Snowpiercer Season 3 Episode 8 Review: Setting Itself Right
Diana Keng
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Intellectually, I see the purpose of Snowpiercer Season 3 Episode 8 in simultaneously redeeming Asha and driving home the message to Layton that his choices have consequences.
However, as a fan of both the show and Archie Panjabi, I feel let down.
Even dangling the potential return of Melanie doesn't make up for spending most of the season investing in the Last Survivor's survival only to have her backstory and demise squished into one hour.
At the heart of it, it just feels like a waste -- a waste of character potential, as well as known talent.
The idea of Asha is so galvanizing. Her existence sparks hope that there are others out there, that life is possible without the Eternal Engine, that humanity can come back from The Freeze.
The reality of Asha is a stark contrast to those who have survived on Snowpiercer.
Ruth: Layton told me about your time in the reactor, and I can't even imagine, but all of that, it's behind you now, Asha.
Asha: You think you're safe here, don't you, Ruth? But you're not. Andre, he didn't know the whole story. Y'know, after... after the marauders died off, we turned on each other. I was desperate to keep my nephew safe, so I poisoned all the others. And then cancer took my nephew away, and I was left all by myself. Once you choose survival at any cost, there's no coming back.
Ruth: Except there is. I've seen it. We all find our place here, working together, as one train.
We have always suspected that she harbors deep trauma from living at the nuclear reactor station. We knew a child was involved from how she accused Layton of impaired judgment on Snowpiercer Season 3 Episode 3.
If you are doing this for a child, you will do things that you will regret.
Asha
The citizens of Snowpiercer know what they've endured and had to do to survive. But, even in the darkest moments, they had each other.
It's still unclear to me what drove Asha to survive after her nephew died.
Was it penance for poisoning the others or for not being able to save him from the cancer?
I took it for granted that family would always be there. And then the reactor felt like karma. My life would end alone at the bottom of a dark hole.
Asha
She knew about Snowpiercer. Did she harbor hope that it would one day chance upon her?
Did she think to survive until the world warmed again and hope that she wasn't the only person in the world to climb out of a bunker?
In addition to robbing us of a character who would have made a meaningful contribution to the community as both a scientist and a trauma survivor, I wonder at the messaging of her sacrifice.
Do we read into it that her whole purpose of surviving is to spare Layton martyring himself?
Or is it that her penance has been served? She can finally let herself die because her death serves a higher purpose and redeems her sin of murder?
Layton: I made it all up.
Asha: Don't say that. I'm right out on that limb with you, finally feeling like I'm part of the train.
Archie Panjabi's career has showcased the actress's range and depth of talent. In the character of Asha, strength, determination, and intelligence battled physical trauma and mental anguish.
Panjabi is a master of showing over telling -- clinging to her breach suit helmet as a comfort token, seeking escape in the Night Car rave -- and viewers could track the micro-expressions of fear, confusion, and distrust that gradually transitioned to a semblance of trust.
Asha is one of the most multi-faceted characters ever introduced, and it's crushing that her story ends here.
I wonder if her death before Melanie's (alleged) return is purposeful.
As Zarah susses out, Wilford sees Melanie as a wild card, something to trip up Layton's plan of New Eden.
I just happen to think New Eden is a terrible idea, but if that's where we're headed, our odds of survival are better with Melanie.
Wilford
How would Melanie have reacted to Asha's presence? Both are women of science, survivors who have done terrible things to protect those they love. It would have been an interesting encounter, but now we'll never know.
The episode's theme is course correction and how it's often painful, like setting a dislocated joint or a broken bone.
Asha's voiceover touches on it.
Here among the plants, I am six again, running through the forest on my grandparents' farm in the Western Ghats. Peppercorn, cardamom, and ginger, boiled together by the humidity like a cup of chai. When anyone would get upset, my grandmother would say, 'When everything goes wrong, perhaps it's setting itself right.' For the longest time, I couldn't find truth in her words. How, out of so much loss, she could find hope. But now, I think I see it. Here, with them, pulling together for something more than just survival. On Snowpiercer, one-thousand and twenty-nine cars long.
Asha
Audrey taking Till through her worst self-loathing and insecurities underscores it.
Sykes taking Javi to confront Jupiter echoes it.
Javi: I'm supposed to help lead us off-train. How am I supposed to do that if I shit my pants at a dog barking?
Sykes: Well, there's only two or three dogs left. So, change your pants.
Even Roche and Carly's talk about Anne metaphorically rips off the bandaid to let in the air to heal the wound.
Speaking of ripping things off, was it really necessary to have LJ buy her way into Dr. Headwood's confidence with a chunk of skin? Didn't the Drs. Headwood have a whole synthetic skin thing set up? What's Oz going to say when he notices?
The whole thing gave me flashbacks of Alice's face-wearing days on The CW's Batwoman.
To be fair, LJ's determination to get in with Wilford's crew again stays true to the "setting things right" bit. She's never been a good fence-sitter, our LJ. She's clearly picking her side and setting up camp there.
LJ: Did you hear the announcement? We're going to pick up Melanie.
Oz: If it's true, that's great news.
LJ: Oz, she's my arch-enemy. Right? What do you think she's going to do when finds us running the Night Car?
Of course, Melanie may be surprised to learn that LJ sees her as her arch-enemy. That was probably my only laugh-out-loud moment this week.
Full disclosure: Oz's pickle dance and Roche and Carly's dancing montage to Roxy Music's "More Than This" came close, but that was more affectionate laughter versus WTAH incredulity to LJ's claim.
So what IS Wilford's game? How does bringing Melanie back to the train help his cause?
Does he want to take over again? Or is he just looking to sow chaos to bring Layton down?
That's more like it. He's a man of action all of a sudden. Either you've recovered your mojo, or you're over-compensating for having none left.
Wilford
As you watch Snowpiercer online, cast your mind forward to next week or even the week after when the finale airs.
If Melanie returns, she will have no context of the time of the pirate train or the campaign for New Eden. She will return to a changed train. There's been a baby born, influenza deaths, a Resistance led by Ruth.
She'll have to rebuild her relationships with Alex and with Ben.
And if Melanie isn't alive in that track maintenance vehicle, dollars to donuts, the showrunners will have a whole new revolution to contend with among the viewers.
They'll burn it ALL down.
What are your thoughts on Asha's last mission? Melanie's resurrection? Layton's feet of clay?
Will all the dreams of New Eden come crashing down? Can Layton's conspiracy of hope survive the light of truth?
Check your thoughts and theories in our comments below!
Diana Keng was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. Follow her on X.
