'Snowpiercer' Episode 6 Review: Fortune smiles on Melanie Cavil, but how much longer before she loses control?
Spoilers for 'Snowpiercer' Season 1 Episode 6 'Trouble Comes Sideways'
TNT's 'Snowpiercer' Season 1 is steaming towards disaster and Episode 6 'Trouble Comes Sideways' delivers a chilling moment of crisis. For all intents and purposes, the episode was basically filler but that didn't stop it from being a nail-biting story that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats throughout.
After the debacle at the trial of LJ Folger (Annalise Basso), tensions are mounting on Snowpiercer and Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly) cracks down on the opposition. Third Class, under the leadership of Miss Audrey (Lena Hall), plan a work stoppage in the episode, which Melanie counters by threatening to send people to the Tail as punishment.
Meanwhile, Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs) is still recovering in the care of his former lover Zarah Ferami (Sheila Vand). He has a plan to take Melanie off the board once and for all but an engineering crisis comes along and shakes things up.
Layton almost manages to kill Melanie in the episode before she reveals that the list was actually a register of essential people whom she's planning to save using the drawers in case life on Snowpiercer becomes unviable. That's not enough to stay his hand but with the train poised to derail if Melanie doesn't tend to it, Layton has no choice but to relent.
There's an interesting dynamic at work here that we're sure will be elaborated on in later episodes. Melanie keeps presenting herself as one of the good guys but she's also quite cruel, cracking down on protesters and aiding the system at every turn. Eventually, she's going to have to pick a side because the revolution is still on the horizon. And whichever side she chooses, there will be hell to pay.
In any case, the episode ends with Melanie saving the train and for a moment, there is peace and celebration on Snowpiercer from the engine to the Tail. But this is just the calm before the storm and things are definitely going to get a lot worse before they get any better.
'Snowpiercer' Season 1 airs new episodes on Sundays at 9 pm ET on TNT.