Christina Ricci says that binge-watching Mindhunter was key in developing her Yellowjackets character Misty. The Showtime series follows the Yellowjackets, an elite high school soccer team whose plane crashes on the way to a tournament in 1996. Yellowjackets unfolds in two timelines. One traces the team’s survival efforts in the northern wilderness, while a second timeline in the present day focuses on the adult survivors and their unresolved trauma. The horror mystery series received rave reviews upon its premiere in November and has since become a hotbed for Reddit fan theories.
Yellowjackets stars an ensemble cast of actors and their young, uncanny counterparts, including Melanie Lynskey and Sophie Nélisse as Shauna, Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy Brown as Taissa, Juliette Lewis and Sophie Thatcher as Natalie, and Christina Ricci and Samantha Hanratty as Misty. Ricci has received acclaim for her performance as perennial outsider Misty Quigley, the Yellowjackets equipment manager-turned-nurse whose appetite for self-worth by way of manipulation follows her into adulthood.
In an interview with W, Christina Ricci reveals the influences behind her portrayal of Misty, citing Mindhunter as a specific example. As shooting began, the actress says, “I was watching a lot of Mindhunter.” She found inspiration in Ed Kemper, the real-life serial killer played by Cameron Britton in the psychological thriller series. Part of Kemper’s terror, says Ricci, comes from his desire “to be liked and needed,” a characteristic that Misty shows in spades. Check out Ricci’s full quote below:
“When we first got up there to shoot the season, I was watching a lot of Mindhunter. There’s one serial killer, [Ed Kemper], who is so terrifying because he tries to be so normal, safe, and childlike. At the same time, this character really wants to be liked and needed. [Mindhunter] was free of all camp and was also scary, but in a completely non-obvious way. Another reference was Kathy Bates from Misery, along with that Netflix documentary about the [Rajneeshee] cult, Wild Wild Country.”
Mindhunter tracks the beginning of criminal profiling in the FBI with the founding of the Behavioral Science Unit. The series features a number of real-life killers, including Montie Rissell, Wayne Williams, and Son of Sam, but it’s Ed Kemper’s attempt to be normal and needed that Misty embodies. Her attempts to feel included and relied upon manifest in unhinged ways. When her peers mention that they wouldn’t be able to survive in the woods without Misty’s medical prowess and survival skills, she destroys the flight recorder to prolong her power trip.
Ricci also cites Kathy Bates’ performance in Misery as a reference for Misty. Indeed, Misty exhibits many Annie Wilkes tendencies throughout the series, whether it’s young Misty amputating and attending to Coach Ben or the adult Misty holding a reporter hostage in her basement. Her role as a twisted caretaker makes Misty’s career choice all the more apt. Still, despite–or perhaps because of–her deranged behavior, Misty often proves indispensable to the other surviving Yellowjackets. In the Yellowjackets season finale, Misty is poised to take charge of the gang and help dispose of a dead body. Misty may not be a serial killer, but Ricci’s performance in Yellowjackets shows the full spectrum of a needy survivalist with a flair for violence.
Source: W