Behind the scenes of that intense Yellowjackets birth
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Warning: This post contains spoilers from Yellowjackets season 2, episode 6, "Qui."
"Was it too much?" Jasmin Savoy Brown wipes away tears as she discusses a particularly emotional take with the director.
It's November 2022, and EW is on the Yellowjackets set for the filming of season 2, episode 6, otherwise known as the birth episode. Yep, it's finally time for Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) to have her baby. "It does feel like this is the first, for lack of a better word, adult issue these girls are facing," Brown, who plays the teenage Taissa, tells EW on the set. "Delivering a baby is very adult. And interestingly enough, the one adult in the room abandons them in this. Coach doesn't try to help deliver the baby. And so I think these girls really grow up in this moment, especially with the outcome."
The outcome Brown speaks of is one fans watched unfold during Friday's episode: Shauna passes out after giving birth and finds herself dreaming of young motherhood. She struggles to feed her baby, until finally, he latches onto her breast. But when she wakes up in the middle of the night, she finds that her teammates have... eaten the baby?!
Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher, and Sophie Nélisse on 'Yellowjackets'
Don't worry, that was all in Shauna's head (and Melanie Lynskey won't have to leave the show). In reality, Shauna's baby didn't survive childbirth, hence all the tears.
"One of the things I love about this group the most is how much we're able to lean on each other," Liv Hewson, who plays Van, says of the emotional scenes. "This is a big ensemble and we are able to really rely on each other, particularly on days like this. We all have each other's backs."
In particular, on this day, they have Nélisse's back, who screams through her tears take after take. "Did it look realistic?" she asks after one take of her passing out. (Yes, it did.)
"It's been emotionally and physically draining," Nélisse says, sitting on set only a couple hours into the day. But it's something the actress has been preparing for, watching YouTube videos and scenes that director Liz Garbus sent her. "Liz directed Handmaid's Tale and so she sent me a bunch of clips from that. Also I've talked to as many women as possible about their birthing experience. I just tried to get as many life stories as possible, even from my mom. And of course Shauna's put in such a specific position where it's scarier and they don't have doctors and they don't know what they're doing."
Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME Kevin Alves, Nia Sondaya, Samantha Hanratty, Courtney Eaton, Sophie Thatcher, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Sophie Nélisse on 'Yellowjackets'
Well, one of them sort of (maybe?) knows what she's doing? Samantha Hanratty, whose Misty is the one to actually deliver the baby, has some experience in the area. "I've done birthing scenes before. I've done a couple where I've given birth," Hanratty says. "So back then I studied for it. For this, it was more about preparing emotionally. With everything that's happened with Crystal [Nuha Jes Izman], there's a lot going on in Misty's world. This is a very emotional time."
In between takes, actors are sprayed with water — Misty would be sweatier in this scene! — and makeup artists step in to reapply blood. (At one point, Hanratty uses the blood on her hands to add a smudge to Brown's face to save time.) As Garbus calls cut for the final time, after hours of relentless screaming and crying, the actors, all gathered around Nélisse, stop to hug.
Their tears have dried... at least for now.
New episodes of Yellowjackets drop Fridays on streaming and on-demand and air on Showtime Sundays.
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