After Hannah’s surprising shift in loyalty, Yellowjackets newbie Ashley Sutton is breaking her silence on what comes next in season 4.
During the season 3 finale, which aired on Friday, April 11, Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) pushed for another hunt in the past timeline, which ultimately ended in Mari (Alexa Barajas) a.k.a Pit Girl’s death. The twist? Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) used it as an opportunity to take the satellite radio far enough to ask for help — and Hannah helped her make that happen.
“I don’t think Hannah is Team Shauna at all. I think everything that happened after the knife moment [with Joel McHale‘s character] and up until Hannah searches for Natalie during the hunt is a survival tactic,” Sutton, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly. “She knows she has to get on Shauna’s side.”
Sutton noted there were a few unaired scenes that provided more context, adding, “I made the intention when we were doing the group scenes to try to tell the other characters with my eyes, like, ‘Hey, I’m still on your side.’ Because I think Hannah at every point was still on their side. She just needed to play the Shauna of it so she wasn’t killed because in that moment. The only way for her to survive is to be like, ‘I’ve got your back, Shauna. I’ll protect you.’”
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Earlier in the season, Hannah was introduced as part of a research team who stumbled upon the girls in the wilderness. Hannah’s partner, Edwin, was killed immediately and Hannah killed McHale’s tour guide character to get Shauna to trust her. But that doesn’t mean Hannah is on the same side as Shauna.
“That moment with Natalie when she flips Hannah around and is holding the stake at her throat, that was the most real Hannah. She was the most truthful she has been. She’s being so honest and real to Natalie,” Sutton noted. “I think that’s why Natalie does trust her and they end up switching places. Because Hannah tells her, ‘I truly just want to leave and I want to go home.’ That was one of my favorite scenes to film because I felt like it was the first time Hannah got to say things that she actually meant with her heart.”
It is important to remember that the present timeline confirmed Hannah doesn’t make it. The older version of the survivors confirmed that by the time they were brought back home, Hannah and the rest of her group were presumed lost to the elements.
“[When it comes to Hannah’s possible death], my brain goes in multiple directions with it. Either Shauna is just going to kill her, Shauna is just going to be so mad at her and she’s not going to make it or she’s going to keep her around until Natalie gets back,” she explained. “But I think that the intrigue that Shauna has is that Hannah has more life experience than them and she studies survival in a way that she can play them so well. That’s probably why Shauna is intrigued by her.”
Sutton continued: “It’s going to be really interesting what the creators and the writers do after this because I have no idea. My brain kind of goes multiple directions every other day of how they could play it. But I’m very excited to see because they have done such a good job this season of answering so many questions that we’ve had since the very beginning. I’m sure they’ll do a beautiful job next season as well.”
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While reflecting on her dream ending, Sutton recalled jokingly asking to be covered “in blood,” telling Us, “I just want to have such a gory Carrie moment. The writers were like, ‘We can make that happen.’ I have no idea how it’ll happen but I hope it’s in a way that Hannah sacrifices herself for the greater good. She just does something good that maybe ends up with her demise.”
Sutton is also a team player when it comes to the cannibalism component of the show. “[They can] eat her,” she quipped. “If they’re hungry, I guess I can’t be mad at them. They’re in the wilderness but OK, that’s weird.”
There is also the possibility that season 4 will offer Us a larger glimpse at Hannah’s background.
“Hopefully there’s flashbacks and we get to see more of Hannah and Edwin. That would be really cool to see them from the before times,” Sutton shared. “So I don’t know what they have in store — but I am excited to see how that could possibly play out. I really like when stories do that where we see just two different parts of a person.”
Before booking the role of Hannah, Sutton was already a fan of the show. In fact, she auditioned for the pilot but ultimately she was meant to bring Hannah to life two seasons later.
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“I was just really into the writing. I love the comedy of it but it’s dark, spooky and scary. I like how it puts both of those together,” she explained. “I became a fan watching it all and then when this came about I was like, ‘Oh, I get another chance.’ Hannah just feels right. It feels like a part of myself in some way. I connected to her so deeply and then to find out she’s such a pivotal part of the story was really exciting and really cool.”
Sutton admitted there was a “toll” that came with “constantly” living in that emotional state.
“I was very, very intentional about the fear aspect of what she is fearful of in each moment because I felt like that is the hardest to replicate. It really truly is,” she shared with Us. “But it was beautiful for me because I myself have lived in that fight or flight. I had been working on myself for a few years after I lost my dad and went on this healing journey for myself. So to be able to play Hannah — who is in that state — and to see my own personal growth of how I don’t live from that state anymore was really beautiful. It felt like a cherry on top of my own healing journey. So I was grateful to have that reflection through Hannah and playing her.”
Yellowjackets is currently streaming on Paramount+.
