The Yellowjackets timeline is relatively vague, making it hard for viewers to decipher how long the girls have been lost, but a few hints throughout the show provide some more information. Yellowjackets follows a high school girl's soccer team struggling to survive after their plane to nationals crashes in the Canadian wilderness. The show, which switches between the girls as teenagers in the woods in 1996 and as adults in the present day, reveals that the Yellowjackets were stranded for 19 months. However, only a fraction of that time has been shown thus far, leaving audiences with unanswered questions.

Described as a darker, all-female twist on Lord of The Flies, the opening scene of Yellowjackets shows the girls eventually resorting to cannibalism, which pays off when the Yellowjackets timeline reaches season 2, and Jackie and Javi are consumed. The gruesome survival tactic seemed to be a long way off in the timeline, but a hard winter during the two months separating the seasons forced their hands. Without explicit dates, it's difficult to determine how long the survivors of Flight 2525 were in the woods. However, certain contextual clues can be gathered to establish a loose Yellowjackets timeline.

Yellowjackets Season 1 Timeline: 5-6 Months

The First Batch Of Episodes Cover Around Half A Year

There are hints and Easter eggs throughout the entire first season of Yellowjackets, helping audiences to develop fan theories and serve as context clues for the Yellowjackets timeline. Audiences know that the Yellowjackets miss their prom to go to Nationals, so it's likely that the plane crashed in May 1996. Shauna's (Sophie Nélisse) pregnancy is also one of the biggest indicators of how much time has ed, as the show heavily implies that she became pregnant the night before the plane crash.

Other Yellowjackets timeline hints are the changes in weather.

During the finale, her bump has started to become more prominent, to the point that she struggles to fit into her "doomcoming" dress. While it's difficult to pinpoint how far into her pregnancy she is, it's most likely that she's in her second trimester, suggesting that the events of the finale take place at least three months after the plane crash. Other Yellowjackets timeline hints are the changes in weather and several offhand comments the characters make.

In the aftermath of the crash, the Yellowjackets can safely sleep outside, but Jackie's attempt to do so in the finale has deadly consequences. The characters repeatedly acknowledge that survival will become more difficult the colder it gets outside, and the sudden snowfall in the finale indicates that they've started to head into winter. The girls throw their "doomcoming" party as a replacement for homecoming, an event that takes place in September/October, and Jackie mentions that they would have been preparing for "rush week" had the plane not crashed.

The Yellowjackets have been stranded for 5 to 6 months.

Before the crash, the senior students are preparing for college, and freshman player Allie laments that the trip to nationals will cause her to miss prom, which is typically held in May. These combined clues provide a rough answer, as it suggests the plane crashed in May or early June, and the events of the finale happen in late October or early November - meaning the Yellowjackets have been stranded for 5 to 6 months.

Yellowjackets Season 2 Timeline: 4 - 5 Months

The Second Chapter Covers A Slightly Shorter Timespan

The Yellowjackets timeline shortens for season 2, but it's more action-packed than the first installment. Yellowjackets season 2 opens with the reveal that it's been two months since the season 1 finale. Therefore, it can be guessed that counting the two-month time jump, the events of the sophomore installment take place over the course of 4 to 5 months, concluding the season at the earliest point being February and the latest point being April. The entire season sees the wilderness blanketed with snow, even experiencing a torrential snowstorm on the eve of Shauna's labor.

Snow begins melting in March or April but can possibly stay longer, depending on the area. Four things indicate how much time es in the Yellowjackets timeline: the weather, the food, Shauna's pregnancy, and the dialogue. The two-month time jump was established when Taissa remarks that Shauna has been conversing with Jackie's body for two months, and while she isn't decomposing as fast as she normally would due to the cold, her ear falls off.

At the beginning of the installment, the meat from the bear Lottie slaughtered in season 1 is running razor-thin, and they don't consume any more animals, filling their bellies with human meat instead, until the dead birds fall on the cabin in episode 3, "Digestif." Shauna also had her wilderness baby in episode 6, "Qui." When her labor hit, no one made mention of the baby coming too early, and the team had been preparing for the birth through Lottie's morning meditations.

The team has been stranded for nine months in total.

Therefore, it can be guessed that by the mid-season break in the Yellowjackets timeline, the team has been stranded for nine months in total. A lot happens after Shauna is forced to bury her baby, such as the ritual being established and leadership ing from Lottie to Natalie. However, there's still snow on the ground, meaning it's likely the final batch of Yellowjackets season 2 episodes occur over a month-long period.

The Yellowjackets Girls Are Stranded For 19 Months In Total

It's Suggested The Team Will Be In The Wilderness For A Year And A Half

While the Yellowjackets timeline isn't explicitly established in 1996, it is possible to work out exactly how long the team are stranded in the wilderness for. It's revealed that the Yellowjackets were stranded for 19 months, about a year and a half. If the Yellowjackets timeline were to follow the estimations listed, it's likely that the series has so far covered a 9 to 11-month time period.

This means that there are about 8 to 10 months left before it's shown how the girls are rescued. However, it's been teased by series creators that a third timeline could enter the fray. Only time will tell as Yellowjackets continues with season 3.

The Yellowjackets Adult Timeline

The 2021 Segment Covers Significantly Less

While most questions around the Yellowjackets timeline focus on the 1996 period and how long the Flight 2525 survivors were fending for themselves in the wilderness, this isn't the only point in the character's story covered by the show. Yellowjackets also focuses on the present-day for its characters, exploring the impact of what happened in the wilderness and the impact it had on their lives 25 years later.

The segments of Yellowjackets set in the wilderness take place between 1996 (the crash) and 1998 (when the girls are rescued). The narrative then retroactively fills in blanks as it reveals more of the mystery. The present-day timeline, on the other hand, is explored in a linear manner. However, the timeframe of the 2021 events in Yellowjackets is much shorter. While the 1990s portion of the show covers around a year and half, so far the adult timeline in Yellowjackets covers little more than a month or two.

The pace of events in the present-day timeline of Yellowjackets is much more compact. This is true both within seasons 1 and 2 of Yellowjackets, and in the amount of time that es between them. Two months between season 1 and season 2 of Yellowjackets in the 1990s timeline. However, when it comes to the adult lives of the survivors in 2021, there are only a few days between the events of season 1 finale and the season 2 premiere.

It's likely that Yellowjackets season 3 will expand more on the adult timeline, and it's also possible there could be a time jump that further extends the timeframe of the present-day portion of the story.

How Much Time Is Likely To In Season 3

The first two seasons of Yellowjackets seemed to have occurred between 10 and 12 months. It is also suggested that the girls were trapped in the wilderness for 19 months, or just five months short of two years. Co-creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson have said they have a five-season plan for the series (via THR), and as long as they intend to have it flip from the stranded girls to the present-day situations, the third season shouldn't be more than three to four months unless the series goes fully to the present day at the end.

Of course, this could all change if there is a third timeline, so anything is possible. Lost is a good example of a show that shook things up with flash-forwards rather than flashbacks, so if that happens, the third season could be similar in length to the first two and lead almost to their rescue before the creators shake things up for the characters. With the first look at the girls beginning to grow more animalistic when it comes to cannibalism, Yellowjackets could be in for a very traumatizing third season on Showtime.