Lottie Matthews

## Charlotte Matthews

* Teen
* Adult

### Relatives

* Malcolm Matthews (father)
* Emilia Matthews (mother)

### Affiliation

* WHS Yellowjackets
* Camp Green Pine
	+ Sunshine Honey Wellness Community

## Appearances

### Portrayed by

Courtney Eaton (teen)
Simone Kessell (adult)
Neli Kastrinos (ten years old)

### Debut

"Pilot"

> Lottie, you never talk shit unless someone really deserves it.
>
> Natalie to Lottie, "Pilot"

**Charlotte "Lottie" Matthews** is a character on the Showtime original series *Yellowjackets*. She is portrayed by Courtney Eaton as a teenager, and by Simone Kessell as an adult.

## Profile

> Look, I did what you asked. I dug into Travis's bank account and found out who emptied it. I think someone's following me. Who the fuck is Lottie Matthews?
>
> Suzie on a voicemail to Natalie Scatorccio, "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi"

## History

### The past

#### The plane crash and the skeleton

> Why can't you accept the possibility that there are things in this world we don't understand?"
>
>  "Our daughter didn't save us because she can't see the future. Lottie is sick, and we are taking her to a psychiatrist. That's the end of it.
>
> Emilia and Malcolm Matthews, "Saints"

Lottie Matthews was born as Charlotte. From a young age, at least as early as when she was ten, Lottie experienced visions which were possibly indicative of a psychological condition such as schizophrenia. One day, while she was out with a drive with her parents, she unexpectedly began screaming and, shortly after, a terrible car crash happened right in front of them. Though her mother believed that she might be experiencing precognition, her father did not believe in such things and saw to it that she was taken to a psychiatrist and placed on medication.

As a teenager, Lottie was a player for the WHS Yellowjackets, a team of talented soccer players bound for national competition. Her coach said she had great footwork. She joined the team aboard Flight 2525, which crashed in the wilderness.

Her father paid for the private plane taking the team to the nationals in Seattle. Lottie described the expense, spending money on his daughter, as his "only form of parenting," indicating their relationship was rocky.

Following the crash, the team hikes to a nearby lake as a source of fresh water when it becomes clear that nobody is immediately coming to rescue them. From the lake, Lottie sees a flash of reflected light on a nearby hill, which turns out to be a deserted cabin -- but Lottie refuses to go in, telling Taissa that she has a bad feeling about it. Taissa, however, makes her come inside, pointing out that it's either this or possibly get eaten by one of the wolves that roam the forest. Later, though, Taissa discovers Lottie crouched in the shack's attic. "I told you so," Lottie says, and Taissa turns to discover a skeleton in a chair, covered in dust.

#### Visions and Laura Lee

As her supply of medication runs out, Lottie begins to experience strange visions in the woods, such as a deer with blood on its antlers. When the group holds a seance to try to relieve the pressure of the woods, Lottie seems to become possessed and stands, speaking in fluent French, despite being a terrible student in French class. She states in French "You must spill blood" then bangs her head against a window. She is eventually broken out of her trance by Laura Lee, who comes upstairs and tosses a Bible at her, shouting "Begone, Satan! The power of Christ compels you!"

Later, as she continues to experience visions, Lottie seeks out Laura Lee for advice regarding her faith. She asks about visions and Laura Lee tells her that she was always taught that visions are God's way of communicating and they can be either a revelation or a warning. Lottie asks how to accept him into her heart and Laura Lee baptizes her in the lake near the cabin. As she floats underwater, she has a vision of walking a candle-lined stairway and then lighting a candle. As she rises to the surface, she sees Laura Lee's face framed by the sun, an angelic vision. That evening, one of Lottie's visions seems to come true when Natalie and Travis arrive back at the cabin with a deer they have killed, one with bloody antlers. Though Coach Scott tells the group to relax, that all deer shed their antlers, when Shauna cuts into the deer, its insides are infested with maggots.

Disgusted by the deer and convinced that the group is on the brink of starvation, Taissa declares her intention to head south and seek help. Lottie warns against it, describing a vision involving a "river of blood" and "red smoke." Taissa, however, dismisses lit candle on an altar and declaring "Let the Doomcoming begin." She is dressed in a white dress and antler-like crown. Javi rings a gong and the party gets started. At first, it's a good time, with the survivors dancing and Taissa and Van appearing as a couple and both revealing their sexual orientations. However, things soon turn crazy, as Misty has poisoned the party's food and drink with magic mushrooms. Soon, everyone is tripping out and Lottie shushes everyone, asking if they "feel that." She says that something's coming. Taissa says that's something's happening, but Lottie repeats that something is coming. "We won't be hungry much longer."

Jackie leaves the party and takes Travis with her, intent on having sex with him so that she won't die a virgin. However, everyone is out of their minds on shrooms at this point and Lottie declares that they need to find them, that Travis doesn't belong to Jackie. They start running through the woods and when they hear animals howling, they howl along. They finally reach the cabin, where they confront Jackie and Travis. Lottie tells Jackie that she took something that doesn't belong to her and when Jackie protests, Lottie tells her that she doesn't matter anymore and locks her in a closet. The girls then start abusing Travis's body. He breaks free and Lottie calls for them to chase after him, declaring "The stag. We have to catch it!" They chase him down and Shauna very nearly slits his throat, convinced he actually is a stag. He is only saved by the intervention of Natalie, who has caught wind of what is happening and has realized that she loves him.

The next morning, the girls reckon with the truth of what they have done in the daylight. Before a serious confrontation can begin, however, a bear suddenly appears before them. While everyone else backs up, scared, Lottie boldly steps forward. The bear seems to respond to it, as it sits down, calmly. Lottie asks Shauna for the knife and when Shauna hands it to her, she takes it and stabs it through the bear's head, killing it. Afterwards, as they all prepare to feast on bear, Van says that they should say grace. Lottie does so, thanking the bear for its sacrifice and thanking the ancient spirits of the sky and dirt. Jackie, however, does not pray along with them, something which Misty is quick to point out. Jackie asks what's wrong with all of them, resulting in a big blow-up between her and Shauna, which ends with Jackie going outside because she claims that she can't stand to even look at Shauna. That night, she freezes to death in a snowstorm, as she is unable to start a fire. Sometime, apparently not long after, Lottie approaches an altar in the woods holding the bear's heart, Misty and Van following behind her. She places the heart upon the altar and recites "*Versez le sang, mes beaux amis*." ("Shed blood, my beautiful friends.") "And may the darkness set us free," as snow pours down around them.

#### Blessings

Two months later, the Yellowjackets have hunkered down in the woods for the cold winter. They face a dwindling supply of food from leftover meat from the bear. Natalie and Travis have been going outside each day, but have been unable to find any game. Although Lottie blesses Travis for the hunt with tea mixed with blood, Natalie refuses to have any part of it, disbelieving that it can help. The two also come into conflict regarding Lottie's claim that Travis's brother Javi is alive, as there has been no sign of him and Natalie feels that Lottie is giving Travis false hope.

When the Yellowjackets hold a baby shower for Shauna's baby, which is due to be born soon, Lottie provides Shauna with a blanket, referring to the baby as being male, as if she somehow knows this. Natalie, however, is horrified to see that upon the blanket Lottie has stitched the mysterious symbol that they have all seen in the woods, particularly in the attic where they found a dead hunter. Lottie tells her that she thinks he was using it for protection, but Natalie reminds her that he *died*. She protests angrily that just because she doesn't understand something doesn't mean that it's evil.

Before this argument can continue, Shauna suddenly gets a nosebleed; her blood drips on the symbol on the blanket and there is a loud thudding outside. When they go outside, they discover a number of dead starlings have fallen on the cabin's roof and on the ground. Natalie warns the others not to touch them, that they could be diseased. However, Lottie says "we should gather its blessings" and so they gather up the birds to prepare them as food.

#### The Competition

An argument breaks out in which Mari blames Natalie for the lack of food, complaining that her hunts might successful if she would accept Lottie's blessings. When Natalie argues that she and Travis are the only ones even trying to get food, Mari counters that Lottie is the only reason that they've gotten any food at all recently. She argues that the starlings only came to them because of Lottie and that there's no way what happened with the bear could simply be a coincidence. At this, Natalie proposes a competition: that each of them go out and hunt and whoever finds the most food at the end of the day is the winner.

The argument is made that there is only one gun, but Mari advocates on Lottie's behalf, saying that she doesn't need a gun. The two of them set off and Lottie, not really sure what to do, simply starts feeling her way. She ends up finding a tree with the symbol and the altar she set up with the bear's heart. She cuts her hand, hoping a sacrifice will lead her to what she needs. She ends up somehow finding the plane that Laura Lee flew, the one that everyone watched explode. Inside, she finds Laura Lee's teddy bear, Leonard, and her cross necklace sitting atop a hatch behind the passenger seat.

Lottie enters the hatch and climbs down. She finds herself within an elevator, which opens to reveal a shopping mall. After a brief exchange with a clerk who wants her to try on clothes, she discovers her fellow Yellowjackets, including Laura Lee, sitting together a table at the food court. She joins them and Laura Lee tells her that the food at the open seat is for her, that she looks hungry. She starts to eat, but Laura Lee asks if she shouldn't say something first. Lottie tells her she didn't think she'd have to and Laura Lee says that she's shivering. Van tells her that she saw a coat for sale at Abercrombie and she tells her that she doesn't have a credit card. Natalie asks when this ever stopped her before and Laura Lee says that they have to get her out of there. Lottie protests that she only just got there, but Laura Lee tells her that she has to get warm or else she's going to die. She shouts at her to go and shoves her, and in the wilderness, Lottie falls backwards into the snow. It was only a dream or hallucination. She tries to get up and fails.

The others manage to find Lottie and bring her back to the cabin before she can die from the cold. She ends up sharing a tub of hot water with Natalie, who had fallen into the lake attempting to pull up a moose that was frozen into the surface ice. The two share a bit of trash talk over their respective failures, but laugh about it, congratulating each other on a "good game." Not long after, this Taissa and Van return to the cabin, bringing Travis's younger brother Javi with them. Mari credits Lottie with having known this all along, though Van points out that Taissa found him, crediting there being something within her that knew where to look for him.

#### Their baby

Lottie begins leading several members of the group in morning prayer circles. During these, she seems to conduct what are essentially guided meditations, asking the others to concentrate on their breath and what they hear in the wilderness. Although Shauna and Natalie are among those that steadfastly refuse to join, among the attendees is Taissa, who started going at Van's urging and who has stopped sleepwalking since she began attending.

A large part of the focus of Lottie's circles is Shauna's unborn baby, which Shauna finds herself disturbed by Lottie's seeming obsession with. One morning, she wakes up to discover Lottie speaking to her belly, stating that "You're going to change everything." She shoves Lottie away, asking what she's doing. When Lottie protests that it's supposed to be good to talk to babies in the womb, Shauna points out that this is so they learn to recognize their *mother's* voice. Taissa tries to defend Lottie, stating that she wasn't doing any harm, but, annoyed, Shauna exits the cabin.

Later, when Taissa and Shauna haven't come back, Lottie and the others grow concerned, as there is a snowstorm developing outside. Lottie asks them what they all hear. Ignoring Natalie's protests, asking what this has to do with anything, Lottie sets up a prayer circle, calling for the wilderness to bring their friends back to them. Seemingly against all odds, Shauna and Taissa return safely from the blizzard outside, but it is clear that Shauna is going into labor.

The others look to Misty for help as to what to do, she being the one among them with the most medical knowledge. It quickly becomes clear, however, that she is distracted, upset by the loss of her friend, Crystal, in the wilderness. Lottie sets up a circle, suggesting that they all share their hopes with each other. Mari then states that she hopes that Shauna doesn't die, leading Taissa to ask why she would say "die." Lottie then tells Shauna to let her pain open her to the moment, but Taissa curses, telling her that she knows that she's trying to be helpful but that Shauna could use some space, that this is hard enough already.

As it becomes clear that things aren't going well, Lottie tells her followers to spill blood and gather offerings. Travis cuts his hand, spilling blood on a rag and Lottie declares that the wilderness recognizes her sacrifice and that she does too. She later goes to Misty, asking her where she is and telling her that they need her there. Misty protests that she was supposed to do this with Crystal, that they had it planned out and were going to sing a song. Lottie, however, tells her that they she's still with them there and can save Shauna and their baby. Ultimately, however, Shauna's baby is stillborn, her passing out shortly before the birth.

#### Taking the beating

Following the stillbirth of Shauna's baby, everyone sits around listless, unsure what to do next. Suddenly, Lottie looks outside and notices that the snow has stopped. They force the door open, ready to get some fresh air after having been stuck in the cabin. In the aftermath, discussion turns to the fact that Misty's friend Crystal is still missing, it being unknown to anyone but Misty herself that she is actually dead. Misty says that they need to go out and look for Crystal and Coach Scott agrees that they should, saying that if Javi could survive out there for two months, then Crystal could still be alive too. Melissa asks if the wilderness took the baby and that it might not have taken Crystal too. Gen replies that if this is the case, that it might give them something back, like it made the blizzard stop. Lottie, however, tells them that it doesn't work this way. She says that the wilderness doesn't trade or haggle, that it hears them. She says that it gave them what they wanted, that Shauna lived, and that it could do the same for Crystal. She then sets up another prayer circle and they all pray to find Crystal alive.

Lottie then joins the group that sets out to search for Crystal. As they make their way through the woods, she hangs back and asks Taissa to remain with her. She talks with Taissa, telling her that she was the one who knew where Javi was. Taissa protests that she didn't know, but Lottie says that she nevertheless still found him. She tells her that she might be able to find Crystal too, but Taissa says that she doesn't think so, that ever since she started doing her prayer circles she's stopped sleepwalking. She tells her that she thinks that the other her who knew where Javi was is gone. Lottie, however, tells her that she isn't gone, and that this is a good thing.

The search for Crystal, however, is ultimately unsuccessful, thanks to Misty making sure that nobody finds her body. Lottie and the others return to the cabin. Shauna, still despondent over the loss of her baby, then hears Misty humming the song "Lightning Crashes," a song about childbirth. She asks her angrily where she heard it and she protests that she heard Crystal singing it once. Shauna then hits her, flying into a rage that she killed her baby. When the others protest that Misty tried to save her baby, she goes crazy and attacks them as well, saying that they ate her baby, even though this only happened in a fantasy of hers. She punches Lottie in the nose, but Lottie doesn't get angry, instead telling Travis to take Javi to the bedroom. She tells Shauna that she's in a lot of pain, and to let it out. She then simply allows Shauna to deliver her a savage beating and kicking, one that leaves her snorting and panting on the floor, her face a terrible, bloody mess.

#### Lottie's offer

Lottie is taken up to the attic, where she is tended to by Misty and Mari. She starts peeing blood and Misty fears that shew could have a kidney infection from being kicked by Shauna. Mari complains that it ought to be Shauna who is doing this and how the smell is making her eyes water until finally Misty, annoyed, calls her out for being a little brat and tells her to go empty the bucket. Lottie lays there, having visions of a number of things, including a Queen of Hearts card with her eyes blacked out and her teammates in the snow. As she moans, Misty asks her if she can hear her, but gets no response.

Lottie's state is a topic of conversation among the group. Natalie asserts to Coach Scott that Lottie dying might not be worst thing to happen, stating that it's as if she has some sort of weird control over everyone. Meanwhile, back upstairs, Misty sleeps next Lottie, who starts moaning and groaning. She asks her what is wrong, telling her to take a nice, deep breath like she has them do. Lottie then asks her to promise her that if she dies, they won't waste her body. Misty tells her that they're not even going to think about that, but Lottie insists that she promise, so she nods in agreement.

Misty goes to the others, telling them what Lottie had said. Van comments that she can't imagine being there without Lottie. To this, Mari says that Lottie isn't going to die, that there's no way the wilderness would let her. Travis, however, says that if she keeps starving, there's no way she's going to live and Natalie points out that this is true for all of them. Taissa then gets up, saying that they need to find a way to stay alive and that it can't be Lottie.

#### The new leader

The group devises a plan. They create a ritual in which they all draw cards. Whichever of them selects a Queen of Hearts card becomes the sacrifice to ensure they all survive. When, however, Natalie draws the card, Travis pushes her out of the way, telling her to run. Javi then tries to save Natalie by revealing to her his secret hiding place, but ends up falling into the frozen lake and being chosen as the sacrifice instead.

Back at the cabin, Misty reports to Lottie what they did. She tells them that they are going to eat Javi. Lottie is stunned, asking Misty what happened. She explains the ritual that they had created, saying that the wilderness chose Javi instead. She explains that she had told the others about her wanting them to eat her, but that they need her. Lottie tells her that she never meant for this, that she didn't want this. She asks Misty how she could let them. Misty, though, turns the question on her. She tells her that she started this, that it's done and will save them all. She says that she'd better not start making people feel bad about it now.

Later, Misty returns to Lottie with her portion of the meat from Javi. She pleads with her to eat, telling her that she needs her strength. When Lottie does nothing, she asks her if she heard her. Lottie then tells Misty that she had thought the wilderness wanted what was best for them, but now she's not so sure. "And?" Misty asks her, telling her that her team needs her. She insists that she eat, and so she does.

Having finally recovered enough strength, Lottie goes downstairs. Interrupting Van, who is in the middle of telling a story, she tells the group that she never wanted to be in charge, that the wilderness only chose her because she was the only one who knew how to listen. She continues that she can't hear it anymore, that she thinks it's because it doesn't need her anymore, that they all learned how to hear and to feel it. She says that she thinks maybe what it wants now is for them to have a leader who can help them survive the rest of the time they're out there, that this isn't her. She tells them that the wilderness already chose fed them and that it's chosen who should lead them. "Natalie," she declares, stating that there's no other way to explain what happened, that they tried to kill Natalie but it wouldn't let them. She bows and kisses Natalie's hand. The others then follow, paying their respects in their own ways.

That evening, the cabin burns down. Lottie escapes, along with the others, but they can only watch as their sanctuary through the long months is reduced to nothing but ash.

#### Returning home

Upon being rescued, nearly 19 months after the plane crash, Lottie and the other survivors are harassed by reporters, desperate for them to tell them something about what happened during their time in the wilderness and how they survived. As she boards her ride home, Lottie turns to them and lets loose a terrifying scream. At home, she barely eats or sleeps, pacing around at odd hours. Her parents take her to see a psychologist and she is committed to a mental institution and subjected to electroconvulsive therapy treatments. She later tells a fellow patient that the people there can help her.

### The present

#### Travis's death

25 years following the start of the original ordeal, only five of the crash survivors are seemingly still alive: Misty, Natalie, Shauna, Taissa and Travis. Misty, Natalie and Taissa all receive strange postcards with a scenic landscape, the phrase "Wish you were here," and the symbol that they all saw in the woods. Around the same time, Travis apparently commits suicide, though Natalie becomes convinced that he was actually murdered. She discovers through Misty that somebody emptied Travis's bank account the day *after* he died and blackmails a woman named Suzie to look into the matter. Not long after, however, she decides that Travis did, in fact, commit suicide and prepares to take her own life. However, as she is doing so, a group of four individuals break into the motel room where she is staying and kidnap her. One of them is wearing a pendant with the strange symbol from the woods. As they are doing so, she gets a call from Suzie, which goes to voicemail, with Suzie leaving the following message: "Natalie, fucking call me, goddammit. What the hell have you gotten into? Look, I did what you asked. I dug into Travis's bank account and found out who emptied it. I think someone's following me. Who the fuck is Lottie Matthews?"

#### The intentional community

Natalie wakes to find herself in a small shack in the wilderness, handcuffed to a bed. One of her kidnappers comes to bring her food and water. Though the kidnapper at first refuses to speak with her, she tells her that the symbol pendant around her neck tells her all that she needs to know. She manages to get the drop on her kidnapper and escape her captivity. She sees a sign outside informing her that she is at "Camp Green Pine." Evading pursuit, she races through the woods, crafting a stake from a tree branch. She discovers Lottie leading a strange ritual that involves burying a man. Threatening her with the stake, she asks why she should not bury her too. Lottie tells her "Because I have a message for you. From Travis."

Natalie asks Lottie, whom her followers refer to as "Charlotte," what her deal is, that the last she heard of her, she was in the "loony bin" doing finger-painting and now she's running a cult. Lottie objects to the characterization of it as a cult, telling her that it is "an intentional community turning suffering into strength, so we can live as our best selves." Natalie asks what the deal is with the guy they were burying and Lottie tells her that it was a therapeutic treatment, one of many that they offer. She tells Natalie that after Travis died, she was worried that Natalie would do something stupid. She therefore sent some of her friends to keep an eye on her, and sure enough, they discovered her with a gun in her mouth, about to commit suicide.

Lottie takes Natalie to a room reserved for private sharing. She explains that on the evening that Travis died, he called her, telling her that the wilderness had come back to haunt him and he knew what he had to do. She asked him what he meant by this, but he simply hung up the call. Panicked, she drove for hours and eventually found him at his home. He told her that the only way to confront the darkness was to get as close to death as possible, that both she and Van had seen something when they nearly died. She told him to stop reliving things, that she was in the vise grip of his trauma. Exhausted, she fell asleep and when she was awoke was horrified to discover that Travis was gone, leaving instructions on how to get into his bank account and the note reading "Tell Nat she was right."

Lottie continues her story, explaining that she next drove all the way to Travis's workplace, the Willow Brook Ranch. There, she discovered that he had rigged his neck to a crane, with the intention of using it to hang himself so that he passed out. She tried to stop him, but he told her that if she didn't help, he would just do it anyway. Left with no choice, she agreed to help, taking the remote train, but warning him that she was going to lower him the second he passed out. However, when she tried to lower him, the remote control malfunctioned and, to her horror, the crane did not lower, Travis passing out and dying. His death was a tragic accident.

Disbelieving of the story, Natalie tells Lottie that she knows that there's something she's not telling her. Lottie tells her that this isn't so, but another flashback shows differently. As Travis was being raised, Lottie was haunted by a vision of Laura Lee, telling her "Put your faith in him, your guiding light." As the vision continued, Laura Lee's form turned ghastly and horrifying and she also had a flashback of her baptism with Laura Lee. As it ended, she was shocked to discover Travis hanging high above, dead. She tells Natalie that she was only trying to help Travis, but Natalie tells her that it's funny how the people she tries to help so often end up worse off than before. She tells her that she doesn't know how yet, but she's going to expose her. Lottie, however, tells her that it'll have to wait because the last train for the day has already left.

#### New visions

Rather than leaving, however, Natalie remains on the compound, apparently in the hopes of learning more about its operations. Lottie doesn't seem bothered by it, likely hoping that Natalie will come to see her side. She encourages Natalie to participate in group activities, but Natalie is reluctant, claiming not to be a "joiner." Lottie, therefore, then takes Natalie to see the group's original beehive. She tells Natalie that in the winter the bees all cluster around the queen and vibrate to keep her warm. When a new queen hatches, the first thing that she does it sting all of the other unborn queens to death. "I can see why you like them," deadpans Natalie, but Lottie tells her that it isn't brutal, but natural, that it's simply what has to be done or else they starve. "We all do," she says.

During a sharing session, Lottie encourages Natalie to share something with the group, but she refuses. Lottie therefore instead brings forth Lisa, the kidnapper whom Natalie stabbed before escaping from the cabin. She mentions Natalie having done this and asks her to tell her how it made her feel. Natalie comments that it seems gratuitous, but Lisa tells Natalie that she felt fear and disappointment, that she thought she knew she was trying to help her. Natalie says that she doesn't need her help, and Lisa shouts that she saved her life. She starts to apologize, but Lottie tells her that it's alright, that she's told the group before that she lets people walk all over her instead of expressing her anger. She encourages Lisa to feel and explore the anger, and to even hurt Natalie back if she feels the need to. Lisa, however, hugs Natalie, telling her that she understands and that she forgives her.

Sometime following this, Lottie pays a visit to the bees. To her horror, she pulls out one of the honeycombs only to find it covered in blood and the bees all dead. As she stares at the blood on her hands in shock, she hears the voice of a woman saying "Il veut du sang" - the same French phrase from the woods - "He wants blood." She asks the woman what she just said and the woman, one of her followers, asks if she's joining them for lunch. There is no blood and the bees are fine - it was only a vision.

Disturbed by this, Lottie goes to see her psychiatrist, only to find that he has gone on vacation and there is a substitute. She asks the substitute to up the dosage on her medication, saying that she's having visions again, for the first time in decades, and that they need to stop. The substitute, however, urges her to reframe the visions, that the stress of trying constantly to push them away might actually cause more to surface. She asks her what she thinks they're trying to tell her. "Nothing. Because they're not real," she tells the substitute. Back at the compound, she cuts her hand, making a blood sacrifice to an altar similar to the one she made in the woods.

#### The darkness

Natalie breaks into Lottie's cabin, discovering financial documents, cellphones and other personal effects of the members of Lottie's community. When, however, she goes to her and confronts her about it in front of them, they reveal that they already knew, that they give over all of these things willingly upon joining. Lottie tells Natalie that she won't find what she's looking for in her cabin, that what she's looking for is not there, but in her head. She tells her that Travis had said that she was right about something and she wants to know what that meant. Natalie finally gives in, allowing her to perform a regressive therapy on her with a penlight to take her back into the past. Lottie asks her to go back and remember the last time that she was with Travis.

Natalie returns to this moment, telling her that Travis had a new girlfriend and that part of her wanted to mess it up, but part of her was just happy for him. Things then happened as they always happened and she overdosed on heroin and had to be revived by the paramedics. During this time, she had a vision of them on the plane, except that it was different: they were all dead, just burnt-out skeletons, the Antler Queen stalking the aisles. She tells Lottie that she felt it and that what Travis was saying she was right about is that there was some sort of darkness either out there with them, or in them, and they brought it back with them. As she says this, Lottie turns and sees the silhouette of the Antler Queen on the carpet.

The next day, Lottie is disturbed when Misty Quigley unexpectedly arrives at the compound. She asks her why she's there and she tells her that she's there to save Natalie from a kidnapping that is beginning to look more like a brainwashing. She tells Lottie that she doesn't care if she's started a cult, but Lottie again objects to the description of her community as a "cult," telling Misty that they are "a community of love and spiritual growth." She asks Misty if she might be able to stay for a while, saying that she thinks that it would be good for both her and Natalie. Misty is reluctant, but agrees.

Lottie returns to her psychiatrist, the substitute from before, telling her that her visions are still happening. She tells her that it's getting worse, that things seem to be pointing her towards the past. The psychiatrist tells her that it's not unusual for people whose psychoses are controlled to feel anxiety about them returning. Lottie, however, tells her that this is the problem, that she's not worried that she's ill, but rather that she *never has been*. She tells the psychiatrist that they did horrible things in the woods and she thought they left it behind, but now she realizes that they brought it back with them. Following this, Lottie is stunned when Shauna, Taissa and Van all arrive at the compound, her visions seemingly coming true as Natalie, Misty, Shauna, Taissa and Van all stand before her.

Despite her reservations regarding their presence, Lottie nevertheless asks each member of the group to participate in one of the therapeutic treatments offered at her community: specifically either Renewal, Self Care, Forage or Guidance. She also asks them to give up their phones, just as everyone else has done, but provides an emergency number that they can provide to family members. Shauna ends up objecting to her choice, Self Care, when she learns that it involves looking after a baby goat named Bruce, fearing that she is going to be made to kill the goat at the end of the day. She ends up going directly to Lottie, telling her that she doesn't care what the big lesson is going to be, but that she's not going to kill the goat. She is deeply relieved when Lottie tells her that she doesn't have to, that the point of the lesson is that she finds it gives people clarity to have to care for something so innocent. At this, Shauna breaks down, admitting that she's always kept her own daughter, Callie, at arm's length, afraid to lose her or that she might not even be real at all following her ideal of her stillborn son in the wilderness.

Lottie returns once again to the substitute psychiatrist. She says that everyone being there is proof of what she told her. "That this 'it' is sending your friends to you?" asks the psychiatrist and she says it's not just to her but each other, that she feels it in her body, wonderful but terrifying. The psychiatrist asks her what self-suppression serves, asking what is standing in the way of her embracing the self she had when she was in the wilderness. Lottie tells her that they hurt each other in the wilderness, that people died, and the psychiatrist asks her if there is anything of value in life that doesn't come without risk, or loss, or consequence. Lottie asks if she's saying what she thinks she's saying. The psychiatrist morphs into the form of the Antler Queen, asking her "Does a hunt that has no violence feed anyone?" A knock comes at the door, Lisa asking if she is there. There is nobody sitting in the chair across from Lottie. There never was.

Lottie discovers the other Yellowjackets sitting around in a circle with booze, having either completed or abandoned their respective treatments. She tells them that she thinks they should go home, but they complain that they just got there. They invite her to come sit with them. She protests that she can't, but Natalie tells her that they're all there and that she thinks it might be time for her to stop resisting. She therefore joins them and they sit there gossiping about recent history that is new to Lottie, such as Natalie having slept with Kevyn Tan. Natalie states that she has a weird question, that she wants to know how much all of them recall about their time in the wilderness. She says that some things are hazy for her and Lottie describes it as being a common cognitive response, that the body can't hold memory very well in an ecstatic state. Shauna says that if she's repressing things, she is okay with never figuring it out, but Lottie points out that it always ends up manifesting in some way. It then unexpectedly starts snowing outside and they all dance together, until an acolyte comes in telling them that Shauna has received an important call on the compound's phone.

#### Giving it what it wants

Shauna returns to the group, looking troubled. She tells everyone that her husband Jeff told her that the police found Adam Martin's body buried at a local park. Misty, Natalie and Taissa are immediately troubled, though the name means nothing to either Lottie or Van, who were not involved in Shauna's cover-up of Adam's murder. Shauna thanks Lottie, saying that she has to go, that she needs to be with her family. Natalie suggests that the better plan might be to stay there, that they have things to figure out. Shauna rejects this, saying that she needs to go home. As they all begin arguing, Van questions the panic vibe that has risen among the group. She grabs Shauna's keys, tossing them away, and insists that nobody is going anywhere until they tell her and Lottie what is going on. When a group of acolytes takes notice of the commotion, Lottie declares that out in public is not the place for the conversation, telling them all to meet her in the Sharing Shack.

At the Sharing Shack, Van summarizes what she and Lottie have learned: "So this is what you've all been doing with your lives? Chasing blackmailers and murdering lovers?" The conversation that follows features a series of revelations as the others realize from Shauna's statements that it was actually her husband Jeff was the blackmailer and not Adam Martin. Meanwhile, Misty reveals that Taissa was the one who hired the investigator Jessica Roberts and that the kidnapped her and held her in her basement, originally believing her to the blackmailer, then later murdered her. Shauna sums things up, saying that she lied to the others because she thought they might kill Jeff, but more than this, that she would have done the same if the tables were turned. Natalie thanks her for her honesty, saying that they're all messed up and it's time that they talked about it. Lottie, however, says that talking won't solve anything in this case, that this isn't something therapies can fix.

Lottie tells the group that something greater guided them all there, that she had tried to ignore it and then to bargain with it, but that it's too powerful. She says that now they have to give it what it wants. Shauna responds by saying that none of this was real and Lottie asks her if she doesn't feel something inside her, making her do things. Taissa comments that it's only reasonable that they would all be a bit messed up, given what they lived through, but Lottie says that they have to consider that they're that way *because* they've been denying it and that the only way to get out of this is to give themselves fully over to it. Van asks what she's saying and she replies "We give it what it always wants." She presents them with a tray containing six cups of tea, explaining that one of them is poisoned with a phenobarbital solution, which they use in the community to euthanize animals that are suffering. Misty points out that this is also what was used in the Heaven's Gate mass-suicide and Shauna comments that Lottie might be taking the whole cult-leader thing a bit far. Van asks why Lottie doesn't just drink it herself and she replies that they know that's not how it works, that *it* chooses. Misty says that it's convenient she knows which cup is poisoned and she says that they can shuffle them around as much as they want.

Shauna, however, tells Lottie that if they're going to do this, then they have to do it the way that they did before, that they have to give it a hunt. The others are confused, but Lottie hugs her, saying that she knew that she wasn't the only one who felt this way. As she does, Shauna makes faces at the others, clearly indicating that she is placating Lottie and that they are supposed to play along. "We have to stop fighting it," comments Taissa and Shauna tells Lottie that they have to do it right, that she has to make sure that none of her people are out there on the grounds tonight. Lottie agrees that the wilderness will be theirs. Once she is gone, Natalie asks Shauna why she's humoring Lottie, but Shauna tells her that she just bought them all time to figure something out.

#### No difference

The girls decide to set up a ruse. They will prepare things for a hunt just as they did in the past in the wilderness, while secretly contacting Lottie's physician to send in a psych team. As they make their preparations, however, Van is troubled, feeling that it is wrong of them to simply have Lottie committed again when they all went through what they did in the wilderness together. She secretly convinces Taissa to call off the psych team for the time being.

The six of them gather in the wilderness, Lottie setting down a knife and picking up a deck of cards. She declares that it's time. She holds up the Queen of Hearts with her eyes blacked out, showing it to the others. Misty asks her if the others from Camp Green Pine are all in their beds and she tells her that she made sure of it. Shauna then asks to shuffle the cards some more and Lottie agrees. Finally, the time comes, Van taking the first draw. As she passes the cards to Taissa, Taissa asks her if this is what she wanted to happen. Lottie asks her if she's refusing the draw, saying that she knows what this means. Taissa, therefore, goes ahead and draws. The draw continues until it reaches Lottie, nobody having drawn the Queen of Hearts. "Again," she insists and they begin the draw again, continuing around until, finally, Shauna draws the Queen of Hearts.

At this, the others all don masks and take up knives. Shauna pleads for them to come on, but Lottie tells her that it's up to her, that she can submit or she can run. Shauna asks for a time-out, but when nobody replies, she asks if they've actually all lost their minds. She asks Lottie if she understands that there was no "it," that it was just them the whole time. Lottie, however, asks her if there's a difference. Shauna turns and starts to walk away. Lottie asks her if she's running, if this is her choice. Shauna curses at her and starts running, the others chasing behind.

The chase continues until a shot rings out, a bullet grazing Lottie's shoulder. It turns out to have been fired by Shauna's daughter, Callie, who shouts at them to get away from her mother. "Callie, no," pleads Shauna and Lottie removes her mask, asking Shauna if this is her daughter. "She's so powerful," she comments. "It's here. It's with us now," she says and Shauna shouts, asking Misty where the psych team is. Taissa explains that she and Van called them off, Van saying that it's not right, that Lottie is like this because of them. Lottie then asks them all to listen and what it is that they can hear.

Lottie asks if they all believe her now, that it is still with them and never left. She asks Shauna how she could think that it wasn't when she killed her lover, Misty when she kept Jessica Roberts in her basement and she tells Van that she it in her. She says it brought Taissa to Van to bring her to them. She finishes by telling Natalie that it was always in her even when she denied it, that it was always her favorite. Natalie shouts at her, asking why she can't ever stop. Just then, Lisa appears, holding Natalie's rifle and telling them all not to move.

Lisa asks Natalie just what she did to Lottie, if it's true what Lottie is talking about, that they killed people. She asks Natalie if she's been lying to her the whole time. Natalie pleads with her to just go, but Lisa shouts at her to drop her knife. "I let him die in my place," moans Natalie, referring to Travis from the wilderness. As Lisa charges at Natalie, Shauna shouts for Misty to stop, as Misty has drawn a syringe, intending to inject Lisa with it. Natalie throws herself in front of Lisa, taking the injection instead, a fatal drug overdose. As she dies, she has a vision of herself back on Flight 2525. As the vision ends, the young Lottie tells her that it's not evil, just hungry like them, and to let it in.

As Natalie's dead body is taken away by the paramedics, Lottie is placed on a stretcher to be taken back to a mental institution. Taissa tells her that they're going to keep her there for a little while, but that she and the others are going to come and check on her. Staring at Van, Lottie tells her that they gave it what it wanted and that it is pleased with them. "You'll see," she tells her, and it is implied that she is referring to Van's terminal cancer diagnosis.

## Trivia

* Lottie Matthews was seen only as a teen in the first season of *Yellowjackets* other than a brief flashback of younger self. Her survival was first hinted in the first season finale, "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi," and on August 17, 2022 it was announced that Simone Kessell had been cast as an adult Lottie for the program's second season. According to Kessell, while Lottie claims to be helping her followers find the light, she certainly hasn't banished her own darkness.
* Courtney Eaton was offered a bigger role in the first season, but she declined. for the second season she accepted the offer of becoming one of the main six

## References

1. ↑ Aurthur, Kate (August 17, 2022). ‘Yellowjackets’ Season 2 Casts ‘Obi Wan Kenobi’ Star Simone Kessell as Adult Lottie. Variety. Retrieved on August 19, 2022.
2. ↑ Wickman, Kase (March 21, 2023). Surviving Womanhood and Hollywood With *Yellowjackets* Star Simone Kessell. Vanity Fair. Retrieved on March 21, 2023.