A Major Yellowjackets Adam Fan Theory Almost Happened, Says Showrunner

Yellowjackets season 1 almost included a major fan theory about Adam’s true identity, reveals co-showrunner Jonathan Lisco ahead of season 2.

Yellowjackets co-showrunner Jonathan Lisco has revealed that a major Adam fan theory almost came to fruition, long before it was even a fan theory at all. The mysterious man who Shauna had an affair with throughout season 1, Adam was soon revealed to have prior knowledge that she was a Yellowjacket stranded in the woods after the plane crash 25 years prior. Shauna ends up stabbing Adam and enlisting the help of Taissa, Natalie, and Misty to hide his body. While it’s still unclear who Adam is and what his true intentions with Shauna may have been, fan speculation throughout season 1 pinned him as a grown-up Javi.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Lisco admitted that making Adam an adult Javi was a twist considered for Yellowjackets season 1 before it even became a fan theory. However, the idea was scrapped so it wouldn’t distract from Shauna’s psychological journey during the season. Check out what Lisco had to say below:

There may have been some viewers out there who wanted, for example, Adam to be Javi come back from the wilderness to torture and torment Shauna. And, and by the way, that was absolutely something that we considered, well before we ever read that theory on Reddit.

We looked at the emotional and psychological arc of the story and we felt at the end that yes, it’s a cute surprise and it might be good in the moment, but what’s gonna haunt the audience more is if Shauna winds up killing someone who actually liked her, somebody who actually wanted to be with her, and the reason why she killed him was because of her post-traumatic stress. That’s why right before she knifes him in that episode, she’s flashing through this montage of all of these things that still haunt her as if she’s experiencing them and the threat of them in the current moment, which is literally what post-traumatic stress is. So to stay true to her story and the story in general, we had to let that twist go in the service of the emotional and psychological story. And of course, our audience can debate whether or not that was a good move.

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Why Adam Being Javi Wouldn’t Have Worked

The decision to focus more on Shauna’s emotions instead of distracting the audience with a character-based twist underscores how important the psychological elements of Yellowjackets are. Season 1, episode 9 is when Shauna kills Adam, but it also features flashbacks to Doomcoming, a homecoming event the stranded girls have that quickly goes awry due to Misty’s hallucinogenic mushrooms ending up in a soup almost everyone consumes. If Adam had been Javi, the twist may have proved a distraction from the psychological focus of Yellowjackets episode 9.

Adam being Javi and then dying at Shauna’s hands also would have closed the door on his character and any future possibilities for him in later seasons. While Travis survived being stranded in the woods, the present day timeline reveals that an adult Lottie may have had something to do with his apparent suicide. Javi’s present day fate is still up in the air, leaving room for him to return in some capacity, perhaps with stronger ties to the mystery of his brother’s death. If Adam had been Javi, the mystery of Javi’s fate wouldn’t pervade into Yellowjackets season 2.

However, because Javi isn’t Adam, it also means Yellowjackets season 2 can continue teasing the mystery of Javi’s fate in the forest. Season 1, episode 10 saw Travis and Natalie searching for Javi after Doomcoming, but his whereabouts remain unknown. Since Javi’s survival into the present timeline is unclear, his storyline can now evolve independent of his previously considered connection to Adam. Despite not being Adam, there is still plenty of mystery left for Javi’s own story in Yellowjackets season 2.

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