This article contains discussions of stillbirth and grief.
Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Yellowjackets season 3, episodes 1 and 2.Shauna Shipman deals with multiple tragedies in end of Yellowjackets season 2. They live in huts and embrace rituals in order to maintain some semblance of community and normalcy out in the Wilderness. They're also able to hunt and eat animals rather than each other, giving them a sense of optimism for the time being.
But while most of the Yellowjackets are feeling more positive about their circumstances in the third season, Shauna is struggling more than ever. Shauna is already in a tough place after losing Jackie at the end of Yellowjackets season 1, and her season 2 loss pushes her into an even darker state. Shauna losing her baby is already defining her season 3 story, and the opening episodes make this tragedy even sadder for both her and the audience.
Shauna Never Named Her Baby & He's Only Referred To As "The Child"
This Is What Lottie Calls Him During Their Ritual
Yellowjackets season 3, episode 1 shows the rituals the girls are doing during their "first annual Summer Solstice Festival," and one involves commemorating the dead — more specifically, Jackie, Javi, and Shauna's child. Lottie says a prayer of sorts to honor these characters and the Wilderness. And when she comes to Shauna's baby, she simply calls him "The Child." Shauna storms off, likely because she doesn't want her baby used to fuel the group's beliefs. However, this scene is more devastating than it initially seems.
Yellowjackets Timeline Explained: How Much Time es In The Show
Yellowjackets doesn't state how long the girls have been stranded, but a few hints, such as Shauna's pregnancy, help to form a more concrete timeline.
Lottie calling Shauna's baby "The Child" is a reminder that Shauna never names him. She seemingly never gets the chance to, as she goes through a traumatic birthing experience, then wakes up to learn that her son is stillborn. Shauna is too busy worrying about the baby latching in the dream she has during Yellowjackets season 2, episode 6. And once she learns of the baby's fate, it's probably too painful to give him more of an identity. This makes her loss even more devastating, driving home that Shauna never gets to know her son at all.
Shauna's Baby Being Called "The Child" Makes His Use In Yellowjackets' Wilderness Rituals Darker
Lottie Implies That Shauna's Son Belongs To The Wilderness
Lottie calling Shauna's son "The Child" gives him less of an identity, and the tragedy of that extends beyond Shauna never getting to know him. Although Lottie claims to be considerate of her friend, her words imply that the baby doesn't really belong to Shauna. Instead, the Yellowjackets' ritual makes it seem like he belongs to the Wilderness. By calling him "The Child," Lottie further emphasizes him as a sacrifice. The name — or lack of one — reduces his connection to Shauna and ties his identity to the Wilderness and the survivors.
Lottie's wording also makes it seem like the baby is of equal importance to all of them, while Shauna's loss goes so much deeper than theirs.
It's no wonder this bothers Shauna so much, as the Yellowjackets' ritual in the season 3 premiere is all about the dead "delivering" them sustenance. They're mourning these losses, but they're also acting grateful for them — something that rightfully rubs Shauna the wrong way. Lottie's wording also makes it seem like the baby is of equal importance to all of them, while Shauna's loss goes so much deeper than theirs. She's right to be angry and devastated, and it's not surprising that she acts on it in Yellowjackets season 3, episode 2.
Why Shauna Moved Her Baby's Grave In Yellowjackets Season 3
She Doesn't Want Her Son Associated With The Wilderness Or Other Yellowjackets
The Yellowjackets' ritual takes place over the graves of Jackie, Javi, and Shauna's baby, all of which are side by side when the season opens. However, Shauna changes this during Yellowjackets season 3, episode 2, when she digs up her baby's remains and moves his grave elsewhere. This is directly connected to the way that Lottie and the others treat her child, and it ties into Lottie calling him "The Child." Shauna doesn't want her son used to further her teammates' belief in the Wilderness, and she doesn't want him ed as a sacrifice.
She wants to keep some part of her baby to herself, especially as all of her teammates are also claiming to grieve him.
This is just as clear when she rejects the crown that Akilah makes for her in Yellowjackets season 3's premiere. Shauna doesn't believe in the Wilderness or the other girls' attempts to cope, and she's bitter that they're exploiting her child's death to further their beliefs. Additionally, she wants to keep some part of her baby to herself, especially as all of her teammates are also claiming to grieve him. By moving his grave to somewhere only she knows, she emphasizes that he's her son first and foremost, separating him and his identity from the other Yellowjackets.
Yellowjackets
- Release Date
- November 14, 2021
- Network
- Showtime, Paramount+ with Showtime
- Showrunner
- Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, Jonathan Lisco
Cast
Shauna Sadecki
Tawny CypressTaissa Turner
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Benjamin Semanoff, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Deepa Mehta, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Liz Garbus, Scott Winant, Eva Sørhaug, Jamie Travis
- Writers
- Liz Phang, Sarah L. Thompson, Ameni Rozsa
- Creator(s)
- Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson
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