Snowpiercer (TV series)

[The Nth Doctor]

Godsdamn, I really thought Ruth was about to lose her arm. I was ready for it to happen, hell, even Ruth was ready. Wow, how about that stark change in roles for Ruth? She was once the one who stood on that little stool without a care about the person about to lose their arm, just so as long as the Tailies were kept at bay. But now she was the one standing there to lose it the arm and she was ready.

And then Layton came whooshing in at the right moment thanks to the sabotaged EMP weapon. Talk about luck!

Aside for those tense final minutes, most of the episode was table setting. Except for LJ and Oz's wedding. Of course LJ is still shallow (more excited about the size of the diamond than the engagement) and still more concerned about conniving her way back up the social pecking order. And of course Wilford used their wedding as means to appeal to the masses on the train with a show of goodwill. At least the show wasn't shy on those points and brought them front and center.

Can't wait to see the big fight next episode. It came a lot sooner than I expected!

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

That balls routine was brilliant in a ridiculous nutter sort of way

 

[JD]

I had to kind of role my eyes a bit when Oz was mad at LJ for being LJ, he had to know what she was like when he got involved with her.
I had assumed Asa was going to be from one of the warm places, so I was a little shocked when it turned out that she'd been living in the nuclear plant by herself. I guess there's a chance her story was BS, but that seemed like a pretty deep story for it to be made up, and there was nothing to hint she might have been lying.
I'm a little surprised the pirate train is going after the rest of Snowpiercer so soon, I expected more build up to a conflict later in the season.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Layton took back the train, faster than I thought possible...but not without a cost. Strong Boy died at the hands of an unleashed Kevin...and I fear Josie might be wavering. But worst, Layton has sold a whopper to everyone outside of the inner circle about "New Eden" with Asha's help. Wilford clearly doesn't buy it and he may actually be able to sway Josie to his side based on that lie.

As thrilled as I am about the return of Roche (sooner than I expected), the show did spoil it with Mike O'Malley's name in the opening credits. My heart broke with Bess upon discovering his wife didn't survive. I wonder how he's going to take that.

LJ continues to be cuckoo for cocoa puffs, playing every angle to save her skin. Good riddance to Kevin but it's a shame Pike won't be able to get his revenge for Strong Boy's death. Yes, Oz, I see that look on your face and that's the woman you married. Have fun with that!

The revolution is over and the show enters a new phase. I'm curious to see how it plays out and Asha remains a big question mark.

 

[Commander Troi]

Kevin was such a nasty little . I was thinking much the same about Oz and LJ. I'm interested to see how she makes trouble as we move forward. I didn't pay attention to the credits, so I was really happy to see Roche! I hope his wife's death doesn't break him.

My hubby and I both thought we saw Melanie in the promo for next week - anyone else?

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

Weird episode. Felt like a season finale with all the reunions and emotional bit. Have to say I completely forget the drawers ever existed and that they were so important back in the early days of the show. Ha LJ is exactly the kind of nutter who will keep on keeping on in this kind of messed up world and as for Audrey someone needs to seriously knock her out next time she says anything.
That lie is a serious line for Leyton to cross and is bound to cause trouble in the gang.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

My hubby and I both thought we saw Melanie in the promo for next week - anyone else?

I avoid promos these days, but I highly suspect we haven't seen the last of Melanie.

 

[JD]

She is on the poster for this season, so I have a feeling Jennifer Conolly will show up in some form, either a living Melanie or a dream or flashback.
Damn, this episode was crazy.
They definitely took back the train a lot quicker than expected.
Asha constantly just sitting with her kinda creepy helmet on is a bit odd, and has me worried about her mental stability.
Once again we see LJ being LJ.
As horrible as Kevin was, I'm gonna kinda miss him, just because he was a great villain that you love to hate. Tom Lipinski really did a great job playing him.
Poor Strong Boy.
That is one hell of a lie Layton & Co. are telling, and I cannot see it ending well when the rest of the train finds out. That also explains why I though I saw Asha saying she was from "New Eden" in one of the trailers. If Asha is mentally unstable, I just hope that doesn't lead to her somehow screwing this up for everyone.
It's starting to look like Josie's loyalty to Layton is wavering.
Definitely curious to see where things are going next.
Have they ever said anything about who Alex's father is?

 

[Commander Troi]

Have they ever said anything about who Alex's father is?

Nope.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Damn. Everyone is hurting.

Alex, haunted by the memory of her best friend's murder.

Roche, broken by his wife's death.

Javy, traumatized by his captivity.

Asha, terrified of her past (whatever that might be).

My heart especially broke when Alex found Shilo's body and played the old ambient sounds CD they use to listen to. No child should have to deal with that level of grief and guilt (no matter how misplaced).

But I was also deeply saddened by how quickly Roche fell into despair and hatred, even if if it wasn't unexpected. When he put on his braker jacket, for just a moment, I thought he was going to kill himself. Until it was obvious he went to kill WIlfred, right at the wrong time.

At least Ruth and Pike had a great time together, if only for just one night. But maybe more if Ruth listens to Pike's idea of her being the leader...

Oh, and speaking of leaders. Melanie! It was wonderful to see Jennifer Connelly once again, conversing with both Alex's and Wilfred's consciences. Between those two visions and Javy's hound specter, I wonder if this was just a one-off narrative choice...or if they tie in with Layton's vision of the Horn of Africa.

 

[Commander Troi]

Yeah, I was thinking about the sheer amount of PTSD on this show too.

Pike might have a point about Layton. As "leader", he's touted democracy while lying to get people to vote his way. Historically, revolutionaries often end up "meet the new boss; the same as the old boss." In an ideal Snowpiercer world, I'd want a council of some kind instead of a Leader. But that wouldn't necessarily be as fun to watch.

It was awesome to see Melanie again, and I found the differences between Alex's and Wilford's versions of her fascinating.

I think Layton was too hard on Zarah. She was stuck in "enemy" territory, pregnant, and not knowing if Layton was coming back or not. She did what she felt was best under the circumstances IMO.

Whether it was her subconscious or some Internal Melanie, I'm glad it told Alex that it's okay to love, hate, want to kill, etc. Wilford. He was her de facto parent for years and just because she knows what he is doesn't mean her feelings are or could be simple.

Asha continues to be an intriguing mystery. My guess is that years of isolation gave her agoraphobia; hence wearing the mask when stressed. She was only able to dance a bit because of the booze. But! There's still tons we don't know.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I think Layton was too hard on Zarah. She was stuck in "enemy" territory, pregnant, and not knowing if Layton was coming back or not. She did what she felt was best under the circumstances IMO.

Agreed and I think even Layton finally saw that when he sheepishly returned to her at the end of the episode.

 

[EmoBorg]

Sad to hear that The Last Australian had died of the flu. That ends his love story with Emilia.

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

Sad to hear that The Last Australian had died of the flu. That ends his love story with Emilia.

Both of them did. He said "last Australians"

My heart especially broke when Alex found Shilo's body and played the old ambient sounds CD they use to listen to. No child should have to deal with that level of grief and guilt (no matter how misplaced).

Ya that was a really tough little story.

Asha continues to be an intriguing mystery. My guess is that years of isolation gave her agoraphobia; hence wearing the mask when stressed. She was only able to dance a bit because of the booze

Not sure what it is but I really fell for her in that dance scene. Seems a good character and actor and really drew me in.
Also the ratio of people who survived the end of the world and the trainwars who are also performing artists is mind blowing

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Also the ratio of people who survived the end of the world and the trainwars who are also performing artists is mind blowing

Or perhaps the end of the world has made artists out of all of them!

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

Or perhaps the end of the world has made artists out of all of them!

They are only a few steps away from going full Zion

 

[JD]

But I was also deeply saddened by how quickly Roche fell into despair and hatred, even if if it wasn't unexpected. When he put on his braker jacket, for just a moment, I thought he was going to kill himself. Until it was obvious he went to kill WIlfred, right at the wrong time.

Yeah, I had the same thought, until he didn't go back to his room, then I realized what he was up to.
This was a great episode.
It was nice to see Jennifer Conelly again, I'm still holding out hope they're going to find Mellanie alive somewhere. I thought it was interesting that they had both Alex and Wilford imagining her.
It was nice to see a bit of Alex's past, but man that was heartbreaking.
LJ and Oz's Night Car is very different from Audrey's, we've gone from an old fashioned jazz club, to a rave.
I'm wonder if Asha's issues are just from going from being by herself for who knows how long, to now being on a train full of people, of if there's more to what's going on.
And of course Roche ended up picking the absolute worst time to try to kill Wilford.
I can kind of see why Layton was pissed at Zarah, but he was gone, and she had to do whatever she could to try to keep herself and the baby alive.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

*whew*

I was genuinely worried Zarah was going to die, especially considering how the episode opened up with her writing that letter to her daughter interspliced with the in media res. Thankfully I was wrong but I kept expecting the other shoe to drop during the denouement. I suspect Andre's head injury is going to be worse than initially portrayed.

That aside, we had a couple of nice pairings this week. Javy and Sykes bonded over their mutual trauma inflicted by Wilford while Josie and Ben have unsurprisingly become romantic (right in time for Melanie to return, right?!). I look forward to seeing both of those relationships developing.

Lastly, I suspect Wilford is playing possum to give Alex a false of security. That's not going to end well. Oh, and Audrey is already on her road towards redemption.

 

[JD]

Yeah, we definitely got some unexpected pairings this week.
I'm curious if Sykes is really loyal to Layton & Co. now, or if she'll go back to Wilford once he's up and about. Did we know before this that Wilford had set his dog on her, the same way he did Javi?
I hope they're not going to be killing of Josie, I've always liked her.
You have to feel kind of sorry for Audrey, Wilford really did a number on her. I hope what we saw this week is the beginning of her finally getting away from him.
It'll be interesting to see how far Pike is willing to go to get Ruth in charge. He did set off the explosion, but with the way it went off he might not have actually been trying to kill Layton.

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

Were the scenes of Wilford hitting Alex flashbacks we had seen before or something new ?
Also who is the man in the shadows ?
Can't think of anyone obvious so it must be a left field big reveal.

Glad to see Ben and Josie get laid. They both needed it and are two nice people who deserve each other both this being TV one will surely mess it up through old loyalty