Shauna’s fatal attraction to Jackie
A mess of an explanation I found in my notes app as to why Shauna's story arc has to end with her death:
The way I envision the nature of Jackie and Shauna’s relationship is the two of them being bound together. In every timeline they are intrinsically intertwined and always will be. After Jackie’s death, Shauna does everything she can to hold on to that physical connection, so much so that the yellowjackets have to physically drag her away from Jackie’s frozen corpse multiple times. When Shauna processes that they are going to take Jackie away from her, she reverts to cannibalism, realizing the only way she can prevent their ties from being severed is to physically consume her.
Now in the adult timeline, she’s haunted by visions of Jackie and the things that she did to keep her. She’s still subconsciously tied to Jackie and would never be able to break it, even if she truly did want to. She held on so desperately to Jackie in the wilderness that she’s solidified them in her mind, those ties are going nowhere. But their connection is insatiable. It simply existing isn’t enough, Shauna can’t just live her life haunted by Jackie. Their ties are dragging her back to Jackie, back to their bond, back to the wilderness. That’s why she goes back to the woods with Lottie, that’s why she openly admits to sabotaging all her own attempts to distance herself from what happened, that’s why she’s holding on to whatever suppression her mind will allow her.
Their binding is too strong, she couldn’t stop herself being dragged back if she tried. So Shauna clings on desperately to whatever in her normal life is somewhat stable enough to be something she can hold on to. But in doing so, she digs her claws into ever person she tries to grasp to keep herself in place; Adam, Callie, Jeff, etc. Adam died, Callie and Jeff are in serious danger of being put away. Shauna knows that whatever happens, she can’t avoid the way these knots she’s tied herself to Jackie with are as strong as ever.
This is why her story has to end with her death. All this destruction, haunting, and self sabotage all leads back to one connection with one person. That person is dead, but that doesn’t mean Shauna is incapable of joining her once more. Two objects bound together at constant tension until both objects are motionless (I nearly failed physics please don’t fact check this). So Shauna remains the girl who lived, but she lives restlessly and hopelessly searching for who she left behind in those woods. Both bodies need to be put to rest, she has to join Jackie.
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