Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 7 review – “Croak”: When outsiders enter the wolf’s den

Yellowjackets ventures further into uncertainty and moral ambiguity with Season 3 Episode 7, Croak. In the latest episode, the story takes new entrants into the wilderness timeline by revealing the extent to which the remaining survivors are breaking away from the norms of society.

The parallel story presents a mystery trip as the former cheer-captains are out of town and keeps the suspicion among the teenagers alive. Covert acts, and the outburst of savagery are the main components of both periods, which renders the following statement true: The Yellowjackets are their worst enemies rather than the wilderness.

Wilderness Timeline (1996)

Whereas the earlier episodes depicted a slow erosion of morals in the group, Croak makes it overt that they have now managed to traverse to the point of no return. The warm weather of summer is there the only grantee of survival in the wilderness for the girls and the false security they get is often punctured by violence and sacrifices, not their loss of the wits.

Three Strangers Walk into a Nightmare

The first scene shows us Edwin (Nelson Franklin), Hannah (Ashley Sutton), and Kodi (Joel McHale), who are the newcomers and are engaging in research work on Arctic Banshee Frogs in the place. To begin with, their discovery feels like a miracle, a comfort to their civilization theory. But this is Yellowjackets, nothing good can simply be received without a significant price.

The atmosphere becomes very strange when the group comes across Yellowjackets' base. The newcomers are unaware of the situation’s severity, and our main characters, especially Lottie, view them not as liberators but as enemies.

The interaction of the two groups moves to a higher level, Shauna and Natalie exchange unclear glances while Misty, always one step ahead, cunningly investigates what the females actually know.

Lottie Loses Herself

After still struggling with terrible experiences from the past and her frazzled grip on reality, Lottie does a horrible thing: Abruptly, she kills Edwin with an ax. It is a very remarkable time not just because of its unexpected nature but also because it is the only time the band has killed an outside person.

The past episodes of sharing human flesh which were justified by necessity were nothing like this. This is a more aggressive move. It is the lighting of a gun. It is a sign that the Yellowjackets now control the game rather than be a part of it.

While the rest of the outsiders are escaping, the survivors are presented with a choice: they can either choose to hide their crime or they accept their new life. Looking at their earlier decisions, one can predict which path they will take.

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Present-Day Timeline(2021): A Road Trip Full of Secrets

While the wilderness timeline gives its most harrowing moment of the season, the present day storyline dials things down — just enough for the paranoia to seep in.

The Mystery of the Tape

Shauna along with Misty, Taissa, and Van decide to start their road trip in order to find the answers after obtaining a mysterious DAT tape. The tale of their journey makes them dive deeper into the past and, of course, face secret old stories of their own together with finding the very answer to the question of who is actually spying on them.

Misty is still great with her investigation but she is uncharacteristically unsure when new information appears to not agree with her predictions. At the same time, Taissa, who has been mentally down lately, starts expressing that the darkness from their past hasn’t quite left but stays with them.

A Desperate Search for Control

Shauna is hit the hardest by the events of the past, as though reality is crushing her and won’t let go. She is trying to manage her personal life and the utter mayhem that is happening around her but, unfortunately, her control is grumbling.

The relationship between Jeff and Shauna is still one of the most interesting parts of the present-day storyline as Jeff on one side wants to protect her, but on the other, he is very much afraid of her unheard-of power.

The tension among the four ladies during their trip is so evident that many things still remain unsaid between them. Misty sees the fact that Van and Taissa’s quarrel is unsolved and burrows below the surface, thus constantly adding fuel to the fire. And Misty becomes more and more annoyed by the disappearance of the truth of the matter.

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Themes and Analysis

The Price of Survival

Between Lottie’s actions in the past and the group’s paranoia in the present, this week’s episode, Croak, drives home a central question that looms over the series as a whole: How far can you go before you lose yourself? The Yellowjackets have spent so long trying to justify their actions that they might not notice they have become the thing they once dreaded.

Power and Leadership

Lottie’s stepping into outright violent territory feels like a change in the balance of power in the group. Is she still their spiritual guide, or is she now just a threat like so many others? And with Shauna attempting to keep everything together, both in the past and present, we’re seeing how different styles of leadership emerge when faced with extreme circumstances.

The Paranoia of the Present

The road trip plot brings the psychological burden of their shared past to the fore. The women are still haunted — literally and figuratively — even decades removed from the wilderness. The DAT tape mystery is just the latest signal that there is someone out there who knows something about their secrets. So the question is: Are they attempting to expose them, or protect them?

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Final Judgment: There’s a Tense, Relentless Hour

I'll give this episode a 9.5/10⭐

Croak is Yellowjackets in top form — an expert balance of shocking violence, simmering up-tension and deeply uncomfortable psychological horror. New characters have been introduced in the Arizona wilderness, with fresh stakes, and the present-day storyline helps keep the mystery engaging and unpredictable.

And as we approach the tail end of the season, the show is also letting it be known that there are no easy answers — just deeper truths, darker truths, waiting to be uncovered. As the past draws steadily closer toward the present, and the Yellowjackets’ moral compasses whirl like a cyclone, it feels like we’re careening to an explosive climax.

Big Questions Going Forward:

1. How is the group going to justify what they’re doing to Lottie’s sake now that they’ve crossed over to kill outsiders?
2. Are Hannah and Kodi going to get away or be the next victims?
3. What was the mysterious tape sent about, and by whom?
4. Is the surprise visitor a danger, or an omen?

No matter what comes next, we know this for sure: The Yellowjackets’ past is coming for them, and there’s nowhere to run anymore.

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What did you think of this episode? Let’s discuss!