WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Yellowjackets season 1!
One of the biggest mysteries from Yellowjackets season 1 is what happened to Shauna’s baby in the past timeline - here’s every theory about Jeff and Shauna’s first child. While hinted at in the very first episode of Yellowjackets when Shauna and Jeff sleep together behind Jackie’s back, 1996-timeline Shauna quickly finds out in the wilderness that she’s pregnant with his baby. Jeff (Warren Kole) and Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) are married in 2021 with a 16-year-old daughter named Callie, but she wasn’t born until 2004. Since Jeff and Shauna’s first child would have been born in 1997, the question still remains of what happened to her baby from the wilderness timeline.
Alongside speculation about who killed Travis, how Lottie has been running the cult in the present, and why Taissa eats dirt, Yellowjackets viewers have widely theorized the circumstances around Shauna’s baby. From the baby dying prematurely to secretly being alive in the modern timeline, fans of Yellowjackets have plenty of ideas about how the unborn child’s story will progress. Since Shauna’s baby has yet to be mentioned by Jeff and Shauna in 2021, the clues about what happened are scarce, with only a few sinister comments and the fact that the couple got married extremely young giving hints to its fate.
While what happens to Shauna’s baby is a significant mystery for Yellowjackets viewers, the child’s storyline is still being mapped out by the creators. After quickly debunking the theory that Adam was secretly Shauna’s baby, Yellowjackets showrunners Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson explained (via THR) that they’ve seen plenty of theories about what happens to the baby, and the answer will come soon. Since teen Shauna is about 4-5 months pregnant in Yellowjackets’ season 1 finale, it seems that at least some theories will either be proven correct or debunked by the end of season 2. As the anticipation for Showtime’s next season grows, here’s a breakdown of the theories on Shauna and Jeff’s Yellowjackets wilderness baby.
Lottie Tries To Sacrifice Shauna’s Baby
One of the most common - but fairly dark - theories is that Lottie, who was revealed to still be alive in Yellowjackets’ season 1 finale, will try to sacrifice Shauna’s baby to the force in the wilderness. Lottie, whether real or perceived, has had a strange, supernatural connection to the forest, which was made more powerful after she ran out of her Loxipene medication, which may be a fictional version of the real-life treatment for schizophrenia. As the leader of the Yellowjackets characters worshipping the symbol, forest, and its supernatural forces, Lottie has also had strange revelations about the characters. During the seance, Lottie says that the spirit wants what’s “inside” of Shauna, which viewers know to be her then-secret unborn child. Some have theorized that “inside” refers to Shauna’s trauma rather than the baby, but others believe that Yellowjackets is hinting at Lottie needing to give Shauna’s baby over to the forest.
The Baby Will Meet A Cannibalistic End
When it was first revealed that Shauna was pregnant, the first and most popular theory that Yellowjackets viewers ran with was that the girls would become so desperate for food that they need to eat Shauna’s baby. It’s already been confirmed that the Yellowjackets team eventually resorts to cannibalism in the wilderness, but eating a baby is a much darker path for the series to take. Shauna has already had a dream in which she gives birth to a rotisserie chicken, proving just how hungry these girls are. While malnutrition will continue to plague the girls in Yellowjackets season 2, it seems highly unlikely that the show would depict the girls eating Shauna’s baby. Further questioning the plausibility of this theory, Yellowjackets creator Ashley Lyle has mentioned that - alongside how eating a baby is extremely disturbing - an infant wouldn’t be a good source of nutrients, which suggests this won’t be what happens to the baby. It’s not outside of the realm of possibility, but seeing the teen Yellowjackets characters eat the baby doesn’t seem likely.
Shauna Sacrifices The Baby For Their Rescue
Even darker than the idea of Lottie sacrificing the baby, it’s been theorized that Shauna will come to the decision to sacrifice her own child to the forest. While it seems that Shauna doesn’t believe in the supernatural powers of the forest in the same way that Lottie does, this is also what Taissa said, and Yellowjackets’ season 1 finale revealed an altar in her basement with the symbol. It’s unclear how the girls are able to escape the forest after 19 months, especially since every attempt has seemingly been thwarted by the wilderness itself. Similar to Lost, Yellowjackets' forest seemingly doesn’t want them to leave. If the cult that Lottie now apparently leads is working from the forest while the girls are there, it may be that the baby will have to be sacrificed as a new “messiah.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that the baby will be killed in the sacrifice, but it may have to be handed over to the cult in order to allow the girls’ freedom.
Lottie’s quote in Yellowjackets about the spirit wanting what’s “inside” of Shauna supports this theory, but it’s also undermined by the idea that Jeff has read all of Shauna’s diaries. Had Jeff read that Shauna sacrificed their child to the cult, he reasonably would have been extremely angry and likely would not have stayed silent about his knowledge. On the other hand, it’s possible that Yellowjackets' teenage Shauna chose not to write about this particular event in her diaries out of guilt, or she may have later ripped out those pages.
Shauna Has A Miscarriage In The Wilderness
Outside of the darker sacrificial or big twist theories, many believe that Shauna’s baby won’t make it out of the wilderness due to natural reasons. It’s been theorized that Shauna loses the baby in a miscarriage due to malnutrition and stress, or that the baby is stillborn. If the baby lives past birth, Yellowjackets may also have it die from its own malnutrition, as it would require plenty more food and water for both mother and child than are available in their situation. If Shauna and Jeff’s baby dies naturally, this would better support why the two married so young and why the baby is never referenced in Yellowjackets’ 2021 timeline.
Shauna Gives The Baby To A Dead Yellowjacket’s Family
The news that Shauna had a baby in the wilderness would be major news upon the Yellowjackets’ return to civilization, so many are skeptical that - if the baby did survive - it would be raised by Jeff and Shauna. Rather, Yellowjackets fans have theorized that Shauna and Jeff make the decision to secretly give their baby to the family of one of the girls who died out in the wilderness. Shauna and Jeff were only about 19 when the girls arrived back home, so they may not have been ready to raise the baby. As retribution for possibly eating their child, Shauna might have given the child to a family who had the means to raise it. While it would make more sense for Shauna and Jeff to raise the baby together and get married quickly after she returns, it’s still possible that they gave the baby away because they were so young.
Shauna’s Baby Will Be Raised In The Cult
One of the most exciting Yellowjackets theories that hinges on the idea that the baby stays in the wilderness and is sacrificed by Lottie or Shauna is that the child is raised by the cult. Some believe that Lottie will try to take Shauna’s baby away from her once it’s born, thus causing the girls to split into factions. While it’s revealed that Lottie is alive in Yellowjackets’ current timeline, it’s possible that she stayed in the wilderness after the rest of the girls escaped - perhaps even keeping Shauna’s baby with her. Lottie is still heavily involved with Yellowjackets’ taboo cult today, and it would be an interesting twist to see that Shauna and Jeff’s baby is helping run the cult, maybe even as its “messiah.”
However, if this were true, Shauna and Jeff likely would have spent a lot of time searching for both Lottie and the baby, and would speak more about the child possibly being alive. Shauna and Jeff’s baby still being alive and the leader of the cult would be a major twist that pins Melanie Lynskey’s Shauna against her own child, with some theorizing the baby could grow up to kill Jeff, just as teenage Shauna had threatened him in Yellowjackets episode 1. Others have noticed clues that Shauna may name the baby Jackie when it’s born, which possibly stems from how Callie mentions that she never talks about Jackie anymore. While this most likely references Yellowjackets’ teenage Jackie, it could also be referring to their first child. Since Jackie died at the end of Yellowjackets season 1 after she and Shauna had their biggest fight, it would be an interesting continuation of their animosity if Shauna’s most significant foe in future seasons turned out to be her daughter named Jackie. Many more questions bout the cult will be answered in Yellowjackets season 2, so time will tell if Shauna’s baby is integral to its future.