Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 2 of Yellowjackets.Season 2 ofYellowjacketshas had no shortage of horrifying and shocking moments so far, from the girls finally succumbing to their hunger andfeasting on Jackie’s (Ella Purnell) corpse, to the heartbreaking realization thatShauna’s (Sophie Nélisse) son was stillborn. One surprise, however, was a happy one, and this was the introduction of Adult Van (Lauren Ambrose), finally confirming that the resilient redhead made it out of the woods alive. When Taissa (Tawny Cypress) and Van are finally reconnected as adults at the end of Season 2 Episode 4, it’s tempting to think that these two could be together again. (Maybe this time without professing their love by writing it on each other with blood.) However, as Taissa struggles to control her murderous alter ego and Van tries to keep the past in the past, we can see that there are many reasons why these two trauma-bonded baddies have no business getting back together.
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In Season 2 of ‘Yellowjackets,’ We Learn That Van Survived the Wilderness
AsYellowjacketshas a nonlinear narrative that flashes back between the ’90s and the present day, we’ve known since that beginning that Taissa, Shauna (Melanie Lynskey), Natalie (Juliette Lewis), and Misty (Christina Ricci) survived the plane crash and are all living as semi-functional adults — when they’re not killing people, that is. The fate of most of the other girls has remained uncertain as they drop off one by one, and up until Season 2, we weren’t sure if Taissa’s girlfriend (played as a teen by actorLiv Hewson) survived the cannibal uprising of the Yellowjackets.
While it’s great to know that Van survived the wilderness, it’s also a shame that any semblance of normalcy she’s achieved is about to be blown to bits now that Taissa the Sleepwalking Senator has come back into her life.When we meet Ambrose’s Van as an adult, she’s the owner of a pretty rad video store and seems content organizing her VHS tapes and recommending movies to loyal customers. She may be hooked on oxy and on track for an eviction notice, but considering the rest of the team has been busykilling innocent artists (looking at you, Shauna), taking detectives hostage (and you, Misty), and stabbing people in the face with forks (ahem, Natalie), we could say that Van is doing pretty damn well for herself.
In Season 2 ofYellowjackets, even though it’s established that it’s been a long time since Van and Taissa have seen each other, there’s an immediate ease between the two when they reconnect as adults. When Tai informs Van of the horrifying altar she built in her basement, Van immediately asks if Sammy (Aiden Stoxx) saw it, letting us know that there’s some sort of familiarity there as Van knows about Tai’s family. However, this could also be because Taissa has been in the public eye throughout her political campaign.
Furthermore, Taissa found Van’s address through a file that she took from Jessica (Rekha Sharma), letting us know that before this, she didn’t know where Van lived, and Van never felt the need to tell her. While there’s an undeniable spark between the two women as they organizeSandra Bullockmovies, if you liken an unexpected reunion to having an anvil dropped into your life (which Van does), odds are it’s not a great surprise. Although Taissa still has love for Van and Van obviously still cares for Tai, most of this attachment comes from an extremely traumatic time for the both of them, which isn’t necessarily the best foundation for a healthy relationship.
Teenage Van and Taissa Are a Great Couple on ‘Yellowjackets’
There’s no denying that as teenagers struggling to survive in the unrelenting wilderness, Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Van were a great couple. They consistently stood by each other even when they disagreed, like when Taissa was far more reluctant than Van to buy intoLottie’s (Courtney Eaton) seemingly supernatural abilities. Van was more whimsical and optimistic while Tai was more practical, and they balanced each other out.
The girls were also each other’s number one protectors when faced with both physical and emotional threats. When Van is attacked by a wolf on the girls’ ill-fated expedition, Taissa fights it off with alarming ferocity, and is devastated when it looks like Van has died. Once it’s revealed that Van is actually alive (did nobody think to check for a pulse before this spontaneous cremation?), Taissa never leaves her side and practically carries her all the way back to the cabin. Later on, when the team hosts a “Doomcoming” dance to morbidly celebrate their impending death, Tai even makes masks to wear with Van because she knows that she’s self-conscious about her scars.
While teenage Taissa is fiercely protective over Van, Van reciprocates this love whenever she can, most notably by tying herself to Tai while they sleep in an attempt to control Tai’s sleepwalking episodes. Between the aggressive lip biting and the rope burns, Van proved herself to be pretty unflappable in the face of Taissa’s fugue states. However, it was obviously still terrifying for Van as she tethered herself to her girlfriend every night in the hope that she could prevent her from walking off a cliff. Now, all this time later, Taissa is showing up out of the blue for help with the same problem, which doesn’t really seem fair to Van. Speaking of Taissa’s sleepwalking, is this woman really in any shape to be jumping into a new relationship?
Taissa’s Sleepwalking Poses a Threat to Herself and Those She Loves, Especially Van
Sleepwalking Taissa a.k.a. The Bad One is a total nightmare, literally. When she’s not looming in trees, eating dirt, and decapitating beloved family pets (RIP Biscuit), she’s scaring the crap out of her son and steering her wife into oncoming traffic. The Bad One’s ultimate motivation is still pretty unclear, and because of this, Taissa’s actions this past season have been totally erratic and confusing. While this alter ego has at times been helpful, like whenit helped Taissa and Van find Javi (Luciano Leroux) in the woods, The Bad One is often just a vehicle for violence. This makes it all the more concerning that she’s the reason that Taissa went to track down Van.
Even though it made sense for Taissa to follow The Bad One’s urgings and find Van, we’ve learned through what happened to her wife, Simone (Rukiya Bernard), that in her fugue state, Taissa doesn’t care much for others’ well-being. Taissa’s alarming behavior doesn’t leave much room to foster healthy bonds, with Simone or anyone else. If things don’t work out with her wife (either because they’ve lost the spark or because Taissa straight-up tried to kill her), this still doesn’t mean that Taissa should jump into another relationship. Since the start ofYellowjackets,Taissa has reconnected with teammates like Shaunaand has other support systems that understand what she’s going through, meaning that she doesn’t need to (or at least shouldn’t) rekindle things with Van.
Simply Put: Van and Taissa Shouldn’t Get Back Together
Ultimately, you never forget your first love, especially when this love has helped you survive a soccer team turned cannibal cult. While it’s romantic to think that Taissa and Van could find each other again after all these years and make it work, a relationship between these two just isn’t a good idea. Van still bears the physical and emotional scars from the time in the woods but has found some sense of normalcy, and she deserves to enjoy any scrap of peace she can hold onto. It’s also clear that Taissa has a lot of trauma that she needs to overcome before she’s ready to be a good partner to anybody. As Van says to Tai after their unexpected reunion, Van has to take care of herself too, and at least for right now, this means not getting back together with Taissa.
