'Snowpiercer' Episode 3 Review: Fight night, an assassin from first-class and unrestricted access
Spoilers for 'Snowpiercer' Episode 3 'Access is Power'
What makes access so great? It is a vague question no doubt, but from 'Snowpiercer's storyline, access is the only way to plow through and find out the dark secrets lurking on the train. The episode starts with a monologue that highlights the importance of access aboard the Snowpiercer. "Access is freedom, access is power, we kill for that on Snowpiercer," the speech says. And over the next hour, the episode dishes out some interesting twists, and some bloody violence.
The investigation is still on and caught in the center of all this Nikki Genet (Madeleine Arthur) who recovers from severe Kronol abuse, a highly addictive drug. However, the interrogation is cut short by Melanie (Jennifer Connelly) who still feels Nikki could use some recovery time before deemed fit for inquiry. The episode also gives a look at brakeman Bess Till (Mickey Sumner) and Jinju's (Susan Park) relationship. As far as the Snowpiercer's working goes, Bennett reveals the damage done to the train and suggest uncoupling the tail.
At this point, it is still easy to look at Bennett as one of the main engineers who are loyal to Melanie. His idea of uncoupling the car may have earned him a punch on the solar plexus, but the intention was to move the people in the tail to the third-class carriage. Melanie, fearing a class war, objects. And by this, it is evident that life comes second and that people in the higher part of the train would eventually be the only ones to make it through without any hassles.
But that isn't to say they have blood on their hands. By now it is firmly established that the first-class passengers have a secret to hide and were worried about who Sean ratted out before being killed. Layton follows enough clues to come across Terrence, the chief Janitor who gives out some valuable information about the identity of the man who was responsible for the killing. In the meantime, Layton uses that knowledge to get the access chip to Josie without raising her suspicions.
'Access is Power' also gives an insight into Melanie's mind who arranges for fight night — a bloody scrimmage that sees the winner upgrade classes. It ends with an all-pub brawl, but not before Erik (Matt Murray) catches a glimpse of Nikki wandering about the carriage searching for Kronol. While Till may have temporarily saved her, Erik bludgeons the guards outside Nikki's recovery compartment to death asks her if she has any idea of who he is. The final minutes imply the higher-ups have something to do with Sean's murder.
There are a few heartening scenes, one of them being Layton and Miles' (Jaylin Fletcher) the kid genius from the tail who goes on to be part of the train's education system. Closing the episode is the kiss between Josie and Layton that sees him transfer the chip to her indicating an escape route. There is enough in the episode to pack a punch as it still makes good on its promise to deliver, one episode at a time. For now, there is still a lot to know about the mysterious Melanie.
'Snowpiercer' airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on TNT.