'Snowpiercer' Episode 10 Review: The revolution ends but Melanie Cavill's past catches up with her
Spoilers for 'Snowpiercer' Episode 10: '994 Cars Long'
The episode opens with Melanie (Jennifer Connelly) relinquishing governance of the 'Snowpiercer' and Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs) taking control. "This war is over," he says, however, the train is still in chaos. 'Snowpiercer' ends on a scintillating note; however, there's more that's left in the story, and it is safe to say that Episodes 9 and 10 act as the prelude to the upcoming season. TNT's drama was all about class divide and major societal issues and this one started off as a murder mystery and rocked the boat in every episode.
Even though the episode is a rather a quiet one for the first few minutes, 'Snowpiercer' switches gears pretty easily. Trouble starts when Melanie relives her past with the help of Miss Audrey (Lena Hall). That there is a threat looming over her shoulder takes its time to be established, but that sense of something is amiss is evident right from the start of the episode. Melanie's daughter, Alexandra gets an introduction and it is revealed she was sacrificed in her work to build the train.
Melanie's emotional side is heavily showcased in the film and Audrey urges her to go further into her memories to help combat the thoughts running in her mind. Alternatively, Layton also makes some bit of peace with Zarah (Sheila Vand). The immediate trouble in the train is the supplies. A major chunk of the episode deals with the aftermath of the revolution. While some bonds are rebuilt, some come to an end. The engineers realize the train is picking up a signal coming in from the outside deducing that there would be survivors outside, as impossible the odds are.
Shock hits the audience like a sledgehammer when they see a second train that is looking to board the 'Snowpiercer' and the immediate realization is that it would be Mr Wilford. Even as Ruth (Alison Wright) and the first-class celebrate, Layton and Melanie attempt to get the situation under control with the train running on fumes. The train called Alice is hot on their trails and the engineers use all their skills to escape. Alice starts hacking Snowpiercer's systems, while Ruth leads a charge of her own.
Bennett (Iddo Goldberg) is revealed to be the traitor as he knows the secret of Mr Wilford's arrival. However, the biggest reveal is when a teenage girl steps in from Alice introducing herself as Alexandra Cavill (Rowan Blanchard), and the episode closes out.
'Snowpiercer' is an audacious project. To match up to the popularity of the novel and the acclaimed film, it attempts to follow in the same footsteps as the Chris Evans starrer. What works in its favor is the attention to detail and the simple storytelling method. There are no complications to the plot that completely divert the major story and that makes this post-apocalyptic dystopian thriller worth the watch.
'Snowpiercer' will return with Season 2.