This is finally the episode we have been waiting for and I for one have to applaud Jennifer Connelly on her amazing acting chops! How does one deal with being the only living soul outside of Snowpiercer, 1034 cars long.
Out In The Cold
We start off with Melanie on a jump-sled (snowmobile) with gear in tow. Heading off to the Science Center up in the Rockies. Her ride gets stuck and she pushes herself to get in with only seconds to spare. But, she had to leave behind the snowmobile and one of her two sleds with gear before her suit ran out of power.
Upon entering the frozen station. she sets up a small shelter inside for the night and recharges her suit. In the morning, after doing a bit of lite house cleaning, the two climatologists that committed suicide. Melanie assesses the station and daisy chains the extra batteries to restart the station. Upon powering up the station there was some seismic activity. Venturing out in the cold again, she came upon an avalanche that destroyed her snowmobile and sled, the sled with her food supplies.
Hungry And Alone
After doing the math, rationing what little food Melanie has, she starts hallucinating. First about Wilford, trying to justify her actions. Then Layton on the “joys” of starving and possibly resorting to cannibalism. She even hallucinates that the biscuit she was eating before falling asleep she must have finished.
During all this, she keeps at it dreaming about the past about how Wilford killed her geneticists just feet from the train before departure. Ultimately made the choice to leave the bastard in the cold Chicago freeze. Eventually, she hallucinates about a rat, or did she? She did in fact see a rat! I guess they went with the old adage your no more than 6 feet from a rat. turns out that it was just a rat but a whole colony living behind the walls in a geothermal steam vent! there was even some sort of vegetation that they must have been living off of for the past seven years! She now has a source of food. as she regains her strength her loneliness induced hallucinations aren’t of Wilford or Layton but instead of her daughter.
After A Month Alone
Melanie now with some renewed vigor has completed the weather model. With Alex’s visage to talk to, she seems to have more pep in her step so much so that when the radio tower snaps outside she can sustain being outside in her suit with no power when she gets knocked out.
Finally, after a month the train is due back she packs up what she can but there is no radio contact from the 10-mile long train. Strange, but she still decides to trek back to join the last bastion of the human race. Once she is within visual site she can tell that the train is barreling down the line too fast for her to get on. The last thing we see it, Alex, looking out of the window of Big Alice slamming against its begging for her mother as the train shoots off into the distance…..
Thoughts And Theories
First let me say, Jennifer Connelly, killed it this week! Her acting skills were on full display! Seeing her in flashbacks, her delusions, even the witty hunger repartee with her hallucinations.
If you really want to break it down I saw each character as part of her psyche:
- Wilford: Was basically her conscience and she was coming to terms with the choices she made in her past.
- Layton: Was her conscience based on the choices she had to make while on the train in the first season since the departure.
- Alex: Was hope, and the inevitable future that laid out before her.
As to what happened on Snowpiercer at the end, I’ll guess another revolution has begun. Someone must have broken into the engine car and revved it up to crashing speed. Who knows?!
So, what did you think of this episode? Have you enjoyed Snowpiercer since episode 1? Are the writers at TNT on track for a big finale? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or head on over to our THS FACEBOOK and make sure to follow me at OFF THE CUFF GAMING on Facebook and YouTube.
For more on Snowpiercer, stay tuned to That Hashtag Show.
