What does the heart necklace mean in Yellowjackets? Symbol explained

The ante was certainly upped in the latest instalment as, in the 1990s timeline, the Yellowjackets embarked on a mission to track down Coach Ben and seek revenge, ending up in the creepy cave he'd been hiding in.

Meanwhile, in Yellowjackets' present-day timeline, the group’s trauma from their time in the wilderness continued to haunt them, as someone – presumably her mysterious stalker – tampered with the brakes of Shauna’s car, while Tai took Nat’s remission from cancer as a sign that the waiter they accidentally killed in season 3's first episode had been a sacrifice.

One of the biggest developments of the episode, however, came when Shauna returned home to find her teenage daughter Callie wearing Jackie’s heart-shaped necklace – a charm that we've only ever seen in the past timeline before.

Lottie then explained that she had given the necklace to Callie. "It feels right, Shauna. Don’t you feel it too?" she said, prompting a horrified Shauna to kick Lottie out of her house. "It never meant what you thought it meant," Lottie adds.

Need a reminder of what the necklace means and what could be in store for Callie? Read on for everything you need to know about the symbol.

What does the heart necklace mean in Yellowjackets? Symbol explained as it's given to Callie

Jackie's heart-shaped necklace plays a symbolic role in the Yellowjackets' sacrificial cannibalism ritual, and appears to signal who the group are going to hunt, kill and eat next.

While it was clear the necklace had some connection to death throughout seasons 1 and 2, with both Jackie and Pit Girl – the mystery girl who falls in a deep pit lined with stakes after being chased through the snow-filled woods in a flash-forward sequence in the show’s opening scene – shown to be wearing the charm upon their demise, its full significance was only revealed in season 2 episode 8, as we were shown the Yellowjackets enacting the sacrificial ritual in full.

Viewers were shown that the ritual begins with the survivors randomly choosing from a deck of cards, with the person (in this case Nat) who picks the Queen of Hearts becoming the next sacrificial victim.

Shauna then puts the necklace on that person to mark them for death and a hunt ensues, with the victim being chased down, killed and eaten.

While Nat ends up being saved from death after Javi ends up falling through a patch of ice and drowning, meaning the group are able to eat him instead, it's clear it was intended to mark her as the next victim.

Is Callie going to die in Yellowjackets?

It's possible that something sinister could be in store for Callie after she's shown wearing the necklace in the latest episode, but that would be a rather dark turn and, with nothing confirmed as yet, fans will have to wait and see.

Since the show’s first season, some fans have theorised that Callie could be Pit Girl given that she fits the (long-haired brunette) criteria.

While it seems like the scene occurs in the past timeline, it’s possible the apparent flashbacks could actually be flash-forwards, and that Pit Girl could be someone in the present-day timeline such as Callie.

Yellowjackets season 3 is streaming on Paramount Plus.

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