TNT
It’s not made all that clear on this week’s Snowpiercer, but this episode rewinds back to the end of Episode 5, still leaving us guessing as to why the train sped past Melanie at the end of Episode 6, an event that apparently was the real thing (according to an interview Jennifer Connelly gave about that shocking moment) and not just a fever dream as I had speculated.
So now we’re back to just after the moment eight Breachmen were murdered. The end of Episode 5 made it seem like Pike had snapped and done it himself after Layton commissioned him to kill Terrence, but it was made clear that all eight were killed at the same time so that puts Pike off of the suspect list. That and the fact that Till found a vintage Wilford button on the floor at the scene of one of the murders.
Layton, Till, Ruth, Zarah and Roche can all see the murders are meant to stir up discord, especially between Third Class and the Tailies even though there is not supposed to be a Class System on the train now that it’s a ‘democracy’. But as we see even in real life, there are always divisions between various classes of people that can lead to dangerous actions in an attempt to topple that democracy. It’s obvious Mr. Wilford is the man at the top attempting to overthrow Snowpiercer’s newly installed administration.
Unfortunately, Third Class is already fed up with ‘democracy’ and immediately targets the Tailies, rampaging through the train, scrawling graffiti on the walls and dragging anyone away who the believe belongs back in the tail. Layton tries to warn people to go of their own accord, including Pike but he’s so high and completely broken at this point that he doesn’t give a hoot what Layton says … and he ends up captured. Unaware, Layton tries to soothe the passengers with a message defending the Tailies and putting the blame squarely on Wilford but Ruth rightly assesses that his words may not be received in the way he intended. Ruth also finds herself caught in the middle of Tailies on the run and an angry mob, and she and Zarah have to hide out with the Tailies in the medical bay. Ruth is confronted with abject terror from young Winnie, and Zarah reminds Ruth that it was she who ordered the de-arming of Winnie’s mother which ultimately led to her death, and in a roundabout way to the death of her brother in the revolution. Ruth has an epiphany that she is viewed as a monster. Winnie somehow gets out of the room and it’s Ruth who volunteers to find her.
Ruth finds the girl hiding in another car and tells her she’s an intelligent child for hiding from the other. She also offers a heartfelt apology, saying she only followed orders and she thought that was the right thing at the time, but now she will protect Winnie. Winnie trusts Ruth and they get back to medical, but word has spread about Pike (word, and people, get around really fast on a 10 mile long train). When Layton learns of Pike’s capture, he dashes to stop the mob from making a terrible mistake — they are about to de-arm Pike — and offers himself as a sacrifice since it’s he they are angry with. Ruth insisted on accompanying him and watched in horror as they were about to do to Layton what she had done to Winnie’s mother, and it was Ruth who rose to the occasion and shouted down the mob, telling them that they selected Layton to be their leader and if they aren’t happy then they can elect a new one. Ruth’s newfound attitude saved Layton’s life and diffused a serious situation, perhaps even helped restore order and gained Layton’s trust. But there are still concerns as to who actually committed the murders, and why Miss Audrey did not cross the border to return to Snowpiercer. And in that moment when Ruth considered joining Wilford on Big Alice, it looks like she is now firmly on Layton’s and Snowpiercer’s side.
Layton does manage to place a call to Big Alice and talk briefly with Miss Audrey, but no one is sure if she stayed of her own accord or if Wilford is holding her. Ruth snidely remarked that she sounded like she was freshly shagged and bathing in rose water … which wasn’t too far off the mark. But Wilford discovered the screwdriver in Audrey’s coat and asked if she’d used it to allow Snowpiercer to hear their conversations. She said no, but Wilford isn’t sure yet that he believes her. So he takes her to do him a special favor. In a small room in another car, he takes her to meet … Kevin! Just like Audrey, he didn’t die from slicing open his arms but the incident has completely broken him mentally. Wilford wants Audrey to ‘fix’ Kevin, and earn back his trust.
It takes time for Audrey to gain Kevin’s trust, but she reveals her scars to him and says that the fact that he isn’t dead proves how much Wilford loves him, and that what Kevin did was also an act of love and devotion to Wilford. He wasn’t meant to die, he was just demonstrating his love to this man who kept him alive after the world froze over. Miss Audrey talks a good game because by the time she was done, she had Kevin trained like an obedient dog, back in Wilford’s car, licking Wilford’s slippers. Now that she’s regained his trust, will Audrey complete her mission for Layton or is she now completely back in Wilford’s grasp?
Till gets some information from Osweiller about a woman who deals in vintage items. Paying her a visit, they learn she is a hardcore Wilford fan, he place stocked with red glass candle holders and vintage clothing. They find a jacket with matching buttons but all of the buttons are intact. They learn there was another jacket sold to a tall, wealthy woman. They also learn that when lit and placed in the windows, the red candles will signify the owner’s devotion to Wilford. Till, Roche and Layton confront the suspect in the First Class dining car and she reveals there are many others on board who are carrying out Wilford’s wishes to restore him as their leader on Snowpiercer.
Something clicks for Till and she pays another visit to Pastor Logan. Their confrontation leads to him admitting he is the one organizing Wilford’s rebel alliance, and Till takes him down hard. But she lets him know she’s not going to kill him, but before she can say more she is attacked from behind. She manages to break free but Logan has already put a plastic bag over his head with a tube attached to the wall, letting the freezing air fill the bag. Half of his face is frozen by the time Till gets to him and gets the bag off, but it appears to be too late as more frost forms on his face (his lungs are probably shot too since he breathed in the air … but no one seems to stay dead on Snowpiercer!).
Back on Big Alice, Alex is not happy that Wilford is excluding her from his plans since he used to tell her everything. But Wilford isn’t happy that she’s become so close with Melanie, revealing that he knows she took Melanie to the car where she sleeps. Alex doesn’t think it’s fair she has to choose between her mother and him, but he reminds her that if it wasn’t for him, she’d be dead. The trains have now entered a portion of the track called The Corkscrew, the only place on the journey where the passengers can look out and see the rest of the train as it spirals around a canyon wall. Wilford tells Alex to look out the window and she sees hundreds of cars with red candles in the window.
Layton sees it too and knows this is not a good sign. And how many of these candles belong to people he put his trust in? Well, one of those may be Roche who gets back to his own car with his family (is this the first time we’ve seen his wife and daughter?). His wife asks if they should light theirs and Roche says he isn’t sure yet. On Big Alice, a very pleased Wilford tells Sykes to prepare Icy Bob, that ‘it’s time.’ He and Audrey gaze out the window with great pleasure but Alex looks terrified.
Snowpiercer airs Mondays at 9:00 PM on TNT.
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