Strangely enough, musical theater has been playing a huge role in Yellowjackets Season 2. No one would’ve thought that show tunes would be such a big deal in a series about wilderness-stranded teenagers forced into cannibalism, and yet, here we are. Over the course of the past eight episodes, we have witnessed characters bonding over music from Broadway hits like Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita and Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. More specifically, we have witnessed everyone’s favorite lonely psycho, Misty Quigley (Samantha Hanratty and Christina Ricci), finding true friendship over show tunes, first with Crystal (Nuha Jes Izman) and then with Walter (Elijah Wood).
Misty’s proto-boyfriend, Walter, has taken Yellowjackets’ affinity for musicals to a whole new level in Season 2, Episode 8. With a soft spot for even the wildest shows, such as Cinderella-with-trains Starlight Express, the man can’t go a single day without bringing up his favorite musicals. When he’s not talking about them, he’s at least listening to some of his favorite songs. And, sometimes, his listening sessions may also pack a lot of meaning to the story of Yellowjackets. In “It Chooses,” for instance, Walter’s playlist features a little reference for cannibalism-obsessed theater nerds. It also might have told us a lot about his relationship with Misty.
Related: What's Really Going On With Natalie in 'Yellowjackets' Season 2?
What Do Walter's Listening Habits Reveal?
Walter isn't that prominent a figure in the penultimate episode of Season 2. However, in his very brief solo scene, he does make quite an impression. While putting together a puzzle and listening to a show tunes mix, he receives a notification on his computer regarding one of the many cases he has been following as a citizen detective. But the case in question isn't just any old kidnapping or homicide: the notification pertains to the disappearance of a man called Adam Martin (Peter Gadiot).
It turns out that the police have found Adam's dismembered body. Knowing full well that his beloved Misty is involved in the killing, Walter hacks into the police department's system to find the location of the body. Immediately, he sets off to do something about it. Judging from the Season 2 final episode promo, this "something" involves breaking into the morgue and possibly doing away with Adam's remains. Throughout the scene, split into two parts, the songs that are playing in the background describe Walter's mood and behavior. As he's getting ready to leave the house, The Phantom of the Opera’s “The Music of the Night” tells him to “start a journey through a strange new world” and “leave all thoughts of the world you knew before.” It prefaces his transformation from citizen detective to citizen criminal. Earlier on, Sweeney Todd’s “Not While I’m Around” tells the story of a person protecting another from all kinds of harm. It’s a fitting tune for his decision to protect Misty from the police’s investigation of Adam’s murder.
'Sweeney Todd' and 'Yellowjackets' Share Surprising Similarities
"Not While I'm Around," however, isn't included in this scene merely as a descriptor of Walter's state of mind. The song is also an Easter egg that evokes the themes of Yellowjackets as well as some events from the early episodes of the season. Perhaps it even means something for the show's future, too, but le'ts not get ahead of ourselves. To understand the relevance "Not While I'm Around," one first has to know the thematic similarities between Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Yellowjackets. Originally released on Broadway in 1979, Sondheim's classic play is probably best known nowadays for the 2007 Tim Burton of the same name it inspired. Based on a popular character of Victorian penny dreadfuls, the play and the film tell the story of a man who decides to take vengeance on the world after being wrongfully convicted of a crime.
Returning from exile, the titular Sweeney Todd vows to take his revenge on Judge Turpin, the man who destroyed his once picture-perfect life. Unable to get to the judge, however, he sets his eyes on more attainable goals: to murder everyone that comes into his barber shop on Fleet Street. With the help of the equally-deranged pie maker Mrs. Lovett, he disposes of the bodies of his victims by turning them into delicious meat pies. Together, Todd and Lovett conduct a thriving business that virtually transforms the whole city of London into a pack of unknowing cannibals.
It's not hard, then, to see how a song from Sweeney Todd might find its way into an episode of Yellowjackets, particularly to Season 2, Episode 8. After all, it is in "It Chooses" that the Yellowjackets first make the conscious decision to eat one of their own. Of course, they had already feasted on Jackie's (Ella Purnell) dead, barbecued body, but that was kind of an accident. The girls had originally aimed to cremate the body of their deceased friend. However, when they found her only half-burnt and smelling like cooked meat, hunger took over.
In "It Chooses," things are significantly different. Sure, the prospect of starvation is still the moving force behind their actions, but the girls don't simply consume an already-dead person to remain alive. Instead, they make a lottery to choose someone to kill and eat. Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) is initially selected, but things quickly change when Javi (Luciano Leroux) falls into a frozen lake. Much like Sweeney Todd, Yellowjackets is a show about a group of people forced into cannibalism. But while the members of the Yellowjackets soccer team are forced to consume each other's bodies due to their life-or-death circumstances, Sweeney Todd has an entire city deceived into eating their own by a madman.
What Is the Song's Significance for Misty and Walter's Relationship?
"It Chooses" isn't the first time Sweeney Todd has been mentioned in Yellowjackets. In Season 2, Episode 4, Walter confessed to Misty that she first caught his attention on the citizen detective forum when she made a Sweeney Todd joke. Thus, the show has a special place in the hearts of this weird, somewhat psychopathic couple. But does the inclusion of "Not While I'm Around" in particular in the show's soundtrack mean something about their future?
"Not While I'm Around" is a duet sung by Mrs. Lovett and her little protegé, Tobias Ragg, the mistreated child employee of a rival barber murdered by Todd. In the scene in which the song appears, Tobias has begun to grow wary of Todd and, not knowing that his new mommy is an accomplice to the barber's crimes, sings to Mrs. Lovett that he would always keep her safe from harm. Mrs. Lovett echoes Tobias' concern for her, vowing to protect him as well, but she never comes clean about her role in Todd's operation. The song is about protecting those we love, yes, but it is also about wolves in sheep's clothing. Could this possibly mean that there is something we still don't know about Misty and Walter's relationship?
Walter has made it clear to Misty that even though he knows everything about her past, from the cannibalism to the accessory to murder, he still sees good in her. Is it possible that he is underestimating just how evil Misty can be? Or is it the other way around? After all, Walter knows everything there is to know about Misty, but the reverse is not true. Misty, much like little Tobias regarding Mrs. Lovett, is still very much in the dark about Walter. And the part of "Not While Around" that plays while Walter is assembling his puzzle is one of Lovett's verses. Could sweet Walter be hiding something from Misty as well as from the viewers? We don't know yet. But considering how much Yellowjackets likes to play with foreshadowing, there are good chances that this song might mean something very sinister in the future.
