Samantha Hanratty is excited to find out if her character, Misty, kills Ben in Yellowjackets season 2. Yellowjackets is an original drama series that blends elements from both the thriller and horror genres. The series splits between two time periods, 1996 and 2021, and follows four members of a New Jersey high school soccer team, the WHS Yellowjackets, who survived a plane crash that leads to cannibalism. Created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, Yellowjackets season 1 is now fully available on Showtime for those interested in watching the Yellowjackets struggle with murder and survival in the past and present.
One of the four leads in Yellowjackets, Hanratty plays teenage Misty Quigley, the equipment manager for the Yellowjackets team. Misty first appears to be an outcast among the other team members, but her knowledge of first aid proves crucial after the plane crashes. In Yellowjackets episode 2, "F Sharp," Misty shows the first signs of a dangerous desire to be needed by others when she destroys the plane's flight recorder, ruining the survivors' chances of a quick rescue. Misty's desire to be needed leads her to repeatedly poison the Yellowjackets' assistant coach, Ben (Steven Kreuger), whom she has a crush on, in order to keep him dependent on her. Ben plays along with Misty out of fear, but later in the season, he reveals to Misty he is gay.
Now with Yellowjackets season 1 fully released, stars Melanie Lynskey, Samantha Hanratty, and Sophie Thatcher spoke to E! News about some of the best twists from Yellowjackets season 1 and what to expect in season 2. During the discussion, Hanratty reveals she is excited to see how Misty will react to Ben revealing he doesn't actually love her in season 2. Read Hanratty's comments below:
"It makes me so much more excited for season two because when Misty finds out, we can see on her face what she's thinking. We haven't really gotten to know how it's going to play out now that she knows he's been lying to her. But when she finds out, she's also tripping and she's a bit out of it as well. I'm very excited to see where things go once she's in a sound mind—if she ever can be..."
Naturally, now that Ben has revealed he hid being gay from Misty, the girl isn't likely to let go of her obsession so easily. The Yellowjackets season finale proves that Misty will go to any lengths to have what she wants when adult Misty (Cristina Ricci) drugs the private detective that Taissa (Tawny Cypress) had hired to investigate her former team members. Hanratty also rightly points out that Misty's judgments aren't from a sound mind. She's shown her willingness to transgress moral boundaries when she spies on her friends and retaliates against her patients.
While Misty is clearly vindictive, it would seem wasteful for Misty to kill Ben in Yellowjackets season 2, especially since the series is reported to have 5 seasons planned. Although the series has supernatural elements weaved throughout the season, Yellowjackets explores the power dynamics between teenagers and the effects those years have on their adult lives. Regardless of their extreme situation, Misty and Ben's relationship is bound to be critical to her development. Misty holds almost complete power over the relationship - except for Ben's sexuality. It would be interesting if instead of killing Ben in season 2, the showrunners spent more time exploring how Misty approaches something she has no hope of controlling. However Yellowjackets season 2 turns out, audiences will definitely share Hanratty's excitement.
Source: E! News