Emmys spotlight: ‘Yellowjackets’ 1996 cast deserves awards recognition as Season 2 MVPs

Ronald Meyer
Updated ·5 min read
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Throughout the first episodes of “Yellowjackets” Season 2, the thriller’s younger cast members are emerging as series MVPs. Increasingly harsh living conditions and emotional fallout from Jackie’s (Ella Purnell) death have provided them with the show’s most complex and devastating material yet. Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Courtney Eaton and Sophie Thatcher’s standout performances deserve as much Emmy consideration as those of their adult counterparts. 

As Shauna, seven months pregnant and grieving her best friend under less-than-ideal circumstances, Nélisse is giving a darker, more psychologically challenging performance than she had in Season 1. Clayton Davis reported in Variety that, despite having been campaigned alongside her ‘96-timeline co-stars as a supporting actor for the show’s maiden Emmy bid, Nélisse will this time around compete for a lead slot. The shift doesn’t come as a surprise, given how many Season 2 write-ups have singled out the rising star. While multiple actors have been nominated for the same roles in different categories and/or years, most notably “The Crown’s” Olivia Colman and Claire Foy (and, after this cycle, possibly Imelda Staunton), it’ll be quite the race if Melanie Lynskey, ranked first in Gold Derby’s Best Drama Actress odds, and Nélisse (currently 26th) concurrently vie for the prize. 

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Eaton gave a compelling supporting performance in Season 1 but sees her role expanded as Lottie becomes a central, even antagonistic, figure in both timelines. Eaton is splitting duties with new series regular Simone Kessell, whose adult Lottie we see for the first time in the season premiere. There’s a current of malice beneath her outward New Age persona, and Eaton is just beginning to explore it in the ‘96 timeline. This past March, she received an acting prize from the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival for her lead performance in Brittany Snow’s “Parachute.” Could an Emmy nomination be next? 

Thatcher, who is on the verge of a big-screen breakthrough with this summer’s Rob Savage-directed Stephen King adaptation, “The Boogeyman,” also outdoes her consistently strong Season 1 performance. The burden of Javi’s (Luciano Leroux) disappearance has mainly fallen on Nat and, subsequently, so has the difficulty of emoting its effect on Travis (Kevin Alves). Even in a series that’s been known for uncompromising violence, the scenes of Nat going toe to toe with Lottie, whose encouragement of Travis’ futile determination to find his younger brother is counterproductive, are unbearably tense. However the search for Javi concludes — perhaps Lottie’s premonitions aren’t just “Wicca BS” — it’s difficult not to relate to the heartrending calculations Nat must perform while simultaneously supporting Travis and being careful not to overindulge his optimism. It’s a thin, tricky line, and Thatcher walks it with the grace of a seasoned thespian. Juliette Lewis, who plays Nat as an adult, ranks below Lynskey in eighth. 

SEE Emmy predictions: Melanie Lynskey (‘Yellowjackets’) could become second ever Best Drama Actress winner for Showtime

While Nélisse, Eaton, and Thatcher are pushing their characters to more interesting places, Brown, known for playing Evie Murphy in the second season of HBO’s “The Leftovers,” would’ve been just as deserving a contender in 2022. Taissa is both ruthless and tender. We first meet her as she plots to sabotage a subpar, immature teammate, but she’s also proven to be a fiercely protective friend. Tai’s support for Shauna, to whom she hadn’t been close until after the crash, and her impeccable, sober reasoning under duress demonstrate a fortitude few of the others possess. In Season 2, as the younger Tai’s sleepwalking is becoming a greater risk to her safety, Brown is tasked with revealing cracks in the character’s veneer of confidence. Her moments with Liv Hewson’s Van continue to be some of the show’s sweetest and most intimate. Tawny Cypress, who plays Tai in the present, is ranked 10th for Best Drama Actress. 

“Yellowjackets’” other contenders include Christina Ricci (sixth in Best Drama Supporting Actress) – her performance as Misty’s 2021 version made the actress one of the first season’s two acting nominees (the other being Lynskey) – and Lauren Ambrose, who joins the cast as an adult Van. As of now, she’s under Ricci in 19th, but don’t be surprised to see their gap close after viewers meet the “Six Feet Under” and “Servant” actress later in the season. 

The show’s popularity spike between its freshman and sophomore runs will likely reflect in its Emmy-nomination haul. The television academy will seriously err if at least one actor from the ‘96 storyline isn’t brought along for the ride. 

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