Food

So You Did A Cannibalism

An open letter to Yellowjackets’ Shauna.

by Chloe Joe
Samantha Hanratty as Teen Misty, Kevin Alves as Teen Travis, Courtney Eaton as Teen Lottie and Sophi...
Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME

Dear Shauna,

Let’s cut right to the meat of the matter: You ate someone.

There’s no point in dwelling on the past — or in regurgitating your meal. The deed is done; none of us can change the past. So boil yourself a helping of bone broth, and let’s consider how to move forward. Much easier to think on a full stomach, huh!

It’s only natural to feel a type of way the morning after. When reexamined in the harsh light of day, decisions made under the cover of night will often look very different: Whomst among us has not given into our carnal instincts when tempted in the wee hours, only to wake up and find we’ve made a mess of things? It’s important to indulge these feelings, digest them, and let them pass through you. You are not a bad; you just did an (arguably) bad thing.

Know that you are not the first person to eat a person. There have been plenty of cultures throughout history in which cannibalism was considered perfectly acceptable. Other groups — much like you — have engaged in this practice when faced with extreme circumstances, and afterward gone on with their lives. Much like love, hunger makes us do crazy things.

Also recall, you were not the only person to take of the forbidden fruit. All of your friends did, too! Only your coach refrained (What, he thinks he’s better than you? And after you all helped him recover from an emergency amputation?) Plus, it was really an accident. You hadn’t meant to roast your friend’s frozen corpse; nature just conveniently provided ideal cooking conditions. No one, except your holier-than-thou coach, could have expected you to refuse a readymade feast, served up on a silver platter. (Speaking of holiness, you know who famously endorsed eating people? Jesus “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life” Christ. And if you gain the powers of the person you eateth, you’re about to get a whole lot more confident and popular.)

Breathe in, breathe out. Meditate on what you’ve learned — let it course through you, as Jackie’s nourishment now flows through your veins. Let her take care of you: She is one with you and you are one with her, just as we are all one with each other. Now, doesn’t that feel better?