#no but also jackie being the first to eat shauna is fucking brilliant

[laenordeservedbetter]

I made a jackieshauna playlist bc they have been on my mind since s2 came out. Go check it out (only if you want to ofc)

[silencedrage]

no real coherency or structure, just quick thoughts i noted during my initial watch and my rewatch

it's interesting that it's tai and van together who come up with the hunt rules; tai is the one who Says it but van is the one with the cards; tai does it because van and shauna both say they don't want to be in the wilderness without lottie; van and shauna are the two most important people to tai in the wilderness and she can't lose anyone else to this. van says "i can't imagine being here without her." there's a cut to tai who's rubbing her face in frustration, and then shauna chimes in "me either" and that's when tai is like "okay we need to survive and it can't be lottie" bc she knows losing lottie would devastate van and shauna. she's already worried about van bc of everything going on, and last episode van's the one saying they should "wake up" and being morose

i've seen a lot of people complaining about how the team gets to the hunt and how abrupt that shift seemed, but it didn't really need any more explanation imo because the entire episode had people with auditory and visual hallucinations; they were eating belts - that's the level of desperation they were at. the last episode ended with ritual violence being used as the way to cope and survive, so for me it wasn't REALLY a hard leap to get to "we have to hurt each other to survive"; they've already been introduced to it via jackie, which they all indirectly caused via the fight, but not like this. it's a gradual step; one can argue that even this death is "accidental" in the way that no one pushed javi into the lake or held him under, just like no one made jackie sleep outside. it was a death of indifference and passivity, and i honestly think it's fucking brilliant for them to show that. yes they're primal and feral, but they're not just jumping straight to murder. akilah says they can still save them, natalie initial does try to save him, but ultimately, they just watch. there's so much more for them to traverse before what we see in the pilot, where they're creating traps and bleeding out girls hanging from a tree

teen misty taking care of lottie, showing that she understands how important lottie is; she staying close to lottie for that power but she's also buying in because it's the first time she's a part of the group. she's spent her entire life on the outskirts, that now that she has an in, she's going to do what it takes to stay there

adult van trying to get to the bottom of adam martin, asking questions, and when she accuses tai of lying to her, she's straightforward and looking her in the eyes while tai HAS to look away

tai lies to van in the 96 timeline as well, about the other tai and you can see van realizes and accepts it even if she doesn't press it, and tai is the one to look away first

adult van is upset because they're lying to her but also because they've clearly spent time together in those 25 years, something that she wasn't included in, and even while she deliberately removed herself out of that situation, it still fucking stings to feel like she's not a part of that group anymore

van being the one to push for the killing is why she can't repress the things that have happened; she tries to lay some blame at lottie's feet but she ultimately knows that's not right either; she can't forget and she never fully convinces herself that what they did was okay because she was the one to set things in motion

van insisted on knowing what was happening, but when they go to the sharing shack, she hesitates. it's that same feeling as in the 96 timeline where she knows instinctively where this is leading, and she can't do anything to stop it

'lottie took it from her to protect us. don't let it be for nothing.' (i have nothing eloquent to say about this, i just really love the complexity of van not even being able to say shauna's name and i want more of their interactions)

'maybe lottie dying wouldn't be the worst thing' - it was kind of fascinating to me that nat's fine with lottie dying if it means the woo woo shit goes away, not because she's like in immense pain or anything; she calls it 'the dark side' even. and then the irony of her being the first 'victim' of the wilderness, idk there's a parallel there that i need to tease out a bit more

tai and van being the one to look after the jv team - this is just important to me, okay?

'we all need things we can't have, shauna' YEAH TAI LIKE YOUR EX WHO'S LITERALLY SITTING NEXT TO YOU THAT YOU TRIED TO DEVOUR LIKE AN HOUR AGO

'if i die, don't waste my body' - lottie's final and ultimate sacrifice and still it's just about her and what she is willing to give. she didn't ask anyone else to do it too but misty already starts to put the blame on her next week which honestly breaks my heart a little

walter just randomly pulls out a purple coat; did he just have that handy or was he always planning to infiltrate the cult?

'i can't imagine being here without [lottie].' 'me either' - no thoughts just ship brain go brrr

van and tai were the ones to come up with the rules but still the tension of knowing that it could be on of them and that doesn't mean they're exempt. that look will fuel me through the entire hiatus

natalie being the first to get chosen in the 96 timeline and escapes, full circle in the finale?

in van's mind the rebar is a good weapon, but it's also a good tool to help bring something back (as shared by liv in their interview); the rebar's also the foundation of what is needed to cook anything over the fire

also upset they cut the lottieshauna scene in the beginning but also probably safer so i don't combust

apparently this episode was divisive for the fandom so i'm gonna post my thoughts in my safe little corner here once i have some coffee and do my rewatch...