Does Akilah survive in Yellowjackets? Speculations explored

Paramount+ Showtime's Yellowjackets, a thriller drama series, follows a female soccer team stranded in the Canadian Wilderness for 19 months.

The show follows two timelines- the one in 1996, where the team is struggling to survive in the Wilderness, and the 2021 timeline, which shows some survivors.

Akilah, a supporting character on the show, has not yet perished in the Wilderness like her fellow teammates Jacki and Laura Lee.

However, this does not mean she survived the plane crash because her adult version is still not introduced in the 2021 timeline, like her fellow mates Shauna, Lottie, Natalie, and Misty.

While this hints that she may not have made it out alive, it cannot be said for certain whether Akilah survived Yellowjackets or not. Considering that Season 3 has not yet cast an actress to play Akilah's adult version, it might show her death in the 1996 timeline.

More on Akilah's fate in Yellowjackets in our story.

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Akilah is not shown in the present timeline of Yellowjackets yet

Akilah is one of the soccer team members who maintained hope about the future and that the team would make it out of the wilderness. She is shown preparing for her SATs with a tattered book she bought on the plane.

When Mari tells her that she does not have to give her tests anymore because they will not make it out alive, she still remains hopeful and plans for the future.

Her innocence is also highlighted in the dead mouse she carried in her pocket, thinking it was alive. She regularly fed it and talked to him about introducing him to her nephew, symbolizing her hope that they would make it out alive.

However, her hope cannot be misinterpreted as that of Jackie's naivety, which got her killed in Season 2. Unlike Jackie, Akilah shows good survival skills throughout Yellowjackets.

Early on in the seasons, she reveals how she was once trained as a Girl Scouts member, which gave her immense knowledge about edible plants, which came in handy. She has warned the group multiple times about poisonous berries and mushrooms and displayed the necessary survival skills.

However, she is not shown in the present timeline, which could mean she perished in the Wilderness before the team was rescued after 19 months. Season 3 will likely expand on her character's fate.

One Reddit user, u/Key-Journalist-6221, notes how innocent and hopeful characters are often killed off in survival shows, and Akilah may also be headed to the same fate in Season 3:

''Let’s be honest, Akilah’s fate was sealed the moment she talked about how much she missed and can’t wait to see her nephew again…. Or when she was studying for the sat’s for when she gets back….''

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Akilah's character was re-casted in Yellowjackets Season 2

Keeya King starred as Akilah, a supporting character in Yellowjackets Season 1. But when the show returned for its sophomore outing, King was re-casted, and actress Nia Sondaya played the character in Season 2.

While the show's makers never confirmed why King was replaced just after Season 1, fans did not mind Sondaya's re-casting because Akilah's character also underwent a drastic change in Season 2.

While King's Akilah was more innocent and naive in Season 1, Sondaya's Akilah went into complete madness as the show progressed in Season 2.

From carrying a dead mouse's corpse and talking with it to eventually joining Lottie's prayer meeting club, Akilah also retorted to violent and immoral methods of survival like the rest of the group as Yellowjackets progressed.

At the end of Season 2, she finally gives in and retorts to cannibalism by feasting on Javi's body to escape starvation with the rest of her team.

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