Wow, Yellowjackets’ Pit Girl Scene Was So Much More Brutal Than I Expected

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Yellowjackets season 3’s finale!

Even though I knew Yellowjackets‘ pit girl reveal would be gruesome, the season 3 sequence that confirmed the victim’s identity was still difficult to watch. Considering the pit girl had been teased since Yellowjackets‘ very first scene, it makes sense that there have been numerous theories suggesting who was being hunted in the wilderness in that scene. Though it took three full seasons, Yellowjackets confirmed Mari as the pit girl, killing her off in a violent fashion shortly before Natalie presumably paves the way for the group’s rescue.

Yellowjackets season 3’s ending was highlighted by the fact that Natalie seemingly orchestrated the group’s long-awaited rescue. The episode, titled “Full Circle,” also solved a few more mysteries, including who killed Lottie, but the reveal surrounding the pit girl’s identity was another massive detail. After Jackie was knocked off the candidate list, Mari was heavily theorized to be the victim until Hannah joined Yellowjackets’ wilderness timeline. In the end, Mari was unveiled to be the unlucky victim, putting an end to long-running theories that suggested otherwise.

Despite Expecting What Was To Come, Yellowjackets’ Pit Girl Reveal Was Still Intense

The Moment Brought The Show’s Opening Scene Full Circle

Once Mari selected the Queen of Hearts card, her fate was officially sealed in Yellowjackets. The moment always paid off years of theories that suggested Mari being the pit girl victim, which were amplified throughout season 3 based on a few foreshadowing clues. For example, Mari fell into the pit before being found by Coach Ben, only for that same location to be the site of her brutal death. Despite the evidence, I was still surprised by how brutally violent Mari’s pit death played out in Yellowjackets season 3.

For one, several characters made consequential decisions that paved the way for Mari’s demise. Akilah killed her own animals so the group would decide on a new hunt, while Shauna broke the order for the card selection, ruining Van’s attempt at ensuring Hannah would become the next victim. Though some of the survivors made an attempt to help Mari get away, she didn’t have a chance. Rather than being trapped in the pit and sacrificed, Mari ran into Travis’ hidden trap, falling into the pit where she was impaled by stakes.

Travis Indirectly Made Mari’s Death More Gruesome In Yellowjackets

Travis Turned The Pit Into A Spiked Death Trap

Interestingly, Travis was also a factor in Mari’s Yellowjackets death, making it more brutal based on its original intention. The pit location in the wilderness was where Hannah and Edwin’s KUH colleagues kept their supplies. Coach Scott came across the supplies and had other ideas for the pit before Mari fell in. Travis encountered the pit later in Yellowjackets season 3, and though it was expected to be used as an animal trap, he designed the pit trap with spikes with the intention of killing Lottie.

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When Lottie walked over the pit, which was covered in sticks and brush, she didn’t fall through, causing Travis to consider that maybe the Wilderness was powering through her. However, the covered-up pit trap was still out there, and it was heavily covered in snow during the hunt. Mari knew the pit was out there, but her priority was trying to outrun the group chasing her. Lottie was the only other person besides Travis to know about the death trap. However, we knew she wasn’t going to prevent Mari from becoming the next sacrifice.

What Alexa Barajas Has Said About Mari Being The Pit Girl In Yellowjackets

The Actress Always Had A Feeling Who The Pit Girl Would Be

When Yellowjackets‘ opening scene was filmed, presenting the cannibalistic hunt in the wilderness, an existing character wasn’t used. Granted, to keep with the continuity, the writers were restricted as to who could ultimately be revealed as the pit girl. We knew that the pit girl was a female survivor with long dark hair, which eliminated many names from Yellowjackets’ character list. In fact, after seeing the show’s first episode, actress Alexa Barajas shared that she “had a feeling” Mari would be the pit girl.

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Interestingly, Barajas revealed that she wasn’t cast as Mari until after the pilot was filmed, so once it was decided who the pit girl would be, there were extra challenges in revisiting the opening scene as part of the season 3 finale. The actress mentioned that she “really wanted it to match as much as possible,” so aside from the appearance, Barajas put a lot of effort into matching the running form and finer details. She also noted the full circle notion of Shauna being the one to seal her fate after their initial conflict kicked off Yellowjackets season 3.