Why does Ella Purnell's Jackie keep returning in Yellowjackets? Details explored 

Jackie Taylor played by Ella Purnell died a tragic death by freezing in the Canadian wilderness in Yellowjackets Season 1. Her presence, however, continues to haunt the survivors. In Yellowjackets Season 3, Jackie's presence returns as a shared hallucination among the survivors, Shauna, Van, and Akilah, while exploring Ben's cave.

Previously in Yellowjackets Season 2, in the second episode of Yellowjackets Season 2, the survivor group resorts to cannibalism and eats Jackie's burnt body to satisfy hunger pangs. Throughout Season 2, Jackie's presence is felt in both timelines — especially by Shauna, whose guilt from her actions, which led to Jackie's death, made her hallucinate the latter several times.

Although Jackie died in Yellowjackets Season 1, her recurring appearances throughout the series serve as a reminder for the plane crash survivors of their wrongdoing, reinstating survivor's guilt in them.

In the present times, Shauna who has kept Jackie's death a secret, dines with the latter's parents on her birthday. When Shauna goes to Jackie's room she finds her journal. Later we find out that her journal had specific information about her death. Moreover, another mystery that grapples the viewers is of the man that Jackie saw in her dying vision. Jackie appears as a 17-year-old to adult Shauna, too, as a reminder that Shauna may try to bury the past but cannot change the reality.

Yellowjackets is about a high school girl's soccer team whose plane crashed in the Ontario wilderness in 1996. The series follows a dual timeline where it alternates between the immediately aftermath of crash, and the chaotic lives of the survivors as adults in the present.

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How did Jackie Taylor die in Yellowjackets?

Jackie's death in Yellowjackets Season 1 Episode 10 was an important moment in the psychological thriller series. After reading Shauna's journal, Jackie discovered her boyfriend Jeff had been cheating on her with Shauna, and that Shauna's baby was also Jeff's.

The feisty teenager confronted Shauna and they got into a huge argument. Jackie asked Shauna to leave the cabin but she did not. This led to Jackie leaving the cabin out of disappointment, anger, and frustration.

She tried to keep herself warm with a blanket and a fire but unfortunately, she couldn't survive. Jackie Taylor died of cold in the wilderness.

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What did Yellowjackets director Jonathan Lisco reveal about Jackie's return in Season 3?

Yellowjackets Season 3 premiered on February 14, 2025, on Paramount + Showtime at 3 AM ET. New episodes will be streamed every Friday until April 11, 2025.

In Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 3, the girls hallucinate Jackie playing with a slap bracelet. Jackie asks Van and Akilah to try on the bracelet. What happens next is quite terrifying as Van gets a cut from the bracelet. In the hallucinating episode, Jackie turns to Shauna and chokes her with the slap bracelet until she bleeds. Soon Shauna, Van and Akilah wake up after the traumatic hallucunation.

In a recent interview with Variety, co-director Jonathan Lisco of Yellowjacket opened up about Jackie's return and emphasized that her continued presence in the series showcases the trauma and guilt of the survivors. Lisco said:

"It is always fun to have Ella back. It's fun that the characters come and haunt us, because when they die, we're like, It's fine, we'll see you again."

Lisco explained that Jackie's return in Season 3 is an exploration of the survivor's guilt and their inability to escape the past. He mentioned:

"I love when the show takes you on a ride that is beyond mere logic. It's a way to explore the breakdown of these women's psyches in the wilderness, where the line between what is real and what is imagined becomes blurred."

Lisco also mentions that the hallucination sequence when Shauna, Van, and Akilah encounter Jackie, is important. He said:

"It reflects the subjective, almost collective consciousness merging their memories and unresolved guilt with the present. It's a thin line between what's happening objectively and what's happening subjectively in their minds."

Read More: Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 3 Recap: The Man With No Eyes' Origin revealed