Yellowjackets

One thing that feels assured is Yellowjackets will continue to clear the high bar it sets for itself and be about way more than just “trauma”.

It’s blazing good television, with each episode leaving us wanting more of the madness.

Yellowjackets remains witty, self-aware television. The soundtrack is great, it dares to wander off into long, hallucinogenic dream-like sequences, and you’re never quite sure who is going to make it out alive (in the present day, at least). Even if they are winging it plot-wise, it’s hard to care too much, when it’s as enjoyable as this.

The six episodes provided for review indicate answers won't be coming any time soon, and the invigorating performances sell the idea that delaying isn't necessarily the worst choice. But that only holds as long as the plot's rope maintains its tension even as it tosses out additional length. In the short term "Yellowjackets" holds all the essential ingredients needed to brew a thriller worth investing in.

On the whole, far more of it continues to work than doesn’t.

There are still a lot of good performances, and more killer Nineties soundtrack cuts, but the show very much could use a shot in the arm leading to its own jaw-dropping equivalent of Jack telling Kate, “We have to go back!”

Yellowjackets looked promising thanks to the casting and concept, but the Showtime series feels like a disappointment in terms of shaping its twin-track plot into an equally compelling drama. The stars still merit a look, but the episodes made available don't provide much incentive for those watching the takeoff to stick around for the landing.

Hilarious, horrifying, amazing, beautiful television. Van is the best. More please.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Its influences are notorious, but it knows how to use the necessary twists to make it work, although it has a really, really hard time gaining traction. I found the first four episodes too long for how little the story managed to do in terms of mystery. The first episode gives you a pretty clear idea of what the hell happened in their time in the wilderness and that portion of the story is more interesting than the modern day plot, because it's not until the 10th episode that it becomes clear that something important will also happen in the present, but at that point it feels late, considering that I personally think the 10 episodes were excessive in terms of storyline. One of its strongest points is its cast. The one from both eras, although clearly the cast of the present day story with Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis Christina Ricci and Tawny Cypress have a lot much higher mileage. It's a good enough show, but I honestly believe it needs to make clear soon in season 2 where it's going, because at this point I'm just not interested in watching a new Lost, that will feed and feed the mystery only to ultimately deliver a mediocre payoff. But it is definitely worth a look.

Made it to episode3 beforei calledit quits. Do you want terrible characters who act so out of place that it annoys you? Do you want terrible writing? Do you want situations that wouldn't happen if it happened so it throws off the "thriller" aspect of the show? Ding ding ding! I'll take yellow jackets for a thousand alex. I'll give you an example, three days in the wilderness and the two most annoying characters in the teenage group convince the rest of the group to hike five miles instead of just using their brains and splitting up for a bit. What do you thinkhappens when they reach the lake? A. Long dramatic scene involvingthe characters confronting each other and the reality of the situation? B. Intense scene where they are so relieved they show the emotions one would when this situation would happen? C. The annoying red head screams, rips her cloths off and dives straight into cold water like its spring break at Pensacola Beach while a goofy alternative songthat's played 15 other times in the past two episodes plays yet again. Meanwhile a tall dark handsome guy runs and jumps in the water as the three girls staring go "wait.. wait.. is he ACTUALLY HOT!". As he stares and smiles. Btw, his dad died horrifically in the plane wreck three days prior and this is his mental state. This is the teens.. were not even onto the adults. Everybit of "thriller" or "mystery" this show has is **** out of the moment immediately with bits like this.

I actually started really enjoying it but somewhere in S1 it just lost me. It has all the ingredients for a great show but I started finding it took effort to watch. The timeline jumps are too jarring and just way too often. Too many sub-plots never go anywhere or get lost in the jumping. The most frustrating part is that youi can see how good it could have been.