Layton digs deeper into the illicit markets of the Train as he continues to search for the identity of the murderer as well as finding things to help his own cause. Melanie orders a prize fight be staged to try to distract the passengers from the mounting issues on board.

Timing, as they say, is everything. It’s hardly the fault of the writers and producers of Snowpiercer that events over the last seven days have occurred, though it perhaps does throw the show’s themes into stark relief and invite serious questions about entertainment in general and genre in particular. Why do we continue to see stories about oppression and authoritarian regimes? Why, so often, do we see downtrodden underclasses struggling against the oppression of tyrannical, dystopian oppressors? And given the prevalence of these themes, why do they seem so often to be repeated in real life?

All this is to say that Snowpiercer felt like a particularly hard watch in a week with so much police violence on our TV screens and social media. Doubly so as it opened with our lead – a person of colour – being roughly dragged, bag over his head, to a room by two heavily armed guards, essentially so he could be reminded who’s boss.

That said, it’s also a much more coherent-feeling instalment this week, as Layton finds new ways to exploit his position and do the job he’s been selected for, hunting down the mysterious murderer. This brings him into the seedier parts of life in the Train’s middle, pursuing leads through black marketeers and struggling to fully complete his investigation as Melanie continues to try to keep certain information away from him. It also results in a breakthrough involving the particular source of an illegal narcotic on the train, as well as exposing the supply chain.

It’s not all doom and gloom either – Layton gets a few glimpses of hope as he’s able to see his son start to carve out the much better life that’s been afforded to him. He also gets some emotional closure on the subject of his former wife versus his ‘Tail wife’. He even manages to start getting to know the gruff Lead Brakeman Roche a little better, though Layton hasn’t forgotten his promises, and is still very much looking for ways to help start the revolution.

Elsewhere, Melanie arranges for a prize fight and night of games and gambling to try to distract the passengers. Some in first class have been getting restless, the loss of the cattle car and the subsequent bumpier ride haven’t gone unnoticed. The fight itself serves as cover for various other illicit activities, and as the episode closes out a suspicion I’ve had a while is borne out in the most horrific of ways.

Verdict: Feels more relevant than ever right now and hard to watch as a consequence. The execution is well-done though, and this is certainly shaping up well. 8/10

Greg D. Smith