8 Things Yellowjackets Does Better Than Lost

Lost was very much a show that had a comic relief character in the form of Hurley, and the sarcastic, charismatic conman Sawyer. The rest of the series, and the characters, were either paper-thin hero and villain archetypes or compelling enigmas. Yellowjackets, on the other hand can be incredibly funny.

The series has a rich undercurrent of black comedy. Christina Ricci, for example, is phenomenal as the sweet, smiling sociopathic adult Misty who gets the lion's share of the comedy. Meanwhile, Melanie Lynskey excels at the suburban ennui that gives way to the sort of absurdist comedy that can be found in a Coens movie. Juliette Lewis is the Sawyer of the group, archly funny but with an obvious vulnerable side.

Meanwhile, in the survival timeline of the crash's immediate aftermath, the juxtaposition of teen movie tropes and archetypes with a creepy forest and a desperate fight to survive provides much potential for black comedy. For example, the younger Shauna's dream of giving birth to a rotisserie chicken is equal parts horrifying and hilarious. It's this comic sensibility that prevents Yellowjackets from falling into Lost's trap of being too worthy and po-faced.