Yellowjacketsstar Ella Purnell reveals why she still hasn’t seen the episode in which her character dies.Yellowjacketspremiered on cable channel Showtime in November 2021, and follows the members of a high school girls' soccer team who are stranded in the wilderness for 19 months following a plane crash, and how the events impact their lives as adult women 25 years later. Purnell played the role of Jackie Taylor, the captain of the team, who ultimatelydies from hypothermia in theYellowjacketsseason 1 finale, and the British actress reveals why she has not yet watched the episode.
In an interview withDeadline, the actress reminisces on her time on the show, and her character’s fate, revealing that she still hasn’t watched the episode in which Jackie dies, revealing “I don’t know what it would do to my mental health.“She also reveals it was a surreal experience to wake up in the morning to photos of her castmates taking selfies with her character’s corpse, and that it felt very strange. Check out theMiss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Childrenstar’s full comments below:
And I just woke up one morning, and I had all these pictures from myYellowjacketscastmates of them taking selfies with my charred corpse. You know when you wake up and you don’t know where you are? It was like that but on steroids, because I woke up and I was like, ‘Am I dead? What’s happened?’ So, it was a little bit disconcerting.I’m gonna tell you a secret: I actually haven’t watched that episode because I don’t know what it’s gonna do to my mental health. I don’t really want to risk it, so I haven’t seen it.
What Purnell’s Comments Reveal About Her Role As Jackie
The 28-Year-Old Clearly Took An Immersive Approach
Purnell’s comments suggest she was deeply emotionally invested in the character of Jackie, and immersed herself in the role, which would have made the character’s death all the more heartbreaking. Some performers don’t feel a particular connection to their characters, while others feel deeply connected to theirs, and it seems that Purnell is in the latter category, likely finding Jackie’s death too difficult to watch because of the time she spent understanding and becoming the character.
Purnell currently stars in the British black-comedy dramaSweetpea.
The nature of a show likeYellowjacketsmeans thatproduction would likely have been a very intense and emotionally draining experience for the cast,particularly those playing the high school girls, as the vast majority of their scenes are intense wilderness scenes, filled with danger, conflict, and drama. This very likely meant a lot of arduous preparation for the actors, and Purnell might have spent a lot of time isolated. RevisitingJackie’s deathand her character’s struggles again would understandably be difficult for Purnell.
Will Purnell Appear In Yellowjackets Again After Her Comments?
It’s Unlikely Given Her Character’s Death, But There Are Opportunities
Given Jackie’s death, and Purnell’s rising star, the prospect of her returning to the show feels unlikely. However, given that she appears in season 2 briefly - Jackie’s corpse appears - I think there would be a chance for her to make a return inYellowjacketsseason 3, but this would have to be scenes involving Jackie’s corpse, or flashback scenes involving the girls before the plane crash, or during the early weeks in the wilderness. Given how much Purnell put into the role, she may not be interested in revisiting herYellowjacketscharacter.
Yellowjackets
Cast
Yellowjackets is a television series exploring the survival ordeal of a high school girls' soccer team stranded in the remote wilderness after a plane crash. It interweaves psychological horror and coming-of-age themes, simultaneously depicting their harrowing transformation and its lasting impact on their lives 25 years later.
