How do the Yellowjackets get rescued? Potential details explored amidst the haunting rituals

The mystery of the Yellowjackets and how they survived the air crash has intrigued fans of the series from the very start. The question of how they managed to get out of the wilderness, where they landed after the crash, has been floating around since the show first came out. The first episode of Yellowjackets Season 2, called Friends, Romans, Countrymen, gave us a peek into what exactly had happened. It turns out that the crash site of the plane, in which the Yellowjackets (a high school girls' soccer team) were traveling, was 600 miles away from where it was supposed to be.

Then, in a scene set in 1998, officials tell people that survivors of the crash have been found, and we see Misty, Lottie, Taissa, Nat, and Shauna come out of the woods with hoods over their heads, looking lost, and bombarded by cameras and microphones. They can't believe they are back in the real world. The story, however, does not just hand us answers on a silver platter.

There are still many puzzles to solve. Like, who discovered them in the first place? And how did they manage to escape that far-off place? It seems like they might have figured out a way to save themselves, and maybe Nat's good sense of direction played a part because she was always mapping things out.

As Yellowjackets goes on, we will probably find out more about how the group made it through, and the eerie things they had to do to stay alive.

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Survival tactics helped the Yellowjackets escape

The Yellowjackets found themselves in a survival situation that seemed unimaginable, yet their decisions ended up being vital for their rescue. Survival expert Dina Imbriani told Variety that the seven important things to keep in mind for survival when you are trying to get through such a rough patch are:

positive mental attitude, first aid, shelter, fire, signaling, water, and food

Although the team was able to get some food and set up simple traps, they made a few mistakes that did not help their situation. For instance, they were not careful enough when they were dealing with a deer, doing it too close to where they were staying, and they did not build the right kind of fire to signal for help.

However, what might have saved the day was something Natalie, or Nat (played by Sophie Thatcher), did. While Travis and Coach Ben were busy trying to fill their stomachs, Nat took it upon herself to map out the area like a pro. She walked around, making sure to cover a distance of seven miles in every direction from the camp. This could have been the key that led to them being found.

As Parade has pointed out, the grown-up Natalie subtly suggested playing a part in their making it through the ordeal, when she confessed:

"After they rescued us, I lost my purpose."

This suggests that she could have been important in helping them get away. The show has also given little hints about things that are not normal, like Lottie having visions that make people think she is in a cult.

Because of such hints, many Yellowjackets fans have wondered if there was something more than just knowing how to survive that helped them get rescued.

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Did cannibalism play a role in the Yellowjackets' survival?

From the very beginning of the series Yellowjackets, the idea that the stranded team might have turned to cannibalism for survival has been strongly hinted at. The creators of Yellowjackets have talked about real-life incidents such as the Andes plane crash of 1972, and its survivors, as inspirations to their story.

Time magazine looked into the tough ethical and mental challenges of such situations, pointing out that if they had indeed adopted cannibalism as a long-term plan, it just wouldn't have been enough to keep all of them alive with so many mouths to feed. According to an article in Time:

the show’s creators have referenced the real-life catastrophes that inspired it, many of which devolved into cannibalism. But with a dozen mouths to feed, it seems like an unsustainable dietary strategy for the show’s survivors.

It is still a mystery whether this grisly solution had anything to do with the group being found alive and rescued. The way the characters act as adults shows how much their experiences in the wilderness affected them. Take Taissa, for example, who sometimes seems to mentally check out, or Lottie, who leads a cult. These are clear signs of the deep psychological scars they carry from their time in the wilderness.

Plus, there is the question of characters like Javi, who went missing under strange conditions, leaving us to wonder if they met a terrible end that helped keep the others alive. As the show goes on, we are eager to find out the truth about what happened to the entire Yellowjackets team.

They might have just done whatever they had to, for survival. Or, maybe, there is something more — something supernatural at play. Either way, fans are waiting for the full story to unfold on Yellowjackets Season 3 this February.

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To watch Yellowjackets, check out Showtime or Paramount+.