Burial

Like the title says, this whole episode could be skipped and you wouldn't miss anything important. I was excited to see all the women come together finally, and to see the aftermath from the previous episode, and then... nothing. It's crazy how you can go from a pretty great episode like the previous one, and then the momentum just comes to a SCREECHING halt. It was killing me for weeks waiting for the next episode, but now I'm thinking I'll just wait till all the episodes come out. Speaking of which, why are we waiting for weekly episodes, even a mid season break of all things? Wasn't the whole point of streaming to not have to deal with this? But I digress.

Before you watch this episode and are shocked at the low ratings id like you to remember that critics hate fun and although they beg for character development when an experimental and visceral version of that is presented they turn away in disgust. Nowadays, critics beg for something new and fresh on television as most movies and tv shows are becoming copies of copies and ideas are running dry but as soon as new ideas are shown they deplore it and tell them to stick to this basics and work from there. This was an amazing episodes that really lets you connect and explore the minds of the surviving yellowjackets. This was the moment when i started to really connect with the characters as i saw who they were and what they truly desired. Yellowjackets still remains one of the most amazing television shows to grace our tvs today. Don't listen to critics who are clueless as to what to do when something new presents itself.

The seventh episode of Yellowjackets Season 2, titled "Burial," directed by Anya Adams and penned by Rich Monahan, marks a pivotal juncture in the season's intricate narrative, blending raw emotional drama, psychological unraveling, and escalating tension across its dual timelines. This episode deftly balances the haunted aftermath of trauma in the frozen wilderness with the increasingly fraught dynamics among the adult survivors, delivering a layered exploration of grief, repression, and fractured sisterhood that propels the story toward its crescendo.

In the 1996 timeline, "Burial" confronts viewers with the bleak, numbing reverberations of Shauna's stillbirth, a loss that leaves her emotionally shattered and physically drained. The episode opens amidst a blizzard's oppressive darkness, mirroring the group's collective despair. Shauna's gripping silent moments-clutching a bundle symbolizing her lost child-convey the profound grief that permeates the camp. Unable to bury her baby in the frozen earth, Shauna erects a makeshift tomb of stones, a poignant, haunting ritual symbolizing her futile attempt to find closure in an unforgiving environment. These scenes, intimate and raw, eschew melodrama in favor of restrained emotional power, anchored by Sophie Nélisse's painfully authentic performance.

The dynamics among the girls in the wilderness underscore a fracturing social order, where exhaustion and trauma strain bonds to breaking points. A brutal and emotionally charged confrontation erupts between Shauna and Lottie, culminating in a violent outburst where Shauna physically attacks Lottie, a manifestation of pent-up anger, grief, and frustration. This raw, unsettling fight reveals layers beneath their fractured sisterhood: Shauna's desperate need to externalize her pain and Lottie's unsettling control masked by mystical charisma. The physicality of the scene is neither gratuitous nor sensationalized but rather a startling exploration of trauma's corrosive effects on relationships, skillfully directed by Adams with a sensitive balance of intensity and nuance.

Meanwhile, the group faces harsh decisions about survival's demands. The episode features grim humor as new JV team members casually discuss the macabre topic of cannibalism while searching for missing friends, a darkly comic moment that underlines the girls' desensitization. Misty's emotive breakdown, ostensibly performed to manipulate others regarding Crystal's absence, reveals the complex layers of denial and ownership within the group, deepening the psychological portrait painted throughout the series.

Shifting to the 1998 timeline, the episode explores the adult Yellowjackets' tenuous attempts to coexist, highlighted by their first real reunion in Charlotte's wellness commune. This gathering teems with simmering resentments and unresolved conflicts, yet the actresses' performances infuse the scenes with a naturalistic chemistry that softens potential contrived tension. The moments intercut with flashbacks of Shauna's assault on Lottie underscore the vast emotional gulf between past suffering and present repression. The adult survivors' laughter, their forced camaraderie at the wellness hive, contrasts starkly with the raw violence of their past, suggesting how deeply trauma is buried beneath polished façades.

Moreover, a significant narrative development lands as Jeff reveals to Shauna that the police have located Adam's body, a piece of information that sharpens the stakes and foreshadows impending confrontations. Concurrently, Van's devastating cancer diagnosis is disclosed, layering the landscape with existential dread and fortifying the theme of mortality pervading the series. Similarly, Charlotte's therapy sessions reveal she has been confronting the dark entity she fears-one of the show's most potent supernatural motifs-hinting at a deeper metaphysical struggle lurking beneath the psychological veil.

Visually, Anya Adams's direction is marked by a careful interplay of shadow and cold, desaturated hues that envelop both timelines in a chilling ambiance, reinforcing the ever-present sense of isolation and emotional coldness. The cinematography captures sweeping, bleak wilderness landscapes alongside claustrophobic interior shots of the cabin and wellness center, visually reinforcing thematic juxtapositions of exposure and entrapment. The episode's editing thoughtfully spaces moments of brutal clarity alongside silences heavy with unspoken anguish.

Performance-wise, the episode shines, with Sophie Nélisse delivering a haunting embodiment of grief and trauma's physical and emotional toll. Her scenes with Courtney Eaton's Lottie crackle with tension, revealing deep character fractures. Sammi Hanratty's Misty oscillates between performative vulnerability and internalized conflict, while the adult ensemble-including Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci-navigate their characters' complex pasts and fracturing presents with understated yet potent nuance. The chemistry during the reunion sequences underscores the layered histories and emotional undercurrents that define these women's intertwined fates.

Notably, the episode's tonal shifts-from visceral survival horror and violent human conflict to moments of dark humor and tender grief-demonstrate the show's unique capacity to weave varied emotional textures without jarring the viewer. This narrative elasticity enriches the storytelling, allowing "Burial" to function as both a devastating reckoning of past horrors and a crucial step toward the season's climactic revelations.

Thematically, "Burial" interrogates the enduring scars of loss, the complexities of female friendship under extreme duress, and the tension between repression and confrontation in trauma survivorship. Shauna's frayed psyche epitomizes the struggle to reconcile unbearable grief with the need to survive and maintain social bonds. The episode also reflects on the cyclical nature of violence among the group, contested loyalties, and how trauma's imprint resists neat resolutions.

Contextually, the episode sits firmly within the tradition of survival horror and psychological thrillers that emphasize female-centric narratives, recalling works such as Lord of the Flies while pushing beyond its male-centric origins to explore nuanced feminist themes of power, trauma, and solidarity. The supernatural elements echo series like The X-Files and True Detective, melding psychological and metaphysical dread into a singularly compelling texture. The cultural conversation around trauma, memory, and identity that Yellowjackets fosters is furthered by this episode's unflinching yet empathetic approach.

"Burial" stands as a profoundly affecting and narratively rich installment that crystallizes the emotional devastation and psychological complexity at the heart of Yellowjackets Season 2. Through skilled direction, compelling performances, and an astute blend of horror and human drama, the episode invites viewers to engage deeply with the costs of survival-physical, emotional, and spiritual. Its nuanced depiction of grief and fractured female relationships provides a compelling meditation on trauma's long shadows, challenging audiences to confront the sometimes brutal, sometimes tender realities of endurance and loss. With seeds sown here for the approaching finale, "Burial" ensures the series' continued relevance as a mature, genre-defying exploration of human resilience and vulnerability.

Yellowjackets needs to kick it up a notch.

It's becoming like The Walking Dead's season 2 on the farm. And we all know it turned into another drama going places its loyal viewers didn't want to follow. Either start divulging secrets or pick up the tempo because right now it's trudging water. If you were to cancel it now I can't say I would be disappointed unless it starts respecting its viewers.

The actors are the only saving grace hence my 6 stars and their commitment is why I hope for bigger and better things to come.

So far everyone's dealing with trauma in their own unique way but it's getting in the way of story momentum. Do better showrunners.

I thought the previous episode I gave a 3/10 was a waste of time, well, this one was even worse. You can literally skip this entire episode and you wont miss one thing. I could begin to explain why, and in doing so would give away spoilers, but there aren't any spoilers to give away, except for the older ladies having a ridiculous outdoor retreat that's all a waste of time offering nothing to the series' narrative, and some useless drama from the same younger stranded ladies, offering the same useless nonsense.

I've rated over 3k films and TV shows, and over 1,600 reviews of the same, so I do understand there is need sometimes to add some filler to fill in an episode or two for a specific season, but this episode was just an utter waste of time. Not only have the writers become lazy, but now they are insulting our intelligence and patience with an entire episode that should've been thrown in the trash can. I was getting very frustrated with this season not giving us anything useful, suspenseful or simply interesting, but now I'm just getting angry that I've wasted my time investing in this show only to be given such useless nonsense to see. All the writers need to be fired, as I'm giving up with this show and it wasting my time. Such a shame, because the first season showed so much promise, only to be left with the most boring and useless writing I have ever seen in my life for season two. I've never given any series episode a 3 as did the previous episode, and certainly never a 1, except for this episode, although it deserves a zero.