We don't know a whole lot about teen Misty (Samantha Hanratty) yet, but we get a feel for her ability to inflict harm in her present-time scenes. Adult Misty is fabulously portrayed by Christina Ricci.
With her big frizzy hair, dorky glasses, and fervent enthusiasm, Misty is the Yellowjackets girls soccer team's “Equipment Manager,” as is plastered on her jacket. Hardly anyone talks to Misty. She's a nobody who's invisible to the team (despite her excitement to cheer them on). In a nutshell, everyone mistreats '90s Misty.
Cut to present day, and we see a wildly different personality. Misty is a Care Assistant at what looks to be a nursing home or an assisted living facility. One of her patients is a silent, grumpy old lady named Gloria. After Misty makes a comment about Gloria going "on a hunger strike," viewers watch the patient fling a tray of food Misty brought her onto the floor.
In a chilling scene, Misty responds, "I think the morphine might be upsetting your tummy. Let's skip this dose."
Following the crash, scenes of the girls donning animal skins and chowing on what appears to be human flesh imply that Misty's humble personality morphs into something vile. Her eerie smile is telling. From the little we've seen of Misty in the '90s, along with the disturbing present-day assisted living scene, it's easy to compare Misty to Lord of the Flies' antagonist, Jack.
Jack represents the inherent evil within humanity; his hunger for power and control only grows as the novel continues. Donning blood paint on his face, he eventually becomes a barbaric, egotistical monster. But just like Misty, Jack is moral and demure early on in the story. Initially, he's the pinnacle of what a good little boy should be.
As for if these characterization comparisons continue to be accurate, we'll have to wait and find out.
New episodes of Yellowjackets air Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on Showtime.