and hid to trap prey.
Pit girl’s body is recovered and serves as sustenance for the group, solidifying that the necklace is passed on to each woman just before her imminent death. Pit girl’s identity has not yet been revealed since the scene showing Misty (Samantha Hanratty) removing an animal pelt headress to reveal her face hides it from the audience. Some fans have theorized that based on her long, brown hair, it could be Mari (Alexa Barajas). Thus, Mari’s previous fall into a pit where she dislocated her knee andwas saved by Bencould have been a clever foreshadowing.
One thing is for sure, however.If the necklace made its way around to women who have perished, it was not known to ever be in Lottie’s possession. Since adult Shauna is shocked and horrified that Lottie had it all this time, she clearly thought it was lost forever. This may also indicate a secret about Lottie that Shauna didn’t know. But what’s most curious is why Shauna says it doesn’t mean what Lottie thinks it does. If it’s a symbol of death, it would be brazen and morbid for Lottie to gift it to Callie with a smile, and it would explain why Shauna was so angry.
Does the Necklace Wield Power in ‘Yellowjackets’?
Lottie, of course, has always felt a connectionto the wildernessand believed that everything was a cosmic, earthy sign. Shauna, meanwhile, was more skeptical. Thus, it could very well be that Shauna thought the necklace was gone, but Lottie secretly kept it for herself because she thought Shauna wasn’t worthy of having it since she didn’t believe. With that said, since viewers haven’t yet seen the pit girl flashback play out,this means the necklace is, at some point, removed from Ben’s neck. Based on how Episode 5 ends, Ben is spared in the nick of time thanks to Akilah’s (Nia Sondaya) vision of him being a bridge to home. With Lottie feeling compelled to buy into anything spiritual, she orders that he be spared.
Thus, sometime between Ben’s almost death, after pit girl, and before the teens are rescued (or potentially even after), Lottie gains possession of the necklace. The question of why directly pertains to the fact that she gave this item to Callie. Lottie clearly wanted the necklace and kept it for a reason. It’s for that same reason that she handed it to Callie.
Before Lottie’s death, which is teased in Episode 4 and confirmed in Episode 5, she was trying to get closer to Callie. She hung out with her at the family home, braiding hair and drinking together while sharing stories. They went shopping, and she portrayed herself as this “cool” woman that Callie clearly looked up to or at least was fascinated by. However, she also encouraged Callie to do things like steal clothing from a store.
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What was her end game with Callie, and how does the necklace play into it? Lottie told Shauna that it “feels right” to give it to Callie, though she assures her it doesn’t have the morbid meaning Shauna thinks.It must, however, have some ties to the darkness of the wilderness, in Lottie’s eyes, which she believes “chooses” what it wants.
Further examining Callie’s arc up to this point, she has been descending into her own darkness. From keeping her parents’ murderous secrets to terrorizing girls at school who speak ill of her mother and even shooting Lottie in the shoulder to protect her mom, all the while getting away with it, it’s clear Lottie believes there’s something in Callie worth exploring. A subtle glimpse of this is shown in the Season 2 finale when Callie gives a tiny smirk after Lottie is taken away, as though she is embracing this side of herself and enjoying it. Maybe the wilderness is calling Callie, and Lottie sees it.
For Shauna, however, it makes sense that the necklace is just a morbid reminder of her best friend, how she treated her, the horrible death, and the awful things the girls, and specifically she, did to and with her body (and others) afterward. Where the necklace goes from here, and the significance of its journey from the wilderness to Lottie’s hands, could prove pivotal to the plot. With Lottie gone, the ladies will have to figure it out on their own. And if Lottie’s right, Callie could be the answer.StreamYellowjacketsonParamount+ with Showtime.
