Warning: This story contains spoilers from Yellowjackets season 3, episode 6.

With season 3 just past the halfway mark, the drama — as well as all the twists and turns — continues to ramp up on Yellowjackets. As a result, many storylines are seeing several characters meet their fate in unexpected ways, with Coach Ben Scott (Steven Krueger) the latest survivor to die in the wilderness. 

But unlike the previous deaths — from Jackie (Ella Purnell) to Javi (Luciano Leroux) — among those who initially made it out of the plane crash alive, Krueger tells PEOPLE that “this is the first actual murder that’s being committed” by the remaining survivors. 

While Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) was the one to push the knife into Ben’s chest, it came after he was found guilty of burning the cabin to the ground during the harrowing trial, was tied up in the animal pen where he was forced fed by Misty (Samantha Hanratty) at one point and had the back of his ankle brutally slit by Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) so he couldn’t run away. 

“The cool thing about this particular character’s death is that it truly is an inflection point as far as I can tell in the rest of the series,” Krueger, 35, says. “This is the first time that the girls have truly crossed over — regardless of the context — have truly crossed over into murder. And even though it’s kind of a mercy kill that doesn’t really excuse the fact that they did kill somebody.” 

He adds, “The audience will soon find out, of course, that this leads to a whole chain reaction. Like, this is the first domino fall in a series of absolute chaos.” 

While the actor was aware of the fact that Ben was going to die in season 3 — something he credits showrunners Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson and Jonathan Lisco for sharing before they even started shooting the episodes — the lead-up to his character’s death and his final days on set were still full of emotion. 

“We, especially as a teen cast, have truly bonded in a way that I haven’t really experienced on any other shows,” Krueger says, explaining although he had good relationships with other costars in the past, “this is a show where I think just by the nature of the circumstances around the story and also the way it had to be filmed — back in season 1 during COVID in Canada when the border was closed, we were all kind of stuck there — we’ve all become very close as a cast.” 

Because of that, “there were a lot of tears shed along the way over these last few episodes knowing that this storyline was coming to an end,” he continues, before specifically highlighting Ben’s moments with Natalie and Misty, especially after what the three of them have been through over the course of the series. “It was hard to actually get through those scenes and know this is the last time these characters will be interacting.” 

When it comes to who actually wielded the knife, Krueger says, “It had to be Natalie that killed Coach Ben. As much as Samantha will tell you that she’s pissed off and wanted it to be Misty, I truly think it had to be Natalie. I think that was a perfect way for him to go out.” Reflecting on Ben’s final scenes with both Misty and Natalie, “It was the perfect way for those two storylines to end.” 

In terms of saying his final goodbyes, Krueger says it kind of happened multiple times with people, either on set or again in the parking lot where many of their cars were parked next to each other. “Of course, there was the big goodbye after the death scene with Sophie,” he says, before revealing “that was not my last time on set.”

“My last time on set, with most of the group, was actually when I was laying naked on the table and they were getting ready to carve me up,” Krueger says of the scenes that followed his death when the remaining survivors decide to eat his body, just like they did with Jackie and Javi. “I remember reading the script and seeing there was a scene where I was dead on the table and then there was a scene where my head was just on the table for whatever reason. I assumed it would actually be me when it was my head on the table, like I would just go through a hole and they would put makeup on my face and all that and then they would use a dummy for my body. And it was the exact opposite.” 

“They were like, ‘No, we would like for you to lay on the table,'” the actor recalls. “So, like, truly my last time on set was me just naked with a little towel over me and, you know, my eyes closed pretending like I was dead and they were talking about how to carve me up. Then, of course, they got a dummy head made that was sitting on the table. So yeah, it was one of those very long extended goodbyes, which I honestly wasn’t mad about.”

However, being naked led to an awkward moment once they wrapped. “Because that was truly my official last scene of that episode, everybody gathered around afterwards and gave some speeches and said some goodbyes and kind of really drew it out. And it was all very sweet except for the fact that I was literally naked just wearing a robe and was painted in a stark way,” he says with a laugh. “So I’m like, ‘Well, this is very awkward and uncomfortable.’ And when it came to my turn to speak, I was just like, ‘Oh, wow, I have not prepared a speech. And I feel incredibly uncomfortable at the moment.’ ”

Ben’s fate also meant the actor could finally trim his beard after deciding to grow it out for season 3. After wearing a fake beard in season 2 — which he says “was one of the most miserable things I’ve ever experienced” — he wanted it to “be all natural.” Spending about five months before filming started to grow his beard out, “it was nice and big and bushy” by the time he showed up to set. 

Since then, “I’ve shaved it down a good amount,” he says, before admitting, “I haven’t been able to go the full, clean razor at this point because I’ve just gotten used to it a little bit. But my girlfriend and my family were all very ready for the beard to be cut and the hair to be cut. It was getting a little out of control.” 

He adds, “I’m glad that I did it. I think that there was a commitment to the story that this character goes through this season and I think it read really well on screen.” 

While looking back at his time on and commitment to Yellowjackets, Krueger is proud of the work he got to do on the series, which marks his biggest role yet following recurring parts on The Originals and Rosewell: New Mexico. “Honestly, this is the hardest, most challenging role I’ve ever played,” he says. “To have something like this that’s this meaty to kind of dig into and, and be creative with and play around with, I think it’s every actor’s dream. Apart from that, I will say being involved with a show like this, it has been such a rewarding experience.” 

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New episodes of Yellowjackets season 3 debut Fridays on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME before airing on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.