Joel McHale, Jennifer Morrison on Frog Orgy, Chase Scene

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Yellowjackets” Season 3, Episode 7, titled “Croak,” streaming now on Paramount+ with Showtime.

The Yellowjackets have welcomed new additions to the hive — as hostages.

This week’s episode, “Croak,” begins with a series of events that occurred before the Yellowjackets’ first encounter with outsiders in the wilderness. It turns out that the eerie “screaming trees” the young survivors have been hearing all season aren’t supernatural after all — they’re the mating call of a frog species known as the Arctic Banshee frog.

Viewers are introduced to three new characters: scientists Hannah (Ashley Sutton) and Edwin (Nelson Franklin), a couple eager to document the sounds of the horny, shrieking frogs, and their crossbow-wielding wilderness guide, Kodiak (Joel McHale).

While waiting out a thunderstorm inside their tent, the scientists attempt to bond with Kodiak (named after the chewing tobacco, not the bear) as they smoke a pine-flavored joint. Edwin jokingly suggests they call a 900-number psychic using their emergency satellite phone, but quickly backpedals when Hannah and Kodiak’s playful banter turns flirty. Despite Edwin’s protests, the two playfully wrestle for the device and end up accidentally snapping the antenna in half — cutting off any potential line of communication.

Tensions among the group continue to rise as they hike towards their next destination. When Edwin points out a label inside Kodiak’s backpack with the name “Erik Cheong” sewn on it, Hannah dismisses his concern about their guide lying about his identity, saying, “Well, maybe he bought it secondhand.”

They’re eventually distracted by the enticing smell of bar-Ben-cue — er, barbecue — and Edwin, who’s fed up with Kodiak, insists that he and Hannah should follow their noses and find the others nearby (though Kodiak warns them not to interact with anyone this far from civilization).

The trio stumbles upon the Yellowjackets mid-celebration, whooping and wailing as they dance around a fire and feast on Coach Ben Scott’s (Steven Krueger) remains. As they approach the Yellowjackets’ makeshift village, Hanna turns on her DAT tape recorder, secretly chronicling the encounter. The episode then picks up where last week’s cliffhanger left off, with Edwin blurting out, “What the fuck?” at the sight of Ben’s severed head.

“We’re going home,” says Van (Liv Hewson), as everyone stares in disbelief at the outsiders.

That glimmer of hope is immediately extinguished, however, when Lottie (Courtney Eaton) buries an axe into Edwin’s skull. “They don’t belong,” Lottie explains to the group. “’It’ doesn’t want them here.”

Hannah and Kodiak flee from the teenagers, but not before Kodiak fires a shot, hitting Melissa (Jenna Burgess) square in the shoulder with his crossbow. The Yellowjackets quickly split into groups and chase down the two remaining outsiders through the forest. While Hannah eventually surrenders and returns to the village with Van, Natalie (Sophie Thatcher), Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) and Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown), Kodiak — who narrowly avoids falling off a cliff — forms a shaky alliance with Travis (Kevin Alves) and Akilah (Nia Sondaya).

In separate interviews with Variety, guest star Joel McHale and director Jennifer Morrison (who is also a well-known actor) discussed the introduction of the outsiders to the world of “Yellowjackets,” what went into shooting that intense chase sequence, and the true sound behind the “screaming trees.”

How familiar were you with “Yellowjackets” before you were approached for this role?

Joel McHale: I knew it was a documentary about the lives of bees, and how important they are to the cycle of life on our planet — and that was it. No! I was extremely familiar, and I believe when they asked, I was like, “Are you sure you want me? Did you guys lose a bet?” And so, [co-creator] Ashley Lyle and I chatted outside The Troubadour — that was in March of last year — and then they made this offer. I didn’t think I could do it because of “Animal Control,” and then it worked out. I count the pilot as one of the greatest pilots ever made. And the acting is fucking great.

What was your reaction to finding out the “screaming trees” were actually frogs? 

Jennifer Morrison: I, like most fans, was wondering if there’s some mystical element to what’s going on in the wilderness with the girls, or if it’s literal things that manifest into something that can feel scary. I was definitely intrigued to find out it was a wild screaming frog situation. I didn’t know enough about frogs to realize that they really do scream like that, and then once I started doing the research, I was shocked. 

What goes into creating the audio for a sequence full of horny frogs?

Morrison: I can’t take any credit for the actual decision-making with the audio — that’s all the showrunners and the sound designer. But in terms of me presenting a temp situation for Episode 7, I definitely went down a crazy YouTube spiral. I was looking at every wilderness video of a frog you’ve ever seen. I can only imagine what the algorithm thought of me. I did a lot of Googling “frog orgy,” which is a phrase I never expected to Google. I also spent time on those free websites of sound design noises, because I was curious to see what fell under categories of horror screams versus frog noises — looking at both, trying to compare and find similarities.

This show loves to include ’80s and ’90s references, and Kodiak reminded me of characters like Robert Muldoon in “Jurassic Park” or someone from “Predator.” Did you draw inspiration from any ’80s or ’90s characters, or try to emulate them?

McHale: No, that’s really funny. I had not thought about that. I was very choosy about what I was wearing — that was very important. Once I get the clothes on, that really is helpful to me, to be like, “OK, so this is a person that sleeps in these clothes all the time, and they’re part of the woods.”

But I haven’t thought about the “Predator” part. I’ll go back and say that. Yeah, that’s great. There is that parallel with “Predator” of them running away from something, or a group of people trying to kill them. I see the parallel.

Morrison: The ’80s are definitely an inspiration in general on the show. In conversations with the writers on set, we did reference things like “Indiana Jones,” where there’s this rugged, mysterious, “I can handle anything” element to Kodi, but also an unexpected wry sense of humor to him. It was interesting to see Joel McHale find the balance of those two things.

Joel, did you have a say in your character using a crossbow? Or was that always in the script?

McHale: I own a crossbow now, so watch out! Yeah, I bought one — a very similar model — to mess around with it. Not mess around with it — it’s a crossbow, it’s a real weapon. But no, I didn’t have any say in that, and I was happy because I think he would have chosen a weapon that doesn’t make much noise, right?

Aside from buying a crossbow, did you do any other preparation for Kodiak?

McHale: Just bearing down and growing my beard more.

And is that a spray tan?

McHale: Oh, always a spray. I don’t want to expose myself to, well, he would be weathered, of course. He does wear a hat, but come on, I’m half-Norwegian, half-Irish. I don’t think he would want to break up his adventures in the woods by going to a dermatologist and being like, “Should I be worried about this spot?”

We get some background info about these characters before they encounter the Yellowjackets. What was important to establish about them and their dynamic during that brief period? And how was it filming those scenes with Ashley Sutton and Nelson Franklin?

McHale: The first thing we shot was in the tent because we were supposed to be starting all the wood stuff, but there was heavy rains. And ironically, we shot indoors in a scene where there’s heavy rain. So that [tent scene] was a really good scene to start with, because it was very close quarters and we’re sitting there, getting high and having a conversation. So that, for me, was really helpful to go like, “Oh, all right, this is how we’re pushing and pulling against each other.”

Morrison: It was important to make that opening feel like the opening of a horror film, where you get to meet all these people and get to know them and care about them, even though you have an ominous feeling that something terrible will probably happen. I wanted to make sure they all got a moment to really show a sense of who they were, but also a sense of the fractures that were within the group already, so that, by the time they encounter the girls in the wilderness, we’re aware of those vulnerabilities.

What is Jennifer Morrison like as a director?

McHale: Jennifer Morrison is a genius. She is, I would say, multi-hyphenate. On top of being an astoundingly good actor, she is an astoundingly good director. She knows exactly what’s going on. She’s calling the lenses, she knows what pieces she needs, and she’s also pushing the story ahead. She’s keeping track of everything while she’s prepping for another episode. I was like, “Jennifer, when was the last time you slept,” and she was like, “Hm?” She’s one of those folks that God just tipped a little bit more talent into.

Jennifer, you previously also directed Episode 4, “12 Angry Girls and 1 Drunk Travis” from this season, which ends with the discovery that Lottie has been killed. Was there anything you learned working on that episode that you brought to Episode 7?

Morrison: Absolutely yes, in the relationships that I developed and getting to know the actors — having a sense of how to be there for them and support them, knowing I had already established a shorthand. So yes, from that standpoint. But Episode 4 and Episode 7 are like two different movies; they couldn’t be more different in terms of what they asked of me as a filmmaker. It was a whole new beast in a really exciting way, but with the comfort of knowing I now had the shorthand with all of the actors, the writers and the crew.

How does your approach directing the present day timeline differ from directing the wilderness timeline?

Morrison: Even though the “real world” looks different from the wilderness, the emotional throughline of the characters is so resonant that it does feel like they touch each other in some way. From an emotional standpoint, and from the standpoint of being there for the actors, it feels very congruous, whereas the visuals being different is just down to the logistics of the wilderness versus not being in the wilderness.

Joel, you shot those scenes with the Yellowjackets last for that episode. How did it feel getting to step into the village and assimilate yourself and your character into that wilderness universe?

McHale: It was so fun and so cool. The attention to detail with that village, I was like, “I hope you have armed guards around all the time to guard this place, because it’s gonna get overrun by fans.” When we stumble into that camp, it’s so intimidating and beautiful. And it’s such a great like, “What the fuck? Who the fuck are these people out here? And why didn’t I know about it?” And then the violence that happens immediately, it’s like the rollercoaster’s moving up slowly, and then you’re off to the races.

Jennifer, what’s the key to building and keeping tension in a chase sequence?

Morrison: When I’m directing action sequences, I really try to double down on my philosophy in general about filmmaking, which is that the visual should represent the emotional state of the character we’re following. Sometimes, there can be an energy and fun in putting three cameras on something and saying, “We’ll see what we get!” But that is not the approach I took here. I really broke down every scene in terms of, “Who’s driving the sequence?” and “What headspace are they in? What are they capable of?”

What was the staging and filming process like for those chase scenes and that cliff scene?

Morrison: With Kodi in particular, there’s such a precision to him because he has the training in his background, so he’s precise in the way he handles action. I kept designing sequences where long dolly tracks were with him in the woods, because you can feel the precision of the dolly track as opposed to running with a Steadicam or following him with a drone. It’s a different feeling with different pieces of gear. There was one sequence where there was, like, 100 feet of dolly track at one angle, and he was running at it at a 45 degree angle, so they were converging. It feels almost like you’re on a zoom lens, because you’re getting closer and closer, but then he hears a gunshot and turns in a tight close-up, like you’re pulling a bow and arrow. 

McHale: The thing that was built — the side of the cliff — was beautifully made, and my stunt guy flung himself over that thing. And I don’t know how his arm didn’t get — I mean, this is why they’re doing stunts, and I’m not. I try to do as many as I can, but if I were half of Tom Cruise, I would be dead years ago. I was holding on [to the cliff], but I had a wire going through, and I wanted to make it look real. So, the next day, my hand — everything was sore.

And then the chase scenes, there’s this beautiful — I’m not going to say where in British Columbia it is, but it’s a huge private forest, basically. We are just running and running through there with torches, and there’s roots everywhere. They’re like, “OK, well, we didn’t fling you off a cliff, but be careful of these roots.” And I’m like, “No problem. I’m a great actor, because I can avoid roots!” But when the adrenaline gets going, I have to be careful because I get overly excited, and I think that’s when you can get hurt. They’re like, “What happened?” and it’s like, “Oh, he tried to run a 40-yard dash right here for no reason.” Anyway, that’s a very long answer to say, we were out there in the middle of the woods all night — it was great!

These interviews have been edited and condensed.