Note: This article contains major spoilers for the Season 2 finale of “Yellowjackets”
The Season 2 finale of “Yellowjackets” is now streaming on Showtime and even for a show that includes murder and cannibalism, the episode will surely shock fans with a tragic turn of events.
Earlier this week, TheWrap spoke with Christina Ricci about the devastating episode and how one loss will deeply affect her character, Misty Quigley.
The episode, entitled “Storytelling,” ended with Misty accidentally pumping a syringe full of fentanyl into her best friend Natalie (Juliette Lewis), who, to the horror of her fellow survivors, was pronounced dead on the scene. In her last moments, Natalie chose to sacrifice herself to save Lisa (Nicole Maines), Misty’s real target. In flashbacks, we see that she never got over letting Javi (Luciano Leroux) die in her place in the wilderness.
“As much as people love the character of Natalie, we love Juliette and it was a very emotional episode to shoot, for sure,” said Ricci. She added that while she has no idea what will happen in Season 3, which is on hold due to the writers’ strike, that Misty is “not OK.”
Ricci broke down the episode, saying goodbye to Lewis — who she now considers a “lifelong friend” — and what we didn’t get to see in the finale.
TheWrap: When did you learn that was going to happen and what was your reaction?
Christina Ricci: I think we got the script only a week or two before we shot. There were rumblings about what was going to happen a little bit before that. I think everybody was really surprised. It’s hard to imagine the show without Juliette, to tell you the truth. As much as people love the character of Natalie, we love Juliette and it was a very emotional episode to shoot, for sure.
How will Misty cope with having killed her best friend? She seemed to be holding up much better than I would have expected.
The last time we see her she’s sobbing into Walter’s arms. So I don’t think that she’s OK.
Yes, that’s true, but I guess I expected a much bigger breakdown, not to downplay what you’re doing in that scene.
We don’t know how they’re going to edit things. So when you say you thought there’d be more of a breakdown for Misty, we shot about 10 minutes of Misty crying over Natalie’s body. In the final edit, that gets cut into Natalie’s vision of saying goodbye to herself and the plane and the whole thing. Oftentimes, we don’t even know how what we do will be used.
I would have liked to have seen more of that. But this is huge for Misty. This is life-altering.
Oh, yeah, she’s not OK.
It’s kind of crazy that none of them are going to jail after all, at least for now, thanks to Walter (Elijah Wood). He makes a great, if highly lethal, team with Misty. They are remarkably well-suited.
Yeah, he shows up and is quite the hero. They’re a great pair. Their dynamic is incredibly entertaining and funny. Elijah is amazing. He’s so talented. He’s such a great team partner. He’s so interesting and funny and I love working with him.
I’m sure you don’t know if we’ll see Natalie again, but Jackie (Ella Purnell) kept coming back even after she died, so I suppose there’s a possibility…
True, true. I do not know what they have planned. But what’s also great is that sometimes you do make lifelong friendships on projects like this. Even if Juliette’s not on the show, I’ll be seeing her in my life. I count her as a friend. We went through so much on this show and it’s been a really emotional experience and a real bonding experience. And I know that we’ll all be in each other’s lives for a long time.
Had you met her before or worked with her before this?
I met her over the years. We were in slightly similar social circles in LA but we weren’t friends. The first time we ever really got to know each other was when we were shooting the pilot. But then I think for everyone on the show, it’s been a really emotional experience, and we’ve all bonded and sort of become family in a lot of ways. We’ve had fights and reconciliations, and mostly just love and joy, and real bonding and sharing of this project and what it’s put us through in ways as actors.
Is this a hard part to leave on the set when you’re filming?
No, I don’t really have that. Sometimes if you’ve been upset all day, you still feel a little upset. But now at my age, I’m at the point where I feel such relief when I’m done doing the thing. I have to shake it off immediately. But I think when it’s a scene like this, where you know that it’s the end of the character for the show, it was sad. We were really… I think everyone was affected by it.
Did you have a cast sendoff for Juliette?
We didn’t really have a sendoff. It was very emotional. We’re all really sad. Nobody’s happy to lose her amongst the cast. We spent tons of time together and in the last couple of episodes, we all worked so closely together, you know, days and days, night shoots and dinners. There were tears and hugs and it was very intense.
Do you think Natalie was actually fond of Misty or was it totally one-sided?
Yeah, I think that she did have an affection for Misty. And they all are sort of inextricably bonded by what they experienced in the past. But it’s sort of like a family dynamic, where you might not like people, but you are so enmeshed with them and bonded forever. That’s kind of how I always viewed that relationship.
From what we’ve seen so far, in both timelines, the other women don’t know that Misty (played in the 1996 timeline by Samantha Hanratty) destroyed the plane’s black box. Is that your understanding?
Yes, that is my understanding. As far as that goes, I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s going to change…
Yeah, the fallout would be huge. Much more than killing the journalist.
I don’t think anyone cares that she killed the journalist. [Laughs].
