#Snowpiercer builds to an uneven yet compelling rebellion

Turmoil engulfs both the passengers and Melanie as she fights for control of Snowpiercer

One thing that the latest Snowpiercer episode does reasonably well is escalation. Through direction and performances, we experience a steady buildup in tension, one which will presumably come to a head in the climax of TNT’s first season.

Chief among these is Melanie’s unraveling. As she desperately searches for Layton, she’s forced to go to increasingly extreme lengths to get the required info. What’s more is that she goes about this while painstakingly putting on a façade of composure, which becomes more and more difficult to maintain.

It’s all handled organically, and it’s easily the most compelling part of the show. Once again, this is thanks in no small part to Jennifer Connelly’s nuance and glimpses of emotional rawness.

It all comes to a head in a surprisingly effective interrogation of Josie. Katie McGuinness brilliantly sells the crippling fear and tragic resignation of her character, and you can tell that Melanie wants to connect with her on a human level.

However, she’s also trying to control how much empathy she outwardly displays for the risk of losing her regal authority. It’s particularly apparent when she laments about the pressures of leadership, turning what could have been an expositional, on-the-nose monologue into something more engaging.

Unfortunately, we still have to deal with the rest of Snowpiercer.

I just wish that the other half of the episode had been developed as well. Layton’s attempt to organize a coup involves clandestine meetings with Karin Konoval’s doctor, Lena Hall’s nightclub owner, and Shaun Toub’s gangster. Unfortunately, this feels mostly unearned.

These characters have only a passing familiarity with each other, akin to water cooler chitchat with coworkers, so it’s hard to buy the trust and personal connection that the script says they share.

The only justification for their alliance seems to be the Episode 5’s trial and the subsequent riot, but the hostility from this was supposedly quelled by Melanie saving the train last week. As such, the growing rebellion seems pretty thin, which is not what you want in Snowpiercer.

The following episodes seem like they’ll play out the pivotal uprising of the story. With that said, I have to ask: what the point of extending the buildup to an entire season? Few of the subplots we’ve seen thus far have been anything more than time-wasters. If they were going to reenact the rebellion from the film, then the whole ordeal would have been simpler with the movie’s plot. Basic as it was, it told its tale more concisely.

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Plus, with everything that Layton has seen, you’d think he’d have reservations or devote more thought to what will happen to the other classes after the rebellion. He doesn’t have the limited perspective of the film’s protagonists; he’s experienced both the privileges and limitations of the other cars on Snowpiercer.

The writers had the opportunity to play with the morality of uprooting everyone’s life in bloody vengeance, but the hand-wave manner in which Layton explains his intentions feels like more wasted potential, further cementing the pointlessness of his detective storyline.

The only part of this coup subplot that somewhat lands is the growing doubt in Melanie’s second-in-command, Ruth. On top of giving Alison Wright some actual character depth to work with, it plays naturally off Melanie’s arc of self-doubt and struggles for order.

Enhancing this further is the tense direction. Helen Shaver applies some of the same intimate intensity that she brought to shows like Vikings, with the off-kilter close-ups being especially effective. Like with the last few episodes, this helps this week’s outing to be another step up from the blandness of the earlier ones.

Overall, this episode is fairly standard stuff for Snowpiercer. The technical aspects are all there, and certain story elements work to compelling effect. Sadly, it’s constantly weighed down by shoddy characterization and unearned relationship drama.

What did you think of the seventh episode of Snowpiercer? Are you excited about the upcoming revolt? How do you think it will play out in the remaining episodes?

Snowpiercer airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on TNT.