The Savages Where yellow jackets?
LIT Test Survival
There are a lot of TV shows these days and time is precious. The choices we make about what to watch are carefully considered, and starting a new show can sometimes feel daunting. I don’t know how many times I’ve avoided watching something new in favor of tried and true favorites. Choosing to watch something new is a leap of faith – we hope it’s something we like, or better yet, like.
When the TV powers present us with two show options based on a group of teenagers stranded in the desert following a plane crash, it can be hard to know which one to start with. Prime Video The Savages and Showtime yellow jackets deliver adventure drama with thrilling twists, mystery, and interesting characters immersed in unimaginable circumstances. These series have the potential to be this generation’s Lostbut which one will come out victorious?
Note: Some spoilers for The Savages Season 1 & 2 and yellow jackets Season 1 below.
yellow jackets has the buzz. The Savages is all about her wild twists. Whereas The Savages has the advantage of two seasons (composed of 18 episodes) to its credit, yellow jackets incorporates more story into its ten inaugural episodes. They share a basic premise but go in entirely different directions. Which has more intriguing stories is subjective, based on individual taste (pun definitely intended), however, yellow jackets is the simpler of the two; the writing is more polished and intricately intertwined, which lends itself to more nuanced visual storytelling.
It’s sort of a “basic” versus “extra” situation.
The Savages is tamed compared to yellow jackets which speaks of cannibalism and sects. It’s definitely bolder, but both have dark and disturbing elements. Story and viewing formats are also considered. The Savages drops all its episodes at once and yellow jackets is broken up weekly, old-school style. Story-wise, both shows play with timelines, but yellow jackets has a much more complete timeline. It covers the event of the plane crash in 1996 as well as the survivors (that we know of) living out their lives in 2021.
This way, yellow jackets not only has age diversity, but 90s nostalgia and veteran actors portraying the adult characters. On The SavagesRachel Griffiths is the only one who can meet those specific criteria, but she plays a really fun villain as the evil scientist leading the unorthodox social experiment. yellow jackets doesn’t have a Big Bad like that, unless you count the spirit of the land they’re stranded on. yellow jackets offers spooky and supernatural subjects. Rituals and sorcery, possession and occult symbolism all contribute to a greater air of mystery and horror throughout.
In terms of broader themes, yellow jackets covers more ground than The Savages. Both deal with mental health, abuse, betrayal, religion, and gaslighting. Between the two shows, these topics are explored in an interesting and diverse way, which justifies watching both. yellow jacketsThe far-reaching timeline, however, also allows for exploring things like the long-term effects of trauma and keeping secrets, including addiction and survivor guilt.
There’s just more meat (hehe) on the Yellow Jackets’ story that The Savages‘ which looks more like skin and bone in comparison.
From a cinematic point of view, yellow jackets visually tells a more compelling story with a bolder aesthetic. The Savages can be duller dynamically but its story is cohesive and well told. Although, the strand on the desert island is played more than the Living approach to yellow jackets which has a very cool “Winter is coming” vibe. When I finished season 1 of The Savages, I wanted to see what was going to happen next but I could easily wait. Since the end of the first season of yellow jacketsI have been ravenous for more content.
Full disclosure, despite yellow jackets being available from week to week, I ruined everything in a few days. However, the hype I saw on social media each week only served to deepen my interest rather than discourage me, as hype sometimes tends to do.
As an adult who was high school age in 1996, I am able to relate to both the younger versions of the cast and their adult counterparts. It’s nostalgic for me, and it’s easier to try to imagine myself in their place, at least as much as possible. The current young cast of The Savages is going to resonate more with a younger population, not with people like me who have more teeth. Perhaps when it comes to choosing between watching these two series, age is more than just a number.
Which brings me to what got me watching The Savages when it first came out. I’m a big fan of middle-aged actresses (yes, that’s a thing), including Rachel Griffiths, and it’s because of her that I starred in “Day One.” The Savages‘ pilot episode. So imagine my absolute delight when a show with an equally intriguing premise, focusing on my age range, both as a teenager and an adult, casts talents such as Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis in complex and compelling roles.
The Savages Season 2 introduces The Boys, the control group that was revealed in the Season 1 finale, and the show suffers for it. The girl group from Season 1 is one of the things that made the show so great. It is necessary in an experiment to have a control group, but The Savages leans too much into this new narrative.
Of course, eating human flesh is a disturbing idea, but the sexual assault of season 2 of The Savages is downright scary. As a society, we’re so far removed from cannibalism that it’s not going to strike nerves or trigger viewers, likewise, a depiction of something that’s sadly all too common. However, this act on The Savages brings a lot of complexity and tension to the group dynamic, which was somewhat lacking in Season 1.
The two season 2 of The Savages and season 1 of yellow jackets end on cliffhangers filled with questions to be answered. That being said, I would survive if there was no season 3 (it hasn’t been renewed yet), but I would be very upset if it was the end of the season. yellow jackets‘ story.
Fortunately, a second season of yellow jackets was confirmed, and I didn’t even have to offer a bloody sacrifice.
