“It’s tough to say goodbye”: Yellowjackets creator reacts to Van’s tragic fate in Season 3

Yellowjackets bid goodbye to another beloved character in Season 3's penultimate episode with a shocking twist nobody saw coming.

Season 3's recent episode saw Melissa brutally plunge a knife into Vanessa Palmer, killing her. Van was played by actresses Lauren Ambrose (adult) and Liv Hewson (teenage).

Talking to Deadline, Yellowjackets’ Co-Creator Ashley Lyle discussed Van's tragic death, and how it was especially difficult for her as she saw herself in the character:

“It’s tough. It’s tough to say goodbye to any character, and I think that I relate deeply to Van as somebody who also is obsessed with pop culture, always have been,”

She added:

“That was just such a formative experience for me, so I definitely feel like there’s at least a little bit of me in Van.”

In the penultimate episode, titled ‘How the Story Ends’, Van, Tai, and Shauna have a run-in with Melissa, which ultimately leads to her exposing everybody to carbon monoxide. However, Van heroically saves Tai and Shauna, even bringing the real Tai back from the 'Other Tai.'

But, Van's reunion with real Tai is cut short as Melissa plunges a knife in her, saying the Wilderness would have wanted it.

More on Van's death in Yellowjackets Season 3 in our story.

Yellowjackets co-creator Ashley Lyle discusses Van's tragic death

Van's tragic and sudden death was like a gut punch for the fans, who did not see it coming. When it looked like she might finally get her happiness with Tai, she was killed by Melissa.

Lyle further talked about the decision to end Van's arc in Yellowjackets Season 3 (via Deadline):

“She couldn’t cheat death forever, and to our minds, a lot of her story was holding on to who she really is, and her arc this season was about questioning that in a kind of profound, existential way.''

Season 3 had largely been about Van and Tai trying to make a sacrifice to the Wilderness, to rid Van of her cancer. While Van had been against this idea, she contemplates killing Melissa in her final moments as a sacrifice, but instead decides against it, as Lyle further discussed:

''If part of her wanted to believe that there was a way to cheat death yet again, the question of whether or not she was willing to do what it takes, was sort of the central question for that character, and I think there’s something really beautiful about her in those final moments deciding, ‘No, that’s not who I want to be.'”

Yellowjackets Season 3 finale will be available for streaming on Paramount+ on April 11, 2025 and will air on Showtime on April 13, 2025, at 8 pm ET.

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