‘Yellowjackets’ Co-Creator “Relates Deeply” To Deceased Character

SPOILERS: This publish incorporates particulars in regards to the Yellowjackets, Season 3 episode ‘How the Story Ends’

As Yellowjackets followers mourn the Showtime sequence’ newest stunning demise, the loss is very poignant for the lady behind the group.

Following the demise of Adult Van (Lauren Ambrose) in final week’s Season 3 penultimate episode ‘How the Story Ends’, co-creator Ashley Lyle defined to Deadline that “there’s at least a little bit of me” within the character.

“It’s tough. It’s tough to say goodbye to any character, and I think that I relate deeply to Van as somebody who also is obsessed with pop culture, always have been,” she defined. “I spent so much time as a kid and a teenager and a young adult in the kind of video store that [Van’s video store] While You Were Streaming is sort of living vicariously.”

Recalling her days of perusing the aisles of Kim’s Video in New York City, Lyle added, “That was just such a formative experience for me, so I definitely feel like there’s at least a little bit of me in Van.”

Van meets her destiny by the hands of her former teammate Melissa (Hilary Swank), following an emotionally fraught season for the character as she struggled to get pleasure from what life she had left with a terminal most cancers analysis. Hers is the newest demise after Juliette Lewis’ Natalie within the Season 2 finale, in addition to this seasons deaths of Adult Lottie (Simone Kessell) and Coach Ben (Steven Krueger).

“To say goodbye to Van was really difficult, but at the same time, the chickens were always meant to come home to roost—to use one of my mother’s favorite sayings—with this world and these characters,” added Lyle. “She couldn’t cheat death forever, and to our minds, a lot of her story was holding on to who she really is, and her arc this season was about questioning that and really kicking the tires on it for herself in a kind of profound, existential way. If part of her wanted to believe that there was a way to cheat death yet again, the question of whether or not she was willing to do what it takes, was sort of the central question for that character, and I think there’s something really beautiful about her in those final moments deciding, ‘No, that’s not who I want to be.’”

In the scene, Van holds Melissa at knifepoint after the latter tried to kill her pals. Tai beforehand satisfied Van that making a sacrifice may permit her to outlive her most cancers. “Why can’t I be that?” Van cries as she drops the knife in a heartbreaking efficiency from Ambrose.

Lyle additionally praised the actress’ work within the scene as “absolutely stunningly beautiful,” including: “Because it’s really tragic for her. She understands in that moment that she is making that choice. Whether it’s real or not is almost beside the point for her, it’s about belief. And for her to come down on the side of, I don’t want to be that person, I don’t want to do terrible things if I’m rewarded for them, was the central thesis of her character, and I think it’s really quite lovely.”

Liv Hewson, who portrays Van’s teen counterpart, beforehand informed Deadline “filming this season was very intense” after Lyle and co-creator Bart Nickerson informed them prematurely that the character can be dying this season.

“It was so significant to me that I knew that’s where we were headed, and I knew that was coming,” defined Hewson. “So, I feel like I really went on a stages-of-grief journey with it as we were filming the season, and then by the time we got to filming episode nine, I was just so grateful to be able to share that with Lauren and to get to say goodbye to Van together.”

The Season 3 finale of Yellowjackets is accessible to stream Friday on Paramount+ with Showtime, earlier than airing Sunday at 8pm ET on Showtime.