WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Yellowjackets season 3 episode 5!A new card drawing is introduced into the teens’ wilderness rituals inYellowjacketsseason 3, episode 5, with the King of Hearts now being used to assign them to another undesirable role. As theYellowjacketsteens’ time in the wildernesspasses, they’ve resorted to new methods of organizing their society, assigning roles to one another, and dealing out punishments and responsibilities. They often resort to using random drawings and the laws of chance to decide things for them, whichthey frequently deem are actually “chosen” by the Wilderness, and are typically accomplished using a pack of playing cards.
Integrating playing cards into their rituals dates back toYellowjacketsseason 2 when deciding who would be chosen by the Wilderness to be “sacrificed” and eaten by the others. Whoever drew theQueen of Hearts cardwould be deemed the sacrifice, subsequently being ritualistically hunted down, killed, and cannibalized by the other teens. However, inYellowjacketsseason 3, episode 5,the teens required a different card drawing after agreeing the person ordered to kill Coach Ben would be chosen by the Wilderness.This time, the card they didn’t want to draw was the King of Hearts, which Van calls the “suicide king.”
Yellowjackets' King Of Hearts Card Reveals The Executioner (Rather Than The Queen Of Hearts' Victim)
Whoever Draws The Card Has To Act As Executioner & Kill The Guilty Party
The King of Hearts card has now taken on a new meaning inYellowjackets, asit’s used to indicate who will take on the role of executioner. This is essentially the reverse of the Queen of Hearts card, which represents the person who will be hunted and killed in a ritual sacrifice to the Wilderness. Under the teens’ view of the Wilderness’ powers andYellowjackets’ mysterious symbol, these roles are both done to serve the Wilderness in order to keep it happy and, in return, keep them protected and alive.
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InYellowjacketsseason 3, episode 5,Tai is the one who draws the King of Hearts card. She then has to practice shooting a target in the woods with Van, as the card meant she would be tasked with executingCoach Ben after he was found guilty of burning down the cabinback inYellowjackets’ season 2 finale. Now that this card has been used in a ritual drawing, it’s likely that the King of Hearts will return again inYellowjackets’ future when the survivors decide they must put another guilty offender to death.
What Van Means By The King Of Hearts Being The “Suicide King”
The Card’s Nickname Is Based On A Printing Error
When Van decides that the King of Hearts will be the card indicating who has to kill Ben, she refers to it as the “suicide king.” This is based on a real-world nickname for the card, which isbased on the idea that the King of Hearts looks like he’s stabbing himself in the head with his sword. The appearance of the King of Hearts stabbing himself is due to a printing error, as copies by various card makers over previous centuries would mistakenly have the king’s axe head missing.
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Of course, the “suicide king” being the card that reveals whichYellowjacketscharacterwill be the executioner also takes on a deeper meaning. One interpretation could be that drawing the King of Hearts can be considered an act of suicide, as it’s friendy fire by killing one of their own. The King of Hearts has a few other symbolic meanings that can apply to theYellowjacketsteens and whoever draws the card, such asrepresenting inner conflicts, self-sacrifice, leadership, and self-destruction.
Yellowjackets
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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.
