Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Yellowjackets season 3, episode 7, “Croak.”
Yellowjacketsdelivers one of its most brutal deaths yet with teenage Lottie (Courtney Eaton) killing Edwin (Nelson Franklin). Edwin is one of the new wilderness characters who first appears duringYellowjacketsseason 3, episode 6’s ending. The opening scenes in episode 7, “Croak,” show thatEdwin and one of the other new characters, Hannah (Ashley Sutton), are scientistsstudying frogs in the wilderness duringYellowjackets' 1990s timeline. Edwin and Hannah are also accompanied by a gruff guide named Kodiak (Joel McHale).
When Edwin smells the fire from the body of Coach Ben Scott (Steven Krueger) being cooked, he makes the mistake of going to investigate, and is followed by Hannah and Kodiak. They findLottie making everyone screamand Coach Ben’s severed head. While Van (Liv Hewson) and the other survivors think the arrival of Edwin, Hannah, and Kodiak means that they are about to be rescued, Lottie’s focus is elsewhere, and leads her to take Edwin’s life.
Why Lottie Immediately Kills Edwin With An Axe
Her Motivation Goes Beyond What She Says
When Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) says,“Lottie, what did you do?",the reason Lottie gives for killing Edwin is that"they don’t belong"and"It doesn’t want them here.“Now thatLottie’s wilderness visionsare back, she may believe these messages are true and that she needs to kill Edwin, Hannah, and Kodiak. Much like the frogs' croaking being the source of the screeching sound, though, everything inYellowjacketsseems to end up having a more practical rather than supernatural explanation. With this in mind, it makes more sense that Lottie murders Edwin because she does not want to be rescued.
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In the wilderness, Lottie is revered by many of her peers and viewed as a source of wisdom, largely because of her visions and how she interprets them. Back home, Lottie’s visions are deemed to be symptoms of a medical condition, and she is heavily medicated to suppress them. As seen withLottie’s dadin the present day, he never understood her, and even made her feel alienated because of the voices in her head. Lottie is willing to kill to not go back to that life.
She Chooses The Wilderness Over The Outside World
Image via Paramount+
As if burying an axe into the back of Edwin’s head wasn’t bad enough, Lottie smears his blood on her face and speaks to his body. In her desperation to stay in the wilderness,Lottie is descending further into ritualistic behavior and rejecting the outside world. She not only removes the possibility of Edwin rescuing her and her peers, but now wears his blood as a symbol of his defeat.
Lottie enjoys the power she has in the wilderness and wearing Edwin’s blood and speaking to his body further emboldens her.
The Yellowjackets resorted to cannibalism in season 2 when they were starving and had nothing else to keep them alive in the winter. With Coach Ben and with Edwin, the cannibalism is no longer about survival and is now all about power. Lottie enjoys the power she has in the wilderness and wearing Edwin’s blood and speaking to his body further emboldens her. OtherYellowjacketscharacters may look at Lottie less favorably now, though, as seen by some of the horrified and disgusted reactions from her teammates in this episode.
