Warning: Contains spoilers for Yellowjackets episode 1.
In the first episode of Yellowjackets the audience is introduced to many teen soccer players and it can be difficult to keep track of who the different characters are and whether they are alive or dead in the future. Yellowjackets is set to be a thriller full of intrigue where following the mystery is primarily the point of the show. However, the huge initial cast list and the time jumps across a span of 25 years can complicate things.
Yellowjackets opens in 1996, when a New Jersey high school soccer team discovers that they are going to the national championship in Seattle. After establishing the drama between the different teens, the Yellowjackets’ plane crashes in the wilderness and the survivors struggle to stay alive as they wait 19 months for rescue, forming cannibalistic tribes to do so. Yellowjackets concurrently shows the narratives of four of the survivors living in 2021 as their secrets are at risk of being revealed on the 25th anniversary of the tragic event.
While the full Yellowjackets team has 18 players, not all of them are named or given any lines in Yellowjackets episode 1. While this complicates keeping track of the whole team, even remembering which of the main players are which can be difficult. Here’s a full guide to each of the soccer players on the Yellowjackets including their personality, their role in the group. Also included are predictions as to whether or not they’re alive in 2021 – which is a somewhat complicated matter, as it is clear more than the central four are still alive based on the conversations in 2021, but none of the other adult actors have been announced.
Ella Purnell as Jackie
Jackie, played by Ella Purnell, is the team captain of the Yellowjackets. While she struggles at times, she works to keep the team in line and can be an assertive leader when the time comes to it. She is best friends with Shauna and dating Jeff Sadecki (Jack DePew). She has not been shown to be alive in 2021 and the opening scene shows someone wearing her necklace being killed by the tribe. While she gives this necklace to Shauna in Yellowjackets episode 1, it is likely that it is returned to Jackie at some point given that Shauna is still alive in 2021.
Sophie Nélisse as Shauna
Shauna, played by Sophie Nélisse in 1996, is Jackie’s best friend and they have plans to room together at college. Even before the plane crash, several things stood in the way of that. Shortly before leaving to get on the plane, Shauna is seen reading an acceptance letter to a different university (Brown), and she has had multiple secret hookups where she has slept with Jackie’s boyfriend, Jeff. As they wait for takeoff, Jackie gives Shauna her heart-shaped necklace as a good luck charm and some valium to help her sleep. Shauna is still alive in 2021 and is played by Melanie Lynskey, she is now married to Jeff (played by Warren Kole in 2021).
Jasmin Savoy Brown as Taissa
Taissa is played by Jasmin Savoy Brown in 1996. Taissa is a natural leader and goes behind Jackie’s back as team captain to rally the team around her own ideas. Having decided that Allie, the freshman on the team, is a weak link in their team, she asks the rest of the team to freeze her out and not give her the ball. When the team refuses, she plays aggressively around Allie, claiming she is forcing her to shape up, but ultimately tackles her and breaks her leg, though she denies that it is intentional. Taissa is one of the Yellowjackets who survives the wilderness and in 2021 (played by Tawny Cypress) is expressing her leadership in new ways as she runs for New Jersey state senate.
Sophie Thatcher as Natalie
Sophie Thatcher plays the 1996 iteration of Natalie. She’s referred to as a burnout by some but is an active part of the Yellowjackets lineup and refuses to participate in Taissa’s plan to freeze out Allie saying that they should play as a team to win instead. She is seen using both alcohol and drugs recreationally, including taking LSD at the party in the woods. This is possibly a form of coping mechanism for her home life as she is shown to be living in a trailer and her parents are not shown during Yellowjackets episode 1. Natalie is still alive in the future (played by Juliette Lewis) and is seen leaving rehab before heading back to New Jersey to catch up with Misty.
Samantha Hanratty as Misty
Misty, played by Samantha Hanratty, is the Yellowjacket equipment manager. She is especially eager in her role and seems starstruck by the rest of the team, chanting for the team mascot so enthusiastically that even the coach and assistant coach give her some side-eye. As the equipment manager, she is both a part of the team that goes on the plane, but also an outsider to the main group who appears to not be invited to the party in the woods. She also demonstrates some sociopathic tendencies as she is shown standing and watching a helpless animal drown in her pool. She is revealed to be the leader of the cannibal tribe in the wilderness and survives the events of 1996 to be represented in 2021 by Christina Ricci as she works in a nursing home and continues to display elements of cruelty.
Pearl Amanda Dickson as Allie
Pearl Amanda Dickson plays Allie. She is the youngest member of the team and is looked down on by the others. She is whiny and entitled, disappointed to be missing out on her invitation to prom because the Yellowjackets are going to the national competition, and doesn’t seem to consider the feelings of others as she makes a snarky remark to Van and doesn’t appear to realize it was out of line. Because Taissa breaks her leg, she misses out on the trip and ultimately survives. She is shown alive in 2021 (played by Tonya Cornelisse) and reflects on how she narrowly avoided being part of the plane crash.
Liv Hewson as Vanessa
Liv Hewson plays Vanessa, commonly referred to as Van. Van is the Yellowjacket’s goalie and is fun-loving and quick to joke. They make jokes about Lottie’s father when the team boards the private jet and at the party they attempt to diffuse the fight between Shauna and Taissa before Jackie steps in. Even when Jackie calls the Yellowjackets away for a talk, they take a moment to get some extra beer from the keg. Van is shown having to wake their mother from a stupor on the couch to get a ride to the plane and seems to have very little in the way of parental boundaries. While they survive the plane crash, it is unclear whether Van might be one of the team members who is still alive in the future as there has been no evidence either way.
Courtney Eaton as Lottie
Lottie is played by Courtney Eaton. Lottie is relatively conflict-averse, not wanting to weigh in on the plan to freeze out Allie and just watching from the sidelines when Shauna and Taissa start fighting at the party. Lottie is shown being given Loxipene by a maid. Loxipene is an antipsychotic used in the treatment of schizophrenia, which is likely to become relevant later in the series. Her father is referenced as being fairly absent and parenting with his vast quantity of money, as presented by his decision to hire a private jet for the Yellowjackets. Like Van, she survives the plane crash, but it is unclear if she is still alive in 2021.
Jane Widdop as Laura Lee
Laura Lee is played by Jane Widdop. Laura Lee is defined in the show by her faith. She insists on a group prayer before the practice game, when complimenting the other team members she references only that they are “beautiful in the eyes of our Lord” and is seen praying at home alone before going to get on the plane. Her faith might be shaken by the plane crash, but could equally lead to her assuming that they will be protected by god in the long run. In Yellowjackets episode 1 it is not clear if she is alive in 2021.
Keeya King as Akilah
Akilah, played by Keeya King is only present in a few scenes before the plane crash. The other Yellowjackets and Ben Scott, the assistant coach, refer to her as JV, meaning Junior Varsity, suggesting a recent promotion to the Varsity team. When she sits down on the plan, Mari teases her that as a “new blood” and Akilah seems uncomfortable and unsure what to do until Mari assures her that she’s joking. There is no evidence to suggest whether or not Akila makes it out of the wilderness alive.
Alexa Barajas as Mari
Alexa Barajas plays Mari. Like Akilah, she is mostly only seen in the background until the final scene on the plane. She is a bit of a prankster, messing with Akilah, but ultimately a nice person and offers Akilah snacks afterward. Again, it is unclear whether she is alive or dead in 2021.
Other Yellowjackets
Mya Lowe and Princess Davis both play Yellowjackets in the plane crash but only appear in the background of shots and don’t have any speaking lines. Nothing is known about their personalities or whether they are alive in 2021, but they fact that they are simply credited as Yellowjacket #1 and Yellowjacket #2 does not seem promising for their fate in the plane crash at the end of Yellowjackets episode 1.
Yellowjackets releases new episodes Sundays on Showtime.