This piece contains spoilers for Yellowjackets Season 1. If you need to get caught up check out our Yellowjackets Story So Far!
When Yellowjackets exploded into the pop culture stratosphere in 2021, its arrival was heralded by a uniquely grungy opening title sequence. Set to the perfectly angsty tones of "No Return" by Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker, the spliced together VHS footage and heavy guitar riffs set the eerie throwback vibe of the show perfectly. Built into the credits were hints at the horrors to come. The showrunners shared with IGN that the Season 2 opening sequence is equally as important and that about 30% of the shots were swapped out. Their main drive with crafting these tone-setters was just like Season 1. So that "when the audience watches the opening credits of season two, they know immediately it's going to be a Season 2 episode."
If you dove deep into the Season 1 opening, then you'll know that it began to make more sense the further into the show that you got. As co-showrunner Jonathan Lisco explains, that was entirely the point with both of the enigmatic and hint-filled sequences. "We did try and put in some of the things to come that they can really look forward to, but that they don't quite understand yet. So that upon a re-watch of the credit sequence, they'd be like, 'oh, now I know what that is.' I totally see that."
With all that in mind, we're analyzing the equally creepy and rad new opening sequence as we head into Season 2 to see what it can possibly tell us about the series going forward.
Here's What's Gone, What's the Same, and Why it Matters
If you've ever sat down and watched the opening credits to Yellowjackets Season 1 frame by frame, it's actually pretty astounding how much plot relevant stuff you can find in there. Some major moments that were previously included from Season 1 — like the girls chasing someone through the fall wilderness, Nat (Juliette Lewis) chasing the blackmailer in the shopping center, and the seance — have now been removed. We can assume this is because those moments have already happened and the showrunners needed to fill the sequence with more teases for Season 2. Interestingly, teen Jackie (Ella Purnell) is still featured here — despite her Season 1 fate — with the iconic clip of her in her soccer uniform doing a cut throat motion still front and center. Could that mean that Jackie may still have a role to play? Seeing as the woods are a supernatural place, that isn't out of the picture, or perhaps her fate wasn't as set as we thought.
The opening is still interspersed with photos and clips of the girls as teens and adults. We also get the moody neon-streaked moments that show girls gripping their heads and close ups on their eyes in the midst of the static of the video camera. There's now no imagery of the outside of the plane or the girl's SOS message, hinting that they have succumbed to the wilderness and given up on expecting help to come and find them. That would align with some of the newer footage that seems to hint that some of the girls have settled into the wild life.
There's no sign of Adam (Peter Gadiot) either, who used to feature in a big moment from the series where he and Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) jumped off a bridge. R.I.P to that shady guy. After he played such a huge role in Season 1, this feels like a notable move. Especially as we can assume that Adam's status as a missing person and continued covering up of his murder will play a major part in Season 2. Saying that though, his absence could actually be a nice nod to the impact that Adam being missing will have on the season and the lives of Jeff, Shauna, and Callie.
Another tonal shift is the type of footage we get from the cabin and the wilderness. Most of that footage from Season 1 has been removed, which sets up one of the two big threads that the new sequence establishes as key to Season 2.
Here's What's New and What it Could Mean
Looking at the new footage that's been added to the opening titles there are two major threads: The wilderness in winter and Lottie and her cult that likely started there.
Let's start with the wintery new footage and what it spells out for our cast of survivors. The original scenes of the lush green forest have been replaced with snowy scenes throughout the opening. We know that survival will only get harder from here on out, and that Jackie likely won't be the only cold weather casualty. Another new moment is a single figure wrapped in furs walking through the forest alone. It could be Nat (Sophie Thatcher) or Travis (Kevin Alves) continuing their roles as hunters, or perhaps someone trying to make an escape. Tai features prominently in these new clips, dressed in winter gear, hinting at her becoming a leader for those who don't want to follow Lottie and her supernatural ways.
One of the biggest switches in the footage comes from a replacement of the girls chasing Travis through the forest on Doomcoming with a new scene that shows them in winter clothes closer to the cult outfits we saw in the opening moments of Season 1. They rush forward in rage, chasing an unseen victim. In an interesting twist, we also get a pull back from one of the many campfire shots to see that the adult survivors Misty (Christina Ricci), Shauna, Tai (Tawny Cypress), and Nat are dancing in the snow around a fire. It's a really great way of connecting their past and that fatal winter with their current lives in a way we haven't seen before. But the question is: Is this a celebration or a memorial? Are they there independently or as part of Lottie's plans?
Speaking of Lottie, the only thing that tops the scene-setting snow of the new footage is the abundance of cult-imagery. We get clips of adult Lottie (Simone Kessell), our current favorite for Antler Queen / Cult Leader status, as well as a clip of adult Van (Lauren Ambrose). While we don't know where Van stands, we've wondered if she might still be one of Lottie's followers as an adult. Here, she seems to be startled by something to her left. It's very reminiscent of Nat being disturbed by her cult abductors, but we'll have to keep watching to see whether that's Van's fate too.
Now to that very same cult there's plenty of creepy new footage to investigate. We get a man in pajamas wearing a spooky face mask —could also definitely just be Jeff (Warren Kole) doing a new skin care routine— a distorted figure smoking a cigarette, and multiple shots of the eerie symbol the girls found in the cabin. Here it appears carved in wood, on pendants, and in flashing images interspersed throughout. It's clear that whatever is going on with Lottie in the modern day, she's taken on the symbol as something central to her survival and new life. And going by how many times we see it, she's far from the only one who puts stock in the symbol.
One of the other most striking new images is a haunting clip of someone wearing a strange sheep mask. There are also other animal masks too, including a goat skull. While this could simply be an allusion to the girls' time in the wilderness, the folk horror nature of it all feels like we're definitely going to get some kind of forest-worshiping cult action. The only question is whether it'll be Lottie's suspected cult or another new threat. Either way, it is almost certain this comes from an episode if we look at the way the show built in footage from Season 1. This is Yellowjackets, so stuff gets a little gory too. We get a great and gross new clip of young Misty (Samantha Henretty) licking the blood from her fingers — cannibalism is probably coming very, very soon folks — a lingering image of a bloody heart on a stone platform, and a knife slicing across the palm of one of the girl's hands. Basically, things are going to get a lot more brutal in the forest before anyone makes it out of there alive.
Other interesting new tidbits include a family photo of Jeff, Shauna, and their daughter Callie (Sarah Desjardins), hinting that the family will become a target this season. That makes a lot of sense, seeing as Jeff and Shauna hid the murder of Adam and Callie knew her mom and Adam were a thing. But, who will be trying to bring them to justice? There's also an ominous note that says "I'm grateful for my friends" in front of a Queen of Hearts card. Could it be to do with Lottie and her cult or maybe a left over from Jackie's time in the wilderness?
We also get what looks like a momentary flash of the inside of the plane as it crashes with burnt Van sitting in it. This is really intriguing as we know that Jackie and Shauna (Sophie Nelisse) essentially left Van for dead after the crash back in Season 1... could that come back to bite Shauna as the crew begins to split?
No matter what happens the wintery wastes of the forest and bleeding heart — literally — of the cult are clearly going to be causing chasms in the '90s and chaos in the present day. But we'll have to keep watching Yellowjackets Season 2 to find out just how accurate our predictions are.
And if you're as excited as us to uncover the truth let us know what you spotted in the Season 2 opening sequence and what you think it could all mean!
Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything from anime to comic books to kaiju to kids movies to horror flicks. She has over half a decade of experience in entertainment journalism with bylines at Nerdist, Den of Geek, Polygon, and more.
source https://www.ign.com/articles/analyzing-the-yellowjackets-season-2-opening-credits