So it turns out Snowpiercer has gone off the rails, and with a bang! Season 3, Episode 3, “The Last Blow,” went from a low simmer to a full rolling boil, letting off lots of steam. (That was a terrible attempt at a train pun, and I promise to do better.)
This is a review and recap for “Snowpiercer” Season 3 Episode 3. Spoilers below!
Snowpiercer Season 3 Episode 3: The Trainyard Trap
For the last week, I wondered how this potential “train fight” would go. Given Snowpiercer couldn’t defeat Judge Dredd’s Law Master in last spring’s Car-Maggeddon Battle, I figured they’d be throwing rocks at one another or something.
Instead, Layton and crew utilize a trainyard to stage a trap for Big Alice that slows her down.
In truth, I was kind of disappointed it was a trap. Ever since I watched Season 1, Episode 1, I wondered who maintained these tracks. All manner of detritus and build-up would accumulate on the train’s path, but there’s no one around to clear it or repair any damage. At first, the pile of junk on the track seemed like a vindication of my concerns. But, nope, instead:
The Maintenance Yard
The trains use an old trainyard with multiple tracks to have their final standoff.
But first, Wilford orders Big Alice to go silent; then he reveals yet another Batman-esque gadget that he has hidden at the back of the train: a harpoon launcher!
First of all, why does he have that? Second, what other massive weapons does he have just lying around?
Wilford uses the harpoon to shoot Snowpeircer, sending it … you guessed it … off the rails!
But wait, the crew manages to disconnect the last few cars to right the train. Then they go silent as they try to figure out how to find Big Alice and save the people of Snowpeircer.
Interlude
During all of this, we learn that Asha, suffering from (likely) PTSD, has been using her helmet to comfort herself when anxiety takes over. While trauma is not an unreasonable thing to expect, there’s something off about Asha. At one point, she tells Layton, “If you’re doing this for a child, you’ll be doing things you regret,” which leads me to wonder whether she has first-hand experience in this. She did mention a nephew in Episode 2.
As the trains are, presumably, driving around and around in this maintenance yard, the resistance is still trying to help Snowpeircer. As such, Pike flees the guards to talk to Ruth. In one of Snowpiercer’s funniest moments, Wiggins, the guard at her cell, tells Pike he can’t see her, but Pike responds, “I’m her lawyer.”
There are more sparks between Ruth and Pike, but in this case, it’s because Ruth comes up with a plan to show Snowpiercer where Big Alice is: set off the New Years’ fireworks show!
To enable Pike to pull this off, his buddies had sacrificed themselves to let him escape. Unfortunately, Kevin has decided to take the opportunity to get all medieval on his captives, and by that, I mean some gross torture scenes of Strong Boy.
LG, as expected, is overjoyed to witness this cruelty, as much as Oz tries to tell her they’d be implicating themselves if Layton beats Wilford.
The Show-Down
Finally, Layton and Wilford come face-to-face. First, they do so by staring at one another through the trains as they inch closer and closer to one another. The two leaders exchange veiled threats over the radio, and then Wilford pulls a power move and shuts Big Alice down. Layton brings up Audrey, and as this distracts Wilford, he and Josie leave Snowpiercer. Josie climbs on the front of Big Alice, making it seem like she’s trying to break in, but Ben gets Javi to open the door so Layton can board and surprise Wilford with an attack.
Finally, the fight we’ve been waiting for! Layton beats Wilford up and forces him to relinquish control.
Epilogue
But we’re not done yet!
Upon hearing Wilford’s concession speech, LG realizes she’s screwed if the resistance tells Layton that she and Oz were working for Wilford (and did nothing to stop Kevin’s barbarity). So in a truly opportunistic move, she stabs Kevin in the throat and pretends she was with the resistance all along. I mean, I’m glad she got rid of Kevin, but LG is kind of the worst.
Till attempts to rescue Roche and his family from the drawers, but it turns out his wife is dead.
Javi is still suffering immensely from the dog attack.
Wilford is locked in a cell, but you know he’s still got some tricks up his sleeve, as he declares: “I AM THE TRAIN.”
Layton, still obsessed with his New Eden idea, convinces Asha to lie to the population of Snowpiercer so they’ll vote to agree to travel to the Horn of Africa, where this salvation presumably lies. This is a pretty intense lie. Has Layton turned into … a politician?
We’ll have to find out!
The next episode airs on February 14th and 15th!
