The Universe Is Indifferent
Episode 7 of Snowpiercer begins at the from of the train as Melanie, Javi and Bennett discuss where Layton may be. After handing over control of the train to Javi, Melanie takes to the tannoy and announces Miles will take the place of apprentice engineer. Ruth however, suspects something more going on here but keeps her cards close to her chest for now. Determined to get to the bottom of what’s happening, Melanie approaches Terence in Third Class and questions him over whether he’s responsible for saving Layton from the drawers. Eventually he caves and agrees to work with her to inform back when Layton approaches him again. Josie and Layton receive the tip they need and with a laundry basket in-tow, Layton sneaks into the night train. Bennett meanwhile, heads down to school carriage to help Miles transition into his new role. After giving him an orange, Miles starts throwing up and he’s forced into the medical bay. Once there however, Miles finds himself face to face with Josie, disguised as a nurse. She apologises for making him sick and relays the message on that a rebellion is coming. Nolan cozies up to Ruth, whom he invites back to his carriage where Robert stands waiting for her. 1st class have decided Melanie has too much power and she needs to be knocked down a peg. They proposition her with the idea of Ruth replacing Melanie and having her at the top of the food chain. Layton meanwhile tries to convince Audrey to team up with him and move Third into staging an insurrection. With a group of trustworthy people gathered, Layton reveals the truth to them while convincing them they can stage a coup and take over the train. Melanie continues her search, heading down into the tail after interviewing Zarah to find out information about Layton. Unfortunately Zarah betrays them all and points out Josie, taking her up-train. There, Melanie shows her true colours and comments how she’ll never be able to make Josie talk on her own. Instead, she uses liquid ice and a hammer to knock her finger off. It’s a savage move and one that sees Melanie head to the toilets and vomit afterwards. Brakeman meanwhile has enough of waiting and heads into the office where she finds Josie tied to the table. Josie tells Bess she’s one of them and as she leaves, Melanie returns and gives her prisoner a choice – Layton or Miles. However, Josie’s hand is completely frozen, allowing her to shatter it and break free. After a brief fight with Melanie, Josie is frozen to death. As the episode closes out, LJ is approached by Layton who asks her if she wants to hear a secret.
The Review Write-Up
With a rebellion looming and lots of interesting pockets of drama throughout, it looks like we’re gearing up for quite the showdown to come. Josie and Melanie wrestling in the interrogation room is certainly a highlight here and genuinely I wasn’t sure who would come out of this one alive. Alongside that, the usual class issues continue to remain front and centre with this series and it’ll be interesting to see if Snowpiercer pulls the trigger and delivers a lot of action in the upcoming weeks. For now though, the series delivers another enjoyable episode but it’s also a show that’s not quite as thrilling as it could be.
