‘Yellowjackets’ Theory: Is Coach Ben Next on the Menu?

Out in the forest, tensions are running high...like really high. By episodes 2 and 3 of Yellowjackets season 2, Shauna (Sophie Nelisse) is talking to the corpse of her best friend (Ella Purnell) and food is more scarce than toilet paper during a pandemic.

This leads the girls to resort to cannibalism, feasting on the corpse of Jackie after burning her remains. It's what the team needs to make it through winter, but one character doesn't partake in the feast. Coach Ben (Steven Krueger) watches from the sidelines as these girls devour their former teammate, which causes him to grow even hungrier as the story goes on. The character spends most of the runtime drifting in and out of consciousness, leading one to wonder if Coach Ben is next on the menu?

The strongest argument for this theory is that Ben hasn't eaten in days. During the third episode, we hear his stomach growl on multiple occasions. And Travis (Kevin Alves) even inquires about Ben's health, asking if he's doing OK. He’s barely able to sit up straight, wrapped in a blanket as he shivers from a lack of protein.

It's also important to note that Ben's flashbacks are not entirely accurate. They could be the hallucinations of a dying man. If you recall, Ben told Natalie during their mushroom trip that he couldn't stay with his boyfriend Paul (Francois Arnaud) because he wanted Ben to move to the city. But when Paul asks Ben to stay in his flashback, Ben quits the soccer team, cancels his flight and proclaims, "I'm going to live how I'm supposed to."

That's weird... Even weirder is how the dream is centered around food. As Paul makes a stew for his boyfriend, Ben notices that something is missing from the recipe. Later, he regrets his decision to be so picky. Could this be Ben's way of dealing with his decision not to eat Jackie? Or could this be foreshadowing of a future stew…a human one?

It's clear that Ben is now separated from the group after his choice not to partake in dinner, and if we know anything about these types of situations, it's that the odd man out never lasts long.

Ben’s decision may be an appetizer for what's to come—if starvation doesn’t get to him first.

Yellowjackets season 2 airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT

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