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The TV show Yellowjackets tells the tale of a girls' high school soccer team whose aircraft crashes in the Canadian wilderness in 1996. The series shifts between two timelines: their fight for survival in nature and their current lives as adults facing the consequences. A key question of the series is how much time they were stuck before being saved.
The survivors endured 19 months in the wilderness before their rescue in December 1997. Yellowjackets slowly reveals the happenings of that period, demonstrating how their early attempts at survival transformed into something far more sinister as they adjusted to their brutal surroundings.
Although just a small portion of this period has been examined in Yellowjackets up to now, hints from the plot aid in creating a more defined timeline of their time spent in seclusion.
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Yellowjackets: Timeline of events in the wilderness
May/June 1996 - The crash: The team's plane crashes in an isolated region of the Canadian wilderness. The survivors initially set up camp outside but later discover a nearby cabin, which becomes their main shelter.
Early efforts focus on hunting, gathering, and treating injuries, while they hold out hope for rescue.
Summer to fall 1996 - Initial adaptation: The survivors adjust to their environment, but tensions rise as food supplies dwindle. Shauna becomes aware of her pregnancy, which serves as a rough timeline indicator.
The group experiences conflicts over leadership and resources, with social dynamics beginning to shift.
Fall 1996 - 'Doomcoming' and Jackie’s death: The survivors attempt to hold a celebratory event akin to homecoming, but the gathering spirals into chaos due to hallucinogenic mushrooms.
As temperatures drop, Jackie is left outside overnight and succumbs to hypothermia. The snowfall signals the arrival of a brutal winter.
Winter 1996-97 - Survival at all costs: Food scarcity worsens, forcing the group into extreme survival measures. Jackie's body is accidentally cooked by a snow-covered pyre, leading to their first act of cannibalism.
Later, the group establishes a ritualistic system for selecting who will be sacrificed for food. Javi dies during this period, and his body is also consumed.
Spring/Summer 1997 - Temporary relief: With the arrival of warmer weather, hunting and foraging become viable again. The group regains a sense of routine, but psychological and power struggles remain.
A time jump in season 3 places them in the middle of their second summer, suggesting they have a few more months before another winter.
Winter 1997-98 - The final stretch before rescue: The second winter is expected to be just as harsh, with further deterioration of social order. The 'pit girl' scene, which was teased in the show's opening episode, is likely to occur here. The final months in the wilderness remain unclear but are expected to feature more deaths before rescue finally arrives.
December 1997 - Rescue and return to civilization: The survivors are finally rescued after 19 months in the wilderness. Their return to society is filled with trauma and secrecy, as they struggle to reintegrate into normal life while suppressing the truth of what happened.
Yellowjackets: Plot and theme
While Yellowjackets is a fictional series, it draws inspiration from real-life survival stories. One of the most commonly cited influences is the 1972 Andes flight disaster, in which members of a Uruguayan rugby team survived a plane crash in the mountains and resorted to cannibalism to stay alive.
The show’s creators, however, have stated that Yellowjackets is not directly based on any specific true event but rather explores themes of survival, trauma, and human behavior under extreme circumstances.
As the players of the Yellowjackets football team navigate their conflicting timelines, the show follows them. After their plane accident in 1996, they struggle for life in the wild, and the adult survivors still deal with the effects of their ordeal today.
Hidden realities from their wilderness experience hang over them as they attempt to go forward in life, with dangerous consequences.
Compared to the original timeline, the present timeline covers a substantially shorter period of time, beginning in 2021.
Only a few months have passed since the current events began, and Yellowjackets season 3 is expected to tie the past and present together, maybe shedding light on the survivors' life immediately following their rescue.
Yellowjackets explores how previous choices affect the present, the connections made through trauma, and the moral and psychological difficulties of surviving.
As the story progresses, more information about what happened during their wilderness stay and how it continues to affect their lives years later is revealed.
