In the season 2 premiere of Snowpiercer, Melanie permanently coupled Big Alice and Snowpiercer to each other. The big question for this episode, “Smolder to Life,” is how Andre Layton, now leader of Snowpiercer via martial law, will deal with the presence of the malevolent but charming Mr. Wilford.
And deal with Wilford he must, because this is the scariest I’ve ever seen Sean Bean in a role.
There are also other problems: Melanie and her relationships with Alex, her estranged and damaged teenage daughter; Ruth being far-too-nice; Brakeman Till dealing with a new role; Audrey attempting to keep the peace in the Night Car; and what Pike might do now that he’s used up his supply of weed.
Here are the most important takeaways:
1. Wilford is deeply creepy and terrifying.
(Content Warning: suicide/murder)
Last week, Wilford displayed a fondness for entertaining in various states of undress, including a scene while he lounged in a bath. This episode took that creepiness and upped it into something truly disturbing. After Melanie was exchanged for Kevin in a hostage swap between the trains, Kevin faced the consequences of his failures in what’s was the most disturbing scene so far in a show that does not skimp on darkness: Wilford coerced Kevin into a hot bath, naked. Also naked, Wilford joined Kevin and then coerced his hospitality chief into slitting his wrist, a suicidal action that was not a suicide at all.
This is how Wilford punishes people who cause him problems.
Even creepier, Alex knew what was about to happen, closed the door to it, and drowned out the sounds with her headphones. This is a teenage girl that’s been so traumatized that she’s become numb. She’s so traumatized that she’s perfectly willing to follow Wilford’s order to assassinate Layson. She also seems to revel in cutting herself when Wilford unexpectedly calls off the assassination.
Not to mention the implication that Wilford groomed Melanie just like this once upon a time too. That explains a great deal about Melanie’s lack of trust and her need to rely on machines.
I usually don’t like to see Sean Bean die onscreen but if Wilford dies, I’ll cheer.
2.Josie’s alive!
Josie being alive is the good news. Josie being stuck in a soap opera-style plot as the third wheel between Zarah and Layton is the bad news.
Zarah and Andre are together because of Zarah’s pregnancy. But when Zarah finds a comatose Josie in the medical car, her first instinct is to kill her romantic rival. It’s a close call but, instead, Zarah tells Layson about discovering Josie, and he rushes to her side.
I see a few problems with this plotline. One, it reduces Zarah to someone who’s obsessed with Layton when she should be a more complicated character. Two, it pulls Layton into this plot when he should, by all rights, be at the forefront of the confrontations with Wilford.
More on that next.
3. The Earth is warming up!
Once Melanie gets back to Snowpiercer, she informs her fellow engineers of her theory that the Earth is warming up. Long story short, they prove it’s happening, and Layton uses this hope as leverage in his very public meeting with Wilford.
Except he doesn’t, really. Layton sits back passively while Melanie announces the news. This is an odd plot choice, as Melanie has basically been lying to the train for seven years and her words are suspect. Wilford wastes no time in pointing this out. I craved seeing Diggs and Bean go at it with the control of the train at stake. But that will obviously have to wait.
4.Till is the new train detective
Former Brakeman Till complained that all she does now is “follow” Layton around, so he quickly makes her the train’s detective and immediately assigns her to find out who attacked a Tailie and cut off her fingers.
Till is still not comfortable with her change in roles but she’s as sharp as always and soon realizes this seemingly random attack is anything. I begin to fear for her life, given her place at the forefront of the investigation.
5.Wilford already has a fifth column aboard
Continued belowWhy do I fear for Till? Because the final reveal of “Smolder to Life” is that Wilford already has supporters hidden amongst Snowpiercer’s passengers. In a move eerily reminiscent of a real-life white power sign, Wilford flashes 3 fingers to form a “W” and his supporters flash it back to him.
Who’s in charge of this fifth column? My money is on Ruth, who is clearly still obsessed with serving Wilford. Given Kevin’s fate, I doubt this will end well for Ruth. I doubt she would ever believe that, however, even if she knew about Kevin. Alison Wright deserves all the praise for her chilling portrayal of a character in so deep that she filters all her perceptions through her obsession. Like the “W” sign, Ruth’s devotion echoes those real-life women advocating QAnon conspiracy theories.
In short, Layton only thinks he has full control of the train, others are plotting against him, politically and personally, and he’s going to have to deal with Mr. Freeze, a damaged teenage girl, and Wilford’s machinations in order to save Snowpiercer this season.
