Expectations are high for the third season of Yellowjackets. The Emmy-nominated show about a high school soccer team trapped in the wilderness after a plane crash returns on February 14, streaming on Paramount+. Prior to the new season’s premiere, we chatted with cast members Sarah Desjardins (Callie), Warren Kole (Jeff), Courtney Eaton (teenage Lottie), and Kevin Alves (teenage Travis) during a press junket.

Warning: This article contains spoilers about season 2.

Set during the spring, season 3 picks up after the harrowing events of season 2, which saw the teammates resort to cannibalism by the second episode to survive the winter. By the finale, they selected Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) as their new leader. Season 2 also featured the death of Travis’ brother, Javi (Luciano Leroux). The cast discussed evolving power dynamics, as well the mysterious wilderness and its impact on various characters, especially Travis and Lottie.

From the outset, season 3 showcases changing power dynamics and shaky relationships. This is especially true of Callie, who wants a bigger role in her family. The beginning of the season sees Callie lash out, rebelling as a means to garner attention from her parents, Jeff and Shauna (Melanie Lynskey).

Kole defined the family dynamics as “a struggle for leadership.” As much as Jeff wants to return to suburban normality, he can’t.  Kole described his character as “pure” and “loyal” in his values, while noting that Jeff needs to grow, mature, and evolve, or he’ll get bulldozed by the women in his family, who he dubbed “very strong characters.”

Desjardins added that playing Callie comes back to what the character wants and the longing for love from her mom. “I feel like she has a bit more of that in the relationship with Jeff already, but she’s really longing for it from Shauna.” She added that in the earlier seasons, Callie craved attention. However, she noted that she’s trying to figure herself out, while struggling to process and learn what her mom encountered in the wilderness and how that impacts her in the present.

“I think it also comes from a place of the love she has for her mom, and she doesn’t know what to do with it. It’s a complex journey that we’re on,” Desjardins said. Kole promised that Callie will have an evolved and surprising character arc, while realizing that her parents are flawed people. “Callie might be discovering that her parents are a mess and don’t have everything figured out,” he said.

Lottie and Travis’ friendship also evolves in season 3. By season 2’s conclusion, Lottie, who frequently had eerie visions, was dethroned as the antler queen and leader. She insisted Natalie take up the role because the wilderness chose her. Travis, meanwhile, resorts to booze and substances to grieve his brother Javi’s death.

Both Eaton and Alves commented on their characters’ pull towards the mysterious and perhaps sinister wilderness and its draw for their characters. “At the end of season 2, you find Lottie struggling with where she stands [in relation to the wilderness]. It kind of left her, and she can’t hear it as much anymore. Going into season 3, she tosses out the idea of whether she wants to dip her toe back into it or leave it behind. You see it snowball, and the hunger takes over,” Eaton said.

L-R: Courtney Eaton as Teen Lottie and Kevin Alves as Teen Travis in Yellowjackets, episode 1, season 3, streaming on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, 2025. Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.

For Travis, the wilderness becomes part of his grieving process after Javi’s death, rightly or wrongly. “That’s where we find him at the beginning of season 3, using the wilderness to help him cope,” Alves said. Eaton agreed that for Travis, the wilderness becomes a means for him to numb the pain. Although, as we already know, that can have severe consequences. Eaton and Alves questioned whether Lottie’s actions enable Travis, pushing him too far. “Their relationship feels like two same-side magnets that keep pushing away,” Alves said. “It’s real healthy,” Eaton joked.

Eaton and Alves did promise some answers in season 3 regarding the show’s supernatural elements and the wilderness. “I think this season does a really good job riding the line until you learn something very specific as the season goes on,” Eaton promised, without spoiling what’s coming.

Alves added that even if the new season provides more answers, viewers will still have to figure out some of these puzzles themselves. “What the show does really well, and hopefully continues to do well, even though it gives you answers, it’ll keep you questioning where you stand with it. What side of it do you live on? What’s supernatural and what’s not?”

Yellowjackets is available to stream on Paramount+.