Snowpiercer season 1 episode 5 recap: Justice Never Boarded

Snowpiercer Episode 5 reveals how the train really works.

In Snowpiercer episode 5, the young murderer, LJ, goes on trial for the deaths she caused. Meanwhile, Layton finds himself helpless in the drawer, with the Tailies desperately looking for him.

Snowpiercer Episode 5: Decoding Layton’s Dreams

Content warning: cannibalism

Andre Layton may be in the drawer, but that doesn’t mean his mind isn’t still working overtime. Despite the chemicals that are keeping him sedated—or perhaps as a result of them—Layton recalls a time in the Tail when those most disenfranchised came together.

It had to do with what the Tailies were doing to survive life on the Snowpiercer—with no access to food, they were forced to survive on cannibalism. A group known as the Kill Cult spearheaded this movement, though it turned out to be an unpopular one.

Layton has mentioned this to the people in the Front before—but they didn’t quite believe him. If they saw what was racing through his mind, that would put paid to their disbelief.

Whether the Tail was forced to survive on cannibalism by the Kill Cult or their circumstances doesn’t really matter. At the end, the Tailies stood for the practice no longer—they made a pact never to harm each other this way. A pact made enforced by the Tailies ingesting the heart of the Kill Cult’s leader. That’s one way to bind people to each other.

Bold Rescue Attempt

While Layton relives these moments, the Tailies are planning his rescue. Astrid, the Tailies’ contact uptrain, organizes for Josie to snoop around and find Layton. She only has the designated 30 minutes and a lot to cram into it but there is little choice if they are to rescue Layton.

According to Astrid, Terence—who had shown a proclivity for strong connections and resources in Third—can help Josie get into the drawers to see if Layton is there. Terrence and his right-hand person do as asked, but the task is harder than it looks.

There are 400 drawers and Layton could be in any one of them. Josie can’t find a manifest that will point her in the right direction, either.

Worse, it turns out that Terrence wasn’t interested in looking for Layton at all. He wanted to steal supplies for his business. He leaves Josie and goes on his merry way.

Josie frantically searches every drawer in her vicinity—and makes a terrifying discovery. The children who had been taken from the Tail—supposedly for a better life in the Front—are being housed in the drawers.

But there’s no time to process this—Josie finds Layton and tries to unplug him, only for him to react badly. Then Bess Till and her fellow Brakeman, John Osweiller (Sam Otto), arrive and Josie has to hide in the freezing drawer.

That doesn’t work but Josie has an unlikely ally—Till knocks Osweiller out so Josie and Layton can escape.

It’s an about-turn for Till, who has been very loyal to the Front, thus far. But working on this investigation with Layton has shown Till just how corrupt and unequal Snowpiercer really is.

Despite the possibility of losing her spot in Second—which she has just earned thanks to her partner Jinju—Till decides to do the right thing and help Layton and Josie escape. Unfortunately, Osweiller gets away and is probably going to make hell for Till.

Josie has to get back to the Tail, and she leaves Layton with his ex-wife, Zarah. The two have been estranged for a very long time but now, she’s going to have to step up to protect her people.

Trials and Tribulations

The trial of LJ Folger, the daughter of the richest of the Snowpiercer investors, is set to become a farce. With only people from First serving on the tribunal, LJ will barely be reprimanded. Third will not stand for it.

Audrey (Lena Hall), the woman behind the Night Car, and Nikki Genêt’s close friend petitions Melanie Cavill to have equal representation from First, Second, and Third.

Despite LJ’s little girl act, Cavill knows of her guilt—she saw her attempt to stab Layton to death, after all. And LJ’s mother only seals LJ’s fate—turns out LJ’s father has had a false eye for years because LJ poked out his eye with a fork during a tantrum. Rich, spoilt, and never taken to task, LJ is exactly the kind of person the future doesn’t need.

Cavill stands by the Night Car’s and orders that representatives be chosen equally. The Folgers are furious—and with the help of some friends, turn to Commander Grey (Timothy V. Murphy), the head of security, to take Cavill’s place.

That’s unlikely to happen, for now. Cavill has spies everywhere and makes important moves to ensure that order is returned to the train.

During the trial, the testimonies of everyone remotely involved with the case put LJ on full blast. Despite her own testimony implicating her partner Eric in all the crimes, it is clear that she is putting on an act. However, she does let the audience know that Sean Wise told her about being a spy for Mr Wilford and that the drawers have a nefarious purpose.

Nevertheless, the tribunal finds LJ guilty and sentences her to the drawers.

Justice is served but Cavill is aware that LJ and her family will let out all Snowpiercer’s secrets—that the drawers are an experiment for now and will be used to house 400 people in the near future.

This knowledge could lead to pandemonium in the Front—full of powerful people with money and resources aboard the train—and Cavill needs to keep the peace. With no choice ahead of her, ‘Mr Wilford’ commutes LJ’s sentence, allowing her to return to her parents.

Even on Snowpiercer, if you’re rich and have connections, you can literally get away with murder.

Final Thoughts on Snowpiercer Episode 5

After four lukewarm episodes, Snowpiercer seems to have finally hit its stride. No more time is spent on world-building—instead, this episode was plot-driven and comprehensive.

I am still frustrated by the lack of people of color, though. Aside from Diggs’ Layton, there are maybe one or two POC of note. One hoped that the tribunal would include more diversity, but even there we saw none.

Halfway through this first season, and the show is getting very interesting, but it’s not reflecting the politics that it is meant to examine. Hopefully, that will change in the remaining episodes.

What did you think of Snowpiercer Episode 5? Did LJ deserve such a light punishment? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

Snowpiercer is currently airing weekly episodes on TNT and Netflix.