Juliette Lewis Gives Yellowjackets the Tragic Jesse Pinkman Figure It Needs

Nat’s life is a whirlwind of dependence in the present. In the teen timeline, others look to her for resilience and guidance through the darkness. In the present, she’s lost in the face of light. She should be able to stand with pride in what she’s overcome and look to a future free of atrocities and inhumanity. Because she’s an outcast in the truest sense of the word, her ability to take in a new sense of self is blocked. 

Jesse and Christopher are exactly like this in their respective shows. Jesse’s vocational skills and positive traits are always easily manipulated. For much of the series, his purpose lies in Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) egotistical hands. In a detour during season 4, he switches allegiance to Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). It’s two different sides of the same meth lab, though. Both men exploit Jesse’s follower nature and his overreliance on others to expunge his value, leaving nothing left for himself. Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) does the same thing with Chris. When he has the chance to follow his girlfriend, Adrianna (Drea de Matteo) into hiding and away from a life of crime, Chris turns her in and has her whacked in hopes that the mob will supply his purpose. 

We see with all three characters that they have so much more to give the world if they could just believe in themselves. Unnerving addiction (to both drugs and toxic people) spoils the morality and potential of Jesse, Chrissy, and Nat. They don’t deserve our sympathy, but all three actors portray the tragedy and the trauma with an authenticity that envelops us in their corner. We can also relate to them because they represent the potential downfall of us all if placed in mirror situations. 

Lewis is no stranger to complexity. Her career careened onto movie screens in the 1990s when she appeared in some of the decade’s biggest hits. Cape Fear, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, and Natural Born Killers all forced Lewis to battle with fear and self-respect. Natalie is yet another character in a long line of Lewis linchpins that propel her movies and shows into something unique and special. Allowing her the creative freedom of a series gives Lewis the time it takes to craft arguably her best performance yet. 

SPOILER ALERT: The rest of this article contains spoilers for Yellowjackets season 2.

In a move that felt rushed and rash, perhaps in an attempt to give the series a shock death on par with something in Game of Thrones and keep fans on their toes during the offseason, Natalie’s journey ends in the second season finale. She sacrifices herself and dies from a poison meant for someone else, but all her obituary will state is that her cause of death was drugs. She never gets to see her story as fleshed out as Jesse’s and Chrissy’s, but perhaps there was nothing left to tell. Nat’s demise is caused by yet again serving others and ignoring her value. Whether this can be quantified as redemption is really up to the viewer. 

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