'Snowpiercer' Episode 2: Kangaroo courts and cannibalism become substitutes in Melanie’s inept justice system
To keep "3000 souls alive" with very little space and resources, the order that is sacrosanct to Melanie aka "Wilfred" depends more on a military force rather than a true justice system. We see in Episode 2, after the "extinction event" that destroys the entire cattle section, crops are more important than people in the third class and tail cars on Snowpiercer. But the first class's comfort is also more important than avoiding a potentially catastrophic avalanche that could derail the whole train and cause the aforementioned "extinction event".
The "engine eternal" creates the speed that keeps the train powered. In a bizarre twist on the 'Speed' franchise, slowing down means lowered production of electricity. Slowing down means blackouts -- something Melanie can't afford with the first-class passengers becoming restless about the Tailie rebellion and murders in third class. Despite suffering none of the consequences of rationing and only forgoing a few luxuries in emergencies, they are the most fragile. Because she doesn't want to inconvenience them, Melanie ignores warnings to slow down the train, which results in the avalanche.
Within this lopsided, manufactured order, how do crime and punishment play out in the one thousand and one cars of Snowpiercer? For someone who likes things orderly, Melanie has spent very little time pondering about the law and order situation in her train. Besides keeping the "unticketed" Tailies down with armed soldiers, there is next to no justice system in place. Tailies meet instant death or in extremely rare cases of mercy, "indefinite suspension in the drawers" for killing anyone uptrain during one of their periodic rebellions.
As the "unticketed" they have no access to a trial or a just hearing. Tailies, who commit other lesser crimes against the train's order, are made examples of. Their punishment is a particularly gruesome form of dismemberment that involves freezing off limbs by exposing them to the air outside and then shattering them. It leaves the punished Tailie writhing with pain, needing painkillers, or the drug Krono. Children are not exempt from punishment but adult substitutions are allowed if there is some logic to the adult taking the blame for the crime. The crime and punishment for the tail end cars follow the rules of maximum intimidation and complete indifference as to why the Tailies "persist" in trying to spark a revolution.
We also learn that the Tailies exercise a brutal form of justice themselves in the tail section. When hunger drives a section of bloodthirsty Tailies to cannibalism, the others band together to take down their leader and each one of them eats a piece of his heart, so none of them "are innocent". It is a form of shared justice, democratically decided, to keep Tailies from killing each other. This punishment is enough to keep others from turning to cannibalism in their desperation.
Melanie, however, ill-equipped for murders in the other cars, doesn't have a homicide detective, a proper autopsy specialist, or even a proper court. She only has a few holding jail cells for minor crimes and for keeping Tailies under lock and key when they have to stay uptrain, overnight.
When the first murder happens, Nikki, a therapist in the night car is sentenced to induced coma in a kangaroo court because it is more about pinning the blame on someone than actual justice. When Nikki is woken up from her very long sleep, it is evident that she has brain damage and her skin tissue is rotting and bleeding. It is a nightmarish scenario for someone who is innocent.
When the second murder happens, it is evident that Nikki is not the killer. This is when Melanie has to bring the only detective, Layton, uptrain to investigate. His partner cum minder was a rookie cop herself in the old world but has none of the experience Layton has. When they find the limbs of the murdered Shawn in the meat freezer, she asks Layton why he doesn't pin the blame on the butchers who have just frozen to death and take his third-class ticket.
It shows how little this post-apocalyptic train society cares about justice. It is up to Layton to remind her that he is here to do a job and it is a matter of professional pride to get it right. In that sense, Layton, a Tailie, shows more respect for human values like justice and truth than anyone uptrain.
And the final straw that shows how little justice matters on Snowpiercer, is when Layton reveals the real reason he has been tasked to find Shawn's killer and torturer. Now that Layton knows that Shawn was a snitch who reported about the third class to Wilfred/Melanie, there is the matter of what secrets Shawn might have revealed under torture. That is the real reason why Melanie is eager to find the killer -- it is not for justice but for punishing anyone who might defy her order.
'Snowpiercer' airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on TNT.