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Warning: Mild spoilers for Yellowjackets season 2, episode 1.Yellowjackets season 2 premiered this weekend, transporting audiences back to the trauma of the show’s survivors, post in the past and the present. As winter gets colder and leaves the stranded teens with next to no food, the already-foreshadowed turn to cannibalism grows much closer to becoming reality. And while the freshly-kidnapped adult Natalie is discovering new facts about her best friend Travis’ last night on Earth, her teen self is shown growing more distant from him due to their different responses to Javi’s disappearance and Lottie’s wilderness-inspired mysticism.
Young Travis (played by Kevin Alves, Locke & Key) refuses to give up the search for his brother, even hallucinating his corpse, but Yellowjacket‘s season 2 premiere sees Natalie much less willing to suspend her disbelief. Her skepticism also surfaces when trying to reject Lottie’s makeshift good luck charms, and the divide between the lovebirds grows apparent when Lottie is the one to comfort Travis after a panic attack instead of Natalie.
Screen Rant spoke to Alves about working with costar Sophie Thatcher in Yellowjackets season 2 and how powerful the bond between Travis and Natalie is, despite some terrible decisions that Travis may start making as the season progresses.
Kevin Alves Talks Yellowjackets Season 2
Screen Rant: What has it been like building this bond between Travis and Natalie over the course of two seasons with Sophie Thatcher?
Kevin Alves: First off, Sophie is just so easy to work with. She’s so down-to-earth and, from the get-go, we knew that we wanted to build a good base and foundation for this relationship that we know has such a tragic ending. It was really important that it was based off a mixture of meeting each other in a toxic way, and yet still loving each other.
Episode 4 is what kind of started us off in season 1, and we had Deepa Mehta as our director for that episode. Deepa sat us down and was very clear that this is the foundation for the whole thing. We weren’t going to rush it; we were going to make sure that it starts out of mutual grief. There’s a scene between Natalie and Travis where she finally calms her down a little bit, and he helps her when she’s having a vision. She shoots down the animal, we’re walking up to it, and we see it take its last breath. Deepa comes over to us and its like, “This isn’t about this animal. This is the two of you mourning your fathers for the first time in your lives.” That’s been the foundation of the relationship forever, and I kind of remind myself of that every time we go through anything in that relationship on the show. That’s where it started, and that’s why you can’t let go, because that’s the only person who understands how you feel.
And, of course, there’s going to be Travis making terrible decisions in the meantime. I expect nothing less from the guy, so it’s fun to play the ups and downs. But it’s been good.
Speaking of the tragic ending, you’re obviously in a position of playing the past, so you don’t have to think about his future. But how much do you know or have you been told about what happens in between seeing you as Travis and seeing the last of him in the present?
Kevin Alves: I’ve only asked the writers two things, actually, and they were before we started shooting the show. I won’t give the answer to what they said, but the first question I asked was, “Is this a character that is becoming redemptive, or character who’s going to become destructive?” I wanted to know that, because it gives me an idea and a sense of where we start. You don’t want to give away too much on one end or the other; you want to find the right place to go.
I don’t need to know anything about his future, but the other thing I asked was, “I’d love to know, is there anything about the past that’s affecting his decisions now and in the future?” Those are the only things I’ve ever asked for because, as an actor, that’s all I really feel like I need to play off of.
This season is peppered with a growing sense of the supernatural, and the mysticism that was hinted at in season 1. What has that been like for you to explore, amidst the straightforward survival narrative? What magic does Lottie possess that’s creating this divide between even Natalie and Travis?
Kevin Alves: We kind of talked about that. They’re in a place where they’re so cold, and they’re so hungry, that they’re not sure what to believe anymore. Their sense of understanding has dissipated, and they can’t tell what is supernatural, and what isn’t. They just believe there’s something going on, and they’re wondering how they’re going to get through it.
From a character development standpoint, I try not to focus on the supernatural side of it too much. I focus on what he believes is his reality at this moment. I think that what the audience gets to see versus what we see, because the characters don’t quite get the same insight that the audience gets, is going to tell us the story of whether there is a supernatural force and what it means.
The disappearance of Javi was obviously a big part of Travis’ story last season, and we see him continue the search this year while Natalie is pulling back. What does it say about Travis that he won’t give up?
Kevin Alves: There’s a recurring theme in Travis’ life, which is guilt. He feels guilty for everything; he lashes out, and then feels guilty. That’s his toxic pattern in life.
Going into this season, the important thing that I wanted to bring to the table and not to overlook was the guilt that Travis feels about Jackie. Because if it hadn’t been him, if he hadn’t gone up there, and if he hadn’t gone away with Jackie, would she still be alive? And would Javi still be there? For the first time in the whole season, Travis indulged in being a part of the group, in being around someone who isn’t Natalie, and then look at what happens after that one time. I think that’s what drives him to not be able to stop looking for his brother. He feels like it’s his fault, and like he’s done something that’s caused everyone to get to this place.
On the subject of Javi, I remember reading all the comments last season about him secretly being Adam, which of course turned out to be tragically untrue. What has been your favorite Yellowjackets fan theory, or the craziest that you’ve heard so far?
Kevin Alves: That was originally my favorite theory, because it was my theory too when I first read the scripts as well. But my favorite one after the fact, or the most ridiculous and funniest ones are that Javi was the bear, or that the bear ate Javi. I found those funny, especially going into the new season.
Can you say if we will be revisiting the 1998 rescue timeline later in this season for Travis, and what would you hope to see?
Kevin Alves: All I can say is that I’d love it. I think it would be just the coolest thing. There’s something interesting about taking these characters who have been feral and putting them back in a civilized society where they feel very out of place. But I trust Bart, Ashley, and Jonathan with the story; with my life; with all of it. I’m excited to just see what they decide to do with it.
When watching the flashback scenes, I’m feeling cold and hungry with all of you. But what are the conditions actually like on set? What are the biggest challenges for you to handle in your scenes?
Kevin Alves: I think making the climate believable was the first concern, because we shot most of this season on a soundstage. We’re actually boiling hot, and you see me in set pictures wearing this big coat with magazines stuffed inside. I looked like a big ball, and we were in that outfit inside a cabin on a stage with the fire on.
But then it was the complete opposite when I went out into the wilderness in Calgary with Sophie. All those drone shots are us in the actual mountains, and we were so out of breath while trying to do a scene. We were so cold and so tired, because you’re walking through 4-foot snow. That was the physical stuff that was hard.
But I think nothing trumps the emotional obstacles that we face all season long. Accepting the things these people are going through is really, really tough. And for me, I have to champion a character who makes a lot of bad decisions. It takes a little bit to really dig in and go, “Why is Travis doing this? Why is he acting this way?” I’m making sure that we justify that in the best way possible, which is not easy. It’s gonna be hard to agree with Travis’ decisions, but I have to.
Now that you have tackled the mystery genre and come out on top, what might be next for you?
Kevin Alves: Two things. I’ve started directing some short films to make sure that I get my feet wet in that world. I love the creative side of directing, and I love being there from the beginning of the process to the end, especially in film. That’s been really, really exciting. We did a small short film that was horror, and now I’m doing one that’s dramatic. It’s really a people piece about the human condition, so that’s gonna be really exciting.
I’m also looking for something really fun to do. That’s the next thing, but we’ve got to time it all with when we’re going to shoot the next season, because we’re so lucky to be picked up for another season. It’s all about timing and making sure we have the space to get another project in.
Finally, which Yellowjackets character would you like to see Travis have more interactions with?
Kevin Alves: I think I haven’t spent that much time with any of them in general. Travis doesn’t spend a lot of time with any of the other Yellowjackets. It would be really interesting to see the dynamic and the butting of heads between Taissa and Travis, because they both have that very strong personalities. I think Jasmine is really talented, so it would be really cool to do some work together.
About Yellowjackets
Equal parts survival epic, psychological horror story and coming-of-age drama, “Yellowjackets” is the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to savage clans, while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later, proving that the past is never really past and what began out in the wilderness is far from over.
Read our other Yellowjackets interview with Warren Kole.
Yellowjackets season 2, episode 1 is currently available to stream on Showtime Anytime and will officially air at 9pm ET.
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