8 Things Yellowjackets Does Better Than Lost
3. Flashbacks Are Used Sparingly
As with Lost, there are two timelines in Yellowjackets. There's the immediate aftermath of the crash and what happens to the survivors 25 years later. Each timeline compliments the other, teeing up what the viewer can expect to happen while also pulling the rug from under them. It's a smart narrative device that constantly plays on expectations.
It also means that half an episode isn't taken up by backstory that's irrelevant to the plot. When Lost did a flashback (or flashforward) well, they were extraordinary, shifting your understanding of the characters. When they were bad though, well, they were Jack's tattoos. Outside of the two main timelines, Yellowjackets deploys a similar trick, flashing back to the pre-crash lives of the team.
They rarely form as large a part of the episode as the Lost flashbacks did, likely because there's so much going on elsewhere. However, they provide valuable insights into character motivations. The opening of the episode Flight of the Bumblebee is pure Lost, as Laura Lee's life is saved at a Christian summer camp. Believing she was saved by God, Laura Lee feels her purpose is to rescue her fellow teammates. She's proved devastatingly wrong.