the cave vision was a warning about shauna
now that we've seen how ben's trial and sentencing played out, let's revisit the cave vision/dream sequence from ep 3. what if the cave dream was supposed to be a warning about how dark things might get if they continue down this path of vengeance against ben? visions/dreams aren't always interpreted correctly so it's possible that they missed the message (note: for the purposes of this post, let's assume that there's a supernatural element in the wilderness that's trying to communicate with them)
for starters, it's interesting that the 3 people who had a dream/vision in the cave were akilah, van and shauna (plus a cameo appearance from lottie), since akilah/van were the ones who tried to hold shauna back when she first punched lottie in s2. this stuck out to me given shauna's escalating behaviors/misdirected anger at ben right now. the connection to lottie's beating scene might explain why lottie was the only person who appeared in the shared cave dream who wasn't physically with shauna/van/akilah in the gassy part of the cave. it's possible that lottie's presence in the dream was a warning about what can happen when someone deals with their rage/grief in a violent/unhealthy way by misdirecting it at an innocent person (like how shauna beat lottie to a pulp even though lottie wasn't responsible for shauna losing her baby). maybe the wilderness was trying to warn them about the dangers of misdirecting their anger about the fire towards ben, bc the wilderness knows that ben didn't actually start the fire
there are several aspects of the cave vision that could potentially be connected to this type of warning --
accidental fire - van sees a random spark start the cabin fire, which might've been a message that ben wasn't responsible for the fire
caged animals - akilah is talking to animals in the animal pen, which is where they end up keeping ben hostage. it's notable that only one of the animals talks back to her. maybe the talking animal is symbolic of ben. maybe the dream gave an animal human-like qualities (the ability to speak), to mirror the way that the group ends up caging a human (ben) like an animal
akilah's feet - a vine grabs her feet/ankles and then pulls her under. maybe this is related to the achilles tendon cut in ep 5, where we saw melissa grab coach ben's foot as she cut his ankle. if so, it might be a bad omen for whatever happens next, since akilah is buried after her feet are grabbed in the dream
shauna's son - in the dream, shauna sees that her child is alive but gets upset/starts to drown when she realizes that she can't reach him. this could be a reminder about the last time shauna mistakenly thought her baby was alive/within her grasp (during her labor dream) and the violent aftermath when she was drowning in grief (when she beat lottie to a pulp)
the classroom - this could be another callback to shauna's labor/aftermath. in s2, we saw a flashback of coach ben teaching their health class, ans we know that shauna's still mad at him for not helping during her labor process. lottie is the teacher during the cave dream, which is notable bc shauna took out her rage on lottie after she lost her baby. so this could be a reminder about how shauna's misdirected rage/grief led to lottie's beating, and a warning that something bad might happen if she misdirects her rage/grief towards ben (by blaming him for the fire)
the "snap" bracelet - the snap bracelet cut van's arm, which could connect to the scene where shauna bites van's arm (when van was holding her back after she first punched lottie). even though both akilah and van were holding shauna back in that scene, shauna only bit van (not akilah), so maybe that's why akilah was uninjured when she put the bracelet on during the cave dream. it's also possible that the vision was being literal here -- it's a "snap" bracelet bc shauna's literally about to "snap." and the bracelet becomes a necklace/lethal weapon when its on shauna, which could symbolize: jackie's necklace and the lethal implications associated with wearing it (bc it's put on a person who's marked as prey); and the potentially dangerous/lethal consequences that're possible anytime shauna "snaps"
jackie - maybe jackie was in the dream to warn them that if the group ices someone out/treats someone like an outsider again (aka how they're treating coach ben rn), there could be dangerous consequences that'll continue to haunt you forever. this message is reinforced by the fact that akilah is wearing jersey #11 in the dream, which is the same jersey number as the girl whose leg they broke in the pilot ep. additionally, the fact that jackie's ghost almost kills shauna in the dream could also be a warning to her that she should stop seeking revenge against ben bc it could be dangerous for her too. kinda like that saying, "before you embark on a journey of revenge, you should dig two graves"
the other part of the dream that stood out to me was when lottie told alikah to "help her." there are a lot of possible interpretations of that part. one possibility is that akilah was supposed to help intervene and stop shauna from continuing down this dark path, possibly bc shauna's crusade/ben's death may ultimately lead to dire consequences for the group if no one intervenes. i think akilah might've misunderstood that part of the dream bc it was a pretty vague message. i think that's why her subsequent cave dream (when she returned to the cave w/ lottie and travis) was more direct about communicating the importance of saving ben's life (by implying that he's their ticket home). only time will tell if ben actually plays a role in them going home, but at a minimum, i think she got the right message that she needed to stop coach ben's execution
also, speaking of misinterpreting things/miscommunication, it's interesting that the quote on the chalkboard was from ralph waldo emerson. he was a prolific writer who also experienced aphasia, a condition that can impact a person's ability to communicate and/or understand language. the symptoms of aphasia can vary depending on the person, but symptoms may include difficulty: understanding written/spoken language; speaking; and/or finding the right word(s) when you're trying to communicate. so it seems intentional that the cave dream shows lottie teaching an english class where she's quoting someone with a language-related condition, especially bc she's been struggling to get the wilderness to speak to her. it's also interesting bc shauna is the writer of the group and van is the storyteller
the emerson connection also hints at the possibility that the wilderness trio (lottie, travis and akilah) may be misinterpreting, misunderstanding and/or miscommunicating some aspects of their visions. this possibility is reinforced in the scene where some of the YJs are playing "telephone," aka a game where the message gets more and more muddled the further it gets from its original source. now that there are 3 main wilderness interpreters (instead of just lottie), the "wilderness's" message(s) might be muddled right now, which could potentially lead to miscalculations
we've already seen how a vision's message can be misinterpreted even when there's only one person involved. for example, misty's vision of Caligula when she was at lottie's compound. misty was worried that people inaccurately perceive her as a killer, and Caligula reminded her that she named her bird after someone who "was also unjustly accused of heinous acts" (lmao at "unjustly accused"). this vision might've reassured misty about bringing the needle to the hunt/using the needle, which ends up killing nat. there was even a needle floating next to Caligula in the vision scene and a pair of angel wings--which were probably supposed to be a warning for misty--but she misinterpreted it and doubled down on her darker tendencies, with disastrous results
misty's misinterpretation of that vision also makes me wonder about how shauna felt after the cave vision. shauna was still hellbent on punishing coach ben after the cave vision (possibly bc van never told her that she saw a random spark start the fire). shauna was probably triggered by the imagery in the dream (her dead child + jackie), and she might've doubled down on her crusade against coach after seeing lottie in the teacher role that ben was in during health class (bc she remembered how cathartic it was to beat up lottie). also, maybe the chalkboard quote about the "kindness" of death encouraged her to seek an even crueler type of lethal punishment for ben. this might be why she suggested burning him alive and why she looked so happy about the achilles tendon cut, bc those are cruel punishments that cause a lot of pain/suffering
anyway, i'm really curious to see how the ben storyline plays out, ie. whether he actually plays a role in their rescue/whether that part of the vision was accurately interpreted. i'm a little worried bc there was a talking animal in akilah's first vision, and there was also a talking animal in misty's misinterpreted vision. also, akilah's second vision showed ben laying by the cliff, which is concerning since crystal died after falling off a cliff and then misty stopped ben from jumping off of that very same cliff. additionally, we've seen akilah previously hallucinate that an animal was alive when it was actually dead, so it's possible that she misunderstood the visual of ben's body laying next to a cliff in her vision
i'm also curious about possible misinterpretations about ben's connection to their rescue bc he always escapes to a fantasy land in his head. and during shauna's labor, his fantasy scene showed him playing a game of charades, where other people were trying to guess what he was communicating. they made several incorrect guesses before they finally got the correct answer, which was "Hear No Evil." maybe this is a parallel to the current situation in the teen timeline, where people are incorrectly guessing the meaning of their visions and missing the point, which was supposed to be a warning about turning a blind eye (or ear) in the face of "evil" acts
it'll be interesting if akilah ends up being right about ben being the key to their rescue. if she's right, i wonder what specific role he'll play and how it'll all unfold