‘Snowpiercer’ Recap: ‘Snakes in the Garden’

7/22/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Daveed Diggs, Alison Wright, Roberto Urbina, Kwasi Thomas, and Miranda Edwards as Andre Layton, Ruth Wardell, Javier ‘Javi’ de la Torre, Z-Wreck, and Lights in Episode 401 of ‘Snowpiercer’ – ‘Snakes in the Garden’. (Photo Courtesy of David Bukach.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season Four Premiere of ‘Snowpiercer’.

There are a great many reasons that people are often eager to take part in new beginnings. Simply because, there comes a point in our lives now and again where our situation just stinks. Where the job we’re in is not fulfilling, where the people we are surrounded by no longer vibe with what we want out of life and where perhaps… we’re just not getting what we want and need, period. So… we go for that new beginning, and we truly hope that hitting the reset button in an aggressive and epic manner, will give us the chance to finally find happiness and joy, and the fulfillment we seek in our very souls.

But alas, it doesn’t take long for us to learn… that starting over and trying to garner that fresh start, doesn’t give us what we want immediately. For new beginnings involve rebuilding and that is no easy task for an individual, or a group of people that want a reset in life and that is why… the season four premiere of Snowpiercer on AMC is of note. Because ‘Snakes in the Garden’ did a wonderful job of exploring the challenges that would accompany a new beginning for a community of individuals, alongside some of the benefits of starting over to keep this exploration fair, and it accomplished such feats, by plunging us into the heart of the New Eden community, long after they left the Snowpiercer behind.

Wherein, the benefits of a fresh start were explored first. Because at last… everyone in New Eden was free from the horrors of life aboard Snowpiercer and were able to just… live. Which allowed for Layton and Josie to forge a relationship, and for them to sit upon a Council that was dedicated to good. To the rebuilding of civilization in a manner that wasn’t subject to awful and draconian ideals. Not to mention, there was food, and peace and a growing community with infrastructure to be found here. Giving rise to a vastly different dynamic for these good people, one that hammered home that yes, a fresh start can indeed offer some measure of peace and freedom from what we wanted so desperately to leave behind.

Mike O’Malley as Sam Roche in Episode 401 of ‘Snowpiercer’ – ‘Snakes in the Garden’. (Photo Courtesy of David Bukach.)

But of course, it made sure to showcase the work that goes into it, and how a reset doesn’t mean joy for all. After all, there was real work to be done in New Eden, and that required hard decisions, and this also served as the perfect time to showcase how freedom and a fresh start sometimes brings forth fracturing. After all, while Alex was part of that council, she was rarely present for meetings and was working on her own scientific agenda and that divide brought about a little ache. Not to mention, Oz showcased how downtime and new perspective can prompt someone to look upon the past and find sorrow there and worry. For he thought often upon yesterday, and that brought him to drown his sorrows in alcohol while he wallowed in sorrow, and isolation, and he harbored some other worries as well, the kind that made themselves present in the back half of the show.

Because perhaps the greatest lesson that accompanies a fresh start, is that sometimes… there will be forces that work against you as you try to find your peace. Sometimes it arrives in the form of the unresolved past one left behind, because that must be resolved before one can move forward, or there are those who don’t want to see us succeed. Who see us as a threat and act accordingly, and both of those issues came into play for the good people of New Eden. For mysterious forces were working against the community, to the point where fear reigned and where lives were lost. All because… something sinister boarded the Snowpiercer nine months prior, in the form of an elite military force run by a man named Milius and clearly, they have an agenda.

One that has awakened notions of revenge in Layton for this force’s desire to take Liana away, but while we wait to see what comes of that and learn more about what happened aboard Snowpiercer, and how this force used it to find New Eden, we can celebrate, one amazing premiere. For this episode did an amazing job of showcasing an important lesson, and how it would still be applicable in unique ways at the end of the world, as mankind attempts to reboot, what once was. All of which made for a fascinating and compelling story, that truly kept us on the edge of our seats, thanks to the mystery that is Milius, and well… just like that, we are back in the majesty of this world and this story, one last time. And if this final premiere is any indicator, the final season of this show is going to be a real treat and unlike society in this world, go out with a bang over a whimper. Until next time.

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