#Revolution makes for surface-level fun on Snowpiercer

Viva la revolución en Snowpiercer Season 1, Episode 8

Episode 8 of TNT’s Snowpiercer finally sees Layton and the Tail passengers begin their crusade to overthrow Melanie and her regime. For the most part, it makes for an exciting hour.

There are a palpable momentum and tension sustained throughout the episode, making each exchange exciting and every fight perilous. This partially stems from the dual narrative involving both the lower-class rebellion and a first-class mutiny.

Waiting to pass on the Wilford reveal to First is a smart play for Layton, as it justifies his keeping the secret for the past few episodes and gets many of the soldiers out of the way (despite the stupidity of putting his surrogate son in reach of a known serial killer).

The revolution itself benefits from the direction once again being on point. The cinematography, scope, and visual style are the closest this show has ever come to the Snowpiercer film. In addition, the impassioned performances help lend further weight to the whole tale. Alison Wright and Jennifer Connelly are particularly compelling here, selling the emotional intensity and ominous uncertainty of these revelations so well that you’re glued to the screen whenever they’re at work.

Was the destination worth the destination for Snowpiercer?

Does all this praise mean that the buildup was warranted? Was it worth it to spend so much time on the murder mystery and subsequent fugitive plot? In short, no.

Devoting the first seven episodes to a detective story had a few goals, and it was clear that one of those goals was to develop the other passengers to add more emotional weight to the eventual revolt. However, there’s not enough meat to most of these characters or their relationships to say that the prolonged buildup added much.

This is apparent in Layton’s appeal to Third. Their hostility was only partially built up due to the serial killer plotline, and even that was supposedly swept under the rug after Melanie saved the train and boosted morale. Plus, such buildup didn’t include any kinship with the Tail. These classes don’t know each other, and the fact that they spontaneously join forces seems like a contrived way to keep the ball rolling.

What might have made the first seven episodes more interesting is if converting people had been the goal from the start. Do away with the detective plot thread and have Layton covertly learn more about the train’s other classes.

In the process of searching for security weaknesses, he could become more knowledgeable about the other passengers and their worldviews. He could consequently try to turn them, or they could start to win him over. It would make for a fascinating ideological study and a thoughtful reexamination of the original Snowpiercer story.

Would a revolution like this really be viable? Is the proposed system better than the current one? With such a large loss of life, does the end justify the means? At the same time, if killing and erasing people (especially naysayers and those who know too much) are what it takes to preserve Wilford’s order, is it really worth preserving?

All these questions could make for exceedingly intriguing television, and Snowpiercer even dabbles in some of them. One example of this is during the exchanges between Melanie and Ruth, which give glimpses of greatness that the show could achieve. Shows like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Vikings have used such dilemmas to terrific effect.

At the same time, the writers seem to want it both ways; they want to make a cerebral tale rife with moral ambiguity while simultaneously churning out a digestible, fast-paced action-drama with definite good guys and bad guys. As a result, Snowpiercer can’t devote itself to either one, which would explain the basic nature of the characters up to this point.

Few of them have been given any depth up this point, and select others are only now getting a bit of dimension since the drama is ramping up. In turn, the supposed payoffs that we’re seeing unfold feel earned with some passengers, but not with others.

Again, though, if you weren’t going to develop most (if not all) of the characters better to strengthen the impact, then what was the point of the previous episodes? Even when Snowpiercer entertains, it does so while reminding you (me, at least) of how much more engaging it could be.

What did you think of the eighth episode of Snowpiercer? Which side are you on? Do you think any more characters will bite the dust? What do you think the two-hour finale will bring next week?

Snowpiercer airs Sundays at 9 pm on TNT.