Snowpiercer Season 1 Episode 1 recap: First, the Weather Changed

Snowpiercer premieres a complex and violent season, introducing new characters in familiar settings. This is clearly a show for our troubled times.

The Snowpiercer TV adaptation has been in the works for a long time. Its premiere during the global pandemic is nothing short of providential.

As one would expect from the premiere of a new show, there are plenty of plot points hinted at and a host of characters that the audience is introduced to.

We recap the opening episode and share our thoughts on the show.

The Train

Set in a post-apocalyptic world where Earth is plunged into a perpetual, freezing winter, the show follows the residents of the Snowpiercer train—1000 carriages long and filled to the brim with people from all walks of life.

And just as in our society, the people on the train are divided up according to their social status and monetary value. Those rich enough to escape the freezing weather bought tickets aboard the train—everyone else was left to die.

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But that didn’t sit well with the working classes—they broke through the barriers and barged into the train. Lives and limbs were lost but a few brave souls managed to stay in the train cars till the doors closed.

And thus, the Tail was formed—salt-of-the-earth folk kept cooped up in spaces too small and too crowded, sterilized, fed ever-dwindling rations, and uplifted by their dreams of rebelling against the front train cars.

Meanwhile, in the lauded Front, space abounds, as does food, and the attitudes of the denizens are as expected—shallow, self-centered, proud, and unaware of the plight of others less fortunate.

But all is not as rosy in the Front as people would like to think—and the problems of the Front are going to lead to opportunities for the Tail.

The Case

Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs) is the only homicide detective on Snowpiercer—but he’s also a leader in the Tail, plotting a revolution. He just needs the people around him to wait for the right opportunity and act on information instead of emotion.

Layton is almost completely convinced to start the revolution when the Front takes him away from his people—there’s been a murder and the creator of the train, Wilford, needs it solved.

There are security forces on the train and ex-cops, but none with the expertise that Layton has. Head of Hospitality, Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly), is certain that Layton can find the murderer and is ready to pull out all stops to make it happen.

It helps that Layton has a tenuous connection to the victim—one of the man’s current partners was an old flame of Layton’s. She’s not the happiest person around—she’d rather have died than joined the Tail. But her grievances aside, she isn’t the killer.

Worse, Layton soon learns that this murder isn’t the first in the Front—there was a similar one years ago. The suspect was charged and put in the drawers—a cryogenic sleeping pod where the unruly are sent.

Layton is convinced she didn’t do it—but that means the real killer is still around. He needs answers from the former suspect if he is to gain any clues.

But he’s not going to agree to anything without the Front accepting his terms—more rations for the Tail, more space, and no more forced sterilizations. The last part Cavill isn’t so keen on—it will upset the balance to the population and Snowpiercer is nothing if not about balance.

How does that work exactly when a whole section of the train is starving while others are dining to their heart’s content, is what Layton needs to know.

Seeing the prosperity—and the greed—of the Front puts Layton in two minds about what his next steps should be. But a riot in the Tail seals the deal for him.

The Plan

Content warning: Discussion of suicide

Looks like Layton is 90% of the Tail’s impulse control. The moment he’s gone, the remaining passengers turn to scheme. Layton is barely gone a hot minute, but they declare him a traitor to the cause who has already been seduced by the decadence of the Front—they will act in his stead.

When the spiritual leader of the Tail, Ivan (Mark Margolis), a former pianist who lost his arm to the Front, and friend to Layton, takes his own life, the Tail goes into a frenzy. They want to avenge Ivan by any means necessary.

They hatch a plan to dupe the guards, replacing Ivan’s body with a revolutionary who attacks the guards at close quarters. Armed with knives and anything that pierces flesh, the rioters fight through the onslaught, indiscriminately killing and maiming as they go. But the further they go, the more resistance the Tail encounters until Layton finally has to intervene.

He meets with the three Tail passengers who took on leadership of the revolution—Pike (Steven Ogg), Z-Wreck (Kwasi Thomas), and Strong Boy (Kurt Ostlund). After all the bloodshed, the revolt infiltrated just one train car—they were never going to make it to the front.

But Layton has a plan—he is going to take on the Front’s murder case and use it as a way to navigate the Front, finding its weaknesses so the Tail can rise up again.

In the meantime, the rioters will have to go into the drawers—it may not be pleasant and they will lose time but they will be positioned perfectly to take over the front when they are awakened.

The plan is decided upon, and even Cavill agrees with it, though she has one caveat—a significant member of the Tail will have to give up their arm in return. A price must be paid for the violence.

Final Thoughts

The opening episode of Snowpiercer certainly reflects the world of the highly-acclaimed 2013 Bong Joon Ho film. The production design and ethos are fairly similar though the TV format does allow the show to spread its wings.

Though there aren’t many significant events in the pilot, enough happens to keep one interested in the story and characters.

Some of the dialogue did feel a bit clunky at times but the actors power through it regardless.

It will be interesting to see how the police procedural angle works for the show—many critics have expressed concern about it. If handled well, it could be a strong hook to power the narrative. We will have to see how it pans out in the coming episodes.

Snowpiercer is currently airing weekly episodes on TNT.