Yellowjackets season 3 episode 9: Lauren Ambrose leaving; why?

Following the events of Yellowjackets season 3 episode 9, it was abundantly clear that we had reached the end of Lauren Ambrose’s story on the show. After all, Van was killed off by Melissa in a frantic moment, one where her goodness prevailed and yet, there were deadly consequences.

So as devastated as we are to see Van go, it did produce some beautiful moments between the younger and older versions of the character. Liv Hewson had a chance to do some scenes alongside the Six Feet Under alum, most notably with the two of them aboard the plane. This was similar to what we saw with Natalie last season, and we are still wondering why we have not seen anything with Lottie yet.

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So how did the decision come about to kill off Van at this point? In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lauren Ambrose herself did her part to describe it:

At the beginning of this season, there was a call [with the showrunners] and it was discussed what I was going to do. It was like, “Yeah, the strike, and show business is hard right now… and then we’re gonna kill Van. We want to raise the stakes.” (Laughs) It’s sort of like a last-in-first-out kind of thing with Lottie [and Simone Kessel]. I don’t know what’s going on there, but I feel like the story definitely expanded pretty quickly. It’s probably a better question for the writers, and I’m glad it’s not my problem to solve, but I suppose they want to get back to the sort of thesis of the show.

That’s what I was really interested in: how the trauma was playing on these adult women in their current lives and how that was affecting them, no matter what they were up to. And then, of course, there was this love story with Jasmin/Tawny and Taissa. These two girls are cosmically connected and can only have their love in this wilderness. It was a very different time when they were teenagers in the ‘90s. It was really different for queer kids and gay kids, and so they were able to live more fully as themselves and have a fuller expression of their sexuality in the wilderness. I do lament that a little bit, because I think it would have been interesting to explore this queer woman, middle-aged woman dealing with trauma and how it was when they were in the woods and then when they reconnect, it’s a very different world and a very different time. I feel like an exploration of that could have been really interesting.

At this point, we don’t blame anyone who is in their feelings that some of what Ambrose describes here did not come to fruition. There is a lot more that could have been done and yet, the story now evolves all over again. Now we have to see Tai in her grief, which we do think is going to be a pretty difficult thing to watch. After all, we know how much she loved her, in addition to how she did everything she could to keep her alive amid her health battle.

Related – Be sure to get some more news on Yellowjackets now, including what more could be ahead

What did you think about the death of Van on Yellowjackets season 3 episode 9?

Are you still reeling? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! Once you do just that, remember to come back for some other updates.

This article was written by Jessica BunBun.