Snowpiercer
The Engineer
Season 4
Episode 5
Editor’s Rating
Photo: David Bukach/AMC
While it is truly sad that we haven’t seen Jennifer Connelly’s Melanie in weeks, one of the greatest strengths of Snowpiercer is its ensemble’s depth. In the early seasons, the show very quickly fleshed out its more minor characters to the point where — this season in particular — they feel like the true leaders of this little society. Layton may have led the initial Tailies revolution, but now Ruth feels like the true leader of the former Snowpiercer passengers. Melanie may have been the face of Snowpiercer in Wilford’s absence in season one, but Ben has always been the one true engineer, the train’s conductor. This week, those decisions to make these characters important and fleshed out pay dividends as we say good-bye to another main character.
The opening narration for this week comes courtesy of Ben, who recalls the tough split decisions made in the first few days of the Snowpiercer’s initial departure and all the people they left behind — between this and the episode being titled “The Engineer,” the death flags are flying high.
But before we get there, we have to resolve the Admiral’s offer from last week: Big Alice for Liana. It seems like a pretty dumb deal to take, given that the train is the only way to keep alive the dozens of people living in New Eden, and there is no guarantee that the Admiral will even deliver on his end. But that doesn’t matter because we’re dealing with Layton’s logic here, and nothing can beat his resolve to sacrifice everyone else as long as he comes on top. After asking for proof of life and getting one very suspicious phone call with an unconvincing-sounding baby, Layton agrees. He convinces Ruth to connect the trains, and somehow, despite being aware that the fate of the entire New Eden population relies on this train, Ruth agrees to the terms and surrenders the engine. Like Ben said, split decisions and the people left behind.
After surrendering, all the main characters are taken off the train and escorted to the secret underground silo where Melanie supposedly is — except she isn’t here, she’s supposedly “off base” collecting “data,” what kind of euphemism is that? The silo is a cool location, a labyrinthian and enclosed space that echoes the claustrophobia of the early days of the show but without any of the glamour of the fancier Snowpiercer trains. This is as practical, brutalist, and cold as it gets. There are guards EVERYWHERE despite this being all that is left of humanity — who is going to try anything here? Who are the guards for? — and all sorts of protocols. Layton, Ruth, Bess, Alex, and Ben are all placed in the same room, but not Josie. Oh, and they have less than three hours to get Liana and run back to the train before it departs again
When the Admiral arrives, he yet again tries to convince them that they are part of something greater and that their work has value. Though he does not have Melanie or Liana with him, he brings a surprise guest. It’s Joseph Wilford himself! Even in the apocalypse, the government and the billionaires cannot stop being in cahoots — the two are even on a first-name basis! This was all Wilford’s idea: the kidnapping, taking back Big Alice, and everything. His reasoning? Well, if Layton took Alex, who he sees as his kid, then he’ll steal Layton’s kid. Unsurprisingly, being left for dead in the cold did nothing to humble Wilford, who still acts like he owns the place, taking a little tour of Snowpiercer and rejoicing in getting his status back, saving some of his coats and other luxuries before the train leaves. He acts like Napoleon returning to Paris after his first exile.
As for the others, the Admiral tells them they are not to return to Snowpiercer — probably because they’d immediately steal it again. Instead, they are to remain on the silo as guests rather than prisoners. Granted, they are not allowed to go anywhere or move freely, but that saves the grand reveal for when they fix the world and go out to a warm world. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? This doesn’t fly with the group, and the moment the Admiral leaves (with Layton, who is separated from the rest on account of his constant rallying of rebels), they plan an escape. Alex, however, believes in the Admiral, at least his mission, and plans to stay and find out more. Remember, she has already seen irregularities in New Eden’s climate.
Ben decides to take matters into his own hands and engineers himself a magnet that opens the doors, and the group breaks out. They only have 30 minutes left, so Ruth stays behind to rescue Layton while Ben and Bess take Big Alice. Before they reach the train, Ben finds Melanie’s lab, which is empty except for Wilford and Alex, who are studying her mom’s research. Alex decides to stay behind and help with the science.
Layton is yet again taken to the Admiral, who does (kind of) hold up his end of the deal and shows Layton to his daughter — being held in Wilford’s arms as the old bastard smiles. Oh, and we find out where Josie is … she is being experimented upon by Doctor Headwood, who is taking Josie’s blood and seemingly putting it on Wilford. Get ready for ice mutant Sean Bean!
Ben and Bess get on the Snowpiercer and manage to get past the Admiral’s men, and even Ruth manages to get in at the last second. When they try to disconnect the trains, however, it doesn’t work. Someone has to do it manually from the subtrain, so Ben volunteers. The problem, which Bess is unaware of, is that the decoupling mechanism is outside — and there are no more suits. The captain stays with the ship, and the conductor stays with the train, so Ben does one last job as the engineer and disconnects Big Alice. As the second train gains distance we get one last look at Ben, freezing on the outside of Snowpiercer. Once an engineer, always an engineer.
• Good-bye, Iddo Goldberg. Though overshadowed by some of the other bigger personalities on the show, Goldberg was a reliable and compelling part of Snowpiercer. At least he went out with a bang.
• Welcome back, Sean Bean! Speaking of bigger personalities, no one does it quite like Bean’s Wilford. It will be fun to see the contrast of the Admiral’s stoicism and Wilford’s extravagance.
• Speaking of the Admiral, there’s no way he truly trusts Wilford, is there? After all, the man has explicitly expressed his hatred for all the extravagance and luxury that Wilford represents. I, for one, can’t wait to see the Admiral or his soldiers inevitably beat the crap out of Wilford once and for all.
• This really was a wasted opportunity not to bring Rebecca Ferguson from Apple TV+’s Silo and have her meet Jennifer Connelly on a big silo crossover.
