S03.E03: The First Blow

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

It's a game of cat and mouse as both Layton and Wilford vie for the upper hand.

Original air date 2022.02.07

[AnimeMania]

[rmontro]

Layton has control of the train again, with a hard trek ahead.  It just makes me wonder how much longer can they keep this up?  Flipping the leadership from Layton to Wilford and back again.  I just don't see where this is going, unless they leave the train, which would seem like the end of the series.  

Too bad we lost Strong Boy.  And Kevin, I guess?  Got to admire LJ's ruthlessness, if nothing else.  

I had a feeling they were going to use Asha as a bluff, saying she was from a warm spot.  But from this episode, she looks like she has major issues, so she probably can't be trusted.

[Mr. Sparkle]

On 2/8/2022 at 12:29 PM, rmontro said:

Layton has control of the train again, with a hard trek ahead.  It just makes me wonder how much longer can they keep this up?  Flipping the leadership from Layton to Wilford and back again.  I just don't see where this is going, unless they leave the train, which would seem like the end of the series.  

This show desperately needs an end game, or at least a cap on the # of seasons. Otherwise, it'll just go back and forth like you said, until the bigger cast members have all departed and they keep miraculously finding new survivors. 

That said, I like last night's episode because it at least ended the cat-and-mouse with the trains, which I thought would last most of the season. They're obviously setting Josie up to free Wilford. 

[ReganX]

Surely LJ can’t possibly think that getting on the right side of history is an option for her. 
 

I’ll be ticked off if the Horn of Africa turns out to be New Eden. It would make things far too easy if Layton is able to keep up the lie and it turns out to be true. Not impressed by the idea that we're expected to accept that there’s a part of the track that they haven’t been travelling on in any of their revolutions, that just so happens to pass through a warm area. I’m rooting for the Horn of Africa to turn out to be just as cold as everywhere else.

I can’t see Asha’s sanity holding up until they reach the Horn of Africa. 
 

The Josie-Layton-Zarah love triangle needs to be resolved. It’s ridiculous. 
 

And where is Miles? You’d think that Josie’s child would rate a mention, instead of the focus being on Zarah’s pregnancy. 

2 hours ago, Superclam said:

They're obviously setting Josie up to free Wilford. 

I hope not, though I wouldn’t put it past them to use that to resolve the asinine love triangle. 
 

I was disappointed in Wilford last season when he didn’t make more of an effort to cultivate Josie’s allegiance. In his shoes, assuming that I gave the ice resistance treatment to somebody who wasn’t already loyal to me, I’d be giving them every reason to side with me. A suitable bribe - a First Class cabin with Josie’s name on it and, more importantly, advancement to Third Class for the Tailies - would likely have been more effective than chucking her out on a dangerous mission for no reward other than not being left outside to freeze to death if she succeeded. 
 

If the plan is to have Josie side with Wilford, I hope that they can at least give her believable motivation, and not some tripe about a woman scorned. 

 

I agree with rmontro about flipping leadership back and forth between Layton and Wilford.

The show has apparently been renewed for a fourth season, and having them move from the train to a stationary civilisation would be too drastic a change in format. 
 

I would actually like to see a third option for train leadership instead of flipping between Layton and Wilford. 
 

I think that Wilford has earned too much bad feeling to get enough support to retake control of the train, and if the Horn of Africa is not so obliging as to make a truthteller of Layton, I can’t say him being able to retain control of the train once his deception is uncovered, or that he would want to keep control of the train over the objection of the majority of the passengers.

Josie, Ruth, Pike, Roche, or perhaps all four of them, could be a potentially interesting option in terms of train leadership

Edited February 8, 2022 by ReganX

[edhopper]

Was that Melanie in the preview, wearing a suit?

[rmontro]

3 hours ago, ReganX said:

Not impressed by the idea that we're expected to accept that there’s a part of the track that they haven’t been travelling on in any of their revolutions, that just so happens to pass through a warm area.

Well, they did say that stretch of track was likely damaged by battle, so at least they came up with a reason why they hadn't gone that way before.  I don't know why that particular stretch of track would be more contentiously fought over than others, but hey reasons.  I still can't figure out how any of the switching still works if it's as cold as they say.

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

I still can't figure out how any of the switching still works if it's as cold as they say.

I thought we agreed as a group to gloss over the "science" presented on this show. 🤪

5 hours ago, ReganX said:

I hope not, though I wouldn’t put it past them to use that to resolve the asinine love triangle. 

This show is as subtle as a sledgehammer. The fact that they had a big cut to Josie looking wistfully at Layton and Zara, and then the scene with Wilford & Josie (for some reason it HAD to be Josie locking up Wilford) leads me to think that'll be a plot point soon enough. 

[Cigale]

Didn’t I hear Till say something about Wilford’s head on a pike?

[Netfoot]

23 hours ago, ReganX said:

I’m rooting for the Horn of Africa to turn out to be just as cold as everywhere else.

There has to be some sort of development in the plot. they can't just keep going around and around, literally in circles, in a train 1001, 997, 1023 cars long!

 

[Quilt Fairy]

Asha's fake statement made no sense.  If she came from someplace warm with green grass, why would she have gone with Layton onto the train?  Plus, it sounds like this is an area no train has passed through for some time, how would they have met?  Thirdly, weren't all of the potential sites that Melanie found warmish rather than warm, like a few tenth's of a degree warmer?

[ReganX]

1 hour ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Thirdly, weren't all of the potential sites that Melanie found warmish rather than warm, like a few tenth's of a degree warmer?

That was my understanding.

The first probe registered a temperature of -86 Celsius as opposed to -115 to -120 Celsius, but that was at over 4,000 metres above sea level. 
 

A New Eden, where trees and crops can flourish, seems implausible, at best.

I’d have thought that best case scenario would be that the “warm” area would be like the coldest parts of Siberia, in winter. Survivable, with the right equipment and shelter, but far from ideal. It would then be a debate between whether to establish a stationary colony, where life would be tough but they would have a fresh start, versus continuing on Snowpiercer, and giving the planet more time to warm up.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

7 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Asha's fake statement made no sense.  If she came from someplace warm with green grass, why would she have gone with Layton onto the train?  Plus, it sounds like this is an area no train has passed through for some time, how would they have met?  Thirdly, weren't all of the potential sites that Melanie found warmish rather than warm, like a few tenth's of a degree warmer?

1. She would have come with him in order order to prove to the passengers that there was a New Eden.

2. Layton is saying they did pass through there.

3. Yes, but the hope had been that they would actually be warm, and this is the last one they haven't checked yet, so it still might be.

Wouldn't it be ironic if Asha was lying the first time and really did spend time in New Eden?

.

[riprock]

Asha’s lie just seems unnecessary. It is only needed for Layton to rig a vote, which vote he’s under no obligation to call… 

Plus Layton’s last attempt at democracy went totally sideways, so I don’t know who’s asking for a V2.

once Wilford was in the brig, the narrative tension completely left the episode. And there were still 10 minutes to go. 

[ReganX]

20 hours ago, riprock said:

Asha’s lie just seems unnecessary. It is only needed for Layton to rig a vote, which vote he’s under no obligation to call… 

Considering that Snowpiercer has to keep moving anyway, why not just head in the direction of the Horn of Africa? If it turns out to be warm enough to support human life, they can decide if they want to settle, stay on the train, or split up if there are enough people who want the train option to keep it running without those who want to settle. If it’s not warm enough to be survivable, they keep going. 

Edited February 11, 2022 by ReganX

[tennisgurl]

I'm glad that Layton and company have already made it to the train and deposed Wilford, even giving him a pretty good beating. I was worried that the cat and mouse game would go on too long, so I am relieved we are moving forward with the next thing. Of course, I wish Layton would just chuck him out of the train and get it over with before he takes over the train again, but no way is the show going to let him go just yet. 

I think I have come around to LJ at this point. She's horrible, but I can admire her instinct for survival, I kind of love watching how she manages to always end up getting out of every scrape she finds herself in. Long live the resistance!

I don't trust Asha, I think there is something up with her or she has some other motivations. Or maybe she just lost it being alone for so long and that will cause problems, especially if everyone's plan revolves around her being set up as their hero taking them to the promised land. 

Sucks to lose Strong Boy, and in such a nasty way. Kevin also learned that you should never be near LJ when she's around sharp objects, although he's been stabbed before and survived so he could still pop up. 

Some nice reunions, Layton and Ruth sharing a drink and Ben giving poor Javi a much needed hug.

Edited February 10, 2022 by tennisgurl

[Quilt Fairy]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Ben giving poor Javi a much needed hug.

Yeah, I have to wonder what they did to him.  I mean, he had some facial scars, but he's been absolutely petrified for 3 episodes, and it seemed over the top. 

[Dowel Jones]

On 2/9/2022 at 11:55 AM, Netfoot said:

in a train 1001, 997, 1023 cars long!

Isn't it 1119 cars now?  They dropped four after the harpooning. 

And when did all this extra track appear?  If they've been rolling on one circuit the entire time, wouldn't all the other tracks be buried in snow?  Not to mention somehow getting nose to nose in this episode. 

You would think that, if there are parts of the world that would survive the cold, maybe some scientists at the beginning would have had the forethought to prepare for long term life underground since the technology apparently exists on the train for long term food production.  But, I agree with Superclam about the "science".

Who was that in the last scene with the iron, jousting-like helmet?  What was the significance? 

[rtms77]

1 hour ago, Dowel Jones said:

Who was that in the last scene with the iron, jousting-like helmet?  What was the significance? 

Asha having a panic attack. She’s going off the deep end. I hope Layton or someone insists on counseling, because she’s going to break. I wouldn’t put it past her to be a Wilford fan and break him out. 
 

LJ needs to go, she’s honestly useless. 
Audrey being denied singing etc was sweet. She is so selfish. 
Laytons playing a dangerous game but as Ruth said , Snowpiercer was built and run on the ultimate lie , that they could live in peace and prosperity on a moving train until the weather cleared. 

 

[Quilt Fairy]

Can someone tell me Asha's story?  I know Layton found her underground, but I FFed through a lot of that ep. 

[blackwing]

I promised myself that I wasn't going to watch this season because of too many stupid/useless/hateful characters (LJ, Audrey, etc)... and so far I have stuck to my guns.

I'm popping in here to wonder... 1) did they ever disclose what happened to Jinju?  She and Till broke up at the end of Season 1 and she was never seen or mentioned again.  Is she dead?  Is she still on the train?   2) did the Last Australian survive?

[WhatAmIWatching]

9 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Can someone tell me Asha's story?  I know Layton found her underground, but I FFed through a lot of that ep. 

Asha was a nuclear scientist who apparently lived and worked at a reactor with a bunch of other scientists and their families. (I think they said it was in North Korea?) When the freeze hit, they survived off the heat the dying reactor gave. I'm not sure what happened to all the other scientists though.

 

 She knew of Snowpiercer and Mr W, and my conspiracy mind has decided that she and Wilford are possibly related or have a past relationship/friendship or something, because why not? 😆 

16 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I promised myself that I wasn't going to watch this season because of too many stupid/useless/hateful characters (LJ, Audrey, etc)... and so far I have stuck to my guns.

I'm popping in here to wonder... 1) did they ever disclose what happened to Jinju?  She and Till broke up at the end of Season 1 and she was never seen or mentioned again.  Is she dead?  Is she still on the train?   2) did the Last Australian survive?

I haven't heard any mention of Jinju nor the Australian yet, but I could've missed it since there's so much going on.

[ReganX]

39 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I'm popping in here to wonder... 1) did they ever disclose what happened to Jinju?  She and Till broke up at the end of Season 1 and she was never seen or mentioned again.  Is she dead?  Is she still on the train?   2) did the Last Australian survive?

Jinju is still alive, as far as I know, but hasn’t been seen since Season 1. The Last Australian is still alive, but wasn’t in the last few episodes of Season 2, or in Season 3 so far. The other last Australian hasn’t been seen since then either. 

[Tachi Rocinante]

• This would have been a decent Series Finale, actually.
• Roche won't be happy when he wakes up and finds out his wife is a mummy. (If that's who that was.)
• Who else was drawered?

[Noneofyourbusiness]

21 hours ago, ReganX said:

Considering that Snowpiercer has to keep moving anyway, why not just head in the direction of the Horn of Africa?

Ruth said that the track there is in very bad shape because a war broke out there not long before departure time. So of all the places they could go, the Horn of Africa is among the least appealing.

Edited February 11, 2022 by Noneofyourbusiness

[ReganX]

6 hours ago, Tachi Rocinante said:

 

• Who else was drawered?

One of the young girls from the Tail chosen for apprenticeship at the same time as Miles was placed in the Drawers. She may still be there.

[ReganX]

It struck me that Layton’s lie is one that can very easily be exposed. 
 

If Martin is still alive, he was able to look out the window of his quarters so, while he doesn’t know the details of the measurements, he is definitely going to know that they didn’t travel to the Horn of Africa and stumble on a warm New Eden. 
 

Sykes will also have seen that they didn’t travel through any green area.
 

The word of a First Class passenger and a Wilford loyalist may not count for much among Layton supporters, but a third of the train voted against going to the Horn of Africa, so they could be very interested in what Martin and Sykes have to say. 

[Hanahope]

Someone said the Last Australian died.

people will be pissed when they learn there are no trees and grass.  Warmer is not the same as warm.

still no miles.  They must not have renewed his contract.

Poor Roche.  Someone screwed up the drawer.