The 1996 characters on Yellowjackets have all been through a lot, but Jasmin Savoy Brown, Liv Hewson, and Sophie Thatcher were quick to pinpoint specific life moments that heavily influence every decision Taissa, Van, and Natalie make out in the wilderness in the second season.

Season 2 of the hit Showtime series kicks off about two months after Jackie’s (Ella Purnell) death. Hope of rescue is long gone, the region is covered in snow, it’s nearly impossible to find food, and there’s an increasing sense of darkness that’s heavily influencing the girls’ day-to-day and group dynamic. Natalie is struggling with the lack of game to hunt and refuses to resort to Lottie’s (Courtney Eaton) rituals to increase hope of finding some. Meanwhile, Taissa’s sleepwalking episodes are becoming more and more intense with Van doing everything in her power to keep her safe but also trying to figure out why they’re happening.
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During the non-spoiler portion of my conversation with Brown, Hewson, and Thatcher, the three pinpointed the particular events their characters experienced in Season 1 that they found most heavily influencing their performances and Tai, Van, and Natalie’s decisions while trying to navigate the new threats Season 2 poses.

Image via Showtime

Thatcher began with Natalie’s flashback material in Season 1. “I feel like the scene of my dad really was the biggest turning point.” She added, “I’m so glad we had that because that taught me a lot about Natalie. I think that would be the one.”

Brown shifted the conversation towards the post-plane crash material and how one particular choice Taissa made in Season 1 essentially redefines everything that happens out in the wilderness for the character from that point forward.

“For Tai it’s the fact that she failed in her mission. Her purpose was, I’m the leader, I keep everyone safe, I’m gonna get us out of here. Not only did she fail in getting everyone out, so maybe it’s her fault that they’re stuck here at winter and that this baby is or isn’t coming and XYZ, but it’s also her fault that Van’s face got messed up, and that everything that happens after this, everyone we lose, everyone that gets sick is because she failed in her mission. It’s a lot.”

Image via Showtime

Both examples are quite crushing and very powerful elements of the show. Hewson, on the other hand, went for something that hasn’t been addressed in the series directly yet, but is clearly bubbling under the surface — it’s a connection between her mother and Taissa’s sleepwalking. Here’s how she put it:

“I feel like most of the decisions that I make with [Van] are often traceable back to the scene in the pilot where she slaps her mother awake. And Lauren [Ambrose] and I talked about this a little bit too, at the beginning of Season 2, there was something fascinating for me about the idea of — it hasn’t been explored in the show yet — but what it would mean for Van to have an unpredictable alcoholic parent who she’s potentially in the care position of. And in my mind, I was like, ‘Okay, so what does that mean? That means you’re dealing with somebody who says things that they don’t remember saying, can’t always be trusted with their own physical safety and isn’t necessarily in control of their own behavior.’ And then it’s like when Taissa is sleepwalking, we’re talking about somebody who says things they don’t remember saying, can’t be trusted with their own physical safety and does things they don’t remember, and I was just like, ‘Oh no!’ So particularly in the early episodes of Season 2 that was weighing on me a lot.”

Looking for more from Brown, Hewson, and Thatcher on Yellowjackets Season 2? You can find just that in the first half of our conversation in the video at the top of this article! We’ll drop the second half a bit later in the season due to some spoiler talk. But, if you want more right now, you can also find my non-spoiler chat with Courtney Eaton, Samantha Hanratty, and Sophie Nélisse below: