Given all the lovely-dovey aspects of this episode, it should have been released last week on Valentine’s Day!
This is a review and recap for “Snowpiercer” Season 3 Episode 5, “A New Life.” Spoilers below!
The Birth and the Betrayal
We all knew it was coming. One day Zara would give birth, and this was that episode!
Before we get into the episode proper, I will say I was impressed with Snowpeircer’s depiction of labor. We did get the trope of water-breaking (in truth, only 10% of deliveries start that way). Still, other than the complications with the “genetically modified cold baby” (as Layton calls her), everything else seemed pretty accurate. Bravo, Snowpiercer!
This story arc begins with Layton and Zara checking out the baby name tree. The (arguably cute!) idea is that everyone on the train hangs up a name suggestion, and the parents choose from there. This is a lot better than naming the kid after the closest city, though now we know Winnie’s full name is Winnipeg.
Afterward, Zara’s water breaks and she’s rushed to the hospital ward, where she’s presided over by both doctors. Layton irritates Zara with his overprotectiveness, but before she can snap at him, he’s called away to deal with a fire: someone has burned the baby name tree!
Till finally gets to do some stuff, though it’s mainly consoling Audrey, being antagonized by LG, and quoting Batman Begins.
It turns out the person in question is Pike. As Till and Layton are investigating, he rigs up a trap in one of the agriculture cars, setting off an explosion. Everyone survives, and Layton makes it back to the delivery room just in time to meet his (animatronic) baby.
Zara names her Liana, which, if you were curious, is a long-stemmed woody vine that grows up in search of sunlight. Apt name there, Zara!
Pike, meanwhile, is wrestling with guilt. He smashes the detonator, which is perhaps an indication that his sabotage of Layton is at an end?
His aptitude with bombs and wiring makes me wonder whether he was a demolitions expert in his past life?
Meanwhile, Alex hangs out at Wilford’s bedside, reading to him and denying Audrey access to visit. They wheel him back to his quarters when he wakes, though is that wise? Doesn’t he have knives in there? Perhaps they cleared all that stuff (and the weed) out beforehand.
The Mushy Stuff
As I said, this episode should have aired last week on Valentine’s Day because we get two budding romances!
The first is Josie and Ben. Both are lonely and heartbroken (the former due to Layton choosing Zara and the latter because Melanie is dead). Ben offers to instruct Josie on how to drive the train, which leads to a heart-to-heart. It’s an odd situation because Ben loves Mel, who iced Josie’s hand off, but that doesn’t stop them from hooking up! I guess Josie’s cold treatments haven’t caused her to lose sensation everywhere.
There’s also a new ship for me: Javi and Sykes. They are asked to work together by Layton because Javi’s PTSD has made him unreliable as an engineer. When he suffers another attack, Sykes reveals that she too was sicced upon by Jupiter (hence the facial scar). Ah, yes, the aphrodisiac of shared trauma.
The episode ends with Audrey singing a pretty awesome cover of “The Thin Line Between Love and Hate.”
The next episode airs on February 28 / March 1!
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