WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Yellowjackets season 3, episode 9!One of the oldest debates in “other” Tai controlling her and eating dirt, visions continuing to haunt various characters, strange noises in the woods, and a darkness consuming them. Still, some believed the Wilderness’ powers weren’t real.

Though Lottie was always the most adamant believer of the Wilderness’ powers, others suggested this dark entity never existed. Rather, they believed the darkness and strangeness were just themselves, being induced by delirium, malnutrition, mental illness, drugs, and desperation after being stranded for so long and reduced to such inhumane survival strategies. The debate over “It” being real or not continued among Yellowjackets’ present-day survivors and audiences at home, looking for an explanation regarding whether such darkness was actually their fault. However, Yellowjackets season 3, episode 9 includes a scene that can’t be explained unless the Wilderness’ powers are real.

Lottie Not Falling Into The Death Pit Officially Proves That The Wilderness' Powers Are Real

There's No Other Explanation For Lottie Being Able To Walk Over The Pit

Realizing that killing Lottie might be the only way the group can unite behind the effort to go back home, Travis devises a dark plan to try to trick Lottie into falling to her death. Using the pit where Ben found the KUH survival box, Travis puts stakes on the bottom of the pit and covers it with branches to blend it in with the surrounding woods. When he tries to convince her to walk in the direction of the pit, Lottie catches onto his plan but still walks ahead.

However, rather than fall through, Lottie is able to easily walk across the top of the pit, which could only be accomplished by some supernatural interference. Travis had just tested the pit’s cover by throwing a branch onto it and causing it to collapse, so it would be impossible for the weight of an 18-year-old to not collapse it. The only explanation for Lottie not falling into the pit to her death is that the Wilderness’ powers intervened, confirming the existence of the supernatural force right in front of Travis’ eyes.

Lottie Not Falling Explains Why Travis Is Still So Committed To The Wilderness 25 Years Later

Travis' Couldn't Ignore The Wilderness' Influence After That Moment

When Travis tried to kill Lottie, he still didn’t believe that everything Lottie was saying about the Wilderness’ powers was true, despite Travis having visions of his own. However, it became impossible to deny It’s influence when watching Lottie fail to fall through the pit to her death below. From that point on, Travis could never fully escape the Wilderness, and continued either trying to run from It or please It for the two and a half decades after their rescue.

Seeing Lottie walk over those branches in Yellowjackets confirmed a dark truth that would follow him until the moment he died.

Travis’ addiction in his adulthood can also be explained by his connection to the Wilderness and knowledge that It’s real, as Lottie continued to convince him to take magic mushrooms as a teenager in order to reach and connect with the Wildnerness. It’s why Travis was so adamant that “Nat was right” about bringing that darkness back with them, and why he went to such drastic measures to try to connect with It again on the night of his death. Seeing Lottie walk over those branches in Yellowjackets confirmed a dark truth that would follow him until the moment he died.