Snowpiercer, Season 1, Episode 6 “Trouble Comes Sideways”
Air Date: Sunday, June 21, 2020 at 9:00 PM ET/PT on TNT
Reviewer Rating: 4 Stars
*** WARNING: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD ***
“There is fun to be had on this train and I plan to have some.” – Brakeman John Osweiller
In this week’s Snowpiercer episode, “Trouble Comes Sideways,” the train and its passengers are irrevocably changed when a near disaster shakes them to the core, forcing people to reconsider their actions and priorities. Some for the better, some not.
This week’s narration comes by the way of Brakeman John Osweiller (Sam Otto). His rough upbringing and stagnant position as a Brakeman push him to seek pleasure where he can with whomever is willing to offer it. In episode two, “Prepare to Brace,” Osweiller receives oral sex in exchange for medication for a Tailee. He claims Brakeman Bess Till (Mickey Sumner) “is as dirty as they come,” but his hands aren’t clean either.
As the opening scenes shift between Osweiller shaving and maintenance crews cleaning up the mess below the train where the murderous Eric (Matt Murray) was brutally slain, we hear Osweiller, with his thick Cockney accent give the weekly episodic narration:
“People longed for life before the freeze. But I dunno, I might like this life betta. I think of me mum, chain smoking at the kitchen table, fresh bruises under last night’s makeup. ‘Keep your head in a swivel’ she’d say, ‘’cause trouble comes sideways.’ It’s a zero-sum world now. You set a thing in motion and watch it tumble down the line. All that’s coming is coming head on. The whole great shit show flattened down to a single line. To climb, someone else falls. To gain, someone else loses, and round and round we go… 1,001 cars long.”
Third Class circulates flyers that read – Tools Down, Justice For Nikki, Justice For Third – and if they thought the word wouldn’t get back to Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly), then they were fooling themselves. As she stands in Third Class’ central hub, she lets them know if they continue with the “work stoppage” that Mr. Wilford will “randomly select ten workers and send them to the tail” then bring ten Tailees up to take their place. She reminds them that there are over 400 people in the Tail who would kill to have what Third has. While that’s probably true, Third Class will risk it to stand their ground and fight back against First Class and the overturn ruling from LJ’s (Annalise Basso) murder trial in episode five “Justice Never Boarded.”
Meanwhile, Josie (Katie McGuinness) goes back to Zarah’s (Sheila Vand) room in Third to get Andre (Daveed Diggs) who’s still recovering from being in a drawer. Josie has enlisted help from an unlikely ally, Dr. Pelton (Karin Konoval). She’s been in the background throughout this season of Snowpiercer but comes through for Josie and Andre in “Trouble Comes Sideways.” She’s one of the doctors who helps examine prisoners before they are put in the drawers. She also helps when select passengers are granted permission to have a child – which is far and few because of population control on the train. So, this puts a new spin on the news Zarah shares with Miss Audrey (Lena Hall). Looks like there’s going to be a new passenger in about nine months.
Dr. Pelton is questioned harshly by Andre regarding her role in keeping people in drawers. Her response reveals a shocking secret: “It’s not just the one car; there’s eleven more like it, full of drawers, hundreds of them…it’s her [Melanie] own little North Korea tucked away in Second-Class.” There is more to this story and Andre will find out before the episode ends.
Dr. Pelton also shows Andre and Josie passenger files. It seems certain passengers have an ‘X’ on them. Does this mean they are marked to be to be in a drawer?
Back to the maintenance issue under the train. When Eric shot his gun in “Without Their Maker,” it caused a leakage and the florescent green liquid oozing out causes an electrical problem with the brakes. Something has become loose and the brakes are not working. Not good for a perpetually moving train that requires constant movement in order to run properly and keep its passengers from freezing to death.
We all know Melanie is Mr. Wilford and she’s the one who designed the train. She knows the train like the back of her hand. She enlists the help of all the Breachman, including Breachman Boscovic (Aleks Paunovic) who seems to find it odd that Melanie is doing maintenance work.
Boscovic is fun. He’s the kind of man who takes pride in his work and he loves to talk about. It’s a treat for him to go into the classroom and tell the kids about what a Breachman does on the train.
The train begins to sway violently and is in danger of derailing unless they get the brakes reconnected. Andre escapes to hunt down Melanie. When he finds her, she explains what the drawers really are – “a lifeboat.” If Snowpiercer fails, humanity’s hope lies in the drawers –people in suspended animation. But if Andre had such a hard time coming out of suspension after just a few days, these people could end up like Nikki (Madeleine Arthur) when she came out after two years – necrotic tissue and failing organs. And if Snowpiercer’s resources dry up or power fails, how will the people in the drawers survive without constant medical attention?
The train continues its course to a dangerous stretch of track and it’s up to Melanie to go under the train and reattach the brake line. The next few minutes of “Trouble Comes Sideways” truly gives the episode its namesake. It’s an intense ride watching everyone grasping anyone or anything to brace themselves for potential derailment as Melanie is underneath a fast-moving train on icy terrain.
Ruth Wardell (Alison Wright) takes her job as senior Hospitality seriously and she gets on the speaker to try and calm the passengers. It’s her time to shine in Melanie’s absence.
Of course, the train is saved, and things have a somewhat happy ending. While a disaster saves Melanie from a Third-Class mutiny for now and people celebrate, things will come to a head sooner rather than later.
Tune in to Snowpiercer, Sundays at 9/8c on TNT.
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Judy Manning
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