Last seen in Wednesday and The Last of Us, Christina Ricci and Melanie Lynskey are back for Yellowjackets season 2, and they’re not afraid of murder or cannibalism. We spoke to them.
With season 2 of Yellowjackets, not only one of the best but also most disturbing series of recent years returns on Paramount+ from 24 March 2023. Set on two time levels, the thriller series tells the story of a group of women who, as teenage girls in the 90s, crash their plane over Canada and end up even having to eat human flesh to survive in the wilderness.
Melanie Lynskey, after her guest appearance in The Last of Us, once again shows that there can be ice-cold calculation behind her warm, trustworthy exterior and bright voice. Christina Ricci follows up her obsessive character from Wednesday as an obsessive true-crime fan.
Would Christina Ricci and Melanie Lynskey eat a human? Maybe.
Moviepilot asked the two actresses why it seems the serial heyday of complicated men is over – and whether, stranded in the wilderness, they would resort to similarly extreme measures as their series characters.
Christina Ricci: On the other hand, when you eat someone you know, you absorb a part of them and you always have it with you. Or do I sound like a serial killer now? (laughs) I would find that difficult, especially dealing with the raw meat. But I think there are chemical reactions in your brain that make something like that possible when you’re starving and desperate.
The 2000s and 2010s seem to have been the serial era of difficult men. Now, with series like Yellowjackets, it seems to be the turn of complicated women. Do you have a theory as to why this is happening now?
Melanie Lynskey: People have convinced themselves they know what the audience wants: white men. That lasted for a long time. Decisions were made primarily by white men. At a certain point, though, that tipped over. Money had to be made and a bigger audience had to be reached. So they looked around a bit and found out: Series that are more diverse and also have female leads sometimes have a huge audience. People wanted to see things with people like them in them. These choices are all about money and that’s what makes money right now.
Christina Ricci: Most of the time people produce something that relates to them, that speaks to them personally and that they have a connection to. There are a lot more women in positions of influence now. There are female showrunners, more female directors and more female decision makers within studios. I think that’s why it’s happening now. For a long time it was just impossible to show really complicated, flawed women who weren’t also Barbarella or something and had incredible sex appeal. So my ass: We can forgive you because you could get everyone laid!
Over time, however, it has become clear that complicated female characters with flaws are interesting for the audience. It is now understood that we don’t have to identify completely with a character to find her interesting. I think we all benefit from the fact that progress is being made in this area and that people are thinking more outside the box.
Christina Ricci and Melanie Lynskey can do things in Yellowjackets season 2 that they wouldn’t dare to do in real life
Is there anything you’ve been able to do in Yellowjackets that you’ve never been able to do in previous roles?
Christina Ricci: What I enjoy most about Misty is that I can do things as her that I could never do in real life. That can be something as simple as a grimace I’ve always wanted to make but know isn’t socially acceptable. In season 2, her façade gets cracked because she’s put in certain situations. Here I could really play someone who has absolutely no idea what is socially acceptable and what is not.
Melanie Lynskey: I actually think about what people think about me all the time. Whether I’m behaving OK and everyone feels comfortable. So there’s a certain freedom for me in playing a character who never thinks about that.
The younger versions of your characters are teenagers growing up in the 90s. Can you identify with that when you think back to your own youth during that time?Christina Ricci: I can completely identify with young Misty always feeling like she’s left out. When I was young, I also found it hard to belong anywhere. I can still remember how alone I felt about it and how difficult it was for me.
Melanie Lynskey: It was similar for me. That’s why I find it interesting about the younger version of my character that she has to face situations that might not have happened to her if she had just stayed in New Jersey. I myself felt more like an observer. Like someone who is always on the sidelines watching others.
