Yellowjackets is a true casting feat. Not only did creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson and casting directors Libby Goldstein and Julie Lowry-Johnson find the perfect pairings for the 1996 and present-day versions of the characters, but they also managed to pinpoint some of the most promising young talent on the rise in film and television, talent like Samantha Hanratty.

Hanratty plays the 1996 version of Misty on Yellowjackets. Before the Wiskayok High School soccer team’s plane crashes, Misty is a total outcast, an overeager equipment manager who just wants to be part of the group. When the plane goes down in the wilderness on the way to nationals, Misty finally gets a taste of what it’s like to be wanted. As the only crash survivor with medical know-how, the other Yellowjackets turn to Misty for triage and recovery. Trouble is, that inspires Misty to secretly destroy the plane’s emergency transmitter so that she can retain her newfound value rather than revert to being at the bottom rung of the social ladder back at school.

At the start of Season 2, no one knows Misty obliterated their chance of being rescued, but they are well aware of a number of other troublesome things she’s done. For example, taking things way too far with Coach Ben (Steven Krueger) to the point of poisoning him when he wouldn't reciprocate her feelings, and also having had a hand in accidentally turning “Doomcoming” into a psychedelic nightmare when her mushrooms were added to the team stew. Now no one trusts Misty, almost entirely isolating her minus her connection to Lottie’s (Courtney Eaton) rituals and finding a new bestie in another group outcast, Crystal (Nuha Jes Izman).

In celebration of Yellowjackets Season 2’s big debut on Showtime tonight, Hanratty joined me for a Collider Ladies Night conversation to recap some of her earliest steps and influences in the industry, and also to dig into the wild ride she’s experienced being part of the Yellowjackets cast.

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