Snowpiercer, Season 1, Episode 3 “Access Is Power”
Air Date: Sunday, May 31, 2020 at 9:00 PM ET/PT on TNT
Reviewer Rating: 4 Stars
*** WARNING: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD ***
“The engine will provide.” – Ruth Wardell
At the beginning of each episode of Snowpiercer, there is a key character that says something poignant and specific to the plot of the episode. In “Access Is Power,” the good Dr. Klimpt (Happy Anderson) provides the narrative.
“You think loneliness would be impossible all crammed in here, but this train was designed to separate us from our possessions, from our loved ones. Now, every last shred of us is worth something to someone. Everything’s rare so, you gotta pay with something personal, and we’re all trading up for the most valuable thing there is – access. Access all the way to first where they hold the table for sport then trade it right back down. People avoid me because I care for the sleepers but, that’s my value; how I open doors and live in Second. I can trade for things while the weakest can only trade their carbon for compost. So, we keep pushing; pushing up train, pushing for access to feel more alive. Access is freedom; access is power; we’d kill for that on Snowpiercer…1,001 cars long.”
Look Over There
Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly) gathers her hospitality team together for the morning meeting. She reads a note from Mr. Wilford, hoping it will instill a sense of calm and confidence but one person recognizes the words. Commander Grey (Timothy V. Murphy) points out that Mr. Wilford’s note is a paraphrase of a speech from Winston Churchill “unshaken in spirit and resolve.” He also reminds Melanie that there is unrest among the passengers. With the murders, the Tail uprising and the recent cattle car disaster, it seems things are not quite as in order as she had hoped.
Melanie uses distraction tactics by moving a “prize fight” night, where the winner gets a full upgrade to Second Class, up a week from its original schedule hoping to distract passengers from everything going on.
The Reluctant Detective
After Andre (Daveed Diggs) tries to get a message and map to the Tail in episode 2 “Prepare to Brace,” he’s severely beaten up. He’s taken to Melanie who reminds him to basically stay in his lane. Andre wants to speak to the “first witness” Nikki (Madeleine Arthur), but Melanie says she’s still unconscious. With that path blocked, Andre asks what the murder victim Sean was informing on.
Lead Law Enforcement Mr. Roche (Mike O’Malley) tells Andre, “Sean Wise kept tabs on the black market. He was trying to find the source of a new drug wreaking havoc in Third… Chrono.” But Andre retorts, “Chrono is not new; it’s been in the Tail for two revolutions.” That bit of information seems to surprise both Roche and Melanie.
It seems Brakeman Bess Till (Mickey Sumner) has a girlfriend, sushi expert Jinju (Susan Park), who tells her that Nikki is not unconscious but not really well enough to talk to people. Melanie lied. Jinju is friends with Melanie so did she tell Bess because they are lovers or because she wants to help solve the murder no matter what?
Bess and Andre go to the medical car to talk to Nikki. She looks horrible. Melanie shows up and Dr. Klimpt explains Nikki’s current condition is because she’s been in suspension too long. Wait, if that’s true, how will anyone survive being in the drawers for a longer period of time? Nikki was in the drawers for about two years.
After a quick external examination, both Andre and Bess see signs of Chrono use because Nikki’s gums are black. It seems the suspension drug used to keep the sleepers asleep is also used to make the drug Chrono.
Dr. Klimpt has got some explaining to do. He tells them a courier comes, sometimes a janitor; it’s a different person each time. Dr. Klimpt skims some of the suspension liquid to trade. He says he gets items necessary to care for the sleepers, including “vegetable balm to prevent bed sores…Mr. Wilford didn’t think of everything.”
While Melanie has a private chat with Dr. Klimpt, Andre sees a bag of hair clippings, hair from Miles. He finds out he made Miles made the apprenticeship program.
A View From the Tail
The Tail has access to a small circular window at the top of the car where they can see a tiny portion of the outside world. It’s not much and it’s not easy to get to requiring several people to hoist someone up. And in order to see, they must use an additional magnifying glass to see any visible landmarks.
After years of calculating, the Tailees know they are travelling at a certain speed to maintain the train’s amenities but when Lights (Miranda Edwards) sees a peak of the Sierra Madres, she knows whatever happened to the train caused enough damage to slow the train down a full day. They’re hoping their friends “up train” will help.
Fight Night Turns to Fright Night
It’s very interesting how Melanie uses audio clips of previous speeches made by Mr. Wilford to create a full message. Hopefully you’ve figured it out… Melanie is Mr. Wilford. It’s not clear if Mr. Wilford ever existed or perhaps he just never made it on the train.
“Fight Night” is held in the Night Car and hosts three classes to attend – Third, Second, and First Class gets the balcony seats. Andre is allowed to attend to further his investigation but Bess must accompany him. These two seem to have become more civil and are working well together. Andre continues his investigation with Zarah helping him set up a meeting with the head janitor Terrence (Shaun Toub), who was Sean’s Chrono connection.
All Hell Breaks Loose
Nikki foolishly leaves the safety of her hospital bed making her way to Fight Night. As she enters the Night Car, people begin whispering, and the First Class passengers make a scene. Did you see little miss LJ Folger (Annalise Basso) and her bodyguard Erik (Matt Murray) exchange looks? Coincidence? I don’t like LJ at all. She’s entitled and she’s definitely Daddy’s (Vincent Gale) little girl.
While all hell breaks loose with people going crazy after Nikki walks in, Andre meets with Terence in secret. The small container of dates Terence offers Andre seems like a very luxurious item for a janitor to have. As they chat, Andre brings an interesting point to light – it seems Third class and the Tail sections make up 70% of the train’s population. Enough to cause Second and First Class a bit of alarm?
Terence provides Andre some information about the night Sean died. He describes a guy that Sean met up with the night of his murder – a man in his 30s with a buzz cut who takes care of himself. Hmm, sound familiar? (hint – it’s the bodyguard Erik.) Nikki isn’t safe. And when she sees a shadow outside her room, she knows this is it.
Andre uses the newfound knowledge as leverage to go see Josie (Katie McGuinness). Andre bargained his old wedding ring for something valuable Terence had. Andre needs to get it to Josie immediately but not by anyone except himself. He tells Josie that he saw Miles and that he’s doing well. Then kisses her, “It’s only doors between us!”
Once Andre is escorted away, she goes back to her bunk. As she rubs her finger across her lips, savoring the sensation of the kiss, she pulls her lip down and extracts a tracking device – the one inserted into the hand; one that gives her access to the upper-class train cars.
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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