Characters

Both Timlines

The show follows two timelines—1996, when a high school girls’ soccer team is stranded in the wilderness after a plane crash, and 2021, where the surviving members struggle with the trauma of their past. Several characters are central to both timelines, showing how their experiences in the wilderness shaped who they become as adults. Shauna Shipman (Sophie Nélisse/Melanie Lynskey) starts as a quiet but intelligent teenager hiding a devastating secret and grows into a restless suburban mother still drawn to danger. Natalie "Nat" Scatorccio (Sophie Thatcher/Juliette Lewis) is a tough, rebellious teen who becomes one of the group's best hunters, but in adulthood, she struggles with addiction and an obsession with uncovering the truth. Misty Quigley (Samantha Hanratty/Christina Ricci), the team’s socially awkward equipment manager, is underestimated as a teen but finds purpose in the group’s survival—an obsession that carries into adulthood, where she becomes a disturbingly manipulative caregiver. Taissa Turner (Jasmin Savoy Brown/Tawny Cypress) is a fiercely determined athlete who pushes herself and others to survive, but in the present day, her sleepwalking and unsettling visions threaten her political career and family. These side characters bring both new perspectives and tensions to the adult timeline, deepening the mystery and the psychological weight of the story.

Dual Timeline

Teen Timeline

The wilderness forces the stranded team members into brutal choices, testing their friendships and morality. Jackie Taylor (Ella Purnell), the team captain and Shauna’s best friend, struggles to maintain her leadership but fails to adapt to the harsh reality of survival. Travis Martinez (Kevin Alves), the son of the team’s assistant coach, tries to prove himself as a hunter while navigating a complicated relationship with Nat. Coach Ben Scott (Steven Krueger), one of the only surviving adults, suffers a severe injury in the crash and desperately tries to keep some sense of order as the girls descend into chaos. Vanessa "Van" Palmer (Liv Hewson), the team’s lighthearted and loyal goalkeeper, proves her resilience as she faces multiple life-threatening challenges. Lottie Matthews (Courtney Eaton), initially quiet and reserved, starts to experience unsettling visions that some in the group begin to interpret as something more than coincidence.

Adult Timeline

In the present day, the women who survived the crash try to lead seemingly normal lives, but their traumatic past continues to haunt them. Jeff Sadecki (Warren Kole), Shauna’s husband, becomes entangled in the dark secrets of his wife’s past, while their daughter Callie Sadecki (Sarah Desjardins) begins to grow suspicious of her mother's hidden life. Kevyn Tan (Alex Wyndham), a childhood friend of Nat’s, is now a detective investigating the resurfacing mysteries surrounding the girls’ time in the wilderness. He becomes increasingly involved in uncovering the truth about their shared trauma, putting both him and the survivors at risk. And while Travis survived the wilderness, he dies before the show starts. His death is presumed suicide, but the known survivors go to solve what they believe to be his murder. As the show goes on it is revealed that the main four girls aren't the only survivors alive and they reunite with two other yellowjackets.