Pilot (Yellowjackets)

"Pilot"
Yellowjackets episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 1
Directed by	Karyn Kusama
Written by	Ashley Lyle Bart Nickerson
Cinematography by	Julie Kirkwood
Editing by	Plummy Tucker
Original release date	November 14, 2021 (2021-11-14)
Running time	57 minutes
Guest appearances
Courtney Eaton as Charlotte "Lottie" Matthews Liv Hewson as Vanessa "Van" Palmer Keeya King as Akilah Kevin Alves as Travis Martinez Jane Widdop as Laura Lee Alexa Barajas as Mari Jack DePew as Jeff Carlos Sanz as Coach Bill Martinez Rekha Sharma as Jessica Roberts Sarah Desjardins as Callie Sadecki Rukiya Bernard as Simone Abara Pearl Amanda Dickson as Allie Stevens

"Pilot" is the first episode of the American thriller drama television series Yellowjackets. The episode was written by series creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, and directed by executive producer Karyn Kusama. It was released on Showtime on November 14, 2021, but it was available for free on November 6, 2021.

The series follows a New Jersey high school girls' soccer team that travels to Seattle for a national tournament in 1996. While flying over Canada, their plane crashes deep in the wilderness, and the surviving team members are left stranded for nineteen months. The series chronicles their attempts to stay alive as some of the team members are driven to cannibalism. It also focuses on the lives of the survivors 25 years later in 2021, as the events of their ordeal continue to affect them many years after their rescue. The episode introduces the characters, and the ramifications of the plane crash.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.246 million household viewers and gained a 0.02 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised the story, characters, performances and intrigue. It received nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Plot

In the snowy wildlands, a woman in a nightgown is running in a forest, while whispers and noises are heard in the distance. She continues running, until she falls into a trap, getting impaled by spikes. A young person wearing animal fur and mask takes her before other participants, and they proceed to slaughter her body.

In 2021, Shauna Shipman (Melanie Lynskey) is approached by Jessica Roberts (Rekha Sharma), a reporter from The Star-Ledger. Jessica offers her a 7-figure book deal for details regarding her experience as a survivor of a 1996 airplane crash, but Shauna is not interested. Natalie Scatorccio (Juliette Lewis), another survivor from the crash, checks out of rehab in California, telling her sponsor that the experience helped her find a purpose. After leaving, she decides to take a flight.

Taissa Turner (Tawny Cypress), another survivor, is doing a photoshoot with her wife Simone (Rukiya Bernard) and son Sammy (Aiden Stoxx), as she launches her Senate campaign. During the photoshoot, the photographer wants her to address her past, but she wants to leave that behind. She later meets up with Shauna, who used a secret phone to contact her, and inform her about Jessica. Shauna investigated her, and found that she is not working for any paper. Taissa is not concerned about her, revealing that they still keep in touch with the other survivors. One of these is Misty Quigley (Christina Ricci), who now works as a geriatric nurse, and is unaware that Natalie is following her.

In flashbacks to 1996, the Yellowjackets win their soccer game, allowing them to compete in Nationals at Seattle. The leader of the team is Jackie Taylor (Ella Purnell), who is the best friend of Shauna (Sophie Nélisse). As they prepare for a practice, Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) notes that her teammate Allie (Pearl Amanda Dickson) is not good enough for the team. Fearing that she will cost them the championship, Taissa injures Allie during practice by breaking her leg. That night, the team attends a rave, where Shauna accuses Taissa of injuring Allie on purpose. Jackie stops the fight, and gets the girls to apologize and reconcile. Jackie's boyfriend Jeff (Jack DePew) drops her off at her house, and then drives Shauna to her house. They pull over by the road, revealing that they have an affair and they end up having sex.

The following morning, the team leaves for the championship on a private plane, paid by the father of their teammate Charlotte "Lottie" Matthews (Courtney Eaton). Due to weather, the plane must take a detour to Canada. Shauna sleeps during the flight, but is woken when the plane experiences severe turbulence. Shauna opens the window shade, and sees the plane is falling and about to crash into the wilderness.

Development

Production

The episode was written by series creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, and directed by executive producer Karyn Kusama.

Reception

Viewers

The episode was watched by 0.246 million viewers, earning a 0.02 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielsen ratings scale. This means that 0.02 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.

Critical reviews

"Pilot" received highly positive reviews from critics. Leila Latif of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" and wrote, "It's an impressively exciting and unflinching start to what is already a pitch-black subject matter — to focus not only on the brutality of surviving and succumbing to a collective madness, but also the lingering inescapable trauma. Each character's life, for now, remains disparate, but they all inhabit the same cursed landscape. Yellowjackets strips away any triumphant happy ending and traps those who escape in a different ring of hell."

Kelly McClure of Vulture gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "There's an art to building a pilot that sets the premise of the show, introduces the main characters, and lays out an element of mystery to entice viewers to return again the following episode for more, all in under an hour. Creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, along with director Karyn Kusama, do that in the very first episode of Yellowjackets better than we've seen in a long, long time."

Brittney Bender of Bleeding Cool gave the episode a perfect 10 out of 10 rating and wrote, "The very first episode of Yellowjackets is composed of excellent scenes filled with character development and originality that raises it above many other survival epics or drama series. Showtime has a winner on their hands, with an excellent cast leading the way through a horrific and tension-filled story." Greg Wheeler of The Review Geek gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The first episode perfectly sets up all our characters, exudes exposition naturally and helps to introduce all our different key players across the season to come."

Awards and accolades

For the episode, Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson were nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, while Karyn Kusama nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Lyle and Nickerson would lose to Jesse Armstrong for the episode "All the Bells Say" in Succession, while Kusama would lose to Hwang Dong-hyuk for the episode "Red Light, Green Light" in Squid Game.

External links

• "Pilot" at IMDb