Yellowjackets Necklace Explained: Who Died In Episode 1's Opening Scene

Showtime'sYellowjackets opening scene created a mystery for the audience, seeing a girl wearing Jackie's heart necklace fall into a tiger trap and get eaten by the other girls. Despite the premiere arriving back in 2021, many fans still wonder who died in the first episode of Yellowjackets and what the significance of the necklace is. The mystery of who died at the beginning of Yellowjackets has remained wholly unexplained as the show's sophomore season came to an end. However, the ritual itself and Jackie's necklace's importance therein have finally been revealed.

The only hint about who died in the Yellowjackets opening scene is that the character was wearing Jackie's heart-shaped necklace. Audiences have been watching the necklace closely throughout the show, hoping that someone will take possession of it and finally reveal who the"pit girl" is. Thus far, the only two people that the necklace has passed between are Shauna and Jackie. Since Shauna obviously survives, as one of the main adult survivors in the 2021 timeline, many believed that the pit girl must then be Jackie, but she died in a different manner. However, the importance of the necklace on the victim has nothing to do with how it's passed around, rather, the ritual itself.

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Jackie's Necklace Marks The Yellowjackets' Next Victim

The Jewelry Signifies The Target Of The Next Hunt

Pit girl wearing Jackie's necklace in Yellowjackets

Yellowjackets season 2, episode 8 finally revealed the full sacrificial ritual that was teased in the series premiere, and it turns out that Jackie's necklace is a part of the whole thing. The ritual begins with the survivors randomly choosing from a deck of cards. Whoever chooses the Queen of Hearts is the next to be sacrificed.

At that point, Shauna puts Jackie's necklace on them to mark them for death. The hunt begins, and the victim is chased down, killed, and eaten. While the ritual didn't go totally to plan the first time around, with Javi dying despite Natalie choosing the Queen of Hearts, the basics have been established.

The fact that the pit girl in Yellowjackets' opening scene was wearing Jackie's necklace proves that she must have chosen the Queen of Hearts card. It also explains why she was being hunted down by the rest of the team when it was previously thought the reason for her choosing was relational. Since Jackie was the first victim the wilderness "chose" to be cannibalized, it makes sense that the group would mark the next victim for death using the trinket. Shauna proclaims at the Jackie feast that she "wants us to," and the survivors believe that whoever lives and dies has been chosen by the wilderness entity.

Jackie Isn't The Victim From Episode 1

One Of The Earliest Theories Was Quickly Debunked

Jackie's death in the Yellowjackets season 1 finale proved that she wasn't the pit girl, leading many to still wonder who died in the first episode of Yellowjackets' opening scene. In the beginning of Yellowjackets, Jackie was the girl that gets along with everyone. Jackie lives in a nice house, has the good-looking (albeit dopey) boyfriend Jeff, and doesn’t seem to think too much about anything in particular. Her character is notably absent of the depth given to the other characters and also the conflict, except that Jackie seems to be a good friend to Shauna, while Shauna remains subconsciously jealous of her best friend.

When Shauna's treachery of getting pregnant by Jackie's boyfriend came to light, she gave the heart-shaped necklace back to Jackie, only furthering the rumors that it was Jackie who died at the beginning of Yellowjackets. However, after Shauna and Jackie's big blowout, Jackie made the dramatic move of sleeping outside of the cabin on a night that happened to be the first snowfall of the year, and subsequently froze to death. Shauna kept the necklace on Jackie's body until the girls decided to cremate her, at which point Lottie took the necklace off Jackie and gave it back to Shauna.

Sophie Thatcher looks on in shock in front of a girl getting bitten by another in Yellowjackets

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Jackie's Necklace Foreshadowed Her Being Cannibalized

The Item Sealed Her Doom

The girls of Yellowjackets sit down to a feast in season 2, episode 2

While Jackie isn't who died in the first episode of Yellowjackets, the fact that her necklace was worn by the pit girl foreshadowed the fact that she would end up being the first cannibal victim and its importance in the ritual. In one of the most shocking moments of Yellowjackets season 2, episode 2, the girls all wake up to the smell of Jackie's slow-cooked body, and in a moment of desperation, egged on by their starvation, they consume her in a feeding frenzy. The moment is a far cry from the ritualized act committed in the premiere episode, but showrunners clued audiences into Jackie's eventual fate by putting the necklace on the pit girl.

Now that Jackie is the first confirmed victim of cannibalism, and Javi is the next, the question of who died at the beginning of Yellowjackets can at least rule one suspect out. While it was believed that the necklace becomes the proverbial conch of Lord of the Flies, which the series is very loosely based on, the sacrificial cannibalism ritual established that whoever is chosen has to wear it. Jackie's necklace has become a highly symbolic, albeit unexpectedly, piece of the ritual, so that's one mystery solved. However, it doesn't look like the Yellowjackets mystery of the pit girl's identity will be answered any time soon.

Will The Identity Of The Pit Girl Be Revealed In Yellowjackets Season 3?

The Show Still Has Many Unsolved Mysteries

Yellowjackets season 3 arrived in 2025 (and, at time of writing, is still ongoing), and many viewers are hoping that the identity of the pit girl killed by the others in the pilot will finally be revealed. As for how likely it is that the mystery will be solved in the next chapter of the story, this is itself still a mystery. There are five planned seasons of Yellowjackets, which means that the third will be the mid-point of the story. Unfortunately for those fans desperate to know the pit girl's identity, this means that there's every chance the mystery will remain unsolved by the time season 3 concludes.

However, there's equally every chance that Yellowjackets season 3 will finally end the speculation too. The Yellowjackets season 2 finale cleared up the identity of the Antler Queen, for example, which was equally a mystery that could have been spun out until the very end of the story in season 5. At this point there's been no indication either way that the identity of the pit girl is a question that will be answered in Yellowjackets season 3, though many viewers remain hopeful that the secret won't be kept for much longer.

As for who the pit girl is, most hints so far point to the girl that died in the Yellowjackets pilot being Mari. Mari and Jackie grew close throughout the first two seasons of Yellowjackets, which would explain why the pit girl was wearing the necklace. There's also the fact that she doesn't seem particularly close to any of the other girls, meaning Mari would likely be the least painful choice for them emotionally when deciding on their first victim to cannibalize.

Of course, there's also the big clue that came in Yellowjackets season 2, episode 4 - the fact that Mari questioned the authority of Natalie. While at the time this seemed like a simple moment of tension, the later reveal that Natalie was the Antler Queen means that Mari's dissent could indeed have been enough to seal her fate as the victim of the first hunt. Unfortunately, until Yellowjackets season 3 (or 4, or 5) reveals the true identity of the pit girl, and guesses to who she was are pure speculation.

Lottie Has The Necklace In The Present Timeline

Yellowjackets Season 3 Dropped A Significant Pit Girl Clue

Lottie, Callie & Shauna in Yellowjackets season 3

Yellowjackets season 3 hasn't revealed the identity of the Pit Girl yet (at time of writing, at least). However, it did confirm early on what happened to the necklace the victim of the flames in the pit was wearing. Season 3, episode 3, "Them's the Breaks", finally let viewers know who has the necklace in the 2021 timeline. The moment comes when Shauna arrives home shocked to find her daughter, Callie, laughing and dancing in Shauna's home. What's more, Callie is wearing Jackie's necklace.

This prompts a furious Shauna to question Lottie about how she came to obtain it. Lottie doesn't reveal how she came to possess the object, but at least Yellowjackets season 3 has revealed that the adult Lottie possessed it in the 2021 timeline. Whether she'd had it for the entire modern half of the Yellowjackets story is unconfirmed (she could have been gifted it by another character, or stolen it, shortly before giving it to Callie), but the fact the necklace is now in play teases that some of the mysteries may finally start being solved.

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Lottie Having Jackie's Necklace Supports A Theory About The Opening Scene

The Pit Girl Scene May Not Be From The 1996 Timeline

Teen Lottie being choked in the wilderness in Yellowjackets season 3

There are many reasons the Yellowjackets fandom have been excited to see Jackie's necklace in the 2021 timeline. Among them is that the season 3 episode "Them's the Breaks" has added significant weight to one of the longest-standing Yellowjackets fan theories. The theory suggests that the girl being burned in the pit in the Yellowjackets season 1 premiere didn't happen in the 1996 timeline, but in 2021.

The fact that it exists in 2021 means that someone (possibly Lottie) would have had to climb down into the pit to obtain it.

Jackie's necklace existing in 2021 makes this theory suddenly much more plausible. It's long been assumed that the Pit Girl obtained Jackie's necklace sometime in 1996 before the girls were eventually rescued from the wilderness. However, the fact that it exists in 2021 means that someone (possibly Lottie) would have had to climb down into the pit to obtain it. This seems like a lot of effort, which has led to the theory suddenly gaining traction again.

It may be that the Pit Girl obtains Jackie's necklace in the 2021 timeline, and is burned in the wilderness afterward, after some (or all) of the characters return. Whether this is the case remains to be seen, but with Yellowjacketsseason 3 still ongoing, there will likely be more clues (or evidence that debunks the theory) soon.