Why Misty Smashed The Black Box Explained

Yellowjackets ended its second episode of season 1 with a shocking twist, leaving audiences with the question, “why did Misty destroy the flight recorder?” As the story unfolds, the show reveals more about how the crash, and the events succeeding it, affect the girls later on in life — particularly Misty. Yellowjackets slowly exposes the character arcs but doesn’t reveal anything quickly. While season 2 answers many leftover questions, the secret of why Misty destroyed the black box weighs heavily on her.

The second episode of Yellowjackets‘ first season picks up directly after the fateful plane crash. The most notable part is that Misty appears to be wholly in her element. She fearlessly cuts off Ben’s leg with the plane ax after it turns to mincemeat under some fallen debris, dressing the wound without any difficulty. Citing her Red Cross babysitting training, many girls realize they won’t survive without Misty. After cauterizing Ben’s leg, she finds the black box and smashes it to bits — but why did Misty destroy the flight recorder?

Misty Liked Being Important To The Team

Her Survival Skills Made Her Valuable In The Wilderness

Misty destroys the Yellowjackets’ black box because she has the overwhelming desire to feel needed. Misty’s role with the team is as an assistant, but she acts as a gopher who is very happy to do whatever anyone needs. In the beginning, her insecurities arise after classmates bully her over the phone. The phone call makes her feel undesirable. At the end of “F-Sharp,” she relieves herself and overhears Van and Laura Lee talking about how essential she’s been to everyone’s survival thus far.

She comes upon the flight recorder, and rather than continue to prove her usefulness, Misty smashes the flight recorder on a rock and pulls out the wires. Misty’s need to feel essential to maintain control turns her to destruction, and she’s the one responsible for keeping the team stuck for 19 months. Misty’s instability is clear from the beginning, even before Yellowjackets reveals her as the first girl to be unmasked in the notorious tribal ritual. Her desire to be wanted spills over into her adult life when she’s just as manipulative.

She becomes a nurse and researches cold cases as a citizen detective. Here, she shows off her manipulative tactics while on a date with a man who wants out of her clutches. Once she reveals to Natalie that she knows where Travis is, Natalie takes off without her. What does Misty do? She goes to Natalie’s motel, messes with her car so that it won’t start, and suggests they take a road trip. Natalie’s statement that Misty hasn’t changed is accurate and why Misty destroyed the flight recorder becomes clear.

The Black Box Played A Part In Crystal’s Death

The Plot Twist Came Back In A Big Way In Season 2

Misty destroying the flight recorder seemed forgotten until it was brought up again in season 2, episode 5. Teenage Misty manages to find a friend in Crystal. With their shared oddness and love of show tunes, the two become inseparable, much to the annoyance of everyone else. When Misty accompanies Crystal to do the abysmal chore of emptying the team toilet, they begin to share their deepest secrets. Misty finally tells someone that she smashed the flight recorder, and it results in Crystal’s death.

Crystal calls Misty a psycho and Misty says that if she tells anyone, she’ll kill her. Making good on this threat immediately, Misty backs Crystal off a cliff to fall to her death. While this death explains adult Misty’s odd behavior, the point stands that Misty killed her best friend to maintain her essential status within the group. Misty has to remain in control of others, with Walter’s assertion that she’s a psychopath probably not far off. With Crystal gone, it’s unlikely the survivors will find out that Misty destroyed the flight recorder.

Misty Destroying The Black Box Plays Into Her Adult Personality

She Does Similar Things When She’s Older

While Misty destroying the flight recorder still echoes in audiences’ minds, her behavior as an adult also informs her teen character and makes the decision easier to understand. Misty’s pathological need to be needed doesn’t go away when she grows up. She chillingly takes on the role of caregiver as she works in an elderly care facility and constantly cares for or inflicts her wrath upon her wards. She denies medication and flat-lines patients to scare kids on Halloween. Misty revels in her power and control over others.

This is never truer in her adult friendships, particularly with Natalie. Misty feels she knows “what’s best” for everyone, especially her friends, and constantly inserts herself into their business. She removed the wiring in Natalie’s car, kidnapped and killed Jessica Roberts, pressed herself into Lottie’s cult to “save” Natalie, and generally stalked her for her skewed paradigm of the greater good. Though Misty destroyed the flight recorder as a teen, she learns her hardest lesson in the Yellowjackets season 2 finale when she accidentally kills Natalie.