Who killed *spoiler* in Yellowjackets season 3? All our theories, explained

Yellowjackets season 3 didn't wait for the finale to kill off a major character. Episode 4 ended with a pretty shocking death that we certainly didn't see coming, and we're not sure how we're going to wait another week (or longer) to find out who did it. Warning: there are major spoilers for Yellowjackets season 3 episode 4 ahead, so turn back now if you haven't seen the episode and don't want to know what happens!

Well, if you're still here, you'll know that this week's episode culminated in Lottie's death in the present-day timeline, which Misty discovers via her "citizen detectives" forum (and a call from Walter). After Shauna kicks Lottie out of her house for overstepping her boundaries with Callie, we see her rehearsing some kind of apology speech in a mirror. It looks like she's going to meet someone, but the next time she's on screen it's when she's lying dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs with a head injury, surrounded by candles. Pretty spooky.

But who actually killed Lottie? While we wait to find out for sure, we've outlined all the major suspects below – and their possible motives.

Taissa

When we catch a glimpse of Lottie's body at the end of episode 4, she's surrounded by candles, making the scene look almost ritualistic. As Taissa gets sucked further and further back into the customs of the wilderness as the season progresses, she's got to be one of our suspects. While she doesn't have any personal beef with Lottie per se, she's very into the idea of making another sacrifice to keep Van alive, as demonstrated by her stunt with the pack of cards in episode 4. Could Lottie be her next victim?

Shauna

Shauna isn't one for rituals, but we know she's very angry at Lottie after she gave Jackie's necklace to Callie. Shauna isn't happy about Lottie spending time with her daughter full stop, but the necklace pushed her over the edge and she kicked Lottie out of her house. She's also clocked that someone is following her and was suitably spooked after getting locked in the walk-in freezer, so could that have driven her to take extreme measures with Lottie? We're not sure, but we know Shauna is more than capable of murder.

Misty

Misty also has reason to be angry at Lottie for her part in Nat's death. Misty was the one to kill her, sure, but it's easy to see how she could blame Lottie for putting her in that situation – the only reason they were all there at the wellness retreat in the first place, especially Nat, was to find out what was happening with Lottie. After Misty and Shauna argue in episode 4, Misty has extra reason to take out her anger on Lottie: Shauna is upset that Misty didn't keep Lottie and Callie apart. She seemed pretty shocked when Walter called to tell her the news, but we all know Misty is perfectly capable of murder, too.

Melissa

Now, we haven't encountered present-day Melissa yet, and it's not been confirmed that she'll even show up in season 3 yet, but we think it's pretty likely with the way things are going. It's been theorized that the character Hilary Swank is playing could be the adult version of Melissa, and the show seems to be implying that she's the one stalking Shauna. She could be acting out of jealousy if she saw Lottie staying at Shauna's during her observations of the Sedeki's house, or she could have a longer-held grudge against Lottie that we haven't seen the roots of in the wilderness just yet.

Walter

Walter is the first character in the show to find out about Lottie's death, which feels a little suspicious. He's locked into the citizen detective forums, of course, but we know he's a pretty shady guy. He doesn't like Misty's friends as he doesn't think they treat her well, but why would he target Lottie specifically? Well, he's seen how badly Misty has been coping with Nat's death and Lottie was at least somewhat implicated in that. Walter's motives are still kind of a mystery at this point, anyway, but we don't trust him – so he's on the list.

Akilah

The last time we see Lottie before she dies, it looks like she's rehearsing an apology – but who does she feel like she owes that to? In the '90s timeline, we're starting to see her push Akilah towards communing with the wilderness. Does she feel guilt for that, after what happened to Travis in season 1? Does she push Akilah too far? Of course, we don't know if Akilah survived the wilderness and she hasn't appeared in the present-day timeline yet, so this is a bit of a wildcard theory, but we think there's a chance it could be her.

Yellowjackets season 3 is streaming weekly on Paramount Plus. For more, check out our Yellowjackets season 3 review or get up to speed with our Yellowjackets season 3 release schedule.