John Osweiller

John Christopher "Oz" Osweiller is a main character on TNT's Snowpiercer. He is portrayed by Sam Otto.

He is a young Brakemen and police-type figure of the train. After abandoning his post during Layton's revolution, he reluctantly accepts janitorial work from Terence soon after the return of Joseph Wilford. After Terrence's death, Oz takes over the department.

History

Background

Oz grew up with a mother who was a mean drunk and even worse sober.^[1] He used to be a soccer player, as a midfielder before the freeze.

Throughout The Series

In First, the Weather Changed, Oz was seen taking the Protein Bars to the Tailies with Bess Till. He then later escort Layton out to 3rd Class Mess Hall.

Selling Kronole

After Suzanne's arm is frozen off in retaliation for the revolt in the Tail, her son goes to Oz looking for medicine. Oz promises him painkillers in return for oral sex, but in the end only exchanges Kronole, citing that it numbs the pain of "everything".^[2]

A few days later, Layton gets word of this, and Layton questions Oz with Roche. Oz tells Layton that he doesn't sell Kronole and doesn't know who does, he only exchanged the Kronole that they had confiscated from the Third previously. Despite this, Layton is still weary of him, but accepts his excuse.^[3] It is later revealed that he is in league with Terence, who is a Kronole dealer.^[2]

Chasing the killer

Despite the revelation of his illegal activities, Oz is not suspended much to Bess Till's frustration. The two, who are partners, are forced to work together to chase down Erik, Snowpiercer's serial killer.^[4]

Back to work

Oz was eventually released from probation and mockingly congratulated Till on her marriage. Till retaliated by asking if her partner was still extorting addicts for sex which he claimed to not be. Later, the two noticed a disturbance in medical while patrolling and found Josie Wellstead hiding with Andre Layton in a Drawer. Enraged to find a Tailie, Oz viciously assaulted Josie and strangled her. Unable to get Oz to stop, Till hit him over the head with her baton, knocking Oz unconscious. When Till returned from helping Josie and Layton escape, she found Oz gone with only a smear of blood on the wall where he had lain after being knocked out.^[5]

Revolution

Oz was with Roche when the Tail and First rebellions began. He identified Lights as a Tailie after she disabled communications, exposing the start of the rebellion. Along with the other Brakemen, he joined Roche in blocking the Tailies way in the Chains where Layton and Till tried to convince the Brakemen to let them through. Oz was disgusted to see Till with the Tailies, but decided to look after himself and took off.^[6]

Making a new friend

In the revolution's aftermath, Oz is drinking in Third Class when he inadvertently gets into an altercation with LJ Folger who punches him in the face. The two calm down and begin bonding with each other over drinks.^[7]

After Big Alice latches onto the back of the train, Oz, wearing casual clothes, escorts LJ to the Tail. Oz receives an icy reception from the Last Australian who calls Oz "Brakeman Blowie" and Oz runs off after LJ when she takes off, excited about Wilford's return.^[8]

Personality

Oz tends to have a quite stern and strict personality, but like Icy Bob, he has a softer side when interacting with LJ.

Relationships

Andre Layton

Oz was physically abusive towards Layton early on. However, Layton earned support from other crew members and eventually found out that Oz had been dealing Kronole, further cementing his stand. Oz seems to be somewhat humbled since.

Bess Till

Till initially went along with Oz's forceful attitude, but after a reprimand from Roche and the opportunity to bond better with Layton she quickly revised her own attitude. Learning that Oz had been dealing Kronole harmed her disposition towards him for good.

Appearances

Appearance	EP1	EP2	EP3	EP4	EP5	EP6	EP7	EP8	EP9	EP10
Season 1	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔		✔
Season 2	✔	✔			✔		✔	✔	✔
Season 3	✔	✔	✔		✔			✔	✔	✔
Season 4	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Appeared			Did Not Appeared				H = Hallucinations
V = Voiced			C = Cameo				F = Flashback

Memorable Quotes

Bess: "You're a dick! You know that? I'm not gonna stand by while you abuse people."

Osweiller: "We're about to die, Till."

Bess: "Fine. Then these are my last words. I won't let you extort me and you're a dick."

Osweiller: "I don't get you. So righteous on the small stuff, but pretty darn flexible, when it comes to high crimes."

Bess: "Layton shouldn't have been in the drawers!"

Osweiller: "Yeah, and you shouldn't have locked me out!"

Bess: "Something's going on! Don't you ever feel like you're being kept in the dark? Osweiller. Who are you thinking about right now?"

Osweiller: "No one. Just me. Bugger off."

Osweiller: "I was thinkin' about my mum at the end, if you must know."

― Bess and Osweiller in Trouble Comes Sideways

Trivia

He has spoken the opening dialogue for Trouble Comes Sideways.
He may not be strictly heterosexual as he was willing to trade a blowjob for Kronole. However, he appears to keep this a secret, setting a lookout while having sex with Patterson. Layton later reveals that he is known to trade blowjobs for Kronole to the tailies though this is unknown to the rest of the train staff.
- His romantic relationship with LJ Folger shows that while he may not be strictly heterosexual, he is also not gay.
- His engagement ring to LJ cost him a pair of heavy socks.
He is a former soccer player, his position being midfield. This acts as metaphor for his stance in the Snowpiercer pecking order as a brakeman, not high class but not low class either but rather in the middle.
As revealed in The Show Must Go On, Oz is a talented pianist.