Trouble Comes Sideways
Last week’s court trial certainly weighs heavily over the events in Snowpiercer now, as Melanie grapples with rebellious and unhappy 3rd class passengers. Alongside this, an issue onboard the trail spells certain doom for all involved as the tension is cranked up and all hell looks set to break loose. Episode 6 of Snowpiercer begins with leaflets reading “Justice For Nikki” distributed along the train as a strike looms on the horizon. Melanie and the others remain determined to squash this though and head down train to break up the brewing issues. Unbeknownst to them for now, under the train a leak looks set to cause serious issues going forward. Layton awakens just as Josie shows herself and remains determined to move him along the train to safety. Midway through doing this however, Layton reveals that Wilford is an illusion and not even on the train. Even worse, it turns out he and Josie are both on the blacklist. After knocking out Osweiller last episode, Brakeman finds herself at his mercy. They head down train together and Brakeman is forced to watch uncomfortably as Osweiller abuses his power to obtain information about who began distributing the flyers. When Melanie learns about the leak she heads down the train too, which is just the opportunity Layton needs. With her alone, Layton holds her up at knife-point where she finally admits the train is dying and the drawer is simply another life, another place to survive. Determined to fix the train, Melanie walks away as Layton regretfully drops the knife on the ground, realizing there’s more going on here than he initially thought. Melanie heads deeper under the train to try and fix the damage. While Ruth tries to calm the passengers down over the tannoy, Melanie takes the vent off the bottom of the train and is given 6 minutes to try and save all 1001 cars from certain doom. Thankfully she saves the day and the train remains on the tracks. In the wake of this heroic deed, the passengers celebrate their survival and begin chanting “Wilford”. Audrey remains wary about what’s happening though and promises Melanie this isn’t the end; celebrations will pass and grief will once again take over. For now though the train is saved and so too are Layton and Josie, who are given safety in the form of a new room. As the episode closes out, Melanie invites Miles into her office following his exemplary school work. She hands over a gift and tells him ominously that Mr Wilford has a job for him. What could this job be that Miles needs to undertake? Whatever it is, it’s surely not going to be in the interest of those in 3rd class and the tail. This episode finally injects some tension and excitement into the fold after several weeks of dealing with the crime drama and court case thereafter. Seeing this as the catalyst that spurs the working class on to try and usurp the rest of the train is a nice tactic, but the series just can’t seem to shake the shackles of mediocrity it finds itself occupying. Despite all this though, Snowpiercer continues to offer some mildly entertaining drama and this episode is certainly a promising step forward. Let’s hope the rest of the season follows suit.
