Two Truths and a Lie (Yellowjackets)

"Two Truths and a Lie"
Yellowjackets episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 5
Directed by	Ben Semanoff
Written by	Katherine Kearns Sarah L. Thompson
Cinematography by	Francois Dagenais
Editing by	Kevin D. Ross
Original air date	April 23, 2023 (2023-04-23)
Running time	59 minutes
Guest appearances
Nicole Maines as Lisa Nia Sondaya as Akilah Alex Wyndham as Kevyn Tan John Reynolds as Matt Saracusa Sarah Desjardins as Callie Sadecki Alexa Barajas as Mari Nuha Jes Izman as Crystal Andres Soto as Adult Travis Martinez Elijah Wood as Walter Tattersall

"Two Truths and a Lie" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American thriller drama television series Yellowjackets. It is the fifteenth overall episode of the series and was written by co-producer Katherine Kearns and executive producer Sarah L. Thompson, and directed by Ben Semanoff. It aired on Showtime on April 23, 2023, but it was available to stream two days earlier on Paramount+ with Showtime.

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. In the episode, Callie realizes that Jay is actually a police officer, while Taissa asks Van for help. Flashbacks depict the team trying to use a meditation by Lottie as a snowstorm approaches.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.163 million household viewers and gained a 0.02 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received highly positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for the flashback scenes.

Plot

Flashbacks

Lottie (Courtney Eaton) hosts meditation sessions for the team. Nevertheless, Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) is still unsure of Lottie's intentions, as she begins to talk to her womb while she is sleeping. Javi is still not talking to anyone, but Travis (Kevin Alves) defends his decision to not speak.

As Misty (Sammi Hanratty) and Crystal (Nuha Jes Izman) continue bonding, and both begin sharing secrets. Trusting her, Misty confides that she destroyed the emergency transmitter. This horrifies Crystal, as she blames her for their predicament. Misty threatens her if she ever tells someone, but she accidentally backs her off the edge of a cliff, and Crystal falls to her death. With a snowstorm approaching, Shauna leaves the cabin, feeling she cannot trust Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) for supporting Lottie over her. Taissa catches up to her to make amends, but Shauna starts going into labor. Using Lottie's meditation, Taissa comforts her and guides her back to the cabin, preparing to help her in delivering the baby.

Present day

As she meets Van (Lauren Ambrose) at her store, Taissa (Tawny Cypress) loses consciousness. Upon waking up, she opens up about her sleepwalking, and Van promises to help her. She allows her to stay with her for the night, and confronts the sleepwalking version of Taissa during the night.

Callie (Sarah Desjardins) goes bowling with Jay (John Reynolds), but is disappointed that he does not return her affections. While he leaves, Callie is confused when he finds his surname "Saracusa" in the bill, and confirms he is a police officer when he searches him up. When they leave, Callie lies by claiming that Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) was having an affair with Randy, not Adam. To get Matt and Kevyn (Alex Wyndham) off their backs, Shauna meets with Randy at a motel, forcing him to masturbate in a condom and drop it, hoping this will be enough to convince them of the affair. They subsequently leave, with Randy leaving the used condom as proof for Kevyn and Matt. However, they note that he used lotion, making them realize that Callie lied to Matt.

Misty (Christina Ricci) and Walter (Elijah Wood) eventually reach the commune, finding Natalie (Juliette Lewis). However, she dismisses her concerns and states that she is willingly staying with Lottie (Simone Kessell). Misty refuses to let Lottie influence her friends, despite Walter asking her to move on. When Walter suggests that Misty might have killed Adam, she leaves him, cutting ties with him. Natalie begins doubting Lottie's intentions after finding the full documents of everyone in the commune, but is dismayed to learn that everyone willingly gave them up. Lottie helps Natalie in recalling her last conversation with Travis, where she admitted that "we brought it back", referring to an unknown entity.

Development

Production

The episode was written by co-producer Katherine Kearns and executive producer Sarah L. Thompson, and directed by Ben Semanoff. This marked Kearns' second writing credit, Thompson's fourth writing credit, and Semanoff's second directing credit.

Writing

For the scene where Misty accidentally gets Crystal to fall off a cliff, Sammi Hanratty said, "I have to care about Misty to play her, so I have a lot of love for her. And my heart kind of broke for her when Crystal does turn on her. Every time we did that scene, I don't even consider myself a Method actor, but my heart literally would drop every time she rejected me, and I felt like I was turning into a little kid again. Scrambling to take back what I just did."

Reception

Viewers

The episode was watched by 0.163 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. This was a 28% decrease from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.226 million viewers with a 0.03 in the 18-49 demographics.

Critical reviews

"Two Truths and a Lie" received highly positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 90% approval rating for the episode, with an average rating of 7.8/10 and based on 10 reviews.

Hattie Lindert of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A–" and wrote, "As Yellowjackets' second season tiptoes towards its midpoint, the individual relationships between the teenaged girls have become a clear fulcrum for their adult counterparts' interactions: Shauna's inability to face reality, the only thing that allows her to brunch with Jackie's parents; Tai's fear of opening up to absolutely anyone but Van; Natalie's well of frustration and jealousy towards Lottie that sometimes, when she lets her guard down, borders on awe."

Erin Qualey of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "This moment provides loose proof for a Yellowjackets theory that's been floating in the ether for some time now. “This isn't where we're supposed to be” feels eerily like the chilling “We have to go back!” declaration that Jack made at the end of season 3 of Lost. Yellowjackets shares a fair share of DNA with Lost, and it feels like it would make sense for the adult survivors to return to the scene of the crime. Do they have to go back to the wilderness in order to heal from their trauma? Or is there something calling them that needs to be dealt with?" Proma Khosla of IndieWire gave the episode a "B–" and wrote, "Luckily for Misty, her lie about losing Crystal during the storm is quickly eclipsed by Shauna and Tai's return to the cabin, with Shauna actively in labor. New life is on the way, as Lottie told us that very morning, “and we can't wait to meet him.”"

Bernard Boo of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "All of the stories are pushed along in interesting ways, and while nothing particularly nuclear happens, we've arrived at a point where these characters are simply entertaining to be with, which is the sweet spot for any show." Erik Kain of Forbes wrote, "I'm having a bit of a tricky time with Yellowjackets lately. Maybe because the bar was set so high in Season 1, I come to this second season with an unreasonably high standard. Maybe I'm just tired of being burned. Whatever the case, something just isn't quite clicking for me this season. There have been some extremely great moments, but ever since the introduction of the new teenage girls, it feels like the show is slipping."

Coleman Spilde of The Daily Beast wrote, "Now that we're halfway through the season, Yellowjackets has finally managed to fill its episodes with consistent surprises again. Let's hope this momentum keeps up long after the spring thaw." Cade Taylor of Telltale TV gave the episode a 3.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "With very few more obscene, standout moments, this episode deals with many different moving facets that alter and push the storyline forward drastically to build up to what is inevitably going to be one of the most significant episodes of the season with episode six."

Esther Zuckerman of The New York Times wrote, "In an earlier scene, Lottie had told the fetus, “You are going to change everything.” Now the child is here, a new life entering the world replacing Crystal, who has left it. Bye, bestie. Hello, baby." Brittney Bender of Bleeding Cool gave the episode a perfect 10 out of 10 rating and wrote, "Showtime's Yellowjackets S02E05, "Two Truths and a Lie," heightens the season and warns viewers of the storms that remain ahead both in the wilderness and out of it. There's plenty of fantastic balance between dark comedy and rising tension to make this episode incredibly entertaining and shocking."

External links

• "Two Truths and a Lie" at IMDb