WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Yellowjackets season 3, episode 9!With Joel McHale being one of two big names to joinYellowjacketsseason 3’s cast, alongside Hilary Swank, his character’s seemingly doomed debut still made me believe that he would ultimately play a bigger role in both timelines. A backwoods guide who unfortunately stumbled upon the stranded Yellowjackets’ cannibal feast, McHale’s Kodiak soon became their prisoner despite offering to help get them back home.On the surface, his death seemed inevitable: Shauna had no intention of letting Kodi and Hannah go out of fear that they’d expose their crimes, withYellowjackets’ present-day survivorsalso believing everyone from the wilderness died.
Still,when Joel McHale’s Kodi was introduced in episode 7, I hoped there would be more to his story than becoming a soon-to-be-eaten victim of the remaining teens. With Hannah’s daughter inexplicably receiving the recording of Edwin’s murder, Kodi seemed like a potential candidate for that mystery sender’s identity in the present timeline, with his backwoods experience potentially allowing him to secretly escape the teens. However, after episode 8 revealed that Hilary Swank’s Melissa married Hannah’s daughter and sent the recording, Kodi’s shocking fate inYellowjacketsseason 3, episode 9’s endingjust made my original theory about his survival impossible.
Kodi’s Death In Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 9 Officially Debunked My Theory About His Secret Survival
Joel McHale’s Kodi Is Shockingly Killed By Hannah
WhenI theorized that Joel McHale’s Kodiak might survive, I left open some room for an ambiguous fate out in the wilderness. For instance, maybe he fell off the same cliff as Crystal, with her body never being found but still presumed dead by the others. However, even that bit of ambiguity for Kodi is no longer feasible inYellowjackets– his death is an absolute certainty. In a truly unexpected twist duringYellowjacketsseason 3, episode 9’s ending,Hannah takes a knife and stabs it through Kodi’s eye, instantly killing him while Shauna watches.
The context of Kodi’s death inYellowjacketsseason 3 ismore shocking than what I would have expected for his demise. If he was truly going to die, I figured he would simply be sacrificed under Shauna’s orders, as Kodi’s survival skills would make him too big a risk for escaping captivity. Plus, with winter coming back around,Yellowjackets’ teen charactersare even more desperate for food, and Kodi would likely be the first name on the chopping block. But, rather than being killed by the Yellowjackets, Kodi is betrayed and murdered in cold blood by his fellow captive, Hannah.
1
4
6
7
9
Adult Van
Hannah and Kodi were both under the impression that they might make it out alive. Nat had brought them a knife to free themselves so they could escape and find a way back home that night. However, Shauna heard the commotion when Hannah was cutting through their ropes, leading her to confront them with her gun. When Shauna asked who gave them the knife, Hannah blamed Kodi.After Kodi called her a liar, Hannah saved herself by quickly using the knife to kill Kodi, proclaiming she “wants to be part” of the Yellowjackets teens’ murderous community.
Yellowjackets Killing Off Joel McHale’s Character So Quickly Was A Massive Surprise
Kodi Died After Only 3 Episodes
Even if my theory about McHale’s character secretly surviving was proven incorrect, I thought the alternative would mean at least giving him a longer presence in the wilderness before joiningYellowjackets' list of deaths. That, of course, wasn’t the case.Yellowjacketsseason 3 ended upkilling off Joel McHale’s Kodi after only three episodes.
I Totally Missed This Devastating Yellowjackets Season 3 Detail The First Time Around & It Makes The Teens' Failed Rescue Much Worse
I missed a minor but devastating detail of Yellowjackets season 3, episode 8, and it somehow makes the teens’ failed rescue even sadder.
Kodi’s role in episode 7 largely consisted of the flashback to his time in the wilderness leading up to the group finding the Yellowjackets. His story in episode 8 then revolved around being brought to camp and revealing he could find his way out of the wilderness, with his role in episode 9 confined to being a prisoner until his death.That’s an astonishingly small arc for a big name like Joel McHale inYellowjackets, especially since he didn’t get to have any major, surprising, memorable moments of his own.
Rather, the most memorable aspect of Kodi’s story is the twisted nature of Hannah suddenly killing him. Though Kodi is dead, it’s possible that McHale’s likeness could still return inYellowjackets’ season 3 finale. With winter already here again,the Yellowjackets will likely ritualistically eat Kodi and force Hannah to prepare his body as a way to initiate herinto their group. Hannah killing Kodi was already her way of trying to save and prove herself to the Yellowjackets, butShauna’s brutal Antler Queen tenurewill likely include forcing Hannah to quickly partake in their cannibalistic ways as well.
Kodi & Van’s Deaths Raise The Stakes Even Higher For Yellowjackets Season 4
Nobody Is Safe In Yellowjackets
The death of Joel McHale’s character arriving so soon after his introduction demonstrates thatYellowjacketsisn’t holding back with its death count. Kodi’s death was one of the biggest examples of shock factor being employed forYellowjackets’ character demises, not just because it was so unexpected at that moment, but because it seemed like McHale’s name warranted more appearances. If more big names join the cast forYellowjacketsseason 4, the series has now proven that it’s not afraid to suddenly kill them off.
Any popular actors who joinYellowjackets’ cast won’t be saved by their stardom, and any beloved present-day characters won’t be saved by the survivors’ dwindling numbers.
The sentiment behind Kodi’s shocking demise is similar to that ofVan’s death inYellowjacketsseason 3, episode 9. After already killing off Travis, Natalie, and Lottie, it seemed unlikely that another survivor would bite the dust so soon, as there were only five still remaining. However, adultVan’s death arrived just moments afterYellowjacketsseason 3’s penultimate episode killed off McHale’s Kodi, further emphasizing that nobody is safein this overarching story. Any popular actors who joinYellowjackets’ cast won’t be saved by their stardom, and any beloved present-day characters won’t be saved by the survivors’ dwindling numbers.
