Yellowjackets is familiar with its "Lord of the Flies" vibes, while also being wholly unique. It’s a mash-up of tones making for a wild ride each episode that's binge-able, funny, makes you want to dance, and then barf in the corner. Not to mention this show stars at least one of your favorite actresses. The premise is attention-grabbing: A group of star high school soccer players is stranded after a dramatic plane crash and left with only their wits to survive.

Let’s break down exactly why this show is garnering so much attention.

1. Effective timelines.  Part of the show's appeal is that it is rooted in two timelines. Much of it is anchored in present-day and often most reflective through the eyes of Melanie Lynskey’s Shauna, who on the surface looks like a tortured housewife, but she comes by her tortured side honestly. The other half of the show is rooted in a colorful 1990s world (with the best ‘90s soundtrack in eons) as the soccer team dynamics are revealed both on the field and in the forest as the women fight for survival in both the wilds of high school and nature.
   
   
2. Character development drives the plot.  The slow burn reveal that consists of parsing out information about the adult women who survived their Yellowjackets experience is masterful. Each is carrying a wound just below the surface of the relative façade of their everyday life. Writers Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson never get caught up in their clever reveals or plot twists, ensuring every new revelatory piece of information is grounded in character. For this reason, they’ve set themselves up for many rich seasons to come if they so desire.
   
   
3. Open-ended 'why's.  The first season leaves many questions unanswered, sprouting intense Reddit threads, articles and theories on where the show is going. For the survivors of their harrowing wilderness and survival-of-the-fittest experience, a pact has been made: To never publicly speak about what truly happened. But on an anniversary of the event, the women all receive a mysterious postcard marked simply: WISH YOU WERE HERE along with a drawing only they would recognize. Is someone blackmailing them? They all second guess each other and one muses whether these women will again kill to survive, or if they don’t succumb to more visceral tendencies can they still survive their brutal memories?
   
   
4. The study of trauma.  It’s hard to make a show about extreme trauma still feel like a fun ride, but the creators have done exactly that. Much credit is due to not only well-formed characters, but the casting of incredible and beloved actresses in the leads. Lynskey’s Shauna has trauma constantly bubbling to the surface as her entire life feels like an imprisonment of her choices and secrets. Juliette Lewis’s Natalie often embraces both her rage and her addiction. Christina Ricci’s Misty seems most suited for survival; for her lying seems to come the easiest. Meanwhile, Tawny Cypress’s Taissa is haunted by, well, pretty much everything.
   
   
5. Will the slow burn pay off?  Yellowjackets is playing another interesting trick: With so many disparate story threads and with some very intense wilderness scenes, it sometimes feels as though the show is keeping a relentless pace, yet if one looks back at season one, not that much has truly happened yet. It’s an enviable position to be in, though. The show seems almost universally loved at the moment, but season two will have to offer some major emotional pay-offs and answer some huge questions that are currently only conjecture on the internet.
   
   

Final Takeaway: As Yellowjackets continues to venture forth in unchartered territory, what remains intriguing is just how much it’s thrown against the wall: The supernatural, a survival story, horror, thriller, adult and teen drama—there’s currently a little something for everyone, but can a little bit of something add up to an emotionally gratifying full-formed whole? It remains to be seen, but it is a very fun ride in the meantime that's a masterclass in weaving together genres.