What could have been on the DAT tape on Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 6? Possibility explored 

Paramount+'s Yellowjackets latest episode finally resolved Coach Ben's storyline with a tragic conclusion.

After force-feeding Ben with a tube, Nat finally gives in and 'mercy-kills him, despite the group ordering not to. The group then holds a typical wilderness funeral pyre for him, where they gather around and feast on his dead body, signifying that they have adapted to the Wilderness.

Their cannibalism is interrupted when a pair of hikers approach them and are horrified to see their 'ceremony'.

In the Yellowjackets' present timeline, Shauna takes Van's help to listen to the DAT tape left for her, and it is hinted that the tape belonged to the hikers (who were probably killed by the group) and recorded the group's cannibalism of Coach Ben on the DAT tape.

More on the DAT tape recording in Yellowjackets Season 3 in our story.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers and writer's opinion for Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 6. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Details about the DAT tape on Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 6

As Van describes to Shauna, a DAT tape is a Digital Audio Tape mostly used by garage bands and avid birders who want to record bird sounds in the forest or the wilderness. Just as she is talking with Tai about who else could use a DAT Tape, she has an epiphany, almost like she remembers something, and the two immediately leave to find a DAT player.

In the climax of the episode, Shauna, Tai, and Van are listening to the DAT tape in their car. The tape opens with a woman saying, “Testing, testing, one two three. Oh, my god. What is this?” It is almost like she started the recording to test and then saw something horrific.

They listen to the tape further, and it contains a group of wild people howling like animals and making strange noises, quite like the one the group makes while doing a cannibal ritual. The voices suddenly die, and a woman screams "No!," ending the recording.

While the recording does not make sense to the viewers now, the group recognizes it and Van says:

“The only people that even know about this are either us or dead.”

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Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 6's ending hints that Ben's cannibalism was recorded on the DAT tape

While the recording does not make much sense before, it will now because after Nat 'mercy-kills' Coach Ben, the girls offer him a ritualistic wilderness funeral, which means cutting up and feasting on his body.

They all gather around his body, making wild animal sounds (like the one on the tape), chop off his body, and burn it on the pyre.

Their ritual is interrupted when Lottie screams "No!" (like the one on the tape), and we see a man and a woman dressed in hiking gear approach them. While the episode ends just as they see Coach Ben's head displayed on a tree, it can be inferred that they are birders or hikers who happen to be in the Wilderness for adventure.

Van's comments about hikers and birders using DAT tape hint that the DAT tape belonged to them, and they recorded the group's cannibalism activity, which is why Shauna, Van, and Tai were so distressed after hearing it.

Many Reddit users have also linked Ben's cannibalism to the DAT tape recording, as, @hankappleseed, notes:

''When Tai, Van and Shawna are listening to the tape you hear Lottie scream "No!" on the tape. It was a recording of the final scene of the episode. The birdwatchers were recording on their DAT tape when they found the girls eating Ben. Absolutely brilliant weaving of storyline.''

Yellowjackets have always juxtaposed events from the past and present timelines to create mystery, and the DAT tape is a further example.

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Also Read: Yellowjackets Season 3 is on track to become the most watched of the series