‘Yellowjackets’: Melanie Lynskey’s killer turn in ‘Digestif’ is a dish best served with an Emmy

Luca Giliberti
Updated ·5 min read
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That sound you hear is Melanie Lynskey getting Emmy buzz for her killer — and arguably series-best — turn in “Digestif,” the third episode of the second season of “Yellowjackets.”

In the episode, which aired on linear Showtime on April 9, Shauna (Lynskey) and Jeff (Warren Kole) get carjacked on their way to Colonial Williamsburg. When their attacker holds them at gunpoint and demands they hand over the keys to their minivan, Jeff is ready to do whatever it takes to defuse the situation. But Shauna has other intentions. She wrestles the gun away from the assailant, warns him not to get into the car and is seemingly just seconds away from shooting him. Before she can do anything, however, Jeff pulls her away, allowing the carjacker to drive off with their van.

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“What is the matter with you?! Are you Rambo?!” Jeff yells at Shauna. He is rattled by his wife’s readiness to put them in danger yet again over nothing but a “piece-of-sh— minivan.” “You just handed him our car!” Shauna retorts, before listing all their items that are now also gone (just hand Lynskey the Emmy for her rib-tickling delivery of “Mr. Schwoozums,” Shauna and Jeff’s daughter’s fave cuddle toy). Clearly, though, her impulsive reaction was motivated by more than just a determination to preserve their vehicle; it was arguably also driven by a deep-seated lust for violence.

SEE ‘Yellowjackets’ rave reviews: ‘Chilling and ferocious’ Melanie Lynskey leads ‘wild and weird’ Season 2

This becomes even more evident when Shauna locates the van at a chop shop and holds its owner (Josh Byer) at gunpoint later that day. After he mistakes Shauna’s hand-shaking and harmless demeanor for meekness, she coolly asks, “Have you ever peeled the skin off a human corpse?” What follows is a detailed speech about just how difficult it is to “roll back the edges” of human skin that Lynskey delivers with a chilling tranquillity. “My hand wasn’t shaking because I was afraid,” Shauna tells the now terrified shop owner with a trembling voice. “It was shaking because of how badly I wanted to do this.” As she visibly gets an adrenaline rush from the thought of pulling the trigger but tries to prevent herself from giving into her dark impulses, Lynskey’s entire body language changes — her eyes begin to burn with temptation, the tremor of her hands intensifies, and the rate and depth of her breathing increases. But ultimately, Shauna is able to hold herself back. She takes back the keys to the van, thanks the shop owner in her high-pitched, innocent voice, and takes a deep breath once finally seated in the car.

It’s Lynskey’s work in this climactic scene that has generated viral tweet after viral tweet after viral tweet. And for good reason. Every choice she makes in it further underscores what we have long surmised: There is a darkness bubbling inside Shauna that is always just waiting to erupt. Though this darkness was clearly born long before the 1996 plane crash — remember how she, in the show’s pilot, tells Jeff that she’d raise their baby “out of spite” and train it to become a “killing machine” that hunts him down if he ejaculates inside her? — it’s out in the wilderness, far removed from the societal norms that had always kept it in check, that it was given free rein for the first time. So now that Shauna is stuck in a domestic space with an unfulfilling life, she is looking for any opportunity to satisfy her craving (no pun intended) for the freedom she felt and power she had, over herself and others, out in the wilderness. Scaring the living daylights out of a stranger by pulling a gun on him and detailing what it takes to skin a person does exactly that.

There’s no doubt that Lynskey’s material in this episode is juicy (sorry), but will Emmy voters eat it up (OK, I’ll stop)? After losing for Season 1 of “Yellowjackets” last year, to “Euphoria’s” Zendaya, the New Zealander has been the frontrunner in our drama actress odds since the predictions center launched two months ago. Her biggest asset is that all her rivals from last year, including Zendaya, are now ineligible, which means she might have a better chance of riding the goodwill that already made her a top contender last year to a victory. It only helps that Season 2, which premiered on March 26 on Showtime, has received another round of positive reviews — it’s earned a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 97 percent and a Metacritic score of 78 — and will be fresh in Emmy voters’ minds when final voting begins in late August. Plus, Lynskey could receive extra plaudits for her guest stint on another drama series, HBO’s monster hit “The Last of Us,” for which she’s also expected to land a nomination, per our odds.

SEE Emmy predictions: Melanie Lynskey (‘Yellowjackets’) could become second ever Best Drama Actress winner for Showtime

Regardless of whether “Digestif” is just the appetizer or already the main course when it comes to Lynskey’s material in “Yellowjackets'” second season, the actor’s work in it is stupendous and should not go undevoured.

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