Yellowjackets star Lauren Ambrose says adult Van is 'stuck in the trauma'
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Lauren Ambrose knew she had to find a way to be on Yellowjackets. "I had watched season 1 and loved it," the Six Feet Under actress tells EW. "I was like, 'Why can't I be on this show?!'"
Cut to the planning for season 2, and the writers found themselves having to imagine who could play adult Van. Van, played by Liv Hewson in the '90s timeline, emerged as a fan favorite in the first season, though it wasn't set in stone that the character would survive to adulthood. (She barely survived that wolf attack.)
"We did have moments of discussing whether or not Van would survive season 1," co-showrunner Jonathan Lisco tells EW. "But Liv Hewson is so great and embodied the character of Van in a way that was really revelatory, because Van is able to be both a serious-minded person and extremely glib, sarcastic, funny, and lovable all at the same time."
Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME Lauren Ambrose as Van on 'Yellowjackets'
Once Van's fate was sealed, the writers instantly thought of Ambrose for the role. "I think I manifested it," Ambrose says with a laugh.
Speaking to what we can expect from the adult version of a character we know so well, co-showrunner Bart Nickerson says, "I would describe adult Van as somebody who has maybe processed her experience in a more healthy way than any of the other women, but I would not describe her as a remotely squared away human being. She's just taken a different path in terms of dealing with it."
For Ambrose, the simplest way to put it is that Van is stuck. "I think they all are, in a sense, stuck in the trauma," she says. "That experience is just so defining."
And in more ways than one. Putting the survival elements aside, 19 months in the woods weren't all bad. For Van and Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown), it was the place where they fell in love. "They loved each other so deeply," Ambrose says. "We haven't seen what comes next for them in the woods, but with what we've seen so far, it's so intense. We're carved in each other's hearts."
Although it's unclear what adult Van's relationship might be like with adult Taissa (Tawny Cypress), it's safe to say there's a lot of history — known and unknown — that will come into play.
Yellowjackets returns streaming Friday, March 24, and will then air on Showtime Sunday, March 26 at 9 p.m.
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