Yellowjackets: Season 1/ Episode 4 “Bear Down” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Shauna and Natalie make grand comebacks as Taissa did in the last episode, but nothing about the symbol is revealed.

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Aired	12/5/2021
Network	Showtime
Directed By	Deepa Mehta
Written By	Liz Phang
Introduced This Episode
Teen Kevyn	Sean Martin Savoy
Diane	Lauren K. Robek

Recap

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Understanding Why Travis Meant So Much To Natalie – Natalie, Travis, Ben, Kevyn, Misty

Natalie’s obsession with Travis didn’t make sense and even crippled her character for the first few episodes. However, we are just now really getting a sense of their bond, beyond him being the only guy age-appropriate and attractive after the plane crash. The story is, due to Ben losing half a leg, he can’t hunt for the kids, so Travis thinks, as the next oldest man around, he’ll take care of all the women – and he is very machismo about this. The thing is, Natalie is a better shot.

This, alongside being called Flex, bothers Travis, but while he starts things off with being a douche, he eventually opens up to Natalie after she helps him get a ring from his dead father’s finger. To make a long story short, Travis is such a douche because he had a terrible relationship with his father and that whole “Flex” nickname came from someone seeing a scar he had after a spinal fusion. That scar led to the idea Travis had a rib removed to suck his own penis, and while people don’t seem to know the origin, the nickname has stuck.

Now, with telling Natalie this and him opening up to her, he chills out a bit, gives her the props she deserves, and it seems them working as a team, hunting for the rest of the group, is the foundation of their bond. Hence, in the present-day, Natalie meets with Kevyn since, while Misty can be useful, she often forces her way into situations. This is as opposed to Kevyn, who, for a long time, was in love with Natalie, and seemingly she has no issue using that to further her investigation into Travis’ death – to the ire of Misty, who just wants to be included.

Reliving My Youth – Adam, Shauna, Jackie

A one-night stand becomes a whole affair as Adam becomes part of Shauna getting to live out the life she couldn’t due to the plane crash and getting married at a young age. They go mini-golfing, jumping into the river, drinking cheap booze with orange juice, and just being silly. For Shauna, this dynamic works well, but Adam keeps pushing to go deeper, which is by no means something Shauna wants. Especially since the ghost of Jackie keeps appearing and freaking her out a bit.

No One Likes Or Wants To Be, A Kiss Ass – Taissa, Diane

Politics is not only a dirty game but also an expensive one, and with her opponent’s ads affecting her poll numbers, Taissa would like to get a woman named Diane to endorse and put money into her campaign. Sadly, like many, Diane wants to know the truth about what happened out there, besides what came out officially. Her wanting to know that and taking the position of noting how much she has done for women and Black people makes it so Taissa would rather struggle without her than give away her deepest secrets for money.

Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered

Things To Note

• It seems Shauna’s ability to cut and gut things came from her being tasked with doing so after Natalie and Travis would bring the meat back.
• Jessica makes another appearance and is confronted by Misty, but not much comes of that.
• Misty tells Shauna that Travis is dead, despite knowing Shauna wants nothing to do with her.
• Ben continues to get weirded out by Misty, and when he overlooks her to bleed out the deer for Shauna, she trips him.
• One of the reasons Natalie and Travis were close as adults, even dated, was they tried to keep each other clean.

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. The credits note “Older Vera,” so should we assume she is alive?
2. How many different people are playing one character on this show?
3. Why does Sammy have a whole sleeping set up in the closet?

What Could Happen Next

1. I think we’re definitely going to see why Misty is so disliked amongst her peers and why she has to make herself useful, usually through sabotage or hoarding information, to get anyone’s time and attention.
2. I feel like Charlotte is going to be one of the main ones focused on the symbol
3. Kevyn eventually realizing that he isn’t helping Natalie get closure but is simply being used for her past obsession
4. I can foresee Jeff kicking Shauna out of the house and her being stuck to live with Misty
5. Based on previews, the symbol, and the occult element of the show should be coming up

Review

Highlights

Taissa Telling Off Diane

Is there anything more wonderful than seeing someone who likes to note how much they have done for women and Black people getting told to shove it? Especially when they use it to make themselves seem like a good person? Plus, it is a nice and subtle way to address how Black people get talked down to by so-called well-doers who only are the way they are for clout and access. Which, in this case, Diane would have access to the true story and clout of being one of the few, if only, who weren’t there that knows what happened in detail.

But, thankfully, as ambitious as we’ve seen Taissa, including that kick which ended that girl’s career, she is by no means willing to sell herself for the sake of a person who, by the way, could have easily gotten Taissa story and kept it moving.

Natalie’s Storyline

Of all the characters, we’ve probably been hardest on Natalie, and for good reason. Up until this episode, her whole storyline revolved around being a stereotypical burnout, with a singular focus on some guy we, as viewers, barely knew. However, this episode really fleshes her out. We see her go home, meet her mom, and see how her dad died and why. There is development when it comes to her relationship with Kevyn, in both the past and present, as well as with Travis.

And when it comes to Travis, now you can really say you understand the initial attraction. It isn’t because of his wannabe bad boy, douchebag persona. It is because he can be sentimental, and once you get past his wall, he can actually be quite sweet and enjoyable to be around. Then, as adults, be it trauma or something else, the same way they were made to be a team by Ben while out in the wilderness, you can see they wanted and tried to carry that over into the real world. Hence the dating, encouraging each other to stay clean, and Travis breaking things off.

After all, everyone else seemingly moved on at some point, and I’d submit they don’t have close relationships with one another since it doesn’t serve them. They each have their own individual demons, which get amplified by being in each other’s company. So for Travis, likely, Natalie pushed him to remember everything he killed and other things he was part of, and it seemed easier to take on his baggage on his own than navigate life and PTSD with Natalie.

Thus giving us a major boost for Natalie and Travis.

Shauna & Adam

Look At Shauna finding a way to be interesting without having to kill small animals! Granted, Adam deserves major props for his role, but Shauna noting that what she wants out of him is to relive the youth she didn’t get to have makes sense. As we’ve said in each episode, the problem with Shauna’s marriage is that it was likely built on the thrill of getting caught and sneaking around. So them getting married wasn’t a love thing but a religious thing.

Which, of course, doesn’t mean we condone her cheating. However, while demented rabbit killer Shauna is interesting, this Shauna who just wants to reclaim her teen and young adult years isn’t so bad.

On The Fence

Misty Losing Steam

While Misty remains an interesting character, now she is the one who seems one-note, as Shauna and Natalie did. For while we love her crazy and manipulative antics, she has barely moved past that. This isn’t to disregard us being told she was bullied and didn’t have friends, and us seeing she is rather lonely in modern times. However, with Natalie not willing to be there for or with her, it pushes you to recognize how weak of a character Misty is unless she can play off someone and potentially get a rise out of them.

The Symbol Being Acknowledged, But No Information Revealed

Is the symbol a Trojan Horse? I get in the next episode it seemingly will play a more prominent role, but I do feel like, in order to get us to know the ladies in the present day, the symbol, the occult stuff, has been dangled in front of us like a reward for sticking around long enough. Which, honestly, I get, since I am the first one to say you need to have multiple reasons for viewers to stick around. However, even with being more and more invested in the ladies, it doesn’t take away from this symbol and the occult stuff. Especially as we add the ghost of wolves and Jackie appearing to remind us of why we started to watch in the first place.

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