Since the beginning of Yellowjackets, the identity of the Antler Queen has been a mystery. The woman is seen sitting in a chair wearing an elaborate outfit with antler horns on her head and a veil covering her face. Who she is, if she’s one of the young women in the wilderness, a different person altogether, or even a supernatural entity, has been a big question.
Fans also wonder what her role is as queen and how she plays into some of the most horrific things that happened while the young women were stuck for 19 months. In the final episode of Season 3, “Full Circle,” her identity is finally revealed, and it might not be who fans expected. But it also makes total sense.
- Release Date
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November 14, 2021
- Network
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Showtime, Paramount+ with Showtime
- Showrunner
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Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, Jonathan Lisco
The History of the Antler Queen in ‘Yellowjackets’
First, let’s look back at the history of the Antler Queen. She never really had a name, but fans coined this term to describe her once she first appeared. She is first seen in the pilot episode of the show as she and the other ladies participate in a cannibalistic ritual.
When Lottie (Courtney Eaton) was once seen wearing a crown similar to the Antler Queen, some fans theorized that she was indeed the same one teased in the pilot. It would make sense as she seemed to lead the ladies as they tried to survive. She felt connected with the wilderness in a way no one else did, often advising that they needed to “give it” what it “needed.” This usually meant sacrificing a human life.
At one point, Lottie technically was the leader and may have represented the first inkling of the person eventually known (at least by fans) as the Antler Queen. But Lottie eventually handed that position over to Natalie (Sophie Thatcher). With Natalie’s hunting abilities, prowess with a gun, and leadership skills, she seemed to be a good choice for the position. She was also chosen because of the way she skirted death. Though she was initially supposed to die after pulling the Queen of Hearts card, when Javi (Luciano Leroux) drowned in the frozen lake instead, Lottie felt like it was a sign.
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Natalie held this post through the winter and into the spring, summer, and fall as the ladies rebuilt shelters outside after the cabin burned down. She also oversaw Ben’s (Steven Krueger) trial once he was caught, wearing the antler horns as she did this. It appeared, then, that these horns were indeed a symbol of authority, a queen.
However, the post was stripped from Natalie when the group felt betrayed by her. She knew where Coach Ben was hiding and didn’t tell anyone. When she mercifully killed Ben against the ladies’ wishes, it was the last straw. As a result, Lottie deemed Shauna (Sophie Nelisse) the new queen. Shauna immediately declared that they would feast on Ben’s body that evening and ordered Natalie to do the chopping honors.
Who Is the Antler Queen in ‘Yellowjackets’?
In the Yellowjackets Season 3 finale, the Antler Queen is finally officially crowned. It’s Shauna, and that makes so much sense. Looking back, adult Natalie (Juliette Lewis) recalled seeing the Antler Queen in a vision while overdosing. As she navigated empty aisles on the plane in her nightmare, the Antler Queen stalked her. Given Natalie’s tense and fractured relationship with Shauna during this time in the wilderness when Shauna is being crowned, it makes sense that Shauna still haunts Natalie 25 years later. It also tracks that Natalie might have repressed that reality, or the reason why.
Shauna’s crowning comes after her actions prove she is more ruthless and heartless than any of the other ladies. They seemed to have begun to fear her. It happens right after Mari, revealed to be Pit Girl, is only chosen as such because of Shauna. Van (Liv Hewson), at Tai’s (Jasmin Savoy Brown) urging, rigged the game so Hannah (Ashley Sutton) would pick the Queen of Hearts. But Shauna moved her position in the circle and bravely pulled a second card to mess up the counting, sealing Mari’s fate instead of Hannah. It’s no secret Shauna and Mari didn’t get along.
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As fans who recall the pilot scene with Pit Girl, Mari eventually falls into the pit where spikes run right through her, killing her instantly. The ladies retrieve her body and while the other ladies grieve, Shauna simply tells them to get to work because they have a feast to prepare.
It’s then that Shauna is dressed as the Antler Queen, and the ladies effectively bow at her feet. She recalls these moments in present day as she journals. After finally finding the letter Melissa (Hilary Swank) claims to have sent with the tape, memories come flooding back. Shauna remembers what she had been repressing for so long. But it’s not trauma. It’s how powerful and fantastic she felt in those moments. Oddly, while most of the ladies were desperate to be saved, Shauna thrived in the environment. And she yearns to have that kind of power again. “I was a warrior,” she writes, “I was a f***king queen.”
The Antler Queen Could Be More Than Just Shauna
Even though fans now know that Shauna is technically the Antler Queen, at least the latest woman to don the outfit and be respected (and feared) as a leader, the Antler Queen in and of herself may just be symbolic in nature. Simone Kessell, who plays the adult Lottie, said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that the Antler Queen was technically part of all of them. “She really was something that kind of kept these women going to survive in the wilderness.”
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Based on Shauna’s actions, however, it wasn’t just about survival but about power, tyranny, and maybe even longevity: Shauna didn’t really want to go back to her real life. Shauna felt more alive, happier than she had ever been in the wilderness. Once she was rescued, Shauna lost that part of herself. She got married, had a child, and went through the motions of life, effectively feeling powerless.
She never again felt the same thrills, the same adrenaline rush she did in the wilderness. It’s why, during that moment when fighting with Melissa, she savagely bites her, and the animalistic, feral instinct returns. Shauna craved it then and continues to crave it now, even if she refused to admit it to herself up until this point. Based on her journaling, however, Shauna is finally coming to terms with the fact that she was her true self in the wilderness and hasn’t been since. Stream Yellowjackets on Paramount+ with Showtime.