Prepare To Brace- TNT’s Post-Apocalyptic Series Snowpiercer Is An Enthralling Ride That Deserves Your Time

“Snowpiercer is set in 2021, seven years after the world becomes a frozen wasteland and follows the remnants of humanity who inhabit a gigantic, perpetually moving train that circles the globe. The show questions class warfare, social injustice, and the politics of survival” Snowpiercer Wiki. Photo courtesy of syfywire.com

Adapted from both the 1982 French graphic novel Le Transperceneige and the 2013 Snowpiercer South Korean-Czech movie directed by Bong Joon-ho, TNT’s series premiere tonight against a sea of mixed reviews, most of which complain that the series doesn’t live up to Jon-ho’s movie, and it doesn’t simply because it’s not supposed to. This is something new that pulls from the past to establish its foundation to move the series forward and did a damn good job of it in the process.

When worlds collide. Photo courtesy of Geeky Gadgets.

From engine to tail, the series carves out the story of the last of humanity struggling to survive the apocalypse while still prioritizing class and wealth over equality. In 2021 the Earth began to descend into an inhospitable frozen wasteland leaving humanity without hope, that is until the savior of mankind Mr. Wilford came along with his glorious plans for the Snowpiercer, the self-sufficient train eternal that could save and house the best (richest) of humanity until the conditions on Earth improved enough to support life again, the only catch being you had to buy a ticket. When the time came for Snowpiercer to leave the station, hundreds of people without tickets boarded the train by force, suffering many causalities but with many lives saved. Those who survived boarding were used as labor on the train for the upper class as penance for not having a ticket, with hundreds of them, men, women, and children sent to live in the last cars, or the tail of the train, in horrific and deplorable conditions. Those who could provide entertainment and manual labor were allowed to live in the cars set aside for 3rd class, or in poverty but not actual slums yet still struggled to gain access to the basic necessities of life. The Second class cars were nicer, cleaner, and had better access to both life needs and wants, while the First Class cars were the epitome of beauty, style, and excess. Pretty easy to see why things started getting a bit difficult as the rotations went on.

The inventible end game of us vs them. Photo courtesy of Bloody Disgusting

While this is a simple overview of the dynamics that play out in the series, and it’s obvious what this will lead to, the new series does a great job of isolating how the dominant fixtures of each class see the situation of class rule and how they react to it. With espionage, rebellion, sabotage, coverups, extinction events, and murder threatening the security of the entire train the carefully laid plans of Mr Wilford fall to pieces and it is up to those who are willing to risk it all again for the survival of all the passengers to fight and fight they do.

As a whole, the storyline is great although there are a few plotholes so big you could physically fall through them but those are rare. It flows well and does an excellent job of showcasing the human experience in a very linear setting. Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly are fantastic in their roles as underdog “tailey” Andre Layton and Mr. Wilford’s mouthpiece Melanie Cavill, supported by an equally incredible cast. It’s shot very well with viewers given an enticing ending that could lead seamlessly into the next season if executed properly.

Is it perfect? No. Are the minimal plotholes/odd scene jumps easy to overlook? Yes. For the Snowpiercer movie enthusiasts, Bong Joon-ho was an executive producer on the series so give it a chance.

The official trailer can be seen here

The official IMDb can be found here