Snowpiercer Season 1 Episode 10 recap: 994 Cars Long

Snowpiercer Episode 10 brings the first season to a successful close.

In the finale of Snowpiercer Season 1, everything that the denizens of the forever train thought to be true is about to change—but will it be for the better or worse?

We recap the tense final episode of the season and look forward to what might happen next season.

Snowpiercer Episode 10: The Calm Before the Storm

Having mostly survived a revolution—minus a few train cars—Melanie Cavill, erstwhile leader of Snowpiercer, and Andre Layton, leader of the Tailies and the revolution, have determined a truce. Layton will run the train and set up a democratic process to elect a fair government, while Cavill will return to the engine.

Of course, the people of the Front are up in arms about this—because they paid money to get on the train, they believe that they should run everything. Even though the actual workings of the train only happen due to the labour of everyone from the Tail to Third.

Anyone wondering how useless the passengers of First really are, need look no further than LJ. With her parents now dead—and LJ unwittingly part of the reason for it—LJ finds her lavish apartment taken over by Tailies. LJ tries to send everyone away but the Folgers’ front room has more space in it than two Tail cars put together. Of course, nobody’s going to leave.

Instead, LJ gets ousted from her own home and has to hide out in Third, where she meets Brakeman Osweiller. He’s not the best person around, but at least he knows how to peel an egg—apparently that’s something LJ has never done before. And this was the class of people who wanted to run the train?

A Mysterious Signal

The Front may be having some difficulty letting go of their privilege, but the engine room has other problems. A mysterious signal has started playing over the radio waves and it could mean survivors out in the world.

This is not a call that Cavill can take—she has to run it by Layton. But first, she needs to make a pitstop at the Night Car to unburden her mind—Miss Audrey helps Cavill see through her long-hidden pain. Cavill had always put the train before her daughter, Alexandra. But she had really believed that when Snowpiercer left, they would be on it together.

That was not to be—Cavill had to leave with the train and she lost her daughter. She would do anything—give up anything—to hold her child again.

Having unburdened herself, Cavill is ready to face the signal. She shares the options with Layton—they have to slow down the train to see where the signal is coming from. But slowing the train down means that resources drop as well—the train uses its own speed to fuel itself.

But Layton doesn’t skip a beat—if there are survivors, they need to be found. The train is slowed and the signal is found—it’s another train! How could this be?

What is the Second Train?

This other train is Big Alice, a prototype for Snowpiercer. She’s long, hardy, and efficient. And she’s run by Wilford, who is apparently not as dead as Cavill made him out to be.

If Wilford takes over Snowpiercer, there is no telling what he will do to the passengers—especially Cavill, who all but left him for dead.

Layton, who only just got the train, needs to hold on to its integrity, and that means fighting back Big Alice’s occupants with whatever he can. There’s just one problem—the entire security team was left to perish, which leaves only the Tailies in charge of security.

And the Tailies will have to bring their A-game to the challenge—Big Alice not only latches on to Snowpiercer but she is soon cutting right through the Tail’s back door.

Alongside the rest of the Tailies, Layton is ready to fight—but Ruth has other ideas. She idolises Wilford so much that she is ready to shoot her way to the door to let him in. There’s no denying her so Layton decides to let her join.

Ruth is now Head of Hospitality, so she should stand by Layton when Wilford boards Snowpiercer. She might also help keep some of the peace.

Meanwhile, Cavill plans to go outside to disengage Big Alice from the train—she’s supposed to take Knox with her but when she realises that he willfully allowed Big Alice to find them, she leaves him behind.

In blistering cold and high winds, Cavill somewhat manages to hang on to get atop Big Alice—but then the trains come to a halt, and she finds herself toppling off. At least the trains don’t leave her behind, but how is she even going to get back on?

Inside the trains, the Tailies’ door opens to reveal someone who is decidedly not Wilford. The young woman from Big Alice only has one question—is Melanie Cavill alive? When she is given the affirmative response, she reveals herself to be Alexandra Cavill, Melanie’s very-alive daughter, now all grown up and apparently working for Wilford.

Final Thoughts on Snowpiercer Episode 10

The Season 1 finale of Snowpiercer is geared almost entirely for setting up the second season. In fact, viewers on TNT would have been privy to a teaser trailer for the next season, including a glimpse of Wilford, played by Sean Bean.

There were a number of moments in this season finale that were relevant to the state of the world as it is now. A study of class differences had been promised for the majority of the season, but it wasn’t always as well executed as the show thought it to be.

The show’s lack of diversity really brought down its message—one hopes that with an entirely new train and countless more passengers, that this issue will be rectified come Season 2.

Despite ups and downs, Snowpiercer was quite engrossing during this premiere season, but it still has work to do and will hopefully get much better in its next outing.

What did you think of the Snowpiercer season finale? Will Wilford take over the train next season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

Snowpiercer is currently airing weekly episodes on TNT and Netflix.