Snowpiercer 2×05 Review – “Keep Hope Alive”

‘Keep Hope Alive’ showed Layton and his group of confidants realizing how important Melanie continues to be for the train. Layton is forced to make a tough decision and, of course, Wilford decides to mess things up.

Apparently, things aren’t going well for Melanie. We haven’t seen her since she left the train to head to the research center back in episode 3. She didn’t send a signal to Snowpiercer that she was able to link to the last weather balloon device the train recently released. Ben’s clearly worried about her. The preview for next week’s episode shared the writers will solely focus on Melanie. So, I’m looking forward to learning what happened to her.

I liked how Layton and the rest decided to handle Melanie going radio silent. The train’s getting ready to turn back to pick her up. However, until the train reaches the research station, no one other than Layton and his group can know Melanie might be in trouble (possibly dead). The moment made Layton and his team realize how tough it was for Melanie to keep control of Snowpiercer while pretending Wilford was still onboard. She kept up the charade for seven years. She gave the passengers something to hold onto. Now, it’s time for Layton to do the same.

The delivery of the message fell on Ruth and I think she handled the responsibility well. Being the Head of Hospitality, she’s not a fan of lying to the passengers of Snowpiercer. But Ruth was smart enough to understand there’s no other option. Even a whisper of Melanie losing contact with the train was enough for Wilford to gain a lot of support.

I think Zara can be held responsible for urging two characters to make certain decisions this week. She encouraged Ruth to tell a white lie about how Melanie’s okay and is working hard to ensure a future for humanity. Zara also talked to Layton about handling Terence.

Seeing Layton telling Pike to kill Terence was unexpected. However, it made sense. The main narrative in Snowpiercer is how the absence of accountability leads to power corrupting those in charge. Melanie made Layton kill a group of people to ensure the safety of the rest of the train back during the first season. And in ‘Keep Hope Alive,’ Layton decided to take Terence out of the picture to keep the train from falling under Wilford’s control. The way Layton made Pike be the one to kill Terence was a very Wilford-esque move. Layton’s slowly becoming the type of person he detests. I wonder how far the writers will take him.

Also, I hope Layton talks to Pike after making him do such a thing. Murdering Terence clearly took a toll on Pike’s emotional state.

With Terence gone, I wonder who will take control of the Sanitation Department? Perhaps LJ and Oz can do it together? It’s not like they have anything else going on. I’m not sure if even the writers know what to do with them.

I liked Oz reconnecting with Bess, though. I want to see more of that.

As for Bess, I’m a bit confused about what to make of her interaction with Pastor Logan. Yes, Bess needs to stop feeling guilty about a lot of stuff. She needs to refocus and come up with a strategy to find Wilford’s spies scattered across the train. While I think Bess trusts Pastor Logan, I have my doubts. His speech about certain people thinking Layton might be a false leader made me think he might be waiting for Wilford’s return to Snowpiercer.

‘Keep Hope Alive’ also focused a lot on Wilford and Audrey’s weird relationship. Alex isn’t happy about Wilford growing close to Audrey. I’m kind of on the same boat as Alex. Wilford keeps talking about how he needs Audrey to win over Snowpiercer. And like Alex, I have no idea what he means by that. 

I like Audrey still working for Layton and trying to find a way to spy on Wilford. But, from what I can tell, Wilford might be too smart for her. She needs to be careful. Audrey wants to break him and I’m not sure if that’s something she can do. The scene where she tried and failed to reconfigure a communication box before Wilford came back with drinks was quite intense. He knows she’s up to something. I just hope she’s able to protect herself from his anger.

Coming to Josie, I was quite impressed by her in this week’s episode. Even though she’s going through a painful recovery process, she’s still finding the strength to send messages to Layton about what Wilford’s planning. 

I know Layton’s understanding of Josie’s message about Wilford planning to do something with the Breachmen was wrong, but Josie’s doing her best to keep him informed. Talking about the Breachmen, Wilford’s decision to kill them was unexpected. They were quite devoted to him. While I don’t know what his endgame is, the blood-filled scene did let us know that there are a lot of people still willing to act on Wilford’s orders. At this point, I have no idea who Wilford’s spies are. The episode made sure to keep their faces hidden as they went on a murder-spree. 

Another thing that took me by surprise was Josie forming a connection with Icy Bob. I wasn’t expecting Icy Bob to have humanity in him. I thought he was just a tool for Wilford to use. But no. Icy Bob can still care about others. I know I have mentioned how Bess should be the one to take him down, but after his scenes with Josie, I would also like to know more about why Icy Bob decided to allow the Headwoods to experiment on him.

There is a fan theory about how Wilford will send Icy Bob to kill Melanie at the research station. However, after connecting with Josie, maybe he will have a change of heart?

With everything that occurred in ‘Keep Hope Alive’ I can’t wait to see what will happen next. But, first, I’m ready for the show’s timeline to go back a few weeks to learn about how Melanie fared during her way to the research station and why she couldn’t make contact with the train during the current episode.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Snowpiercer season 2?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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