What role does Elijah Wood play in Yellowjackets? Character explored, in-depth

The second season of Yellowjackets introduced us to PuttingtheSICKinforensics/Walter Tattersall, played by none other than Elijah Wood himself. The actor, known for playing the Hobbit Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings movies, played the role of a fellow Citizen Detective. Misty Quigley tries to stop Tattersall from looking into Adam Martin's "disappearance."

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy actor was already a fan of Yellowjackets when the show's creators, Bart Nickerson and Ashley Lyle, surprised him by reaching out to him. Elijah Wood revealed that this action of the creator was new to him because he was never asked before to join any project he was a fan of. He said:

“I’ve never seen a season of a show as a viewer and as a fan and then subsequently been asked to participate in a follow-up season.”

Thus, he was very happy to join the series' second and the upcoming Yellowjackets season 3 as the eccentric Walter.

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Who is Elijah Wood's Walter Tattersall in Yellowjackets?

Yellowjackets has filled the Game of Thrones-sized hole in pop culture when it comes to fan theories and mysteries. Even before revealing a disturbing twist, the show set up several mysteries, like what happened when the players were stranded in the wild and the meaning behind the strange symbol. Fans were even more excited when they learned Elijah Wood joined the series.

Wood's character, Walter is introduced in the first episode under his online handle PuttingtheSICKinforensics. He is a part of Misty's online club Citizen Detectives, which solves crime. Walter is someone who might be a bit too good at deduction and Misty notices this as he starts sharing some of his theories on Adam's absence that are a little too close to the truth.

Later, in the third episode of Yellowjackets Season 2, Misty finally comes face-to-face with Walter as the latter helps the former investigate Jeff's best friend Randy to find Natalie. Ultimately, when they find Nat, the latter tells Misty about Lottie's cult. However, Misty isn't convinced. It is here where Walter "shines" and is on point about Adam might be dead and Misty may have helped her friend cover the death.

However, Walter assures her that he likes her despite that dark truth and her probable serial killer past. But Misty rebukes him because she doesn't trust him at that point, and neither does the audience. In fact, before the season 2 finale, the entire first of the second season has viewers doubt Walter's intentions. Even Elijah Wood agreed with the audience being distrustful of his character. Here's what he said:

"We’re not entirely sure of who Walter really is. Both Walter and Misty present a version of who they are to the world who is not entirely their true self or their whole self. Walter presents a version of who he is, but there are still so many things that, over the course of their journey together, start to be revealed. I don’t even know that I’ve learned everything about the character yet. We can rightfully feel a degree of un-trustiness toward him because he’s giving us enough reason to not fully believe his motivation and where he’s coming from. But there’s a version of him that is also true, which is that he’s this dude who came across a fair amount of money, so he doesn’t need to work and can just dive into his passion, which is true crime. I think there is a version of him that is that simple, but there might be something underneath all of that as well."

Based on how the second season concluded, it became clear that Elijah Wood's Yellowjackets is indeed a trustworthy ally to Misty. After he displayed cleverness in planting the evidence for Jessica, Adam, and probably even Natalie's death on Kevyn, he warmed up to Misty. The last we see of him, we see him consoling Misty in the concluding moments of the season 2 finale.

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Based on what we see in the season 3 trailer, Elijah Wood is back in Yellowjackets season 3. If you haven't seen the first two seasons, catch it on Paramount+ with Showtime.