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rickyriddle · 13 days ago

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In defense of Gen

Well, since I am finally done with the genlissa analysis, as promised, here I am defending Gen of the various “crimes” she has been accused of by the fandom. Or you might be blissfully unaware of the amount of vitriol this character received, and are actually confused about why I am making this post in the first place. You might not remember this character enough to think she’d have any haters… and yet. For those of you unaware, the way some people talk about Gen would let you believe that she’s this unredeemable, awful person who has done horrible and unforgivable actions, but is this really true? Let’s find out.

Let’s start with the main event that actually started the Gen hate wagon among certain fans, the scene where she pushed Nat. Yes, that wasn’t really nice of her, especially considering Nat taught her how to hunt. But there is a larger context here. First, almost everyone was upset at Nat, and almost all of them were about to gang up on her. It doesn’t excuse Gen shoving her to the ground, but it wasn’t as if this happened unprompted. Secondly, Gen didn’t do it because she had something against Nat. She did it because she wanted Melissa’s approval. Now, that might not sound like a reasonable excuse, and that’s because the context was cut. According to Gen’s actress (Vanessa Prasad), Gen started acting out in this episode because she was missing Melissa ever since she started dating Shauna. She was desperate to get her friend back. So pushing Nat was a desperate attempt to get Melissa’s attention. This was what was in the script: Gen pushing Nat, then looking at Melissa (and Shauna by extension) for their approval, only for both of them to completely ignore her, leaving Gen to regret her actions immediately. This context got cut, but even without it, given Gen pushed Nat right after Melissa told her to “shut the fuck up” (and repeating her words), it’s pretty obvious she did it because of Melissa.

You might say “who cares about her reasons, it’s still wrong!” and I wouldn’t necessarily disagree. But, I’ll ask you this: do you really think this single moment defines Gen’s entire character? Does doing one arguably bad thing mean you are a bad person as a whole and should only be judged over that one action? Does acting this way constitute a pattern for Gen? Does she usually behave that way? I’d say the answer is no. Especially in a show like Yellowjackets where the characters commit far worse offenses, I’d say it’s a bit silly to get worked up over one pushing, and I think only judging Gen’s whole character over that single action is mischaracterizing her. Let’s take the time to examine other actions Gen did in season 3.

When Mari went missing in ep2 and 3, Gen was worried about her, asking Nat and Misty as soon as she saw them coming back to camp about Mari. Then she was visibly relieved once Mari came back. We know her and Mari are close friends, so it makes sense she’d be worried about her, like a good friend would.

Then, during the trial, Gen was intimidated into voting guilty by Melissa and Shauna. It was clear she did not want to and was uncomfortable with the situation. She even gave an apologetic look to Nat because she knew how much Nat tried to protect Ben. But Melissa was her friend and Shauna was scaring her. Once Ben got a guilty verdict, Gen looked almost ashamed of herself and immediately left.

One scene people like to bring up whenever they want to hate on Gen is how she treated Ben in episode 5. Before she put the bag on his head when he asked to be looked in the eyes, she told him “you don’t deserve this”. But again, that is ignoring the larger context. First, Gen was asked to put the bag, that was her role, which she had no choice in. If she refused she would have been in trouble. As for the mean comment, it’s clear she didn’t enjoy having to do that, we saw her expression afterward. She does not look happy, she looks quite distressed actually. And when Ben’s execution is cancelled, she does look relieved. Gen didn’t even want to vote guilty in the first place, she did not want Ben to die.

Then in episode 6, there wasn’t just the pushing that people took offence with. Gen is seen bumping into Nat at the beginning of the episode. Once again, there was a context that was cut. According to Vanessa Prasad, Gen bumped into Nat because she was distracted by something Shauna and Melissa were doing in the background. As mentioned earlier, Gen felt worried and jealous of Melissa and Shauna’s relationship, so that’d make sense for her to be distracted if she saw them doing something. And even if that context got cut, if you rewatch the scene (check out my analysis of that scene), you can see Gen doesn’t seem to be looking where Nat is. It’s hard to tell from the angle, but it looks like she might have been looking to her left. Later in the same scene, Gen is seen looking in the same direction before leaving, and I’m pretty sure it was where Shauna and Melissa’s hut is. We do see these two exiting the hut right after, so it’s possible Gen was watching something they were doing in their hut, and that’s why she was distracted and bumped into Nat.

But if you choose to believe the context doesn’t matter because it was cut, therefore not canon, then sure. Let’s say Gen purposefully bumped into Nat and was just being rude. So what? My point for when she pushed her would still apply, does Gen purposefully bumping into Nat define her character as a whole? Is it something she often does and characterizes who she is? No. That could be seen as an isolated incident where Gen was maybe in a bad mood and decided to bump into Nat. I’d still argue it’s not a recurring pattern with her, so that wouldn’t define her whole character.

Moving to episode 7, I'd say this is the episode that showed us the best what kind of person Gen truly is. When Melissa got injured, Gen stayed behind to take care of her from her own volition. She stayed all night with Melissa and is ultimately the one who managed to get the arrow out. Even if she felt abandoned by Mel, Gen did not abandon her when she needed her the most. And this kind of dedication to those she cares about is something we saw in other episodes, so this is actually something that does characterize her character.

In episode 8, there is a short scene where Gen expresses concern towards Melissa’s condition, asking her to stay behind while they go on a search party for Kodiak, while Melissa still insists on going. So once again, Gen’s concern and care for her friend are shown in yet another episode.

Moving to episode 9, Gen is on Team Rescue, she is very much standing with Nat and was even included in her plan to try freeing Kodi and Hannah. It shows both that Gen was no on Shauna’s side, and that Nat still trust Gen. If Nat could move on from Gen pushing her that one time, I can’t see why some Gen haters still can’t move on. It wasn’t a big deal and Nat didn’t hold it against her. Melissa, however, at first, is on Team Crazy. This time around, Gen didn’t side with her, as she probably learned from her mistakes. She will stick with Nat and what she knows is good instead of trying to gain the approval of Melissa and Shauna. I assume Melissa siding with Shauna at first hurt Gen, until Shauna nearly shot her. We do see Gen in the background in this scene, looking horrified that her friend might have been shot. Gen then felt bad for Melissa and decided to forgive her. Because she’s her friend and she cares about her, and she has sympathy for what she went through.

Finishing with episode 10, Gen was shown to care deeply about Mari when she pulled the Queen of Hearts. Gen, with Akilah, Melissa and Mari, was part of a scheme to assassinate Shauna during the hunt. She put herself at risk, especially by being the one trying to isolate Shauna from Taissa. Then once she got caught by Taissa for lying about Van, Gen explained that Mari is her friend and she wanted to give her a fair chance. Which I do believe to be true, even if luring Shauna into a trap was the plan, Gen also wanted to help Mari. She took great risks to try to get rid of someone she viewed as a threat to the group, as well as someone who hurt her closest friend. And we see she is completely distraught once she found out Mari is dead, and even more when she has to eat her.

I think it’s unfair to judge her entire character for two scenes that happen in the same episode (1 episode out of 10, mind you) and are not representative of who Gen is as a whole. Throughout season 3, most of Gen’s moments we see her deeply care about her friends, she’s concerned about their safety, and even when some of them *cough* Melissa *cough* weren’t so nice to her, she was still there for them when it truly mattered. She made mistakes and took bad decisions like any other character, but overall, there is no pattern of Gen being particularly mean to others, but there is one for her being a devoted friend. So I think if you want to have an opinion on Gen, you shouldn’t just focus on one or two scenes, but look at all of them before making up your opinion.

But I have a feeling that for most people who hated Gen, those scenes showing her in a positive light didn’t matter. They already made up her mind about her, and a lot of those scenes showed her being a good friend to Melissa. And that what I truly believe is the crux of the Gen hate train, her relationship to Melissa. Who cares if she’s a good friend if the person she is a good friend to is a character they also hate? I think a lot of the hatred towards Gen is motivated by an already existing hatred towards Melissa. Gen is essentially collateral damage in their Melissa hatred. I don’t think most Gen haters even paid attention to Gen until they could include her in their Melissa hatred. They didn’t treat her as her own character, just as an extension of a character they already hated. When episode 7dropped and both Melissa and Gen were mentioned to be dead, these people equally cheered for both their supposed deaths (then cried when ep8 dropped and Melissa was revealed to be alive, even though it was obvious to anyone with minimum media literacy).

In conclusion, I think Gen is over-hated by a specific group of people who happen to really hate Melissa, they don’t engage with her character other than what is convenient to them and ignore anything positive about her. Part of me really wishes that the context for why she bumped/pushed Nat wasn't cut, because perhaps her character wouldn't have suffered that amount of unwarranted hatred. And it’s a shame because this was never really about Gen, just about how they hated another character who happens to be friends with Gen. I think Vanessa Prasad did a great job with what she was given, and I hope her role gets expanded in season 4. I think she has a lot of potential for the story, and hopefully, more people get to appreciate her character once she’s given more spotlight.

#yellowjackets #gen yellowjackets #gen nolastname #natalie scatorccio #melissa hat #genlissa #analysis

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rickyriddle · 1 month ago

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Genlissa Analysis

Hey there! I actually meant to write this analysis earlier, but I got sidetracked by the shaunahat analysis that ended up being… longer than expected. Anyway, I recently went through s1 and s2 specifically to spot these two in the background so I could write this analysis after seeing some of Vanessa Prasad's interviews that I found particularly enlightening regarding both Gen as a character and the genlissa dynamic. I was relatively indifferent to both until I watched those interviews, then went back to rewatch the show with a new perspective in mind. And I sure have a lot to say and a lot of feelings about them, so bear with me.

In this analysis, I'll explore both Gen and Melissa as characters individually and how that affected their relationship and what I believe drove them to form the bond they share in the show. I will be using both elements from the show as well as information mentioned by the actresses. A lot of this analysis will be speculation and theories, given we don't actually know much about these two, but I will substantiate my claims when possible. I would also like to remind that what the actors say isn’t necessarily canon, but I think in this case, it can inform us about how the characters were portrayed and on how it can convey a lot of them and their relationship. None of what I'll be saying in this analysis should be taken as canon as I'm only speculating with the information we have been shown and given.

But before you read, if you are interested, here are a few interviews I'd recommend, as I'll be using information mentioned in these. I'll be linking specific clips throughout this analysis whenever I quote something Vanessa or Jenna say.

Jenna Burgess's interview with Kaitlyn

Vanessa's interviews with Kaitlyn, scifivision and YJ Hive

(If you'd prefer, the analysis is also on AO3!)

With that out of the way, let’s get started.

Introduction

First, I’ll have to start with a specific “headcanon” given it’s going to do a lot of heavy lifting for this analysis. I’m putting it in quotation marks because I do think there is canon evidence that I’ll go through later. But essentially, Jenna Burgess and Mya Lowe decided to play Melissa and Gen’s relationship in season 2 as if they only became friends after the crash. This is something Vanessa mentioned in a few interviews, and something that she and Jenna carried on in season 3. As I said earlier, the words on the actresses don’t guarantee that it’s canon, but it still influenced their acting choices while portraying those characters and their dynamics together. And I do believe there is evidence in the show itself for this claim. I know them being childhood friends or at least best friends pre-crash are popular headcanons, and season 4 might decide to go that route. But for this analysis, I’ll go with the actresses interpretation. I just wanted to get that out of the way, this analysis will be on the premise that they became friends after the crash. This is also mostly an analysis of their friendship, with the potential of being either platonic or romantic. More on that later.

So let’s start from the beginning. Who are Gen and Melissa? They are both mentioned to be part of the JV team by various cast members. Liv Hewson did mention Melissa being a JV too. It is very likely for Melissa to be a JV, while Gen was shown as being part of Varsity in season 1. Her being JV might be a retcon, an oversight, or a misunderstanding from the cast. Either way, this analysis works better if Gen is part of JV, so I’ll continue on the premise that both her and Melissa are JV.

Season 1 retrospective

Let’s go back to season 1. Mya Lowe is playing an unnamed extra, who is later given the name Gen in season 2. She is the only extra who remained on the show after season 1. Melissa is technically in season 1, or rather, an extra who is later recast with Jenna Burgess and named Melissa. When I went through season 1 to check what the extras were doing in the background, I paid extra attention to these two. At no point are they shown hanging together. There is nothing indicating that they were friends, or particularly close. We do see them on the screen together, but always hanging out with different people. So I understand why Jenna and Mya would have decided to play their characters as if they became friends after the crash, since it would be more consistent with season 1. If they were close friends pre-crash, you’d expect them to be hanging out in season 1, but it wasn’t the case. So for the sake of consistency, I understand their decision, and I think it works better that way given how their relationship develops in season 3. But that’s for much later, let’s stick to season 1 for now.

For most of season 1, Gen is seen hanging out with the main group. She never talks since she is an extra, but she is still often seen sitting with them. She is seen on occasion close to Mari and sometimes Lottie, and even Akilah, who are part of the supporting cast.

As for the fellow background characters, Gen is often seen with who people assume are meant to be the extras Britt and Robin replace in season 3. It’s unclear if these two are Varsity or JV, but most fans like to assume they are JV. She is seen going to Doomcoming with those two extras, and later Akilah is seen hanging out with them too.

I did say we never saw Gen and the proto-Melissa hanging out together, but they still share a connection. They are teammates and seem to have friends in common. For example, proto-Melissa is also seen hanging out with the same extras Gen is friends with (proto-Britt and Robin). She is also often seen hanging out with the short-haired girl, who also seems friends with Gen. And the redhead girl on some occasions.

The only indicator that Gen and Melissa might have been friends pre-crash is the team picture. If we accept that the blond girl in it is meant to be Melissa (it seems to be the same actress as proto-Melissa), then it does appear like she and Gen are close. Now, I could easily dismiss this picture as just existing for the sake of being a prop and should not be taken as proof, but that’s not how I like to do things. So I'll address it. I have taken many pictures in groups, for school, team sports, or at work. Who you are standing next to in those pictures does not mean you are actually close to them. And it's not unusual to lean against the person next to you, especially in a sports team. If anything, it can show these two are relatively on good terms without being close friends. And I'd argue that the fact they are never seen actually hanging out is far more indicative than a single picture.

From what I can gather from season 1, Gen seemed to have been a relatively popular girl. She has many friends and gets to hang out with the Varsity team, despite potentially being a JV. It seems she might have been friends with Lottie, given that Lottie kept a picture of them together by her bedside, even as an adult. So I'm confident that Gen wasn’t an outcast or a loner. However, there seems to be a shift in season 2, but that’s something for later.

Regarding Melissa in season 1, we mostly saw her hang out with the short-haired girl. This character was never seen after season 1, so she either died off screen, her existence was retcon, or she'll mysteriously be brought back in season 4 and act as if she was always there. But for the sake of this analysis, let's say it's either one of those two options. It means Melissa doesn’t really have friends. She's more of a loner and someone who keeps to herself, something her actress also agrees with. There are clues of this in season 2 where she only seems close to Gen, and in season 3 when Shauna tells her no one cared about her.

So, we have a relatively popular girl and someone who's more of a loner. And they weren’t shown to be friends in season 1 as far as we know. So what could have led these two to become the duo they were in season 2, as well as the close friends we came to know? This is something I’d like to theorize about before moving to the actual content we saw of them. So let’s discuss what could have potentially happened between them between seasons 1 and 2, when they seemingly become close friends.

How did Melissa and Gen become friends?

I think Jackie’s death is actually the trigger that sparked their relationship. We didn’t see the direct aftermath of Jackie’s death and the impact on the group given there was a two month timeskip, but this was definitely a very traumatic event for everyone, not only because she was their friend but because they are all indirectly responsible for her demise. And I think Jackie’s death was a wake up call for Gen specifically. As I said earlier, Gen was hanging out with the more popular crowd, and might have decided to stick with them in season 1 because it felt safer. She felt more protected if she stayed with them. The concept of popularity was still something she might have valued, a part of society she couldn’t let go of yet. But after Jackie, arguably the person who was the most popular (at least, pre-crash) ended up dying after being essentially cast aside by the group, Gen could have realized that popularity is meaningless in the wilderness. It didn’t protect Jackie of all people, so it certainly won’t protect her. And one of the reasons why they turned their back on Jackie is because they didn’t think she contributed enough to the group.

I think Gen was really affected by this, because she also felt like she wasn’t contributing much to the group. If someone like Jackie could be abandoned by her supposedly closest friends over that, then Gen wasn’t safe. She couldn’t guarantee that even her friends wouldn’t turn her back on her if the rest of the group decided she was also useless. Gen needed someone she could actually rely on. Someone she’d be an equal with, who wasn’t part of the popular group, and could have her back if she needed. And that person couldn’t be Mari or Akilah, even if she was still friends with them, given they are still among the main group. And this is how Melissa fits in all this.

Melissa at that point in the story doesn’t really have any friends. She’s a fellow JV who also potentially didn’t contribute much to the group. Someone who isn’t hanging out with the popular people. She’s an outsider, who could equally benefit from having a friend who she can rely on. After all, neither of them would want to be the next Jackie. They can have each other's back, and share tasks, so they are more efficient and less likely to be cast out. And if one of them ends up in a similar situation as Jackie, the other can be there to support them. Pre-crash Gen might not have considered befriending someone like Melissa if she was more of a loner, because she’d value popularity, but in the wilderness, her values changed, and perhaps she discovered that she had more in common with Melissa than she would have ever thought.

As for Melissa, she doesn’t need reasons to accept Gen’s friendship. She doesn’t want to be alone, not after what happened to Jackie, so she’d also want a friend she can count on. Now that it’s winter and they have to spend more time in the cabin, with not much else to do, having someone you can hang out with is something Melissa might want. And just like Gen, Melissa might have realized she has more in common with her than she thought, as they both seem to share a similar sense of humor. What might have started as a friendship out of convenience to feel safer after the death of Jackie evolved into a more genuine friendship, one that makes them feel safer and brings them comfort after the trauma they experienced.

Some of those points were brought up in interviews with Vanessa Prasad. She mentions that from Gen’s understanding, she and Melissa were equals, and they had that camaraderie that they shared where they were not included in this power hierarchy going on within this group. What she said does fit with my interpretation, where Gen no longer values being part of the power hierarchy and would rather want a relationship with someone with whom she can be an equal, this person being Melissa. I like how Vanessa also refers to Melissa as Gen’s “comfort person”, and how they share a bond that was built around the shared trauma they experienced. Her relationship to Melissa makes her feel safer, and it’s something she desperately needs in her current situation. Losing Melissa would mean losing that comfort, even if she has other friends. Because her friendship with Melissa had something unique that Gen doesn’t feel towards her other friends, and that is this need for safety within the group. But more on that later, once we reach season 3.

Season 2 retrospective

Gen and Melissa are seen together throughout season 2, mostly in the background. They do have a few scenes where they actually talk (here’s a video compilation of those I'd recommend watching). So let’s go through them one by one.

The first scene we are introduced to Gen and Melissa together is in episode 1. They are sitting at the table with Crystal, another girl who isn’t part of the main group. In this scene Melissa express a certain curiosity for what the main group talking about, which Gen is quick to dismiss, saying “who gives a shit”. Remember, Gen used to hang out with them, while Melissa didn’t. I think it makes sense with what I analyzed earlier, Gen no longer wishes to associate herself with that power hierarchy.

Then, Gen is pretty rude to Crystal for constantly humming. At that point, they are all starting to starve as the food is getting rarer, so it makes sense to be more on edge. But I also think Gen being particularly mean to Crystal might be a remnant of being previously a popular girl, as Crystal seems relatively unpopular. Melissa doesn’t add anything, so I’m not sure if she was actually bothered by Crystal humming. Anyway, this scene did make Gen look like somewhat of a mean girl. Vanessa did say in an interview that Gen being more “bitchy” in season 2 was due to her feeling like she wasn’t contributing to the group. That fits with what I said earlier, after what happened to Jackie, Gen being on edge for feeling useless makes sense. It’s not that she’s usually a mean person, it’s her current predicament making her more irritable. That and the hunger.

Not much happened in episode 2 as they are mostly seen in the background. We do see, however, that when Shauna and Mari are fighting about Jackie’s jacket, Melissa and Gen are quick to recoil and not get involved, while most of the other characters do try to intervene. It does show these two would rather keep to themselves and not get involved in any kind of drama or conflict with the main group, giving credence to what Vanessa said.

Then we move to episode 3. Once again, not much happened as they are mostly background characters. But something interesting in this episode is that even though we do see Gen and Melissa mostly together, during the baby shower Gen is sitting with Mari and Akilah instead, while Melissa sits next to Shauna. Jenna mentioned in an interview that Melissa was really only friends with Gen, while Gen had other friends, such as Mari, so part of her felt lonely over that. This loneliness might be why she felt drawn to Shauna, but that’s something I already explored in the shaunahat analysis. But I still wanted that out. It doesn’t seem like Gen and Melissa were having a conflict, though, just that Gen would sometimes hang out with other people while Melissa didn’t really have anyone else.

Another interesting point, when the birds fell and died, and Lottie asked to “gather this offering”, Gen and Melissa didn’t do that, they went back inside the cabin. At that point in the season, neither of them goes to the prayer circle. That will be relevant later.

As for episode 4, basically the same thing, they are mostly just seen hanging out in the background together. Then we have the hunting competition between Nat and Lottie. Melissa and Gen are seen to be Team Nat, which makes sense since neither of them seems to adhere to Lottie’s cult at this point.

Then, later, they assist Nat in trying to pull the moose out of the frozen lake. We know they unfortunately failed. They are then seen with the others when Lottie is found, dangerously close to hypothermia, both showing concern for Lottie's well-being. We also see them at the end of the episode when Javi comes back, they both seem glad to see him alive.

Now we move to episode 5, the second time we actually have a speaking scene between these two. But before we go there, I'd like to point out an interesting detail. Gen has started going to the prayer circle for the first time. However, Melissa did not. I think that highlights one of the major differences between Melissa and Gen. At her core, Mel is actually an outsider, someone who does keep to herself and more of a loner. Gen has experience being in groups, she knows more about social pressure and group thinking. After the moose incident, I think it strengthened the belief in the Wilderness for some of them. They could have viewed it as a punishment from It for not following the rules, as they were not supposed to intervene in the hunting competition. I think Gen could see the shift in the group and decides it’s best to join the prayer circle, regardless if she believes in it or not. She might have not thought it was worth it at first, but with more of the group believing in It, and with what happened the last time someone expressed disbelief in the Wilderness (Jackie), Gen might have been worried. Especially given she was among those who went to help Nat, therefore she's among those who broke the rules. Going to the prayer circle ensures that she's seen as one of the believers, it gives her another layer of safety among the group. Or perhaps part of her actually started to believe in It after the moose incident, or at least have a doubt. When you're desperate to survive and starving, that definitely can open your mind. There's also the fact Gen is friends with Mari, who is going to the prayer circle for a while now, so I could see her convincing Gen to go, especially after she sided with Nat.

Moving on to the actual genlissa scene. Gen and Melissa are seen talking about Javi, Gen complaining that he doesn’t want to talk about where he was. Then Melissa said her memorable line “maybe he did that, and that's his ghost”. I do believe Melissa was joking, and Gen does look a bit annoyed with Mel's, kind of like “Are you kidding me?”. This could be just a regular “I'm messing around” moment between two friends, but upon rewatch, I also think it could have been a subtle way for Melissa to tease Gen about recently starting to go to the prayer circle. Remember, Melissa still isn't going, and for a while Gen wasn’t either, so I could see both of them making fun of the whole concept when they are alone together (like “haha, they believe in tree spirits”). But now that Gen is going, Melissa teases her about ghosts, but still as a playful banter. I'm not claiming this was the intent of the scene, but that’s my interpretation, and I think I'd be funny.

Not much happened with these two in episode 6 since most of the teen timeline is focusing on Shauna being in labor and later the dream she has. We do see Gen and Melissa work together, so it shows they might be used to doing tasks together. Interestingly, this is the first time Melissa is seen participating in a prayer circle, so it took a situation where someone's life was at risk for her to give in.

Then we move to episode 7 where genlissa has two speaking scenes. Before that, we do see Gen with Mari and Akilah, and we can see once again is not with them. Just more indication that these two are Gen's friends, but not Melissa’s. Gen is particularly affected by the death of Shauna’s baby, to the point she wished they could have gotten her to a hospital. Meanwhile Mari and Akilah are more realistic about the situation. They are also saddened yes, but recognized that they couldn’t have done more.

When they discussed Crystal’s disappearance, Melissa suggested that perhaps the Wilderness took her like It took the baby. This seems to show that she is now starting to believe in the Wilderness. When Melissa suggests that, Gen then added that perhaps “It will give them something back” in exchange for their lives. This wasn’t a callous remark though, as she was tearful when she said that. The death of the baby seemed to have really shaken her. Then they have a prayer circle for Crystal’s safety.

Part of them depart to go look for Crystal while Gen and Melissa stay behind. They both wish that they will find Crystal alive at first, then Gen mentions it wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't. Mel looked shocked by that comment, until she realized what Gen was actually implying. Gen isn't actually wishing for Crystal to be dead out of malicious intent, but because they are starving and want to eat her corpse. They are both unable to day it clearly as they are still struggling to come to terms with that desire, so they try to use the Wilderness as justification, that It wouldn't want Crystal’s body to be wasted. They haven't reached a point where they can openly admit wanting to commit cannibalism for themselves. They still end that conversation saying they do wish Crystal is alive, probably both because they don’t actually want her dead and because they feel guilty about wishing it and probably need to reassure themselves that they haven't sunk that low yet. This scene was more comedic in nature (two dumbasses telling each other “exactlyyy”) but it does show their complicity, they understand each other without needing to spell everything out. And they trust each other enough to even imply to one another that they are willing to do more cannibalism. They aren’t scared the other will judge them, as they both understand each other. This is the kind of bond forged by two people who share the same trauma.

The episode ends with Shauna beating up Lottie, and Gen and Melissa seem to have different reactions. Melissa looks more shocked, and even intrigued, while Gen looks more horrified by the situation. And that different reaction to violence might become relevant later. I would like to point out that prior to that scene, most of the group were having a prayer circle, but despite joining for the last two, Melissa is sitting away from the rest of the group. I think she became disillusioned after Shauna’s baby died and Crystal’s disappearance. Those were the two prayer circles she participated in and nothing was gained from those. So she might consider it's no longer worth it.

Moving on to episode 8. When Shauna took a blanket, Gen got annoyed at Shauna for taking it without asking first, while Shauna justified that she’s not using it and Lottie might be cold. Then Melissa told her “now you give a shit about Lottie?”. I have the feeling both Gen and Melissa discussed together what happened to Lottie, and this incident is when Gen stopped tolerating Shauna. She used to really feel bad for her because of everything that happened to her, but after Shauna violently beaten Lottie and could have killed her, I think this is when Gen could no longer make excuses for Shauna’s behavior. This aligned with something Vanessa said in an interview, that Gen did feel sympathy for Shauna, but there was a limit to her empathy, and she wouldn’t justify Shauna hurting others or being a bitch to them, because she’s not responsible for what happened to Shauna. So I do think Shauna beating Lottie was the first event that set Gen no longer being okay with Shauna, and this antagonism grew stronger in season 3 in response to Shauna being more and more hostile to them.

I think Melissa was mostly backing up Gen, since as I said, they probably discussed that incident together, and it’s reasonable for her to also be upset at Shauna given they are all worried for Lottie’s well-being. But that’s something I discussed more in the shaunahat analysis. What I can say here is that it once again shows the bond between Gen and Melissa, as they are in sync regarding that situation.

Then we have the hunt where Natalie drew the Queen of Hearts and has been chosen as sacrifice. Interestingly, Gen stays behind while the others go hunt Nat, since Travis was trying to protect Nat and someone needed to stop him. So Melissa was present when Javi died, but not Gen. Not counting the mysterious extras that were with her, Gen is the only named character (outside of Travis and Ben) who didn’t see Javi die. So Gen wouldn’t carry the same guilt as the others regarding letting Javi die. She was still a participant in the hunt by holding back Travis, but she did not experience letting someone die. She was probably told what happened, possibly by Melissa. If Gen had been there she would have probably also let Javi die, but the fact she didn’t have to experience that definitely separates her from the others regarding the amount of guilt she must feel.

We now arrive at the last episode of season 2. There isn’t much to say, but I did notice that when Travis takes a bite of Javi’s heart, Gen seems more disturbed by that than Melissa. Even Mari, who was sitting in between them, didn't react much. I wonder if it’s because they personally witnessed Javi’s death so they are more desensitized, while for Gen this is a situation she is probably still processing, after being told. I think she felt shocked to know her friends let a kid die, but deep down, she knows if she was with them, she would have probably done the same. Part of her was already wishing for Crystal to be dead due to hunger, so she understands that feeling of desperation when one is starving.

Then we move to Nat’s coronation as their new leader. Given Lottie is the one who chose her, she’s the first one to pledge allegiance to her. Interestingly, Gen is the first person after Lottie who pledged to Nat. Melissa did it later, and removed her hat as a sign of respect. Then, we all know how it ended. The cabin burned down. No more genlissa content for that season.

So we are done with season 2. Gen and Melissa are seen together throughout the season, mostly in the background, but as you can see, they didn’t speak much, so their overall relationship or them as characters weren’t really fleshed out yet. We can still speculate with what we saw, and use it to support other observations in season 3. If I have to make a short conclusion for season 2 alone, I’d say that they do feel like close friends, but I can also believe what the actresses said about them becoming closer friends after the crash. Gen often hanging out with other people without Melissa feels odd, I feel like if Mel had been her best friend pre-crash she’d prioritize spending time with her, or at least include Mel into her larger friends circle. Back to what Vanessa said, about Gen considering that her relationship with Melissa is them being equals, I do believe this is how Gen feels about it. But I don’t think that’s how Mel feel. They aren’t actually equals. If things go south between them, Gen has other friends she can lean on, while Melissa only has Gen. Mel is more reliant on Gen since she’s her only close friend, something Gen can’t relate to. She might consider Melissa to be her comfort person, someone she feels safer with if things go wrong with the main group, but she has other friends. Gen might not realize that, but this makes their relationship unbalanced. She also joined the prayer circle before Melissa, still putting some value into group thinking instead of solely relying on Mel. I don’t think Melissa resents Gen for having other friends, but she does feel some loneliness. I think what Gen and Melissa gained from their friendship is relatively different. Gen is looking for a person that gives her comfort and a feeling of safety, while Melissa wants someone to ease her loneliness, as she is someone who was mostly alone before. And I do think it plays a major role in how their relationship develops in season 3, especially when Melissa starts developing a crush on Shauna.

Pre-Shaunahat (season 3)

Before moving to season 3, I'd like to speculate on what could have happened with these two during the timeskip. Season 2 ended and it was still winter, while season 3 began at the summer solstice. We skipped all spring. We know Gen became the new hunter after Travis and was being trained by Nat. It would certainly take a lot of time for Nat to train Gen into becoming the competent hunter we see her become at the start of s3. Which means Gen spent less time with Melissa. We know Gen is Melissa’s closest friend, which must have left her to feel pretty lonely whenever Gen left to go train with Nat or simply go hunt. Even if they do share a hut, there are still a lot of moments they aren’t together, contrasting with their time together in season 2 where they were almost always together. I think that’s why Melissa started participating more into the group activities, while she previously seemed to avoid those. She is herself starting to feel isolated so more likely to cling to whatever she can to not feel alone. At the start of s3 she does seem to get along with some of the other girls, notably Britt and Robin, so she does have people she could consider friends now. I do think Gen spending less time with Melissa and Melissa starting to hang out with other people is what eventually led them to drift apart later in the season, but that’s something I'll discuss further once we get there.

Moving on to season 3. The first time we see Melissa and Gen was during the “catch the bone” game, where they were both on opposite teams. Gen ended up being the one who brought victory to her team. Then they are seen together later during Van storytelling activity for the summer solstice. This contrasts with season 2, where these two would usually hang out on their own, or when Gen hung out with other people, Melissa would be absent. As I said earlier, with Gen being more busy with hunting duty, it might have been an incentive for Melissa to participate more in the group so she wouldn’t be alone. At this point though, Melissa and Gen are still on good terms. Gen seems particularly happy since she’s on the winning team and Melissa is on the losing team, and the losers must act as the personal servants for the winners during the rest of the day. This is still playful banter though, something they are probably used to, if it’s not the first time they played that game before with the same conditions for the winners and losers.

Later in that episode, we do see Gen and Mari sunbathing together, and ask Melissa to act as their servant. They both seemed to be teasing Melissa, especially after she dropped the meat. It was revealed in an interview with Jenna that the reason why Melissa got distracted and dropped the meat was because she was looking at both Gen and Mari. It was a scripted thing. So it’s interesting to know Melissa does have, at the very least, an attraction to Gen physically. Before Shauna asked for her help with the meat, Melissa was just sitting down, seemingly watching these two sunbathing. I assume she was just on the lookout in case they needed her assistance (as she was acting as their personal servant).

Melissa and Gen have a short interaction in episode 2 that carries a lot of weight. After Mari had disappeared and Nat tried to get Shauna to go look for her, Shauna angrily told her “fuck Mari” while storming in her hut, passing by Gen and Melissa (and nearly bumping into them). After that happened, Gen turned towards Melissa and gave her a look while smiling. Melissa seemed a bit awkward about that and looked away. This scene was interpreted by most fans (me included) as Gen teasing Melissa about her crush on Shauna. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

It was confirmed by Vanessa Prasad that Gen was actually not aware of Melissa’s feelings for Shauna. And it does play a larger role in the evolution of Gen and Melissa’s relationship throughout season 3, so it’s not something that can be brushed off to just fans having a different interpretation. It’s actually important that Gen did not know. So that look Gen gave Melissa in that scene wasn’t “look Mel, it’s your crush”, it was more “look Mel, Shauna is being a bitch again”. And Melissa looking awkward is most likely because she felt embarrassed, she knew what Gen’s look meant and she probably did not want to badmouth the girl she had a crush on.

Now, why do I think it’s important to acknowledge that Gen did not know Melissa had a crush on Shauna? Because this explains why these two had a falling out after Melissa started dating Shauna. But it’s something I’ll discuss once we reach that point in the timeline. I will say though, I do think the fact Melissa seemingly haven’t told Gen about her crush on Shauna can inform us about their relationship. It could be that Melissa wasn’t out yet as a lesbian, but I do have a feeling that at this point, it’s not necessarily something she’d feel the need to actively hide. After all, Taissa and Van are out and no one has an issue with them. I do think if Melissa had told someone she’s gay, it’d be Gen. Or Gen figured it out herself because I don’t think Melissa is that subtle about it. But regardless of whether Gen knew about Melissa’s sexuality, she wasn’t aware she had a crush on Shauna. So I think Melissa might not have trusted Gen enough to tell her. She knows Gen isn’t fond of Shauna and might have been worried she’d judge her for that. It’s not necessarily an indicator that there is something wrong with their friendship, but it does show that, at least on Melissa’s side, there is a lack of trust. And I think Gen realized that once Melissa and Shauna started dating, and that only added more to her feeling of betrayal. But more on that later.

Melissa and Gen are seen interacting in episode 3 too briefly, when they were in the cave looking for Ben. They are seen talking to each other when Misty suggested that Ben is doing a “double bluff”, like in that movie “with the two guys”. Melissa somehow accurately guessed that she meant The Princess Bride, much to Gen’s surprise. It is the second time Melissa mentions this movie in the show, which is interesting given what happens to her character (her devotion to the girl she loved, getting hit by an arrow, faking her own death, etc). I’m sure Gen is aware of Melissa’s fondness for that movie, so that makes her reaction funnier.

And now we move to episode 4, where their relationship took a dark turn. When Melissa rather aggressively agrees with Shauna regarding Ben, the camera focuses on Gen's reaction for a moment. As a reminder, Gen is not aware that Melissa has a crush on Shauna at that point, so she must have felt genuine confusion to see Melissa siding with Shauna like that. Gen doesn’t seem to be quite fond of Shauna, and possibly even talked about that with Melissa in the past, judging by the look she gave her in episode 2. So this must be a shock for her to see Melissa agree with Shauna, and that wasn’t the end of it.

During the trial, when it was time to vote, Melissa pressured Gen to vote guilty, even elbowing her. She put her friend into a thought spot where she felt intimidated by both her and Shauna into voting guilty, even though she didn’t want to. We can see Gen looking at Nat with an apologetic look on her face when she ultimately voted guilty. This must have been a very uncomfortable and stressful moment for Gen, where she couldn’t understand why her friend was pressuring her to vote a certain way. In a way, Melissa used their friendship to her own gain, because she wanted to please Shauna, something Gen couldn’t know at that point. Melissa prioritized what she wanted over how Gen felt, without properly explaining to her why she behaved that way. And that’s definitely not a good thing for a relationship that is supposedly about being “equals”.

We don’t know exactly what happened between Melissa and Gen in between episodes 4 and 5. Gen is still not aware that Melissa has a crush on Shauna, so if she does confront Melissa regarding her behavior during the trial, Melissa would probably just say she genuinely thought Ben was guilty. We don’t see these two interact much in episode 5, but they are those who were charged in bringing Ben to his execution alongside Robin and Britt. Britt was the one who opened the door of the animal pen, Robin distracted Ben while Gen put the bag on his head, and Melissa… kind of just stood there (supervising the operation, I assume). Robin, Britt and Gen were clearly uncomfortable and acting conflicted about what they were asked to do (which they didn’t really have much of a choice), while Melissa, at least at first, was more confident. Yes, I remember Gen told Ben “you don’t deserve it” when he requested to be looked in the eyes, but that was clearly not how she truly felt as we can see that right after, she is visibly upset.

But then as we know, Ben didn’t get executed, because Akilah had a vision that he was “their bridge home”. As a group they made the decision of slicing Ben’s achille to ensure he wouldn’t escape. Shauna was tasked with this, but ended up making Melissa do it. When these two emerged from the animal pen afterward, for a brief moment we can see Gen looking shocked, maybe realizing what Melissa had done. Then when Shauna grabbed Melissa’s hand and dragged her to her hut, Melissa is seen turning around to look at the group one last time before going inside Shauna’s hut. It’s possible that she might have been looking at Gen more specifically. Once Melissa went inside, Gen stood near the fire for a few seconds, staring at Shauna’s hut, before stumping to her own hut. It did feel like Gen was upset, probably because she didn’t expect that, but more on that later.

Intermission (mid-season thoughts)

Now that we have reached mid-season 3, I’d like to do an intermission and summarize my thoughts on genlissa so far. As I said earlier, I do think their relationship has always been fundamentally unequal, despite what Gen might think. Right from the start, Gen was never alone, she had other friends, while Melissa only had Gen. What they expected from one another wasn’t quite the same. Gen needed a friend she would feel safe with, she was looking for a comfort person and someone she could trust. But for Melissa, who didn’t seem to have any other friends, this is more about not wanting to be alone anymore. Gen might think they were equals, they weren’t. If Gen decided to break the friendship, she’d still have Mari or Akilah, while Melissa would be left alone. At the very least in season 2, Melissa was more dependent on that relationship, but after Gen started training with Nat and Melissa started making other friends (like Robin and Britt), she needed Gen less. She wasn’t as lonely anymore. She also had that crush on Shauna. Melissa’s situation had changed, but Gen’s need for a comfort person hasn’t. Gen’s position in the group definitely became more secure now that she was the new hunter, but you never know how things can turn out. She still needs a person she feels like she can rely on if things go wrong. And that person was Melissa.

I also think this works perfectly with the actresses' interpretation of their relationship, that they only became close friends after the crash. To me it feels more realistic for Melissa to push Gen away in favor of her relationship with Shauna if they weren't close friends before the crash. Not that it's impossible for two long-term best friends to drift away when one starts a new relationship, but I still feel like if they had been friends for years, Melissa would have been more comfortable telling Gen that she had a crush on Shauna. Or Gen would have noticed on her own. It wouldn't have come off as a surprise for Gen. But if they only became close friends for a few months now, it makes more sense that Melissa wouldn't tell Gen and would ditch her for Shauna.

That might be controversial to say, but I think Gen always cared more about Melissa than the other way around. Gen does have other friends, yet Melissa is special to her, it’s a bond she forged through the share trauma they experienced, and someone that make her feel safe and brings her comfort. But for Melissa, who was a lonely person, I think anyone’s friendship would have felt the same to her. She just wanted someone so she wouldn’t be alone. Gen herself isn’t special to her, she was just her only friend so that made her valuable to her. Until she had other friends, and then the opportunity to have a girlfriend. Then she had no issue tossing Gen aside. I do think Melissa liked Gen, just not as much as Gen liked her. At least, up to this point in the story.

The Genlissa falling out

Then we move to episode 6. There was a timeskip of around 3 months between episodes 5 and 6, where Melissa is now dating and sharing a hut with Shauna, leaving Gen alone in her hut. There was actually some content regarding Gen and Melissa that was cut from this episode that did give more depth to their relationship, which Vanessa Prasad talked about in some interviews. According to her, Gen felt jealous of Shauna and Melissa’s relationship. She didn’t know Melissa had a crush on Shauna, so she felt completely blindsided by the reveal, and even betrayed. We didn’t see the aftermath of episode 5, but I do think these two had an argument about it at some point and a falling out. Losing Melissa as a friend had been rough on Gen, and, at least in the script, it was the reason why Gen started to act out in episode 6. Her bumping into Nat? She was actually distracted by something Melissa and Shauna were doing in the background, but that got cut. Without that context, it did look like Gen was bumping into Nat on purpose, which didn’t help fans' perception of her.

It got worse when Gen is seen pushing Nat later in the episode. More specifically, Melissa told Nat to “shut the fuck up” and Gen repeated that while pushing Nat. Well, once again, there was a specific context that got cut from that scene. But, even without that context, I’d argue it was obvious she did that in support of Melissa. But what was originally in the script made it clearer. According to Vanessa, when she filmed it, she looked at Shauna and Melissa afterward for approval, but they both ignored her. This was what was in the script, but this got cut. The reason why Gen went that far is because she was desperate to get back with Melissa, even if it meant also getting Shauna’s approval. But when they both ignored her, she instantly regretted it. Because she doesn’t actually have anything against Nat. She actually does respect her. But, in her desperation and with how much she missed Melissa and wanted to get her back, she pushed Nat to get her approval.

Later we see Gen sitting with Shauna, Melissa, Britt and Robin during the banquet. So it does seem she might have succeeded in a way in getting in Shauna’s good graces. Well, enough to be allowed to sit with her. Though Jenna Burgess mentioned that there is a deleted scene where Melissa was mean to Gen. Apparently, Gen asked Mel if she could sit with her, which Melissa replied “it’s a free country”. Not really acknowledging Gen’s desire to sit with her and shrugging her off. I do believe it’s possible that this deleted scene happened during the banquet, that would tied neatly with Gen’s failed attempt to get Mel and Shauna’s attention, while being later seen sitting with them. I don’t know if we can hold a deleted scene against Melissa regarding her treatment of Gen, but I do think it’s fair to assume Melissa hasn’t really been kind to Gen while she was dating Shauna. Possibly because she could tell Gen didn’t fully approve, or maybe Gen flat-out told her she didn’t think it was a good idea to be with Shauna. That could explain why Gen is now trying to also befriend Shauna, because she feels like this is her only way to have a relationship with Melissa.

Another interesting detail in this episode, during the banquet, when Lottie starts screaming (with the frogs), Gen turned to look at Melissa. It might be because in a moment where she was being worried or even afraid, her first instinct was to seek out Melissa. She is her comfort person after all. Even when they aren’t on good terms, and Melissa has been mean to her, she’s still the person Gen would instinctively seek comfort from.

Why was Gen acting out in episode 6?

Before moving to the next episode, I’d like to talk about why Gen is so desperate to get back with Melissa. Why is her friendship with her so important? After all, it isn’t like Gen doesn’t have any other friends, and yet losing Mel affected her to such a degree that she was willing to hurt Nat, even though she respects her. I would say this is why the fact Gen and Melissa only became friends after the crash is so important. This is what separates Melissa from her other friends. Melissa is a friend Gen made through a shared trauma. She’s someone she might not have been friends with if it wasn’t for the crash. She has a unique connection with Mel that she does not have with her other friends. As Vanessa said, Melissa was Gen’s “comfort person”. She's the person she trusts the most. It’s possible that the friendship she formed with Melissa helped her cope with the trauma they experienced in the wilderness. I’d also argue that Melissa’s friendship may be something that helped Gen “accept” their situation. Going through that crash and everything else afterward was awful, but at least she made a friend through this horrible situation. So in a way, it was “worth” it. So losing Mel as a friend was more than just losing a friendship, she was losing her way to cope, her way to accept her predicament, as well as the comfort she was getting from that relationship. So it makes sense for Gen to be distressed after losing Melissa. She was desperate to get Melissa back, no matter what (and how).

Vanessa summarized this perfectly here: “It initiated all this desire to get back in with Melissa, even if that meant befriending Shauna in a way that she hadn't. It was like this desire to, almost in a panic, 'I need my comfort person, and I'll do whatever it takes to be with that comfort person'”. Not only was Melissa a friend she cared about and liked, it was almost as if Gen had a deep emotional and even psychological need to get back with her. And that perfectly explains some of her behaviors, why she seemed to be siding with Shauna while in reality, she only did so because Melissa was with Shauna. It was always about Melissa. So that's why she would try to get both Melissa and Shauna’s approval by pushing Nat, someone she doesn’t even have anything against and even respect. Because she needs to get back with Melissa outweighs her respect for Nat. It wasn’t fair to Nat, but it’s understandable why Gen acted that way, in her current mental state. Let’s not forget it’s been at least three months since Melissa and Shauna have been dating, so a relatively long time since Gen is missing Melissa. So pushing Nat was an act of desperation to get back her friend, after months of feeling this distressed over losing Mel.

Jenna also said something interesting regarding their relationship. First, that shaunahat is a mirror to jackieshauna (but in a more twisted way), where Shauna assumes the role of Jackie and Melissa takes the one of Shauna. And then, genlissa is a mirror to shaunahat, where Gen in turn takes a similar role as Melissa, starting to act out to get Melissa’s attention, similarly to how Melissa was acting to get Shauna’s attention. So I could see genlissa eventually being a mirror to jackieshauna, but more on that later.

Genlissa reconciliation and ShaunaHat breaking up

Now that we've got that out of the way, we can move to episode 7. Melissa gets shot with an arrow by Kodiac, and as she falls, her first instinct is to call for Shauna and ask her to stay with her. A reasonable request to expect your girlfriend to stay with you when you get injured. But as we know, Shauna had other plans in mind. To her credit, she did order Mari to make sure Melissa doesn’t die. So Mari was the only one being coerced into staying behind to take care of a seriously injured Melissa. Interestingly, the first person to go check on Melissa was Robin, which seems to solidify a previous claim that these two are relatively close friends. Then Gen is the second person to react, rushing to Melissa’s aid, while angrily yelling at Lottie for killing Edwin. Her anger towards Lottie is understandable, given her actions indirectly led to Melissa getting hurt. This is a very stressful situation for her, where she is scared her friend might die. When Mari tries to pull on the arrow and cause more pain to Melissa, Gen is quick to react and tells Mari to stop.

Then we fast-forward to the end of the episode. Melissa got shot at night, and it’s now the morning, meaning Gen stayed with her all night, trying to get the arrow out. A very traumatic event for both of them, for Melissa because of the pain and fear she went through, and for Gen, who was worried her friend might die. This was a stressful situation for everyone involved, including Mari, who knew Shauna would kill her if Melissa died. Robin and Britt were there too, but at that moment, it was only Gen and Mari trying to get the arrow out. Gen is the one who realized the arrow must be barbed, so trying to pull on it would only hurt Melissa more. She’s the one who figured out they need to push it through. Gen was very proactive in this scene, she was trying everything she could to save her friend. And she was so careful with how she handled Melissa, taking all the steps she could to make sure she could remove the arrow as safely as possible. And also made sure Melissa was okay with her decision, waiting for her approval before doing anything. When she pushed the arrow through, she kept looking at Melissa, maybe as a way to reassure her through this whole ordeal. The dedication and care Gen showed Melissa in this scene is truly admirable, in my opinion. And if we choose to still consider that cut scene where Melissa was mean to Gen as canon, then despite Melissa not being nice to her lately, it did not change how Gen felt about her. She still stayed with her all night and took care of her injury, like a true friend would. And that does show how much Gen cares about Melissa, despite how poorly Melissa has treated her lately. As I said earlier, Gen desperately needs Melissa, so the possibility of her dying put her under lots of stress, and more determined to try keeping her alive.

Then we move to episode 8. After Hannah was captured, the group decides to go after Kodiak since he knows how to get out of the wilderness. Melissa is now wearing her arm in a sling and still has blood on her clothes. Out of concern for Mel’s well-being (given I assume barely a few hours have passed since the arrow was removed), Gen asks Melissa to stay behind, but Mel refuses and insists on joining the search party, claiming that it “doesn’t hurt that much”. Gen is right that Melissa should be resting, and I assume no one would expect her to go look for Kodiak. But I think Melissa’s ego got bruised, she got hurt by that man, and her girlfriend left her behind. She doesn’t want to look weak or useless, she has to show she can still contribute. And she probably wants to be there once they catch the man who nearly killed her.

We also see Gen and Melissa later in the episode when they are getting ready to leave and hopefully get rescued. Gen and Melissa are on laundry duty, and Mel is telling Gen after what she wants to do once they get rescued. They share a sweet moment together, showing that they have reconciled. I’m sure Gen was happy she could hang out with Melissa again, and relieved that she survived. And with the hope of rescue, she probably hoped that she could continue their friendship outside the wilderness. And I would assume Melissa feels the same way. After what Gen did for her, she might have realized her friendship with her was worth more than she thought, that Gen is someone she can actually count on… or so I thought.

We reach the point where Shauna decides that no one is allowed to leave, with the support of Taissa and Lottie. I was really curious after this episode aired to see which side Melissa would be on. Would she stand with Gen and seek rescue, or would she rather stick with Shauna and stay?

Turns out, she sticks with her girlfriend rather than her best friend. The group get split into two teams: Team Crazy (Shauna, Tai, Lottie, Melissa, Van and Misty) and Team Rescue (everyone else). Though it seems Melissa and Van are only there because their respective girlfriends are, but they both want to get rescued. It might not have been shown, but this does imply that once again, Melissa ditched Gen in favor of Shauna. She is still prioritizing that relationship at the expense of her friendship with Gen, and also at the expense of what she actually wanted (get rescued). And this decision came back to bite her in the ass not so long after.

Shauna and Melissa have a public argument that quickly turned ugly, with Shauna verbally abusing Melissa and berating her in front of the group. After Shauna shot her (and grazed her coat), but thankfully missed, we can see Gen in the background react with shock and horror. From her angle, she couldn’t see if the bullet actually hit Melissa. She probably couldn’t see Melissa’s little… accident, too. Hence why Van is the one who reacts the quickest, she could see what actually happened and take care of Mel, who was still in shock and seemingly couldn’t move. This echoes something Vanessa said in an interview, that Gen couldn’t really see what happened, so part of her thought her friend had been shot and might die. And that’s why she was frozen there. What she went through with Mel getting hit by an arrow was traumatic for her too, so it was like she was experiencing that again. Being powerless and seeing her friend get shot again. Gen couldn’t rush to Melissa at that moment because she was too shocked, thinking that perhaps this time she actually lost her friend. Thankfully Van was there to take care of Mel, helped her cover the stain, and brought her somewhere else (I assume Tai and Van’s hut where she could get a change of pants).

Then we later see Melissa going back to Gen’s hut, her tail between her legs (Jenna’s words), professing “fuck Shauna” and how she now wanted to be part of Team Rescue. We see Gen being started at first, probably worried it might have been someone else, but then sighs in relief when she saw it’s Melissa. Despite being ditched twice by Mel so far, Gen welcomed her back with open arms because she still cares about Melissa and wanted nothing more than to have their friendship back. Gen trusted Melissa enough to let her in on the plan, and “forgave” her for her less-than-great behaviors towards her. I think there is a lot that Gen can forgive Melissa for, because her friendship means so much to her. And after what they went through recently, with Melissa getting shot (twice) and both times Gen thinking Mel might die, I think she is willing to forgive a lot, and also just feels bad for what Melissa went through. Unfortunately for them, Shauna realized Hannah and Kodiak were trying to escape, and Hannah killed Kodiak to avoid getting killed by Shauna, effectively ruining their chance to escape. At that moment, Gen and Melissa exchanged a look, because they realized they won’t be able to get rescued any time soon.

Something Jenna said in an interview echoes a lot of my thoughts here. She said that Gen and Melissa are close enough that you can ask to be forgiven and that they share a close bond. That Gen is someone that can call you on your shit and that if things haven’t gone too far (which it didn’t this time), you can go back to. Gen does feel bad for everything Melissa went through lately (the arrow, the gun), so she gives Mel a lot of grace, despite her not acting the best. And Melissa is aware of that. That’s also how I felt about that scene, and about Gen. As for Melissa, I think she might have finally realized she can count on Gen, and that she’s not someone she shouldn’t be taking for granted. I think Melissa might regret how she treated Gen while she was dating Shauna, especially after everything Gen did for her and how willing she was to forgive her and take her back. As Jenna said, this is the kind of friendship where they can forgive each other, as long as they haven’t reached a certain limit.

This is also echoed in an interview with Vanessa, where she mentioned that the arrow scene was Gen's way to prove her loyalty to Melissa, and in return, it was a wake-up call for Melissa. This moment made Melissa realized who she can actually count on, and this person is Gen.

Alright, now we move to the finale. Gen and Melissa are back to sharing a hut. Part of me expected Melissa to go back with Shauna, but this episode proved me wrong. Part of why I thought so is because it’s unfortunately common for victim of abuse to go back with their abuser. I do think Melissa might have been tempted to go back to Shauna if she didn’t have a friend like Gen. As mentioned by Jenna, Gen is someone who would call out a friend on their shits. She would do everything she can to make Melissa understand how bad that relationship was. And after what they both went through, Melissa should know that Gen is the person who has her best interests at heart. She must have realized she should trust her, that Gen has her back, especially after helping her with the arrow and forgiving her later for being not so nice to her. So I do believe their friendship, especially Gen’s support, was essential to Melissa not being tempted to go back with Shauna.

Back to the episode. We don’t really see them interact much, but they were both involved with the plan to instigate a hunt so they could kill Shauna with Mari and Akilah. After Akilah poisoned the animals, both Gen and Melissa exchanged a glance, knowing that this was part of a larger scheme. According to Vanessa, their original plan was for Mari to kill Shauna. But since Mari pulled the Queen of Hearts, Melissa had to do it instead. Meanwhile Gen’s role was to make sure Shauna was alone. Unfortunately, the plan failed, Melissa couldn’t go through with killing Shauna and Mari died. This is an outcome neither of them planned nor wanted, and I bet they both feel guilty about it. Melissa wasn’t as close to Mari as Gen was, so I can see her death affecting her more. After the discovery of Mari’s body, Gen and Melissa are mostly seen standing next to each other, except during the banquet, where they are sitting completely opposite. I don’t think it means much, given Taissa and Van aren’t sitting next to each other either. But it’s still an interesting detail to point out. Gen seemed particularly distraught when she had to eat Mari, given they were close friends and she did try to help her during the hunt.

This concludes my recap and thoughts for each episode of season 3. Before I move on to my prediction for season 4 and the conclusion, I’d like to discuss if genlissa is platonic or romantic. For short, I do not think that for the content of this analysis it matters if their relationship is either platonic or romantic. Everything I have said would still apply. But, I do think for what might happen with them in s4, this could become relevant. We already know these two are friends, but is it possible there was something romantic going on too?

Is Genlissa platonic or romantic?

Personally, I don’t think that (so far) something romantic happened between the two of them. Vanessa also confirmed that for season 2 at least, Gen and Melissa were written as platonic. But, I do think it’s possible that there were intentional romantic undertones in season 3. Firstly, I already mentioned that Melissa dropping the meat because she was distracted by both Gen and Mari in their bras was actually scripted, so we can already establish that Melissa is attracted to Gen. But, that doesn’t mean she had romantic feelings towards Gen. And I personally don’t think Melissa was in love with Gen. At least, not when she was having her crush on Shauna and later date her. It is however possible Melissa could have developed feelings for Gen afterward, but we don’t have enough evidence for that in season 3 for me to have a clear opinion on that.

As for Gen, I do think it’s possible she had feelings for Melissa. According to Vanessa, Gen did have a scripted sexuality that ended up being cut. Vanessa did not want to specify what it was in case the show decides to go in a different direction, but the way she talked about how it informed her performance as Gen is interesting. Even if it was ultimately cut from the script, Vanessa still kept that information in mind while playing the character. She then mentioned that Gen seeing Melissa date Shauna could have made her start questioning her own feelings regarding Melissa, especially since she is still a teenager and might still be figuring out stuff about herself. There really are only two options regarding what Gen’s sexuality might have been in the original script. She was either meant to be straight or queer (of course if she was meant to be queer they might have specify the exact label, but I do think it’s irrelevant when it comes to her feelings towards Melissa). So I can think of two possibilities based on what Vanessa said:

I think both are as likely, but part of me would rather lean towards option B, with perhaps a bit of option A. As in, Gen being potentially queer but thinking she is straight. It’s important to remember that not only is she a teenager, this is the 90s. Being anything but heterosexual was extremely frowned upon. So it’s possible that Gen is indeed queer, but due to social stigma, she doesn’t fully accept it. For example, if in the original script Gen was written to be bisexual (or even pan), she could have suppressed her attraction for girls and only focused on her attraction for boys, convincing herself that she is straight. But seeing her friend being open about her sexuality, and even dating a girl, could have forced Gen to question herself, about why it bothers her so much that Melissa is dating Shauna and about the true nature of her feelings towards Mel.

A) The script said Gen is straight, but Vanessa decided to go with "what if Gen thinks she's straight but starts having doubts when she gets jealous of Melissa and Shauna dating, leading her to start questioning her feelings for Melissa and sexuality.

B) The script said Gen is queer, and even after it got cut from the script, she still kept that in mind and incorporated that detail in her performance, and that's why she played Gen as feeling jealous of Melissa and Shauna dating.

So, to answer the initial question, I do think genlissa is, at the moment, platonic. As in, they aren’t in a romantic relationship for now. But, I do think there is a potential for it to become romantic. Right now Melissa does have an attraction for Gen and it might involve in romantic feelings, while Gen is implied to have conflicted feelings towards Melissa.

Season 4 predictions

And that leads me to my predictions for season 4. I do have a feeling that we might see a romantic development for genlissa. Part of me finds it odd that they’d script a canon sexuality for Gen and then cut it, as well as cutting a lot of scenes of Gen showing jealousy towards Shauna and Melissa being together. I also think Alex looks similar to Gen, as in, the actress looks similar to Vanessa, and perhaps it was on purpose. All of this, I have a feeling it might have been because they did intend to have some sort of “love triangle” between Gen, Melissa and Shauna, but decided it might be a bit too much. They might have prefer to only focus on Shauna and Melissa’s relationship for season 3, since it was already a lot to confirm Shauna as queer and have her date a girl, and that involving them in a love triangle might have been distracting. So my theory is that they cut that plotline and might include it in season 4, now that Shauna is well established as queer and we got to explore her relationship with Melissa. Introducing a love triangle between Gen, Melissa and Shauna wouldn’t feel too convoluted.

I am curious to see if season 4 will address how Gen felt regarding Melissa failing to kill Shauna. Will Gen actually find out? Given that Mari died during the hunt, Melissa doesn’t have to tell her the truth, she could easily pretend she didn’t have the time to kill Shauna before she heard the horn. After all, Mari’s death was an accident they didn’t expect, and it derailed their plan. I think if Gen finds out the truth, there are different ways she could react. She could be upset that Melissa spared Shauna, because she thinks it makes Mari’s death in vain, especially since Gen was close friends with Mari. I could equally see Gen being unable to be mad at Melissa, because after losing Mari, she wouldn’t want to lose another friend. She might be able to understand why Melissa was unable to kill Shauna. After all, Mari was supposed to be the one who kill Shauna, and Melissa only took that role because Mari became the sacrifice. So part of Gen could have already known Melissa wouldn’t be able to, hence why it was not her initial role in this plan. It might be a bit of both, Gen feeling upset at Melissa but at the same time, not wanting to lose her friendship, so she forgives her. Or she could consider that Mari’s death was equally their fault since it was their plan that led to her death, so she wouldn’t see the point in blaming Melissa. Killing Shauna wouldn’t have prevented Mari’s death. And it could also be affected by how she learned, if Melissa confessed the truth to her, or if she learned it from Shauna. She might be more willing to forgive Melissa if she’s the one who tells her the truth. I could see Shauna tell her the truth simply to try ruining their relationship, if we go the love triangle route. Or just out of spite. Either way, I am really not sure how Gen would react. There are so many ways it could go down.

I do think Gen’s character will be further explored in season 4, as well as her relationship with Melissa, regardless if they go the platonic or romantic route. Unfortunately, I think Gen will die, and her death will lead Melissa on a much darker path, leading to the person she became as an adult. And I have a feeling that Gen’s death will be Melissa’s fault in one way or another. Shauna does project herself onto Melissa a lot, her whole relationship with her was her way to be the “Jackie” and making Melissa her “Shauna”, so having Melissa also be responsible for the death of her best friend would bring this full circle. As I said earlier, shaunahat mirrors jackieshauna, and genlissa mirrors shaunahat, so it could lead to genlissa mirroring jackieshauna.

Conclusion

So, we reached the conclusion of this analysis. Gen and Melissa share a unique friendship that was born in the wilderness, this is a deep bond forged through the shared trauma they experienced. These are two people I am not sure would have become this close if it wasn’t for their circumstances, but nonetheless, they did develop a genuine and deep friendship that I do think could continue beyond the wilderness, if they had both been rescued. This friendship had ups and downs, I do feel like Gen cared more about Melissa than the other way around, and that led to their falling out. They are back to being friends now, potentially with a deeper bond. This is a relationship that has the potential to become romantic in my opinion, which we will have to see if this is the direction they are heading for in season 4. I do think we are heading for a tragic conclusion, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Melissa ends up being the downfall for Gen. I think in a way, genlissa could mirror jackieshauna, so Melissa being the cause of Gen’s death would be an appropriate conclusion for them. A very tragic and sad conclusion but hey, so was jackieshauna. And as much as it would probably make me devastated when Gen ultimately dies, I’m here and for it and I am looking forward to what season 4 will have in store regarding these two.

Phew, this took me weeks to finish! And I think it was worth it. I had a lot of thoughts regarding these two and I needed to express those. Writing this analysis just made me appreciate Gen even more as a character, and it does sadden me how often her character is mischaracterized by the fandom. I actually intend to do a “in defence of Gen” post soon. Anyway, thanks for reading this far and don’t hesitate to let me know what you think and what are your thoughts on genlissa!

#yellowjackets #melissa hat #melissa yellowjackets #gen yellowjackets #gen nolastname #genlissa

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