When the 8th episode of Snowpiercer's 2nd season ended, John Wilford kicks back with a smile of smug satisfaction. His machinations has born the fruit of success as Snowpiercer is his once again.
When episode 9 begins, Ruth's narration tells us that life on Snowpiercer under Wilford's control is... good? Things are working like they should be and there is order. But Ruth, who not that long ago worshipped at the altar of Mr. Wilford, questions the price to be paid for that order.
Like any villain Wilford is not content to leave a nice little victory alone.
Wilford is running an incidious game of culling and silencing anyone who would stand against him and more. It seems Mr. Wilford's answer to providing more resources for the people of Snowpiercer is to reduce the number of people on Snowpiercer.
Wilford is also determined to not stop to pick up Melanie Cavill. All she can offer is scientific evidence of a better and warmer world to live in and to Wilford, the train is the world, he rules the train and ipso facto rules the world.
When Ruth defies her life long devotion to Wilford and refuses to assist him in his plans and schemes, she winds up shorn of her beloved teal Hospitality uniform and tossed into the compost car to shovel shit with Andre Layton.
Which is a mistake.
Having a partner is the edge Layton has been looking for to get out of the shit car and retake the train from Wilford. Ruth is all in. She's ready to lay some ultra violet smackdown on some people.
Engineers Ben (in the Snowpiercer engine) and Javi (in the Big Alice engine) are trying to finesse the combined train onto the track to go pick up Melanie. Efforts to distract Wilford are shot to hell when LJ rats out the subterfuge (like she ratted out Melanie last season).
Wilford and his thugs lead an attack on the Big Alice engine where Javi is brutally beaten. Javi tells Wilford he won't kill him because he needs engineers.
No, the train needs engineers.
Wilford needs vengeance. He unleashes his killer dog who mauls Javi to death.
Wilford pushes Big Alice to go faster even as Ben is trying to brake Snowpiercer.
Which brings us to the scene we saw several weeks ago when Melanie misses the train as it rushes past her, alarms blaring, fire sparking out from the undercarriage, Alex's screaming face pressed against the glass.
A plan is formed to break the train apart at the aquarium car. The aquarium car blows up real good which is a spectacular scene but too bad for all the fish.
Big Alice goes into reverse to pick up Melanie.
Layton and Alex suit up and venture out into the icy wasteland towards the science station where they find the data Melanie collected safe and protected. But not Melanie.
It looks like Melanie is dead.
(The old trope that no body means possibly not dead may apply but let's get real, how long was movie star person Jennifer Connelly going to continue to do this show anyway?)
Back on Big Alice, Melanie's data confirms the world is warming and can possibly soon once more sustain life.
But that's a long term goal.
In the short term, Andre Layton announces, "Let's go get our train back!"
And we get a blurb that season 3 of Snowpiercer is now in production.
I have to say that if you told me back in episode 1 of the first season that prim, prickly Ruth would end up season 2 covered in shit, screaming with rage while flailing away at one of Wilford's guards with a sword, well, I would've questioned the veracity of that prediction. I did not like Ruth with her rigid obsession with decorum and order, of her worshipful devotion to Mr. Wilford. But Ruth does something that I wish more people in real life were capable of doing.
Ruth is that rare acolyte, one who when told the Emperor is wearing no clothes actually accepts the reality that yep, the Emperor is naked.
Any comparisons to real world politics and culture are, I'm sure, purely coincidental.
Season 2 ends with Snowpiercer no longer 1034 cars long with part of the train with the Big Alice engine under the control of Andre Layton and his allies. The other part with the Snowpiercer engine is still still under Wilford's control. And after being affronted with Layton's defiance and the loss of part of his train, I imagine Season 3 will show that Wilford is out of control, his worst sociopathic tendencies unleashed.
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Next week, I take a look at Superman and Lois at the midway point and the return of Supergirl.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down? I'm trying to watch TV over here.
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