'Snowpiercer' Season 3 Episode 5 Review: Mutineers strike as the train welcomes a new life
Spoilers for 'Snowpiercer' Season 3 Episode 5
All aboard! 'Snowpiercer' is here with a brand-new episode and it's time to go off the rails on the icy train. Episode 5 of 'Snowpiercer' Season 3 starts on a very personal note. Zarah Ferami pens a letter to her unborn child, contents of which are revealed through a voiceover. "As you grow up, you'll hear many stories about your mother. How aboard Big Alice, she assured her survival yet again. And of your father, changing what was left the world. Our journey to bring you into this world has been brutal, but I wouldn't change a single misstep or agonizing decision that led to your life." Coupled with montages of Zarah lovingly feeling her baby bump, we get to see Zarah's limitless love for her child.
Almost immediately, director James Hawes hits us with glimpses of upcoming scenarios in an attempt to rattle us, and it works! We see a bomb explode somewhere in the train and Layton getting hurt because of it, and simultaneously we see Zarah having complications during childbirth. In a style that has worked well for 'Snowpiercer,' we're taken back by 12 hours, to the point where it all begins.
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Layton and Zarah are seen at Baby Tree looking for a name for their child. For the uninitiated, the Baby Tree is a tree-like structure on which the Third Class citizens tie leaf-shaped papers. The papers contain potential names for children that expecting parents can choose from. Zarah's water breaks and she is rushed to the medical ward. Though this happens three weeks ahead of her due date, Doctor Headwood assures the couple that everything is fine. Ruth returns to duty and is still being coaxed by Pike to overthrow Layton and lead the Resistance. Ruth respectively denies and instead focuses on preparations as the train plans to celebrate the arrival of the new passenger.
As Zarah begins to experience contractions, the Baby Tree catches fire, and Layton and Till head over to the market to look into it after Ruth puts it out. Till finds traces of ethanol around the tree, which makes Layton feel that the fire could have been intentional but Till suggests otherwise. The investigation takes them down a rabbit hole but they eventually find out that ethanol and other inflammable items have gone missing. As Zarah's condition deteriorates, Layton makes it back to the medical ward and begins to panic as her body temperature drops due to the genetic alterations done to her fetus. Layton's forced to leave Zarah's side once again as a fire breaks out elsewhere on the train. Layton gets hurt, as a bomb explodes right after he puts the fire out. Pike is seen in the shadows while this happens.
Fortunately, Layton makes it back in time to welcome his daughter to the world, and the couple agrees to name her Liana. Layton has a moment of peace, fully aware of the existence of mutineers on the train. Episode 5 of 'Snowpiercer' ends with Audrey singing at the bar while Josie and Ben share a passionate kiss in their quarters and Pike destroying what appears to be a detonator.
Titled 'A New Life,' the latest episode of 'Snowpiercer,' works splendidly when it comes to establishing the premise for the upcoming episodes. The fires and the explosion are just a peek into what the future holds for Layton and his loyalists as they try and make it to New Eden. Audrey is seen trying to make contact with Mr Wilford, who is currently under the care of Alex, and she could really convince him to usurp Layton and do everything within her powers to ensure it happens. Pike could be an accomplice, and given his anti-Layton stance, he could switch sides and team up with Wilford and Audrey. Only time will tell whether he'll abandon them once Layton dies or turn his back on the Resistance entirely.
'Snowpiercer' airs Mondays at 9 pm ET on TNT.