WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Yellowjackets season 2, episode 9, "Storytelling."Lottie’s ominous last line in Yellowjackets season 2 supports a theory that the wilderness will cure Van’s cancer. Yellowjackets season 2’s ending features several shocking twists in the past and present, including teenage Natalie being named the Antler Queen by Lottie and adult Natalie dying after sacrificing herself during the survivors’ hunt. As the characters continue to face the consequences and blessings sent by the “wilderness” in both timelines, Yellowjackets’ season 2 finale suggests the adults’ dark return to their primal ways may yield more extreme rewards for the remaining survivors.
After confirming the survivals of Yellowjackets characters Shauna, Misty, Natalie, Taissa, Travis, and Lottie in season 1, the sophomore season surprisingly revealed that Van had also survived the team’s time in the wilderness. Van essentially going off the grid explained why she was absent from the survivors’ schemes in the first season, but she’s finally roped back into the chaos of Yellowjackets season 2 when Taissa sleepwalks to her shop – an act Lottie believes was influenced by the wilderness. Sadly, when the former couple meets again, Van reveals that she can't wait for Tai because she has terminal cancer. However, after the six survivors’ long-awaited reunion and Natalie’s sacrificial death in Yellowjackets’ season 2 finale, the wilderness may reward them with a miracle for Van.
Yellowjackets Theory: The Wildnerness Will Cure Van's Cancer After Natalie's Death
Yellowjackets season 2’s past timeline further established that when the characters please the wilderness with a sacrifice, the wilderness rewards them with something to sustain them. The adult survivors are no longer starving or in need of warmth in the woods, so one compelling Yellowjackets theory claims that in exchange for Natalie’s death, the wilderness will grant them another life-saving gift instead: Curing Van’s cancer. Lottie herself notes that Natalie’s death pleased the wilderness, which suggests that, in turn, it will save the life of the terminally ill survivor. Van’s cancer reveal was theorized to have a deeper connection to the girls’ time in the wilderness, which now appears to be true in regard to the wilderness miraculously curing her.
When the wilderness’s hunger for blood is fed, the Yellowjackets have their own hunger satiated, whether that means providing actual food, saving another character from imminent death, or curing cancer. Yellowjackets’ gifts from the wilderness after sacrifices are typically immediate, so it’s likely that Van’s cancer suddenly disappeared upon Natalie’s death. Considering none of the other adult Yellowjackets are revealed to be dying, Van is the most likely one to be saved by Natalie’s sacrifice. If the theory is correct, then Yellowjackets season 3’s return will quickly reveal that Van is in remission, perhaps even renewing her full devotion to the wilderness.
Lottie's "You'll See" Line In Yellowjackets Season 2 Explained
After Lottie is taken away by medical professionals, Van and Tai tell her that she’s going away for a while, but they’ll check on her. Lottie responds by saying that the wilderness is pleased with them, then the camera focuses on Van as Lottie directly tells her, “You’ll see.” The line is meant to indicate that Van will be the one reaping the benefits of their twisted sacrifice to the wilderness. Of course, Yellowjackets season 2 already set up how Van could be the one to receive a miracle from the wilderness through her terminal cancer diagnosis. Van is dying, but the wilderness is already satiated with Natalie’s sacrifice. In order to balance the scales, Lottie’s “You’ll see” line suggests the wilderness will save Van’s life in return.
Why Natalie's Sacrifice Could Save Another Survivor's Life
Yellowjackets season 2’s 1990s timeline has reiterated that the wilderness will present the survivors with a gift after a fatal sacrifice is made. When Jackie died in Yellowjackets’ season 1 finale, the wilderness piled snow on top of her burning body so that it would cook rather than turn to ashes. Shortly after Javi is revealed to be alive in Yellowjackets season 2, Crystal unexpectedly dies on a walk with Misty. In one of the show’s most tragic sequences yet, Yellowjackets season 2, episode 6 revealed that the death of Shauna’s baby led to the wilderness saving her life. Soon after, Natalie letting Javi die in Yellowjackets season 2, episode 8 led to the wilderness rewarding her with her life and the title of Antler Queen.
Yellowjackets’ season 2 finale confirms that numerous sacrifices have been made in order to keep Natalie alive, so it would make sense if her death also saved another survivor. After seeing so many people die to protect her own life, Natalie decided to sacrifice herself to save Lisa, ending the cycle of letting innocents pay for her survival. However, Lisa’s life being saved may have been due to Kevyn’s death at the hands of Misty’s boyfriend Walter. If two lives were taken in Yelllowjackets’ season 2 finale, then it would make sense that two were saved: The wilderness repays Kevyn and Natalie’s sacrifices with the lives of Lisa and Van or another survivor.