The shocking Snowpiercer season 3 ending explained how an irreversible change to the series’ status quo occurred. This change happened when the 1,029-car train ended up split between the passengers who wanted to remain aboard with Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly) and those who left Snowpiercer to follow Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs) to New Eden.
Melanie Cavill betrayed Layton soon after she miraculously returned from the dead. But Melanie and Andre wisely decided not to repeat the mistakes of the past, and they let each passenger choose which future they wanted without another bloody and costly war. Snowpiercer season 3 ended with the train permanently split as the passengers decided whether to ride the rails with Melanie or take a chance on New Eden with Layton. Yet, Snowpiercer season 3’s incredible ending also hinged on a cliffhanger which opens up new questions and a potential new threat in Snowpiercer season 4.
How Snowpiercer Season 3 Got To The Ending
Melanie & Layton Had To Work Together Against Wilford
Season 2 ended with Layton realizing there were a lot of people on the train who were very loyal to WIlford. He didn’t realize this until WIlford used Big Alice to start a rebellion. This mutiny pretty much led to Layton’s crew being marked for death. To make things worse, Mel ended up left at a research station, where it looked like she died. In the third season, Mel returned alive, and she had reason to believe she had found a new, safe location called New Eden. This caused more problems.
Snowpiercer braced for another war when Melanie seized the engine and announced the train would not go to New Eden. Meanwhile, Layton had to face the Tail and explain his New Eden lie, although he won his people back by reminding them what life was like aboard Snowpiercer under Melanie’s rule. However, the wildcard was Mr. Wilford (Sean Bean), who commanded a group of loyalists including the Jackboots and LJ Folger (Annalise Basso). While Layton would never work with Wilford, Melanie realized she lacked the numbers and influence to hold the train against the Tail Army without Wilford’s support.
Cavill also knows Wilford well enough to understand she can’t trust him.
Yet Cavill also knows Wilford well enough to understand she can’t trust him. To their credit, Melanie and Layton had both grown since Snowpiercer season 1, and they shared a mutual respect. This made all the difference because Snowpiercer’s two leaders were able to table their animosity and work together towards a way forward — one that doesn’t include Mr. Wilford as part of Snowpiercer.
Together, Andre and Melanie trick Wilford and banished him from Snowpiercer. Not even the billionaire messiah’s new cold warrior, Icy Boki (Aleks Paunovic), who somehow survived Snowpiercer‘s season 3 finale, remade by Dr. Headwood (Sakina Jaffrey) with cold immunity, could save Wilford.
Why Melanie Stayed With Snowpiercer Instead Of Going To New Eden
Snowpiercer Is Already Melanie’s New Eden
Even though Melanie’s data led Layton to New Eden, Engineer Cavill couldn’t support disembarking because there wasn’t enough information to prove New Eden could sustain life. Further, Melanie and Wilford knew the tracks to the Horn of Africa were degraded and could derail Snowpiercer before it reached New Eden. Melanie, who had learned from her Snowpiercer season 1 mistakes after posing as Wilford for seven years, also couldn’t abide Layton lying to the train about his having been to New Eden. But after she exposed Andre’s lie, he still refused the idea of turning back from New Eden.
Snowpiercer was the vessel and haven Melanie designed and built.
However, for so many of the passengers, life aboard Snowpiercer was no longer sustainable, and the chance to disembark was enough, regardless of the potential dangers. Melanie and Layton understood that they no longer had the right to dictate their beliefs to the rest of the passengers, even if they thought they were right. Still, as much as Layton and his people wanted off the train, Snowpiercer was the vessel and haven Melanie designed and built.
Engineer Cavill felt the safest option was to remain aboard her train and continue to look for a better option to disembark than New Eden before Snowpiercer and the tracks inevitably deteriorated. Ultimately, Snowpiercer is Melanie’s New Eden and always has been.
Can Wilford Return In Snowpiercer Season 4?
Wilford Returns In Season 4 With A New Ally
Melanie and Layton smartly realized their plan to divide Snowpiercer could never work if Mr. Wilford remained aboard. Wilford brings a cult of personality with him. He would invariably disrupt any plans by Cavill and Layton. When they struck their deal, Melanie saw through Wilford’s disingenuous pledge that he wouldn’t interfere with her rule. Further, Wilford’s demands that he maintain his “creature comforts” would mean the selfish billionaire would be a drain on Snowpiercer’s dwindling resources. The only option to ensure Snowpiercer’s survival and to guarantee Layton and Melanie’s plan to divide Snowpiercer would work was to banish Wilford.
Mr. Wilford did return, and it caused several problems when he showed back up.
Sending Wilford away in the same service train and with the same Drawer suspension drugs Melanie used to survive gives the billionaire six months to live. Will Mr. Wilford and Sean Bean return for Snowpiercer season 4? In fact, Mr. Wilford did return, and it caused several problems when he showed back up. While a new villain in Clark Gregg’s Admiral Milius wants to use Snowpiercer to re-heat the planet, Wilford returns in the fifth episode of season 4 and shows that he has been working with and controlling Milius all along.
Which Passengers Went With Layton And Stayed With Melanie
The Tail Passengers Left With Layton
Melanie and Layton decided to divide Snowpiercer even at Ag-Sec, which is the center of the train, giving both sides the same food, resources, and chance to survive. Engineer Cavill would keep the Eternal Engine and the front half of the train, while Layton and his people would get Big Alice as their engine. The division of Snowpiercer’s passengers could mean that many of these characters won’t interact in Snowpiercer season 4 or may never see each other again. Yet everyone who followed Layton to New Eden had the deep desire to disembark and start a new life.
It’s apparent that the Tail and many characters from the other classes followed their leader.
Layton’s leap of faith was right, and the Horn of Africa is sustainable. The environment has an outside temperature of -5 degrees Fahrenheit – cold but still survivable – and it’s still getting warmer. While a proper count of who went to New Eden with Layton wasn’t revealed, it’s apparent that the Tail and many characters from the other classes followed their leader. The settlers of New Eden include Layton, Josie Wellstead, Zarah Ferami, and Layton’s infant daughter Liana, Ruth Wardell, Javier De La Torre, Roche and his daughter Carly, John Osweiller, Dr. Headwood, Icy Boki, and Alex Cavill.
Most of the higher classes remained on Snowpiercer with Melanie, including her lover Bennett Knox, Miss Audrey, Bess Till, now lead Brakeman, Miles, Dr. Pelton, Gilles, and Tristan, now Head of Hospitality. With Alex going to New Eden and Miles remaining on Snowpiercer to train as an Engineer, Melanie and Layton agreed to care for each other’s children.
Bess couldn’t go to New Eden and leave her newfound love, Miss Audrey behind.
Meanwhile, in a tear-jerking moment, Bess couldn’t go to New Eden and leave her newfound love, Miss Audrey behind. Bess chose to “let go” of Layton to be with the love she finally found and deserved all along. This also completes Miss Audrey’s redemption after turning on the train to resume being Wilford’s paramour. With Bess, Audrey can be the best version of herself – Snowpiercer’s spiritual healer – and vice versa.
LJ’s Death Means Snowpiercer Has No More Villains
All The Villains From The First Three Seasons Are Gone
Surprisingly, the only death in Snowpiercer season 3’s finale was LJ Folger, who perished by accidentally choking on her late father Robert’s (Vincent Gale) artificial eyeball. Lilah Jr. was steadfastly Mr. Wilford’s girl and surrogate daughter after Alex. She cast her lot with the billionaire, believing he would return to power. After Wilford was banished, LJ remained on Snowpiercer, hoping to seize power from Melanie, her “arch-enemy,” and parted ways with her husband John, who left for New Eden. LJ swallowing her father’s eyeball and choking on it is poetic justice since she poked his eye out.
With Lilah Jr.’s demise, Snowpiercer is now officially without the villains of its first three seasons. By the end of Snowpiercer season 3, Wilford is banished, Kevin (Tom Lipinski) is dead (by LJ’s hand), and Pike (Steven Ogg) was killed by Layton. Both halves of Snowpiercer are now free of its worst criminals and troublemakers. LJ’s death is also ironic since it was her murder spree that motivated Melanie to raise Layton from the Tail and make him Train Detective, which sparked all of the events in Snowpiercer seasons 1-3.
Snowpiercer Season 4 Story: What The Missile Means
The Missile Leads To A New Villain
Snowpiercer’s season 3 finale ends with a time jump to “Three Months Later,” where Melanie sees a missile launch from the engine’s cockpit. The missile was fired from an unknown point on the horizon. Did it launch from Big Alice in New Eden? Possibly, but still unlikely since Snowpiercer would have been far away from the Horn of Africa, not pointed towards it. A greater possibility is that someone launched the missile from an unknown location that could contain more survivors. The introduction of Asha (Archie Panjabi) at the start of Snowpiercer season 3 opened the door to more survivors.
Snowpiercer season 4 added new cast members, including Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Clark Gregg as the new villain. Wilford also made his way to this location and he’s behind the missile. The sky-bound projectile also resembles how the ill-fated tech was launched to combat climate change that inadvertently caused the Earth to freeze. Was this an attempt to warm the Earth from the atmosphere? Snowpiercer has never remained static. and its story constantly chugs forward. But the series has now reinvented itself. with season 4 embarking on a brand-new direction for Melanie, Layton, and the passengers.
Reaction To The Snowpiercer Season 3 Ending
Critics & Audience Were Mixed On The Twists
Snowpiercer has always been a little polarizing to both critics and the audience. Overall, the series has a 75% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, and the audience Popcornmeter is a little lower, at 69%. With season 3, the audience score was even lower, sitting at 57%. However, many audience reviews held out hope that the ending of the season sets up something big and exciting for the fourth and final season.
” I am intrigued to see what the 4th and final season is like now. I didn’t feel like that ending really wrapped up the TV show, and I want to see what happens on New Eden, as you can bet that something goes wrong – as well as with the train that is still going on.”
As for critics, many said the season 3 finale set up some interesting directions the show could take, but it wasn’t anything exciting moving forward. With that said, David Opie of Digital Spy was excited about the prospect, writing that Snowpiercer ended “with yet another game-changer of a finale, one that propels this show forward in new and exciting ways.”
How The Season 3 Ending Sets Up Snowpiercer Season 4
New Villains, New Dangers, & A New War On The Train
Season 3 did something interesting with its finale. It cleared the table of all the bad guys and made it look like the heroes would have a new lease on their lives in the post-apocalyptic landscape. Of course, that isn’t what was going to happen. By splitting up Layton and Mel, the season 3 finale was able to reveal how both sides moved on, but not as well as they had hoped. Layton was going to what he thought was a new start, but anyone who watches post-apocalyptic shows knows that isn’t how it works.
Mel thought she was moving on in the safety of her train, but the missile shooting at the end showed her there was still danger out there. Since they sent out Wilford but didn’t kill him, he was sure to return, and that is what happened. The fact the new villain, a military man who wants to re-heat the planet, showed up was just the start. With everything Layton and Mel did to Wilford in season 3, including the finale, it was no surprise to learn he was pulling the strings and Snowpiercer got even more dangerous.
Snowpiercer can be streamed on AMC+.