Snowpiercer, Season 1, Episode 2 “Prepare to Brace”
Air Date: Sunday, May 24, 2020 at 9:00 PM ET/PT on TNT
Reviewer Rating: 4 Stars
*** WARNING: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD ***
Things take a bumpy turn in Snowpiercer episode 2 “Prepare to Brace.” At the beginning of the episode, the rebellious uprising in the Tail section from the series premiere, “First, the Weather Changed,” is met with swift action from Hospitality members.
Ruth Wardell (Alison Wright) makes a show of force that the “Tailees” are not unfamiliar with – taking a limb by putting it outside the train, freezing it. When Ruth tells her team to grab a young little girl named Winnie (Emma Oliver) who helped others in the rebellion, the girl’s mother, Suzanne (Sarah Strange), pleads to spare her daughter and take her arm instead.
What happens next is horrific, barbaric, and completely disgusting. After the frozen arm comes back through, they shatter it with a sledgehammer. It’s a scene that must be seen for the full effect.
During this scene, you hear one of the Tailee leaders, Josie (Katie McGuinness), offer a narration at the beginning of every episode of Snowpiercer. “They can take our limbs, our children, our leaders. They keep trying to take our dignity, but any survivor will tell you, they checked their dignity at death’s door. The more they steal from us, the more human we become. Humanity will fill our bellies one day when we eat the rich of Snowpiercer, 1,001 cars long.”
As I mentioned in my review of the series premiere, “First, the Weather Changed,” that mantra of repeating how many cars make up the train happens in every episode. It’s meant to be dramatic, but it can be a bit irksome.
Throughout “Prepare to Brace,” the new train detective Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs) continues with his mission of investigating a second murder on the train. Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly), head of Hospitality, on behalf of the elusive Mr. Wilford (not seen), insists that Andre take this matter seriously but it’s difficult to do when you have a parallel agenda.
Andre is a Tailee and he’s trying desperately to help his fellow Tailees by getting a lay of the train, it’s checkpoints, and other vital information to help in the rebellion. But during the investigation, Andre is presented with small tastes of life outside of the Tail section.
He’s finally taken to the Third Class, where the lovely Miss Audrey (Lena Hall) runs the show. She invites Andre to check out the “Night Car,” where supposedly sensational things happen.
But the Night Car isn’t exactly what Andre imagined. While in the privacy of the room, Audrey and Andre’s ex-wife, Zarah (Sheila Vand), who had a relationship with the murder victim Sean (not credited), tell Andre information that they don’t want Breachman Bess Till (Mickey Sumner) to overhear.
Diggs’ performance is truly methodical. I wonder if Diggs deprived himself of certain creature comforts in real life so that when he’s in character, anything he eats, or drinks becomes a euphoric event. The way he ate that grilled cheese and tomato soup and now, when he sips on “old world spirits,” it makes my mouth water.
Something is wrong about the murders and the young woman, Nikki (Madeleine Arthur), who was tried and convicted in the first murder is being awakened from the “drawers.” Her revival has its own complications. The doctor who takes care of the Drawer patients, Dr. Henry Klimpt (Happy Anderson), is hiding something. He says he takes great care of the patients but why does Nikki’s arm show signs of necrosis?
Throughout “Prepare to Brace,” Andre pieces together something quite unsavory about how the remains of the murder victim are being used. After finding the severed arms and legs hidden in a compartment behind a shelf in the refrigerated car, I think someone may need to check those “beef noodles” Bess had for lunch. (Barf)
As the train known as “the great ark train Snowpiercer” travels around the globe, the level of speed is indicative to how the train’s electricity and other essentials like running water, are utilized. Too slow, then there needs to be rolling blackouts and a possible decrease in the vital heat keeping the passengers warm and cozy while it’s a chilly 117 degrees below zero outside. (That’s cold AF!)
The rambling of the thunderous locomotive as it pulls 1,001 cars along on its numerous revolutions around the world begins to show signs of trouble as they encounter avalanches that could threaten the train and all 3,000 souls aboard.
Of course, one such violent avalanche occurs, and damages the cattle car beyond repair. All the cattle, and the men working in the car, are frozen to death. This will definitely cause an issue for the remaining cars that utilize the cows’ manure for fertilization, the methane gas it produces, and of course the vital meat the cattle supplied.
I know there is a lack of fresh air on a fast moving train, and understandably so because is cold AF outside, but I found it quite refreshing (pun intended) when Breachman Boscovic (Aleks Paunovic) sits in front of the cattle car door as it opens, the frigid air leaving ice on his hair. He seems to be the kind of man willing to take big risks, even for the smallest reward. A breath of fresh air is priceless.
Other Things of Note
- Mr. Wilford (unseen) has an apprenticeship program for the children aboard the train; this includes kids from the tail section. If you’ve seen the 2013 film, I don’t think the kids are utilized the way they were in the film, but I am sure some of those “drawers” have more than criminals stored in them.
- Some of the Tailees must go to extreme measures to obtain medicine for their sick.
- Anyone else notice Melanie’s red-bottom heels? It’s a dystopian future they live in, but Melanie, while dressed in the mandatory Wilford Industries blue uniform, wearing those fancy stilettos is symbolic.
- Revelations about the murder victim come to light. It seems Sean was an informant for the train, more specifically, Mr. Wilford himself. The reason for Melanie’s involvement in the case is to find out if Sean spilled any Wilford Industries’ secrets to his murderer.
I think many of you have picked up on one big secret about the train and Mr. Wilford; however, I’ll leave it unsaid until next time…
Tune in to Snowpiercer, Sundays at 9/8c on TNT.
For more on Snowpiercer, go to https://www.tntdrama.com/snowpiercer
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Judy Manning
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