Tamal Kundu
Portrayed as adult by Tawny Cypress, Taissa Turner is an important character in the Showtime series ‘Yellowjackets’ (Jasmin Savoy Brown portrays the character as a teenager). The narrative of ‘Yellowjackets’ is split into two timelines. In 1996, Taissa is the star player of the WHS Yellowjackets. She is one of the survivors of the plane crash that occurs in the Canadian wilderness. Soon her sleepwalking issues begin to manifest, and she realizes how dangerous she can be to people around her. She also grows close to Van (Lauren Ambrose as adult and Liv Hewson as teen), the goalkeeper of the team, who helps her get a modicum of control over her actions during these episodes.
After Taissa returned to civilization, these episodes supposedly went away. But in the present day, after someone starts blackmailing her and other Yellowjackets, Taissa starts sleepwalking again, putting her family in danger. If the events toward the end of ‘Yellowjackets’ season 2 episode 2 have made you wonder whether Taissa is dead and Cypress has left ‘Yellowjackets,’ here is what you need to know. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Taissa’s Fate After Car Accident
Of all the surviving Yellowjackets, Taissa has probably achieved the most. When the series begins, she is running for the state senate of New Jersey — an election she eventually wins. As her sleepwalking issues return, her behavior becomes increasingly erratic. The day the election results are announced, her wife Simone finds bloodstains on a gate to a crawlspace. She follows them to discover a horrifying scene. The head and heart of their dog, Biscuit, have been placed on a shrine. She realizes this is Taissa’s doing and immediately leaves with their son, Sammy.
In season 2 episode 2, Taissa’s struggles continue. She drinks multiple cups of coffee to keep herself awake. She is pleasantly surprised that Sammy has come to see her and her new dog, Steve. Taissa calls Simone to let her know that Sammy is at her home.
However, when Simone comes to pick Sammy up, she discovers that the door is locked and Taissa is asleep. After she wakes up, the two women look for their son but can’t find him. They are in a car when Simone receives a call from Sammy’s principal, telling her that Sammy never left school. This means that the entire incident involving Sammy that Taissa thinks happened, didn’t in reality. It was all part of the hallucination that she had while sleepwalking. Just as Simone confronts her about this, another vehicle hits their car, putting the fates of these two women into question.
Given that Taissa is one of the main characters of the series, it is unlikely that she will die this early in the show. Moreover, the older version of the Van will soon be introduced, and the dynamic between these two characters will likely play a critical role in the narrative. So, it’s probably safe to assume that Taissa isn’t dead.
Tawny Cypress is Likely to Continue in Her Role
If her character isn’t dead, there is little chance for Cypress to leave ‘Yellowjackets.’ In an interview with Collider, Cypress reflected on her character, “When you’re crafting a character you have to craft who that character is, their history, and all that sort of thing. In television, it changes from time to time, but the core of who Taissa is, she’s a narcissist, she’s selfish. Even falling apart in Season 2, she’s still selfish.”
The actress then proceeded to explain Taissa’s journey in the second season of ‘Yellowjackets,’ indicating that her character will reunite with Van after all these years. “I don’t know how many you’ve seen, but her finding Van, that’s not to help Van,” she said. “That’s to help herself. In trying to help herself, I think she reverts back — it’s sort of like your first love when you’re a teenager and you see that person again 20 years later, you fall sort of right back into old habits that you had and that’s the Taissa you’re gonna see in Season 2. She is nothing like Season 1 Taissa.” As the reunion is yet to happen in the show, we can safely say that Cypress isn’t going anywhere.
Read More: Does Shauna Have a Baby in Yellowjackets?
