The Many Faces of Taissa Turner in ‘Yellowjackets’

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde come to mind when I think about the complexities of Taissa Turner (Tawny Cypress) and her mental makeup in “Yellowjackets.” Along with the split personality, an underlying level of the supernatural comes into play during Taissa’s journey across both the teen timeline (where Tai is played by Jasmin Savoy Brown) and the adult timeline. The further we get into the show, the more drastic things become for our state senator.

The Season 2 finale left us with many questions about what will happen next for Taissa. Her marriage is in ruins, her wife’s in the hospital, she’s been subconsciously traumatizing her only child, and she’s seeing things that aren’t really there. Not to mention the times she seems possessed. Thinking about how things might get worse for Taissa in Season 3 is more than a little concerning. But before we can look forward, we have to look back at Tai and her many faces.

Shock factor in “Yellowjackets” isn’t exactly hard to come by, but most would agree that young Taissa seeing The Man With No Eyes (Brahm Taylor in Season 1, Brody Logan Romhanyi in Season 2) with her grandmother may take the top spot on the creepiness scale for the series so far. It also remains one of the larger overall mysteries that the show has thrown at viewers. What’s the story there? We’re still waiting to find out.

But with that disturbingly creepy sight early in Season 1, it was easy to see that Taissa’s journey throughout the series was bound to be an interesting — and spooky — one. Between The Man With No Eyes, Taissa’s sleepwalking (to the symbol trees, no less!), The Lady In The Tree, and the Biscuit altar, many of the show’s most astonishing moments and big reveals are courtesy of Taissa’s twisty storylines. There’s no doubt that Taissa has always been quite the overachiever, but she’s often unaware which side of herself is engaging in eyebrow-raising behavior, or even that the behavior is happening at all.

In various episodes, we get glimpses into what happens to Taissa when she sleepwalks, such as teen Lottie (Courtney Eaton) stumbling upon Tai eating dirt in the middle of the night. Season 2 marked the first time we saw teen Taissa enter the fugue-like state that induces the actual act of sleepwalking. Then a bigger jolt was in store: once then-girlfriend Van (Liv Hewson) picked up on Taissa sleepwalking and began to go with her, Van asked Taissa who she was following. Tai’s response — “The One With No Eyes” — seemed to chill Van to the bone, rightfully so.

Where Taissa ended up as a result of her sleepwalking in the wilderness was equally creepy. It was revealed she walked to different trees throughout the forest that all have the mysterious symbol carved into them. We’re still waiting to find out what that symbol means, though fan theories abound.

Perhaps the most fascinating part about Tai sleepwalking to the symbol trees is that her routes to the different trees, when mapped, created the shape of the symbol out in the actual wilderness. Putting this realization together with The One With No Eyes clue only left us with more questions. Was this apparent figment of Tai’s imagination trying to help or harm her? He does lead her to a tree right on the edge of the “bathroom” cliff (RIP, Crystal). Is he friend or foe in the grand scheme of things? Are these two aspects of Taissa's life actually connected or mere coincidence?

While most of Taissa’s storylines lean into the spookier side of things, one plot point that had us a little miffed was the Sammy (Aiden Soxx) situation. In Season 1, one of the greater mysteries was The Lady In The Tree. We’ll never forget hearing Tai’s son, Sammy, say, “She watches me at night.” We knew then something strange was afoot. Then, watching Taissa snap out of her fugue state in the tree, covered in dirt, had our jaws on the floor. Tai was the lady in the tree!

It broke our hearts to realize Taissa was unintentionally and somewhat unconsciously traumatizing her own son by camping out in the tree outside his bedroom window. As Season 1 progressed, we were given more evidence of this split personality Taissa develops when she enters this altered state. We even saw adult Taissa confide in Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) and tell her that the sleepwalking had started back up again. Where is that eventually going to lead?

Meanwhile, the family issues all came to a head in the Season 1 finale, when Simone (Rukiya Bernard) made the gruesome discovery of Taissa’s sacrificial altar in the basement with the head of Biscuit, their dog, as the shocking centerpiece. Was Biscuit the spiritual sacrifice needed for Tai to win her state senate election? With the announcement of her victory, the lines between her personalities began to blur and we saw her alter ego take hold, even if only for a brief moment. “It” wanted blood, and Taissa made it happen.

Things in general aren’t looking fabulous for adult Taissa, particularly with Season 2’s twists and turns leaving Simone in the hospital and seemingly on life support. With the deterioration of Tai’s marriage and her mental state, we wonder if Misty (Christina Ricci) killing Natalie (Juliette Lewis) will send her further down the spiral she’s already riding. Plus, with a cancer-stricken Van (Lauren Ambrose) reintroduced into her life, it seems as if things can only get messier mentally (and possibly physically?) next season. Just consider the fact that we still have no idea what caused Van and Taissa to split post-wilderness. Our guess is it wasn’t pretty.

The “Yellowjackets” showrunners have assured the fandom that more answers about Taissa’s supernatural journey are coming in Season 3. We still have a lot to learn about The Man With No Eyes, Tai’s dark side, and the symbols in the wilderness, and we’re clamoring for some insight. In the meantime, we promise not to sleepwalk toward any cliffs or climb any trees. Hopefully, Taissa can promise the same.