Snowpiercer Season 3 Premiere: The Ice Is Gonna Break [Review]

Welcome back, everyone! Here we are back at it for another season of TNT’s hit show… Snowpiercer! There is a lot of baggage to unpack from these two trains. One an overheating hell on wheels and the other a rolling gulag just barely getting by.

Data Points And Doom

In the past six months since Layton’s pirate train broke away from Snowpiercer. They have been zooming across the tracks collecting data. Using that data to build on Melanie’s original model to find a place to disembark and live on the planet’s surface again. Then, we see Bennett, outside the train collecting ice cores for analysis. With so much of the world covered in the cold white stuff, you can’t tell what is what anymore. Bennett falls through the ceiling of a building and gets knocked out. Layton and Icy Josie make their way to rescue him.

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Back on the Pirate train, Alex explains that they only have a small window as their train is overheating because of the eternal engine. Layton immediately goes into rescue mode with Josie right behind. Telling Alex and Bess to pull away and then reverse to keep the engine cool, they will use all the oxygen in their snowsuits. While Josie and Layton are suiting up they argue about this plan and what if it doesn’t work. Before they put on their helmets they share a kiss, more than likely out of the care and frustration they have each put each other through.

Josie and Layton were able to get Bennett out of the building safely but Layton always trying to play the headstrong hero gave the majority of his oxygen to the knocked-out Bennet. Josie proceeds to take Bennett back to the rendezvous point. Just before Layton goes back up he sees a light.

Running low on oxygen Layton, of course, goes and investigates. Layton’s oxygen is running dangerously low, he is attacked by some unknown homemade suited-up assailant. After the tussle, he is running so low on air that he passes out and has some sort of hallucination or vision of New Eden. He comes to, quickly enough to find an air supply and carry the lone survivor back to the train. Are they the last person on Earth?!

Dissension On The Tracks

Alongside Layton and his crew, The Pirate Train has three passengers as well. Miss Audrey is still their prisoner and insurance, Sykes is doing her time as a good POW and Martin serves as jail keeper to Miss Audrey. He is only on the Pirate train because he was on the wrong side of the aquarium when it was shattered.

During the whole fiasco with Layton and Josie trying to save Bennett, Miss Audrey and Martin decided to try and overtake the Train with the lack of crew. Miss Audrey, ever so manipulative starts making Alex second guess what she’s doing pushing him to doubt her skills. Luckily Martin and Audrey were stopped by Bess and came back to pick up Josie, Layton, and the new passenger.

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But its not just on the Pirate Train

There is a resistance on Big Alice, now 1023 cars long are working in secret while passengers are doing their best to stay alive. The problem with Big Alice is that it wasn’t designed to pull such a massive amount, it’s hauling nearly 10x the amount it was commissioned to do.

The Resistance is led by Ruth doing her best to hold steadfast waiting for Layton and the other train to save them somehow. Pike, her right hand is still wheeling and dealing like before but now with perks like hot baths and food. A very pregnant Zarah still in her hospitality teals, has been helping with resource management. While Kevin has been playing the eve obedient lapdog to Mr. WIlford’s whims. You can see Javi at the helm but something is just off with him. there are drip bags and he is quiet the entire time.

Kevin runs an investigation into where the resistance is hiding. Eventually, he finds Ruth’s hiding spot in the Undertrain. Luckily Pike caught wind of it and moved her in secret all the way up to the decommissioned first-class dining car in a wine nook at a warm -15 degrees.

Once Kevin and Mr. Wilford found out who was responsible for giving away the hot water. the second-class Watermaster and his accomplice are publicly humiliated having sewage thrown on them. As much as Wilford enjoys public humiliation he missed out to sit in on Zarah’s assumed pregnancy checkup. Instead of Dr. Pelton, it was Mrs. Headwood injecting the fetus with a needle, while Zarah’s knocked out, unaware of what was happening to the baby.

Thoughts and Theories

This Season Premiere did exactly what it needed to do. It got us caught up with the respective crews and find out what life is like currently on both trains. I think that the state that each train is in will affect mods and tantrums shortly.

Having Ruth as the head of the resistance was an excellent choice. Pike, as her right hand again perfect choice with her knowledge of the train and his knowledge of the other goings-on. Having the train being so big now, I think a lot of things will slip between the cracks and hopefully will keep Wilford chasing his tail.

On to the Pirate train, it was a smart decision to add Martin as a wild card to the group. I could see Sykes turning eventually in the 11th hour against Wilford. Alex is coming into her own and for Bennett to finally get outside the train and get his hands dirty yeah good stuff. Let’s not forget that Josie and Layton have one hell of a dynamic. Is that due to the heat of the train or just bent up tension between them?

Speaking of Layton, my only gripe this week was the fact that we got a hallucination vision quest thing. Seems a bit like “jumping the shark” to do it so early in the season. But I’m hoping it’s a bit of a red herring as the show has already been picked up for a fourth season and I don’t want to see the writers have to paint themselves out of a corner.

With Mrs. Headwood doing OB/GYN for Zarah I’m afraid it’s not all on the up and up I could see Wilford using the baby as an experiment to make a new Icy Bob or Icy Josie. This is right in Wilford’s wheelhouse using people, it double downs on the fact that it’s Layton’s child too.

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For more on Snowpiercer, stay tuned to That Hashtag Show.