The Tortoise and the Hare

Season	Episode	Overall
3	1	21

Episode Information

Airdate

January 24, 2022

Written by

Graeme Manson & Aubrey Nealon

Directed by

Christoph Schrewe

Run Time

46 minutes

Episode Guide
← Previous	Next →
Into the White	The Last to Go

The Tortoise and the Hare is the first episode of the third season of Snowpiercer. It is the twenty-first episode of the series overall. The episode aired on TNT January 24, 2022 and then internationally on Netflix the next day.

Synopsis

TNT's: While Wilford emphasizes his rule aboard his icy train, Layton's Pirate train continues its dangerous quest for warm spots, and comes across something entirely unexpected.

Netflix's: Ben sets out from Snowpiercer on the latest mission to gather ice samples. On Big Alice, Kevin seeks to uncover who is behind the resistance movement.

Intro

“	Two trains, two chapters to tell. One runs hot and fast. The other lumbers slow. Cold-cast in Wilford's iron grip. An armored tortoise plotting after a hare. Everyone under a single thumb. Serving a single obsession. To retake the pirates and exact his revenge. (...) Inside, it's a backwards world. Only one class now, the working class, freezing, stitching, fixing, suffering. (...) But frostbitten fingers hold fast. Deep in the iced-over bowls where Wilford never treads... A spark still lives: the resistance, nurtured and protected by the bravest of the brave. (...) The heart of hope still beats aboard Wilford's rolling gulag, 1,023 cars long.	”
	— Andre Layton

Plot

SPOILERS AHEAD

Six months after the events of Into the White, the ten car long Pirate train has been traveling around the world, searching for the warm spots determined by Melanie Cavill's model, that Layton and Alex found that the research station, together with a letter from Melanie explaining how she choose to sacrifice herself for the sake of the prevation of the climate model.

The remaining 1023 carriages is now powered by Big Alice (and named such), and is run by a strict authoritarian rule under Wilford. He has obsessively trying to track down Layton and his train for the last months. Conditions on Big Alice are bad, the engine struggles to power so many cars, leaving Wilford to decommissioning first class to save energy. However, it is still minus degrees inside the train. All classes have disappeared, replaced with just one: the working class. The resistance still goes strong: fugitive Ruth has hidden away in a carriage and is directing all operations and taking care of passengers.

The Pirate Train is shown to be in North Korea, were the crew examines a potential warm spot and it's potential ability to support life. Ben has gone outside to try to retrieve data through ice samples. Miss Audrey is as uncooperative as ever and very loyal to Wilford, while Sykes helps aboard as best she can, claiming she just do her duties as a Prisoner of War. As Ben returns, he suddenly falls through a hole in the ground. The crew abroad the train loses contact with him, leaving them distressed. Layton chooses to go outside and follow Ben's trace to come and help him. Josie insists on following along, despite protests from Layton. When preparing to go outside, Josie expresses frustration many in the crew shares about their yet unsuccessful quest to found warm spots able to host human life. She wonders "what if Melanie was wrong?", but Layton dismisses her. Before walking outside through the cold lock, the two share a kiss, and then falls into an awkward silence, implying they have some unresolved feelings for each other. Abroad, Alex is forced to start the train moving through to need for the engine to release heat to avoid a meltdown. Alex describes the engine has being "a jet motor tied to a toy wagon" - with only ten cars the engine produces so much energy, their system risks overheating.

Back on Big Alice, the problem is the opposite. The cold makes essential train systems suffer. Zarah, now is doing work for Wilford, Ag-Sec suffers some production failure, pipe lines are frozen in big parts of second and third class, the chains and some drawer cars lost heat completely.

Cast

Main

Guest Starring

Co-Starring

Miranda Edwards as Lights
Emma Oliver as Winnie
Kurt Ostlund as Strong Boy
Kwasi Thomas as Z-Wreck
Fiona Vroom as Miss Gillies
Andrea Ware as Jackboot Tyson
Kristian Bruun as Jackboot Stu Whiggins
Jorge Vargas as Watermaster Arnoldo Reyas

Quotes

Pike: "Message for the tippity-top."

Ruth: "I didn't hear the password, Mr. Pike. I expect more from my second in command."

Pike: "They picked up sign of Snowpiercer. We turned south back on the mainline."

Ruth: "Oh, thank god for that. This is the first proof we've had that they are still alive in 32 days. They must... they must have their reasons for all this traipsing about. I mean, if Melanie's aboard... (Pike scoffs) We don't know."

Pike: "You ever think Ruth, all alone down here at night, that since Layton bailed on us in the first place, he might never come back?"

Ruth: "No, I don't. And neither do you, or you wouldn't be in the resistance. So, antibiotics for the seamstresses. They'll need them, all jammed up together in that sweatshop. It's these little things that'll keep us sane, Mr. Pike. The passengers can survive all of this if we can ease their journey. And keep them ready for Mr. Layton's return."

― Ruth leads the resistance in Layton's place.

Till: "Six months of going around the world with nothing to show for it."

Layton: "And we learned something from every stops. Think of them as data points."

Till: "Okay, Professor Layton. They were not frozen hellscapes, they were data points."

― Till starting to be hopeless.

Sykes: "Okay, today’s dwindling selection. We have the beouf bourguignon, the carbonara, the dreaded chicken mushroom bag and the last Thai vegetable."

Miss Audrey: "You seem to enjoy working for these pirates."

Sykes: "Just a P.O.W. doing my time, Audrey."

Miss Audrey: "Well, he’d be disgusted with your cooperation."

― Miss Audrey is disgusted of Sykes.

Miss Audrey: "The bit I don’t get, Bess. When we return to Wilford with your precious climate model, what happens next?"

Sykes: "Negotiations. Both trains wanna reconnect."

Martin: "Yeah. Hostahe negotitation first. You for Zarah."

Miss Audrey: "Okay, then what? Wilford’s 2700 to your seven? He’s not gonna take too kindly for a traitor and a stowaway."

Martin: "How am I a stowaway? I woke up from a nap in my carriage and the train was gone, along with my husband and my twin boys."

― Till, Martin, Miss Audrey and Sykes at lunch.

Wilford: "Ah, let’s hear it from her. I appreciate how you deliver bad news, Zarah. Always a clear-eyed view."

Zarah: "So then, your water pipes are still frozen in most of second and parts of Third, and Ag-Sec outpuit is down again, but only by 6% this week. And last night, 43 drawers and the Chains lost hear completely. 162 passengers remain evacuated."

Wilford: "Well, if we can’t keep them all warm at once. They’ll just have to be miserable in shifts."

Zarah: "Well, cut First Class."

Wilford: "Out of the question."

Zarah: "You did decommission it, Joseph. It’s empty and frozen. Cut the weight."

Wilford: "I’ll restore First to glory when I get my engine back, and Audrey with it."

Kevin: "Perhaps there’s another way to conserve energy. Like a cull."

Zarah: "No, Kevin, you ghoul. Please berate him, remind him there are rules."

Wilford: "Sorry to disappoint, Kevin. But minus an arm or two, we keep everyone as alive as possible. So Audrey stay as alive as possible"

― Zarah reporting to Wilford.

Miss Audrey: "Martin, it’s time."

Martin: "Yeah, okay. What about Till?"

Miss Audrey: "Well, we’ll just have to go to the Engine and find out."

Sykes: "What’s happening."

Miss Audrey: "We have to get back with the other train. Help us, and I won’t tell Wilford you’ve been cooperating."

Sykes: "Are you serious right now?"

Miss Audrey: "Dead serious."

Martin: "Look. We need to reconnect, okay? What are we doing out here?"

Miss Audrey: "Yeah, we’ve been running around aimlessly. We’re running out of rood. Last chance. Hm? Get back with Wilford, or dig a grave with Layton. (Silence) Then get in cage."

― Martin and Miss Audrey plans a rebellion.

Trivia

The title of the episode is a line in Andre Layton's opening dialogue, to metaphor Snowpiercer as the hare and Big Alice as the tortoise.
This episode picks up six months after "Into the White."
The song Miss Gillies sang and played guitar in the beginning is Morningtown Ride by The Seekers.
Snowpiercer has become a "rolling gulag" 1,023 cars long under Wilford's leadership.
- Ruth Wardell has become the leader of the resistance aboard Snowpiercer. Pike assists her while Wilford appears to be unaware that Ruth is still on the train.
- The train has to deal with low temperatures and freezing issues due to Big Alice powering both trains alone.
- Big Alice now acts as the front of the train while First is in the back.
- A whistle is heard blowing in the beginning.
- First Class has been decommissioned and left empty and frozen. Wilford claims that he will restore it when he gets the Engine and Audrey back.
- There are essentially no classes on the train anymore, despite Wilford's intentions to run Snowpiercer according to the original class system. Every passenger is a part of the working class, and can't be spared from work to due the train's bad condition. No one is allowed to enjoy any kind of privileged lifestyle, due to the lack of energy and resources.
- Wilford has been forced to stop the culling of the passengers that he had planned due to Miss Audrey being a hostage.
- Javier De La Torre is revealed to still be alive, but he is scarred and hooked up to IVs working as the Engineer on Big Alice.
- LJ Folger and Oz now run the Night Car (a deal by Wilford).
The pirate train has spent six months following Melanie Cavill's climate model without success in search of a habitable place.
- Miss Audrey remains a prisoner while Sykes has begun cooperating with the crew as a POW.
- It's revealed that Martin Colvin is a part of the crew, having accidentally stowed away on board due to falling asleep in his cabin before the hijacking occurred and then not being discovered until afterwards.
- While Alex and Bennett are the Engineers, Till has also been shown to nervously be able to drive the train, suggesting that the crew have all been given at least some basic training, presumably in case Alex and Bennett are unavailable.
Sulawesi was a location that was searched.
Layton has what appears to be a vision of a dragon blood tree in Socotra. Later revealed in Ouroboros, to be from a calendar in Asha’s home, when near death.
Layton finds a survivor in a nuclear plant in North Korea.
Mrs. Headwood is seen experimenting on Layton and Zara's unborn child with enhanced genetic cold treatment which is identified in Bound by One Track.
Sykes' loyalty to Wilford appears to be wavering as she refuses to help Audrey and Martin, instead allowing herself to be locked up.
During the episode, neither Big Alice or Snowpiercer are referred to by name with Layton simply calling it "Wilford's rolling gulag" in his opening monologue rather than calling it Snowpiercer as usual. In contrast, Ruth briefly refers to the pirate train as Snowpiercer while talking to Pike in the opening scene. This suggests that at least the resistance considers the pirate train to be Snowpiercer itself now rather the rest of the train that was left behind with Big Alice.
It's unknown if Martin was killed or not as he subsequently doesn't appear on the pirate train after being hit over the head by Till while Miss Audrey is seen imprisoned once again.