‘Yellowjackets’ Season 3, Episode 9 Recap: Motive

Season 3, Episode 9: ‘How the Story Ends’

The penultimate episode of Season 3 opens with a reference to “The Goonies,” the 1985 Richard Donner kids’ adventure movie beloved by Gen X.

Adult Van is in her hospital bed. Her teen self is caring for her, dressed as a nurse. The younger Van explains she has a very important question for her fellow redhead, now dying of cancer: “Do you remember ‘The Goonies?’” Of course Van remembers “The Goonies.” (Don’t we all?) And with that she sends the grown-up Van on a quest to find “the treasure.” By the end of the episode we realize the treasure is also her death.

On the road to her demise, Van accomplishes a heroic act: She saves Tai from Tai’s evil persona. Just how? It’s a little unclear. Tai is on the verge of death, suffocating in Melissa’s pristine suburban house when Melissa closes the flue to her fireplace as a trap. Van drags her outside and gives her oxygen before returning to confront Melissa. Van goes in there with a plan: She’ll murder Melissa in exchange for her own life. If she sacrifices her former teammate, her cancer will be gone, she thinks.

But instead Van dies at the hand of Melissa, who, as predicted, is not as innocent or “normal” as we might otherwise think. Now, to be fair to Melissa, Van was planning to kill her, but when push came to shoving the kitchen knife into Melissa’s chest, Van couldn’t act. Instead, Melissa stabs Van. Clearly, Melissa, despite saying she has moved on, still believes in the Wilderness’s magic.

The conclusion to Van’s story line is messy, but so is “The Goonies” — one of those titles that might not be as good as you remember it. In many ways, that makes it the perfect reference for Teen Van, who is stuck in adolescence. It also fits with the general tone of this episode, which is all over the place, offering shocking twists that also seem strangely disappointing. (Just like “The Goonies.”)

All season long, the Adult Van and Tai plot has chugged along without much momentum. Now, in the 11th hour, Adult Van is gone and, frankly, it feels as if we hardly got to know her. Despite Lauren Ambrose’s talents, Van was never as compelling as a grown up as she was as a kid. Instead, she was just a tragic figure coloring Adult Tai’s journey. And now she’s dead, her main purpose being to release Tai from a demon.