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Yellowjackets is a psychological thriller series created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson. The series follows the story of a high school girls' soccer team whose plane crashed in the remote wilderness of Ontario, Canada, in 1996. As they battle to survive, friendships tear apart, and they turn against one another into cannibalistic enemies.
The series explores the lasting psychological effects of the trauma in their adult lives and is set in 2021. Its younger characters are played by Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Sophie Thatcher, with the adult counterparts comprising Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci.
The show received seven Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series. The second season was officially renewed in 2021, and premiered on March 26, 2023, while the third will be released on February 14, 2025.
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Renowned for its unsettling atmosphere and a history that contrasts sharply with the present, the past continues to haunt these characters. Here is a list of the 10 most scary characters from Yellowjackets.
Disclaimer: The following list is ranked in no particular order, and the opinions expressed belong solely to the author.
Misty Quigley, Shauna Sadecki, and 8 other most scary Yellowjackets characters
1) Shauna Sadecki
The Yellowjackets character Shauna Marie Sadecki is played by Melanie Lynskey as an adult and Sophie Nélisse as an adolescent.
Shauna does not even flinch when she disposes of Adam's body after mercilessly murdering him, only proving that he knew too much. The extremity of her survival instincts becomes obvious with the expressionless face while dissecting him.
She is unpredictable, because even though she carries out such acts, she suppresses her guilt. Beneath her suburban facade, she has a survival instinct, which suddenly resurfaces.
2) Misty Quigley
Misty Quigley is played by Sammi Hanratty as a teen and Christina Ricci as an adult. Misty, the eager-to-please outcast and equipment manager of the team, was never truly accepted by the team.
After the crash, her first aid skills earn her long-desired recognition, which brings out a darker side that grows over time. As an adult, she works as a nursing home nurse and participates in an online citizen detective group.
She gleefully destroys the plane’s emergency locator, ensuring the group remains stranded. The twisted smile on her face, as the signal dies, proves she thrives in chaos.
Eager to be needed, she manipulates and kills to maintain control. Her lack of remorse when crossing moral boundaries makes her appear disturbingly inhuman.
3) Lottie Matthews
Lottie Matthews is portrayed by Courtney Eaton as a teen and Simone Kessell as an adult.
Lottie, once a star Yellowjackets player, believes in the wilderness's power after experiencing visions. Desperation strengthens her influence, turning her into a spiritual leader. Placing the bear heart on the altar and saying, "Let the wilderness choose," cements her control, as the others bow in reverence.
Her descent into cult-like leadership blurs the line between prophecy and madness, making her one of the scariest characters of the series.
4) Taissa Turner
Taissa Turner is portrayed by Jasmin Savoy Brown as a teenager and Tawny Cypress as an adult. 25 years ago, Taissa was the star player of the WHS Yellowjackets, a passionate and talented soccer team that was headed for the nationals until their lives were turned upside-down by the plane crash.
When her wife Simone finds a secret room in their basement with a disturbing altar, their son’s decapitated dog, and a human heart, Taissa’s blank, victorious smile in the mirror shows that something has taken control.
Taissa's dissociative fugue states transform her into someone unrecognizable, turning her into a nightmare. The presence of 'The Man with No Eyes' in her mind hints at something dark struggling to break free.
5) Sammy Abara-Turner
Sammy Abara-Turner, though seemingly well-adjusted, is a scary character in Yellowjackets due to his unsettling behavior. His drawings— eyeballs, a crying girl, and other eerie images— suggest a deeper darkness, while his cryptic warnings, like 'Hiding in the tree, she watches me at night,' hint at a supernatural presence.
His sudden disappearance and the resulting car accident heighten the mystery surrounding him. As it is revealed that Taissa hallucinated his visit, Sammy’s strange actions take on an even more chilling significance, leaving viewers to question his scary side.
6) Vanessa Palmer
Vanessa Anne “Van” Palmer is portrayed by Liv Hewson as a teenager and Lauren Ambrose as an adult in season 2.
In the aftermath of the tragic plane crash, Van narrowly survived a fire. Although she emerged from the crash unharmed, she harbored resentment toward Jackie, the team captain, who froze in panic and failed to help her, prioritizing her best friend instead.
After being mauled by wolves and nearly dying, she wakes up mid-funeral, gasping for air. Instead of fear, she laughs, as if death itself has no claim over her anymore. Her obsession with the group's growing supernatural beliefs makes her disturbingly eager to embrace their dangerous and dark path, as seen in Yellowjackets.
7) Walter Tattersall
Walter Tattersall is a character in the second season of Yellowjackets. He is portrayed by Elijah Wood in a season-long recurring role and is slated to return for season 3.
Walter, a quirky multimillionaire citizen detective, unexpectedly challenges Misty. After winning a $6 million settlement from a scaffolding accident, he shares Misty's willingness to bend the law to get what he wants.
Walter casually disposes of evidence that could have linked Misty to a murder, showing no hesitation or concern. His cheerful demeanor while covering up the crime reveals that he is willing to align with Misty’s dark side.
8) Mari
Mari is portrayed by Alexa Barajas. Mari, a member of the team, wasn’t part of the core group but survived the plane crash in Canada.
Mari's exact fate during the 19 months in the wilderness remains unclear, but in season 2, she reappears with a larger presence. Despite not being part of the core group in season 1, she now plays a more prominent role, showing an increased level of paranoia and cruelty.
Her hallucinations and growing devotion to Lottie suggest a darker shift, implying she may be involved in the cult and its activities. This shift emphasizes her greater entanglement with the group’s increasingly sinister dynamics.
9) Coach Ben Scott
Benjamin “Ben” Scott, played by Steven Krueger, was the Assistant Coach when the incident took place years ago. He experiences hallucinations of an alternate reality where he escapes and lives a normal life, but he wakes up starving and broken in the wilderness.
The despair on Ben's face shows his realization that survival is unlikely. As he struggles to hold onto his morals in a world that has abandoned them, he turns hostile and becomes an outsider among the others in Yellowjackets. His fate is even more chilling, knowing he is one of the few who hasn’t taken a life.
Given that taking a life was seen as necessary for survival in the wilderness, it makes his character even more unsettling that he chose not to do so.
10) Travis Martinez
Travis Martinez, played by Kevin Alves as a teenager and Andres Soto as an adult in Yellowjackets, is the son of the head coach, Bill Martinez.
Travis, who had accompanied his younger brother Javi and their father to nationals, was devastated when his father died in the plane crash in Canada. Overcome with grief and anger, he blamed his father for their entire predicament.
His mental state starts deteriorating, especially after Javi's death, and he gets involved in a violent ritual as the survival instincts of the group push him to the edge.
Viewers can stream three seasons of Yellowjackets on Hulu, Netflix, and Prime Video.
