Set in the not-so-distant future, the first season of Snowpiercer followed the lives of those on board the ark-like Snowpiercer, a perpetually-moving train over 10 miles long, housing the last remnants of civilization after the Earth became a frozen wasteland. Life on the train mimicked a typical class system, where the wealthy in first class purchased their ride and lived in luxury with all of the creature comforts, while those in the middle worked for their passage, and those in the tail were crammed into a single car and given very little food, supplies or rights. In the first season, former Tailie, Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs), had been called to the front of the train to help investigate a murder, but ended up uncovering something much more sinister, and soon found himself in a leadership position.
For the past 7 years, Head of Hospitality, Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly), had been pretending to be in contact with the train’s creator, Mr. Wilford, relying orders and making proclamations on his behalf. However, it turned out that she had stolen the train and taken off without Mr. Wilford on board. A war broke out on Snowpiercer, with the those in the tail finally going through with the revolution they had been planning for years. Layton managed to settle things down and broker a fragile peace, getting the passengers to agree to a more democratic way of life aboard the train. However, just as Snowpiercer was about to embark on this new democratic experiment, the passengers were in for a big surprise. The 40-car supply train, Big Alice, suddenly appeared, attaching itself to the tail of Snowpiercer, bringing the train to a screeching and dangerous halt. Joseph Wilford (Sean Bean) had arrived, and he wanted his train back! While Melanie risked the cold outside to prevent an invasion, the doors between the two trains opened to reveal Melanie’s long-lost daughter, Alexandra (Rowan Blanchard, Girl Meets World), with a list of demands on behalf of Mr. Wilford.
The second season picks up immediately where the first season ended. Melanie is still outside in the dangerous cold, unaware that her daughter is alive. Meanwhile, Mr. Wilford has threatened to leave Snowpiercer dead in the frozen water unless his demands are met. Those onboard Snowpiercer have just 12 minutes to fulfill his shopping list or else the train will quickly reach deadly temperatures, killing everyone onboard. While neither side wants to give in, it quickly becomes evident that Big Alice and Snowpiercer have now become one massive 1034-car train and both sides are going to need to work together if they are going to stay alive. But the situation quickly becomes a power struggle between Mr. Wilford and Layton.
Big Alice is a supply train filled with many important replacement parts needed to keep Snowpiercer running. While Snowpiercer has all of the fresh food that the crew on Big Alice desperately need. However, that doesn’t mean that either Layton or Mr. Wilford have any plans to cede control to the other. Mr. Wilford is a masterful manipulator and sadistic man who will stop at nothing to regain control of his engine. No matter what plans Layton and those onboard Snowpiercer come up with, Wilford always seems to be two steps ahead with his own evil machinations. Both sides need to be protective and keep their cards close to their chest. Any weaknesses that are revealed will surely be taken advantage of.
Assisting Wilford in his engine room is 15-year-old Alexandra, who seemingly has a strong loyalty to Mr. Wilford and a strong hatred for the mother who left her to die. Wilford has every intention of using Alex’s animosity towards Melanie to his advantage. Wilford also has his own Head of Hospitality, Kevin (Tom Lipinski), security chief Sykes (Chelsea Harris), and a pair of oddball but extremely-skilled mad scientists, the Headwoods (Sakina Jaffrey & Damian Young), and their monstrous creation/secret weapon, Icy Bob (Andre Tricoteux).
On the other side fo the train, Layton has to worry about the fragile state of peace onboard Snowpiercer, as well as those who may remain loyal to the iconic image of their savior Mr. Wilford—what they will do if there comes a time to choose sides?! Current Head of Hospitality, Ruth (Alison Wright), senses that Layton doesn’t trust her for this reason, and wants to keep her out of the loop during dealings with Big Alice. However, she insists her loyalty is to Snowpiercer, and not to Mr. Wilford. Meanwhile, there’s still other crimes happening onboard the train, and former Breakman Bess Till (Mickey Sumner) becomes the Snowpiercer’s new detective to investigate. The newly-conjoined trains also gives the Tailies a new role. They were once the rejects at the back of the train, but now hold the important position securing the border between the two trains, and facilitating any trade between them, which quickly leads to other issues and an internal power struggle.
The second season of Snowpiercer, while different in many ways from the first, is still just as compelling and exciting as the first season. There are lots of surprising twists and turns as the season plays out, with power struggles and fights breaking out both within and across the trains. The season introduces some great new characters, and gives some interesting story arcs to the characters we’ve already met last season. We also get to see what led to Melanie first taking control of Snowpiercer and deciding to leave Mr. Wilford and her own daughter out in the cold (literally). The addition of Sean Bean to the cast is excellent—he brings this amazing and creepy new dynamic to the show by adding a supervillain into the mix. Mr. Wilford is this despicable and conniving person who you just love to hate, and hope that people won’t fall for his lies and fake charm.
Warner Bros’ Blu-ray release looks and sounds amazing. The picture is pretty immaculate, with rich colors and nice detail, even in the fast-paced action sequences and darker scenes. The picture is especially great in the brighter, colorful first class side of the train. The only negative is that some of the exterior shots look very CGI, and not that realistic. The audio track is excellent, making extensive use of the surround and stereo channels to provide a fully-immersive and exciting viewing experience. There is also the constant ambiance of the roaring of the trains. Dialogue comes primarily from the center channel, but remains easy to understand throughout. The second season’s ten episodes are evenly split across two discs, which are placed on either side of a standard HD keepcase, which is packed inside a cardboard slipcase. Included is an insert detailing the episodes, and a code to redeem a digital copy of the season via Vudu. The second disc contains about 20 minutes of behind-the-scenes promotional featurettes with the cast.
What’s Included:
- All 10 episodes of the second season:
Disc 1: “The Time of Two Engines”, “Smolder to Life”, “A Great Odyssey”, “A Single Trade”, “Keep Hope Alive”
Disc 2: “Many Miles from Snowpiercer”, “Our Answer for Everything”, “The Eternal Engineer”, “The Show Must Go On”, “Into the White” - 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH
- HD digital copy redeemable via Vudu. Only includes the episodes.
- The Great Engineer: Bringing the Mysterious Mr. Wilford Aboard (7:36)
The cast talk about this larger than life, god-like, morally dyslexic character that now threatens the fragile peace, and what’s it is like working with Sean Bean. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with stars Steven Ogg (“Pike”), Daveed Diggs (“Andre Layton”), Lena Hall (“Miss Audrey”), Iddo Goldberg (“Bennett Knox”), Sean Bean (“Mr. Wilford”) & Jennifer Connelly (“Melanie Cavill”). - Season 2 Overview (3:37)
In this TNT promotional featurette, the cast discuss the premise and some of the new characters and relationships of the second season. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with stars Daveed Diggs, Mickey Sumner (“Brakeman Bess Till”), Sean Bean, Jennifer Connelly, Rowan Blanchard (“Alex”), Iddo Goldberg, Steven Ogg & Alison Wright (“Ruth”).
- Behind The Character: Mr. Wilford (3:04)
In this TNT promotional featurette, the cast discuss the character of Mr. Wilford and working with Sean Bean. This contains some repeat footage from the first featurette. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with stars Sean Bean, Jennifer Connelly, Daveed Diggs, Steven Ogg & Lena Hall.
- Season 2 Roundtable (3:59)
From the set of season 2, showrunner Graeme Manson and stars Daveed Diggs, Alison Wright, Mickey Sumner, Steven Ogg & Lena Hall sit down together to discuss where we left off at the end of season 1, the decision to bring Mr. Wilford and Melanie’s daughter back into the mix, the political struggle for power, and more. This TNT promotional featurette also includes some behind-the-scenes footage, and production photos.
- Daveed Diggs Season 1 Recap (3:40)
Star Daveed Diggs narrates this recap of the first season featuring clips from the series.
Episodes: (7:40:19)
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Blu-ray:
Digital: (Redemption deadline 12/31/2022)
Extras:
Collection of promotional featurettes originally created for TNT. Bonus material can be found on the second disc.
Final Thoughts:
In its second season, Snowpiercer reinvents itself, creating a new and exciting dynamic aboard the train. Sean Bean is a deliciously evil and manipulative new addition to the cast. Jennifer Connelly is a bit underutilized this season, but she does get an excellent Melanie-centric episode in sixth episode of the season. Warner Bros’ Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, but the bonus material is a bit disappointing—primarily just some repetitive promotional featurettes created for the show’s original airing on TNT. That said, I am really enjoying this series and can’t wait for the new season this January!
