What Happened to Javi in ‘Yellowjackets’? Here’s What We Know

So far, the Yellowjackets series has been full of mysteries, and most of them revolve around the strange symbol we keep seeing and, generally, around the survival of certain members that crashed in the forest, following a fateful plane crash. We know that some members of the group survived the initial crash but died in the aftermath of that crash. Some froze to death like Jackie, and some of them will meet their ends during circumstances that we are yet to see in the series. However, one character has been missing since season 1, and now, with the first episode of Season 2 aired, we’re still not exactly sure what happened to him. Due to this, we’ve decided to explain this mystery in a bit more detail. Let’s see what happened to Javi in Yellowjackets.

Javi disappeared during the “Doomcoming” episode when Shauna told him to run while the group was high on hallucinogenic mushrooms. His fate is still unknown, but most of the group believes that he is dead. Javi has been missing for two months now, and it’s highly unlikely that he managed to survive in the forest alone without shelter and protection with deep snow falling and limited resources that he can rely upon. However, Lottie believes that Javi is alive through supernatural or other means, and the tree stump that Travis has seen in his panic-induced vision seems to be connected to his disappearance. 

Now that we’ve covered what we know about Javi’s disappearance so far, it’s time to analyze it in more detail. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading!

Javi, as a character, has had a pretty tragic character arc so far 

Javi Martinez is the younger brother of Travis Martinez, one of the most prominent characters we’ve seen in the flashbacks so far. Javi, like his brother and father, joined the Yellowjackets on their trip for the upcoming soccer competition, only they never made their way to the tournament since the group crashed in the middle of nowhere following the plane accident. 

Javi has seen his father impaled by a tree branch. His brother had a hard time dealing with him and the sudden and tragic passing of their father. The only character that Javi managed to connect with so far was Shauna, who recognized his artistic inclinations and even connected with him. 

Javi is worried that none of them will make it out of the forest alive. We know this is not true, but the big question is, will he make it out of the forest? 

Shauna either saved Javi’s life or condemned him to die

In the “Doomcoming” episode, the group tripped hard on hallucinogenic mushrooms. During the whole ordeal, the group attempted to violet and even kill Travis, Javi’s older brother, something that Jackie judged them all for mere hours before she froze to death while sleeping outside. 

While the “hunt” for Travis was underway, Shauna, also under the influence, warned Javi to run. He took the advice by heart and launched himself into a run. But to this day, he is still missing. Episode 1 of Season 2 takes two months after the whole affair, and we can see the forest is transformed into an unforgiving frozen hellscape with little resources and protection.  

Javi is still missing, and despite numerous attempts to find him, Natalie and Travis are unsuccessful. The chances of him being found alive are slimmer by the day, and most of the group is convinced that he is, in fact, dead. The fact that Shaun told him to run at this point might’ve saved him or, in fact, killed him, but what happened to him after he ran away? 

Javi most likely froze to death or was killed by wild animals 

As we know by now, the winter has come hard to the forest, and the resources and food are severely limited. Natalie and Travis go out daily, exploring the surrounding wilderness with little luck. They keep coming back empty-handed, finding neither game to eat nor Javi. 

In one of the scenes, we can see Natalie and Travis coming across a frozen corpse of a fox in the snow, and Travis panics, thinking that it’s Javi’s body.

This is what most likely happened to Javi. As we can see, even the group that is sheltered in the cabin has a hard time coping with the winter in the forest. They are hungry and cold, using paper to insulate their clothes further. A teenage boy with no experience foraging and surviving in the forest would have a hard time keeping himself alive. Like what happened to Jackie, he most likely froze to death due to exposure to the elements. 

But, if that was what happened, they would probably find his body by now unless it is covered with a thick layer of snow. The fact that his body is still missing might be explained by the fact that wild animals that are desperate for food as well killed him and ate him. Still, freezing or being killed by animals is most likely what happened as of now. 

Javi survived through supernatural means or finding alternative shelter

This is something that Lottie is suggesting and might be connected to the tree stump that Travis saw in his panic-induced vision. We know that half of the group believes that Javi is dead, Ben and Natalie primarily. We also know that even thinking about Javi being dead sent Travis into a panic attack. He was calmed down by Lottie, who convinced him that Javi was alive. Natalie accused her of giving Travis false hope, but Lottie answered that there is no such thing as false hope, only hope. 

During his panic attack, when Lottie was touching him, Travis saw a mysterious tree stump, green and verdant. And he also came across this tree stump when he was exploring the wilderness once again with Natalie. The tree stump was green, which made a stark and bizarre contrast surrounded by otherwise glacial and frozen trees. Whatever keeps this tree stump “ever-green” might be a key to Javi’s survival. He might’ve found some underground tunnel or alternative shelter, which might prove vital for his survival and the group’s survival during winter.

Or, some supernatural means might be keeping the tree-stump green and protecting Javi from sure death. However we look at it, the tree stump is connected to either Javi or Travis. 

Javi was killed during Doomcoming

Another theory is that Javi never managed to run away from the group during that fateful Doomcoming. Possibly, he was caught by the group and given the same treatment that Travis almost got. Or he was killed and eaten by a bear that Lottie later killed. It is possible that the tree stump hides his remains, which is why we keep seeing it in connection with Javi and Travis. 

It’s also possible that the group hallucinated the bear, and Lottie killed him. By lying to Travis that Javi is alive, she is actually covering her tracks and keeping her status as a “spiritual leader” even more grounded in the supernatural as she was the one that killed the bear with relative ease. 

Javi’s body might soon be found, and it will change Travis forever 

The last theory I want to discuss is the fact that Javi’s body will soon be found frozen in the snow, and the group will be forced to cannibalize it. This is something that might drive Travis crazy and might be his source of anguish and depression when he returns to civilization. 

We know that Travis was suffering from mental issues when he returned, and we know that he cut contact with everyone that survived, including Natalie, that meant so much to him while they were lost in the forest. And ultimately, we know that he “committed suicide.” It’s possible that Travis could never forgive himself for eating his brother’s remains, and the guilt was eventually too hard to bear.

It’s possible that he sought help from Lottie’s cult since she was seen working as a motivational speaker helping people come to terms with who they are, but it was unsuccessful, and the event’s trauma proved too heavy to bear.