Adult Taissa’s Season 3 Big Face-off Was Supposed to Be Entirely Different, Yellowjackets Director Reveals

Image courtesy of ShowtimeSeason 3 of Yellowjackets has been exploring the threat of Dark Taissa, who seemingly took over Tai’s (Tawny Cypress) body in the adult timeline. This storyline fully unfolds in Episode 9, just in time to set the playing field for what promises to be a thrilling finale. In an exclusive interview with ComicBook, Episode 9 director Ben Semanoff reveals that Taissa’s big moment in Season 3 was a lot different on paper, with production constraints playing a part in changing the scene.

Semanoff also explained the importance of Episode 9 for Taissa’s storyline, as the pivotal Yellowjackets struggles to regain control over herself.WARNING: Spoilers below for Yellowjackets Season 3, Episode 9“You know, it’s almost like a metaphoric ring for the two of them to face off, like a boxing ring, or the octagon, or something like that,” Semanoff describes the face-off between the two Taissa personalities, which happens inside the same cave that has become central to the past timeline. “One of those opportunities where you get to have an actor fight themself, it’s always fun, you know, kind of like playing with that sort of special effect approach to how you’re going to approach the photography with doubles.



I think is very interesting about the business of filmmaking.” Semanoff also revealed that the first cut of Adult Taissa’s cave scene actually involved brawling. “Thinking back to the cut, as it was finished, I think there might have been more fight that got stripped away too, which was a lot of fun.

” That is not the only way the cave scene has changed.[RELATED: Yellowjackets Season 3 Reveals the Origin of the Creepy Screeches (And It’s Hilarious)]“The cave was not supposed to be the chosen venue,” Semanoff told us. “These are one of those things where sometimes people go, ‘oh, this is so interesting that this was where something was set,’ or a choice you made directorially, or even a choice from a writing standpoint.

‘This is so cool and sort of like, so well planned.’ But oftentimes, choices are made because of the efficiency of photography, schedule, availability of actors, and things like that. Because we had these other elements of these other sort of hallucinations that were going to transpire in the cave that we shot, and then were not included, we, from an economy standpoint, said, ‘well, instead of placing Thaisa where we originally had her scripted, why don’t we bring her to the cave?’ And then all the other stuff got stripped away in the edit, and all we were left with is Taissa in the cave, facing a demon.

”Taissa’s Hallucination Sequence in the Cave Would Also Included ShaunaImage courtesy of ShowtimeTaissa’s hallucination happens because the Yellowjackets are poisoned by fumes after a desperate Melissa (Hilary Swank) shuts her fireplace’s air exit. In the scene, Taissa has to face her darker self, regaining control of her body. The scene parallels the Yellowjackets’ adventures in the wilderness, as the cave’s poisonous air causes the teenage girls to hallucinate in the wildest scene of Season 3.

As shown in Episode 9, the present-time hallucination sequence includes only Taissa. However, the original plans were for the other Yellowjackets to share these visions.“There was a hallucination that was going to take place with Shauna (Melanie Lynskey),” Semanoff explains.

“It made sense that it was in the cave because, obviously, we have a lot of cave-related stuff with the teenage Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) at the head of the season.” Semanoff also reveals why Taissa’s face-off happens entirely inside the cave. “The idea, I think, with the hallucination for Taissa was instead that she would be coming out of the cave and finding herself in the forest.

The problem is, we just didn’t have a cave in the forest. That cave doesn’t really physically exist in our forest. And so to have somebody emerge from it was a little bit more complicated.

I think that the way it sort of all shook out was that it just made sense, too, to have the fight in the cave.”As Semanoff underlines, these changes are part of a TV production, as writers and directors are constantly refining episodes to achieve the best version possible. “Almost every episode of the show, and in every season, the writers write such wonderful, complex storylines,” he said.

“Ultimately, almost always, we have to consolidate. There was a lot more featured in the cave originally in this episode that unfortunately found itself not included in the episode.”New Yellowjackets Season 3 episodes premiere Fridays on Paramount+.

Would you like to see an extended hallucination scene in Episode 9? What do you think will happen with both Taissas at the end of Yellowjackets Season 3? Let us know in the comments!The post Adult Taissa’s Season 3 Big Face-off Was Supposed to Be Entirely Different, Yellowjackets Director Reveals appeared first on ComicBook.com..