Lynskey talks to ET about engaging with fans on social media and why she quit Reddit.
Yellowjackets star Melanie Lynskey is grateful for not only the fans watching and engaging with Showtime’s twist-filled series about a high school soccer team stranded in the Canadian Rockies and those who made it out alive, but those who have reached out via social media about her seeing her onscreen.
“I really appreciate people reaching out to me. I’ve gotten so many messages from women who feel very represented and seen by things they’ve seen or just by seeing my body onscreen,” Lynskey, who plays an adult version of Shauna, tells ET about connecting with fans on Twitter. “And that’s so beautiful. I wish I could reply to everybody.”
The mention about her body comes after Lynskey revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone that she was “dismayed by those who can’t seem to believe that Adam (Peter Gadiot), the hunky young artist Shauna has an affair with, may harbor genuine interest in her character.”
And it was those reactions to Adam in particular that prompted Lynskey to leave Reddit for good. “I was looking on Reddit and reading stuff. And, I just can’t. It makes me crazy,” she says now.
“There’s a lot of people saying a lot of stuff and so I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to put that down.’ It’s like an alcoholic hitting rock bottom. But, you know, I was reading all these [comments] like, ‘Who is he?’” she continues. “And I was like, ‘Wow, it’s so funny to me that nobody’s really thinking he could just be a thing. That he could just be into her.’”
“Like, on a feminist level, it was interesting to me. And I understand his character is suspicious. There’s a lot of suspicious stuff about him. He seems shady. But I was having a lot of different reactions to it,” she says.
Yet, Lynskey still thinks Twitter, “while scary and crazy,” is a fun way to interact with fans. “I’m so grateful that people are watching and the people are so excited about the show and coming up with all these crazy theories,” Lynskey says, adding that when it comes to season 2, “I’ll keep engaged.”
As for those theories, Lynskey as well as co-stars Christina Ricci, Liv Hewson, Sammi Hanratty and Tawny Cypress spoke about the one particular one that jumped out at them the most during a moderated conversation for the 10th annual SCAD TVfest. And that’s what happened or is going to happen to Shauna’s baby.
“If they eat the baby, I’m quitting the show,” said Lynskey, referring to her character’s pregnancy. Played by Sophie Nélisse in the past, Shauna will likely give birth sometime during the 15 months the team is struggling to stay alive in the Canadian Rockies.
“I’m really curious about the baby,” said Cypress, who plays the adult version of Taissa while Jasmin Savoy Brown portrays her teenage version. “I’m actually really curious if there’s an adult. Like, I have theories that there is. But I have no idea.”
That’s when Ricci, who plays adult Misty while Hanratty plays her in the past, chimed in. “I don’t understand why everybody thinks that you guys are going to eat the baby though,” she said. “That was the number one fan theory. And I was like, ‘What?’”
Given that the survivors eventually turn to cannibalism and viewers have yet to learn what happened to the baby after Shauna and others were rescued, it’s become one of the more popular questions about what’s going to happen on the series, which has been renewed for a second season.
While speaking with ET about the season 1 finale, the creators addressed that theory. “People should be prepared for things to get quite a bit darker. We do know what goes on with the baby, but we're going to hold that pretty close to the vest right now,” Ashley Lyle said.
She did note, however, “We never want to get into a territory that is so fully grim or bleak that it’s no longer entertaining to watch.”
“I have a real blindspot to what happens to the baby,” Lynskey added during the panel, explaining that even though she’s asked the creators a number of questions about the series, she hasn’t asked them about that.
The Yellowjackets screening and panel, where they also received the Outstanding Cast Award, is available to watch in full Friday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Visit SCADTVfest.com for a full schedule of the three-day event.
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