Yellowjackets season 1 episode 3 recap: How far is Tai willing to go?

This week on Yellowjackets season 1, the girls disagree on whether to stay put or take their chances going to the lake. In the present day, Tai struggles with her campaign, Shauna tries to catch her husband cheating, and Natalie and Misty take a road trip — with devastating results.

Read on to discover what happened in Yellowjackets season 1 episode 3, “The Dollhouse.”

Yellowjackets season 1 episode 3 recap: Does the team find shelter?

The episode starts off on a somber note, with the team burying people who have died, including their teammate Rachel and a few of the plane crew. Jackie is confident the rescue team will come soon, but others are getting skeptical. Tai wants to go to a lake she saw, but Jackie thinks it’s better to stay put and wait for help. After taking a vote — one in which Shauna sides with Tai instead of Jackie — they all make the trek to the water, carrying the coach on a stretcher.

The journey to the lake is a rough one, as the group sees horrifying things like gutted bears. Eventually, they make it to the water, and everyone splashes around and has some fun. Things seem to be looking up when one of them spots a reflection, and they stumble upon an abandoned house. Unfortunately, the house doesn’t have too many useful supplies, and although it will provide shelter, it’s undeniably creepy.

Jackie thinks they should have stayed near the plane, irritated by both her poison ivy and Shauna betraying her. However, when Shauna gives her a blanket she found as a peace offering, the two make up. Shauna admits she’s scared, and Jackie comforts her.

Things are looking rough for the coach, who is annoyed at both his amputated leg and Misty constantly hovering over him. He eventually snaps and slaps her, but Misty continues to care for him anyway.

Meanwhile, Travis is struggling after the death of his father, acting out and disregarding the food rations. Natalie defends him due to his tragic situation, but it’s getting harder, as he’s acting especially cruel to his little brother Javi. Javi is still chewing the gum his dad gave him on the plane, and Travis harshly tells him to spit it out, throwing it across the woods — their dad is gone for good.

Yellowjackets season 1 episode 3 recap: How far is Tai willing to go to win the senate seat?

This episode, we discover Tai has been haunted all her life by a man who threatens to take people’s eyes. Her earliest memory is of her grandmother fearing this, panicking when she sees a figure in a mirror and discovers her dead grandmother’s body without any eyes when she pulls the lids back. This same figure seemingly haunts her at the abandoned house, too — where she also finds a dead body — and in the present day when she goes to the attic of her house and sees a doll ripped apart.

Could this be tied to Sammy’s strange behavior? After all, her seemingly sweet son hits another child on the playground and harshly talks back to her when she tries to take away his toy. Sammy asks Tai why people don’t like her, and she says people don’t like things that are different. But whatever he may hear about her, Tai assures him, it isn’t true. Sammy nods, saying she’s not the bad one — someone else is.

In addition to her parenting struggles, Tai is also having issues with her campaign. Her opponent Phil puts out a nasty ad against her, implying she’s dangerous. While she and her wife have agreed to run this campaign with dignity, she decides to stoop low, threatening to put Phil’s daughter’s former drug issues front and center if he pulls another stunt. It’s also revealed she’s working with Jessica, the person posing as an author looking for a story, to see if anyone will talk for the right price. The last thing she needs is an October surprise.

Yellowjackets season 1 episode 3 recap: What’s in the future for Shauna and Adam?

After suspecting her husband has been cheating on her, Shauna decides to find out for sure, sneakily following him to a hotel. Although the front desk worker won’t give her any information, Adam — the man from the car shop — sees her and asks to get a drink together.

She agrees, and they go to the hotel bar together. She gets distracted while he tells her about his past, admitting she’s looking out for her husband. Shauna’s suspicions are eventually confirmed when she sees him with another woman, and she brings Adam up to her hotel room.

Yellowjackets season 1 episode 3 recap: How did Travis die?

Misty accompanies Natalie on her road trip to go see Travis, talking her ear off about her bad dating life in the process. Natalie searches Misty’s car after sending her into the gas station for snacks, finding her battery cable in the console — Misty did this on purpose to go on the trip with her.

Finding Travis’ house locked, Natalie breaks the window to unlock the door and go inside. Misty thinks the house is creepy and hermit-like and finds the fact that he was drinking expensive alcohol despite his pay stubs saying he was only making minimum wage suspicious. Natalie hallucinates Travis while searching around the home.

A cop eventually comes to arrest them for breaking into the house. Natalie calls Tai, but she refuses to bail her out this time — she already paid for rehab, and she and Travis were always the worst for each other. Misty saves the day by calling Kevin, who she reveals she’s been catfishing by pretending to be Natalie.

Once out of jail, they go to the ranch where they discovered Travis was last working and see him hanging outside the grounds. Natalie is inconsolable. When she and Misty get back in the car, Misty reveals she found the final thing Travis wrote in his house: “Tell Nat she was right.” Natalie doesn’t know what he’s referring to but does know Travis didn’t kill himself — someone murdered him.

What did you think of the episode? Comment below!