Laura Lee

## Biographical information

### Place of death

Mid-air; aboard an exploding plane; wilderness of Canada

## Appearances

### Debut

"Pilot"

> Taissa, you are beautiful in the eyes of our Lord. Van, you are beautiful...*"
> "*Okay, Laura Lee, fall back.*"*
>
> *Laura Lee and Jackie, "Pilot"*

**Laura Lee** is a character on the Showtime original series *Yellowjackets. She is portrayed by Jane Widdop.*

## Profile

Sometime during her teens, Laura Lee attended a summer Bible Camp. During the camp, she mistakenly dove into the shallow end of a pool and cracked her head. She was rescued by a lifeguard, but when she thanked him, he pointed at the sky, telling her that it was God who saved her.

Laura Lee later became a player for the WHS Yellowjackets, a team of talented teen girl soccer players bound for the nationals. Highly religious thanks to her experience at Bible camp, she made sure the team always said a prayer before practices or games. Although some of the other players were irritated by this, many of them respected her faith even if they didn't personally share it.

Laura Lee joins the team on the tragic flight which crashed on the way to the nationals in the wilderness of Canada. As the plane crashes, she recites the Lord's Prayer. In the initial chaos of the crash, Laura Lee searches for her bag and is delighted to find it and, with it, her teddy bear, Leonard. This happy moment, however, turns horrific when she notices blood dripping on the teddy bear, which turns out be from Head Coach Bill Martinez, who is thrown out of the plane and impaled on a tree. Later, as the girls sit around a campfire, Laura Lee expresses her belief that she had caused the plane crash, that God was punishing her. She clarifies that around a week before, she had been in a piano recital and her teacher kept telling her "F sharp, F sharp, F sharp." She grew so annoyed with her that she called her a bad word in her head. Hearing this, the other members of the team can't help but burst out laughing. It is not long before Laura Lee herself joins in and it becomes a cathartic moment as other members of the team share their own stories of such transgressions.

When Taissa Turner discovers a lake some distance from the crash site, it comes to a vote between her and Jackie to either move camp to the lake or remain at the crash site. Laura Lee votes with Jackie to remain at the crash site, but ultimately the votes favor heading for the lake. Laura Lee then joins the others in heading there, as a team.

The girls take refuge in a cabin by a lake, but many of them are rattled by the discovery of the body a dead man within the cabin. As tensions boil, Jackie suggests hosting a séance in order to relieve tension. Laura Lee is against the idea, saying that the occult isn't something to be messed with, but Jackie tells her that it isn't the occult, just a game. They go ahead with the séance in the cabin's attic over Laura Lee's recommendation, but Laura Lee steadfastly refuses to participate, remaining downstairs. However, she hears shouting and when she goes upstairs, discovers Lottie Matthews apparently possessed and shouting in French. She pulls out a Bible and shouts that "the power of Christ compels you!" then tosses the Bible at Lottie, seemingly snapping her out of her trance.

Lottie continues to experience visions as the prescription medication used to treat her apparent schizophrenia rapidly runs out as the girls' time in the woods stretches. She goes to Laura Lee, asking her about God and visions. Laura Lee tells her that she was taught that visions are God's way of communicating and can be either a warning or a revelation. Lottie asks her she can accept Jesus into her heart and Lottie decides to baptize her. She takes her to the lake and dunks her underwater. Lottie then has a vision which ends with her seeing Laura Lee blackened in "fire and light".

When the girls find a Cessna plane in the woods, Laura Lee begins studying the plane's flight manual with the hope of eventually flying the plane. Her urgency grows when a group led by Taissa sets out south in the hopes of finding help, but returns following a terrifying wolf attack which leaves Vanessa Palmer's face badly mauled. She asks God for a sign and bird flies to her, but then then when she tries to reach out for it, it flies away. She takes this as a sign that she should fly the plane. Waking the girls and Coach Ben Scott, she announces her intentions, saying that they have to do something or else they will starve and that Van needs medical attention. Coach Scott tells her that as the only adult present he can't let her do it, but she asks what he's going to do to stop her. As he is indeed unable to stop her, he joins the other girls in chopping down vines and brush to create a runway for the plane. Before Laura Lee takes off, he pleads with her one more time, but she tells him that it is her purpose.

Laura Lee takes off, setting her teddy bear Leonard in the seat beside her. It is a smooth takeoff and she is delighted, telling Leonard that they are doing it. The girls cheer as Laura Lee gains altitude and rises over the lake. However, then, to Laura Lee's horror, Leonard suddenly bursts into flame. From the ground below, one of the girls sees smoke. On the plane, Laura Lee accepts her fate, realizing something has gone horribly wrong. The crash survivors watch in horror as the plane explodes in midair.

Following this tragic incident, the girls host a "Doomcoming" to relieve stress and have one last party before what they believe is their inevitable starvation. During the party, they have a moment of silence for Laura Lee and toast to her memory.

After her death, Lottie still sometimes has visions of Laura Lee. In one instance, Lottie is out searching the wilderness as a part of a competition between her and Natalie to see which of them can find the most food. Lottie cuts her hand in order to spill blood as a sacrifice. Following this, she somehow discovers the plane flown by Laura Lee, with her teddy bear Leonard still inside. She discovers a hatch inside and enters it, finding herself in an elevator, which leads her to a shopping mall.

Within the mall, Lottie finds several of her fellow Yellowjackets, including Laura Lee, sitting at a table in the food court. Laura Lee offers her a seat as well as some food, saying that they had ordered for her, that she looks hungry. However, when Lottie starts to eat, she tells her that they should say something first. Lottie protests that she didn't think she'd have to and Laura Lee notes that she's shivering. She tells her she has to get out of there, but Laura Lee protests that she only just got there. Laura Lee shouts at her, telling her that if she doesn't get warm, she's going to die. She then pushes her, snapping her back to her reality, tumbling backwards into the snow in the wilderness.

As an adult, Lottie receives a call from Travis Martinez, telling her that the darkness has come back to haunt him. She goes to his place, trying to calm him down. She, however, falls asleep and he heads for his workplace. She discovers him there, having rigged up a crane to his neck, intending to simulate a near-death experience in the hope of communing with the darkness of the wilderness. She agrees to help him after he tells her that he'll go ahead with it anyway if she doesn't. However, as she uses the remote to lift him up in the air, she is distracted by a vision of Laura Lee, who first appears normal, before taking on a horrible, ghastly form. When she comes to, Travis is hanging high up in the air, dead.

## Trivia

* According to Melanie Lynskey (adult Shauna Sadecki), Laura Lee's character was originally written to die in the "Pilot" episode and had only one or two lines. The show's writers were so impressed by Jane Widdop's performance at the original table read that they decided to expand her character. Although Laura Lee dies in the first season of *Yellowjackets*, Jane Widdop returns as Laura Lee in a vision or hallucination of Lottie's in the second season episode "Edible Complex."

## References

1. ↑ Nemiroff, Perri (January 20, 2022). 'Yellowjackets': Melanie Lynskey Reveals Laura Lee Was Originally Meant to Die in the Pilot Episode. Collider. Retrieved on January 21, 2022.