An obstruction on the track delays the trip towards ‘New Eden’, leaving many on Snowpiercer time to face their personal demons.

Another day, another set of existential crises for those on board Snowpiercer, and this one hits particularly hard on multiple levels.

Faced with an obstruction on the track in the form of several carriages cut loose from Big Alice by Wilford years before, Ben and Alex have to make their way across to manually remove this obstacle while Javi takes the helm of the engine and reverses a bit to give them space and time and keep things ticking over.

The thing is, even without Ben, Alex isn’t alone – a ghost from the past dogs her every step, as she is forced to face up to a hidden truth which lies not only within these errant carriages but within her own soul. A truth which digs into the heart of who Alex is, how she became that person, and the extremely complex feelings those experiences have left her with, towards one person in particular.

And as if that weren’t enough, that same ghost haunts Wilford as well, stuck in his cell, cut off from events and trying to keep his own mental track of where the train is and what’s happening. It would be difficult to say one felt sympathy for Wilford or sorrow at his current plight, but there is a certain glimpse of the pathetic to the man, which is wont to disappear as soon as he believes he might have the upper hand. Even reduced as he is, Wilford’s brain is always looking for a way out, a new angle, and Sean Bean portrays this as deftly as all the other nuances which go into the complicated, brilliant, devious man.

Speaking of ghosts, they’re in plentiful supply on Snowpiercer, metaphorical and otherwise. Roche is haunted by the loss of his wife and the alienation from his daughter this has produced. Drinking away his days, he seems almost beyond saving but when Till manages to get him vaguely towards sober he comes up with a plan, of sorts. A destructive and ill-thought out one, but understandable nonetheless.

Asha is haunted by her own past, the lie she must continue to tell in order to facilitate Layton’s plans and the trauma she carries with her. After so long by herself, adjusting to the noise and crowding of the train is bad enough, without the weight of the secret she must carry. Pike is haunted by the losses he has had to endure along the way, the biggest being the loss of Ruth as leader of the train and him as her solid second in command. Javi is haunted by the spectre of the dog which visited such horrific trauma upon him, and Layton is haunted by a revelation about his unborn daughter, about which he is powerless to do anything but rage.

In short, the train is a powderkeg of emotions, and whereas Layton may have won the battle against Wilford, it’s clear that the war is far from over, and that his grip on control of things is tenuous at best. If anything, what this episode really starts to lay down for us is a truth which has always been in plain sight – whoever leads Snowpiercer is far less important than the men, women and children who comprise its small, desperate community.

Verdict: Tense, emotional and well-paced. 9/10

Greg D. Smith