Till homes in on the shadowy figures behind the violence, but she may be too late as tensions are mounting. Wilford puts Miss Audrey’s loyalty to the test. Ruth must face up to some harsh realities.

After last week’s epic Melanie-centric episode, we are back to Snowpiercer itself, apparently going back a bit to catch up on what was happening there while Melanie was struggling all those weeks on her own. And none of it is good.

Bess has been doing her best to prove her theory that Wilford has people on the train working for him isn’t crazy, but with the deaths of most of the Breachers she’s all out of actual suspects. That is, until a little clue at the scene of one of the murders leads her on a bit of a trail which ends in honestly the last place I would ever have expected. One thing is for sure, however much she doubts herself, Till has the mental tools for the job of train detective.

The murders have left tensions high, with most of the rest of the train convinced that Tailees were responsible and determined to exact some revenge. Layton tries his best to stave off the mounting tensions, but the train is a pressure cooker environment and there’s plenty of factors that could set it off. As time goes on week by week, it’s clearer that Layton isn’t necessarily ready for the burdens of leadership. His order to Pike to get rid of Terence weighs heavily on him, not least because Pike clearly isn’t doing so well with it, and he doesn’t have the guile or the ruthlessness to really outplay Wilford at his own game, even if he often has the intelligence to perceive it. The one moment in this episode when he manages to actually impose himself is when he defaults to his self-sacrificial nature, and that’s not going to be something that makes his job as de-facto leader of the train any easier.

Back on Big Alice, Wilford confronts Audrey about the screwdriver, what her plan was and exactly why she stayed. Unconvinced of her loyalty, he gives her a test to prove herself – one that surprises and also creeps. Turns out that Miss Audrey isn’t the only one who’s been subjected to Wilford’s peculiar peccadilloes, and it’s honestly impossible to tell at this point whether she’s gone deep, deep cover or whether she’s actually just fallen under the man’s spell again. Either way, it’s not fun to watch.

And with tensions bubbling over on Snowpiercer, Ruth finds herself confronted with the sins of her past, quite literally. Alison Wright has been brilliant as Ruth from day one, tightly wound, but also with hints of a heart under all that coldness. Here, she really gets the chance to shine with some big scenes that prove there’s always a chance of redemption for everyone. I look forward to seeing where this goes, heading forward.

As we get towards the end of the episode, it’s getting increasingly difficult to see how Wilford won’t win in both the short and long-term battle for the hearts and minds of Snowpiercer. But it’s equally obvious he may not have quite as many allies as he’s counting on. Interesting times await, indeed.

Verdict: Full of surprises, some nicer than others. 8/10

Greg D. Smith