Snowpiercer Season 3 Episode 1 review: No sign of Melanie still, but Layton does find someone after all

3/5

Story: The survivors of an apocalyptic freeze are onboard a perpetually moving train – Snowpiercer. The 1001-cars are a classic case of class divide and soon enough, there’s an uprising, with the have-nots gunning for control of the train. And just as some form of democracy is established on the train, they are joined by a second – the 40-car supply train Big Alice, which was left behind years ago and has, onboard, Mr Wilford, the man who made both trains.

Review: At the end of Season 2, it appeared that there was hope for humanity after all and the earth could be thawing. But Snowpiercer’s chief engineer, Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly), who had ventured out on a scientific expedition to gather data that backs up this theory, had been left behind outside by Mr Wilford (Sean Bean). He had just gotten control of his train again and was not going to let go so soon. Not everyone was onboard his plan to ditch Melanie, and a small group detach and engine and a few cars as a pirate train to go back for her. Are they too late, though?

Season 3 picks up six months after the events of the previous one. Andre Layton (Daveed Digss), Alex Cavill (Rowan Blanchard), Josie Wells (Katie McGuiness), Bennet (Iddo Goldberg) and Bess Till (Mickey Sumner) are still on the pirate train with a couple of hostages. Their train is overheating – it is, after all, a very powerful engine that’s pulling along a ‘toy train’. There’s no sign of Melanie yet, so it may have been too late for her, after all. But they’ve not lost hope of finding clues to indicate that recolonizing earth may just be a possibility.

When Ben falls into what appears a bunker that was hidden by all the snow, Layton and Josie head out to get him back safe and sound. Alex, meanwhile, has to get the engine running again, lest it start melting and giving up on them, and has a mini uprising at her end, when hostage Miss Audrey (Lena Hall) demands that they hook back up with Wilford and the rest of the train. It is what they will need to do eventually, but not just yet. Right now, they have something new to deal with. Layton has found another survivor in the bunker – a woman – and there are a lot of questions that need answers, starting with just how she survived close to eight years since the freeze and if there are others like her out there.

Meanwhile, the rest of the train is still in hot pursuit of the pirate train. Well, it’s a pursuit, but it isn’t all that hot, what with the engine just not powerful enough to keep all of the 1000-odd cars heated. The train is freezing over and much as he loathes the fact that a pirate train took off right under his nose, Wilford knows he needs it back to ensure everything works just right.

Verdict: Archie Punjabi joins the cast of Snowpiercer this season, and she’s the one that’s been picked up by Layton and crew. So, that should make for some interesting turn of events in episodes to come. There was no sign to indicate that Melanie (Connelly) is still out there, but the actress is on the listed cast of Season 3. Although it was teased that she could not have survived outside any longer, having lost the provisions she set out with and then running out of rats to eat, you can never presume someone dead unless you have actually seen their mortal remains. In this case, we haven’t, so the writers may have a way around to bring her back. Now that would be something – Bean, Connelly and Punjabi in the same frame.