| “ | I built the world! It’s the only one left, and it’s mine! I run it. | ” |
| — Wilford | ||
Joseph Wilford, known professionally as Mr. Wilford, is the main antagonist in TNT's Snowpiercer. He is portrayed by Sean Bean.[1]
He was originally thought to have been killed by Melanie Cavill at Snowpiercer's departure 7 years ago, long before the first season took place.
History
Biography
Joseph Wilford is an Engineer and the founder of Wilford Industries. He and Chicago's most powerful would have parties that would go on for days, all on his train's. Prior to the Freeze, Wilford envisioned a luxury liner train that would circle the globe. Wilford Industries built the train using a test Engine (later Supply Train to Snowpiercer) called ‘Big Alice’. Sometime afterward when scientists planned to cool the Earth down, Wilford foresaw the Earth would instead be frozen. Together with one of his employees and protege, engineer Melanie Cavill, he repurposed his train into an Ark called Snowpiercer and they built an Engine that used Perpetual Motion Technology (while he took credit for doing so). All he did, was sell tickets to finance the refit, many to the rich responsible for destroying the Earth.
According to Melanie, "He didn't believe it was possible to save humankind. And He was never even going to try. [...] He was going to waste it! All He wanted was to live as well as He could, for as long as He could, surrounded by accolades and... booze and whores in the NightCar. We wouldn't have made it one revolution."
Wilford was responsible for creating the Jackboots that were on Snowpiercer (and Big Alice) to maintain order. He wasted resources on his Night Car brothel, that could sustain 20 people that they were going to need. When Melanie confronted Wilford for removing half of her geneticists from the passenger list for Jackboots, she then asked for at least 12 Geneticists (in exchange for 12 Jackboots), Wilford only agreed to 6. When she asked if he believes in any of this, he said, "Clearly I've been working you to hard... which is why I will forgive what you just said. Snowpiercer has only one Head Engineer--her creator. She runs on my order. And if you can't accept that, then... your family can stay behind. Is that clear?"
At boarding, when survivors arrived at the main gate, Wilford orders Nolan Grey to use deadly force if needed. When the group of geneticists and their children arrive (who Melanie needed and had tickets), Wilford orders their deaths and said, "Never forget, Melanie. The train runs on my order." Wilford then took a jeep with a Jackboot, to head down train to open fire on the main gate. After losing contact with Grey, Wilford headed back and contacted The Engine, to depart when he was onboard. 5 minutes from The Engine, Melanie and Knox departed and abandoned him, believing the remnants of humanity would not survive under his rule.
He was then forced to use a secondary supply train called Big Alice to survive. Wilford got Big Alice to low idle and managed to hunker down in a shed for a couple of months. By the time Snowpiercer was on the other side of the world, out of satellite view, Big Alice was outfitted. There were 200 originally on Big Alice, but then, when he realized they were a drain of resources, he culled half the train’s passengers (men, women and children).
Throughout The Series
Reuniting with Snowpiercer
Seven years after his departure from Snowpiercer, Wilford shows his face again as the mastermind behind the Snowpiercer prototype, Big Alice. Melanie, Javi, and Bennett are instantly alerted when they figure out that Wilford has returned and is coming for Snowpiercer. They are unable to do much about it, however, and Melanie depletes Snowpiercer's reserves drastically trying to outrun Big Alice. Wilford attaches to Snowpiercer and demands that the train be surrendered to him.
After demanding Snopwiercer be surrendered to him, Wilford has a tense reunion with Melanie Cavill, who abandoned him seven years prior, stealing his creation. After explaining to Melanie that he has been planning his attack for the last seven years, he demands that Snowpiercer be surrendered to him or risk being left behind; Melanie knows this is not an option given Snowpiercer cannot sustain itself, but explains that Snowpiercer is no longer hers to surrender, it belongs to the Tail.
Wilford is furious with Melanie's explanation and when he cannot get his way, he demands that Alex detaches Big Alice from Snowpiercer, leaving her and her inhabitants behind to freeze. Melanie pleads with Wilford and Alex, but he gives the order anyway. Unbeknownst to Wilford, Melanie had previously placed a sticky charge on the connecting mechanism and when Alex tries to detach, it explodes, connecting the two trains forever. Wilford is furious, but Melanie laughs, sarcastically remarking that she'd warned him he'd over-built the mechanism.[2]
Personality
Wilford is shown to be ruthless and relentless, with little regard to the lives of others[1], as well as not feeling a sense of right or wrong; from what has been seen, he values the ideology of power above all else and was willing to leave Snowpiercer and its population to die when he could not get his way. He sees himself as a ruler of men; a champion of the apocalypse, and deems all those that disagree with him as disloyal, ungrateful, and traitorous.
He is not without his charms though; his natural charisma and almost-intoxicatingly-suave personality allow him to win-over and influence many people. The crew of Big Alice seems to be entirely under his spell, and regard him in an almost evangelic fashion; as less man and more a god-like savior.
One of the quirkier sides of Joseph Wilford's personality is his love of cannabis. Owning several bongs (as seen in the background of his quarters), and frequently seen smoking long joints or spliffs, Wilford appears to be quite dependent on the substance — prioritizing the production of the cannabis even over that of food for his crew.
Despite his ruthlessness, Wilford is apparently not entirely remorseless or unsympathetic. After realizing that Alex will have to see the dead body of her friend Shilo, someone that Wilford had killed in his cull of Big Alice, he apologizes to a hallucination of Melanie, knowing that no one should ever have to experience that.
Relationships
Melanie Cavill
Wilford's former protegee whom he once made a gift of an engineering tool which Melanie would later pass on to young Miles. However, Melanie abandoned Wilford to die as she knew that humanity wouldn't survive under his leadership. As a result, Wilford developed a hatred for Melanie over the next seven years.
Despite his hatred for Melanie, Wilford is shown to retain a certain degree of respect for her and her abilities, wanting to get her off of the train as he sees her as a threat to his power. At one point, Alex tells her mother that Wilford had always called Melanie the best driver he'd ever seen, showing that he does still respect her somewhat despite his anger.
Alexandra Cavill
The only character he is shown to show some semblance of genuine compassion towards is Melanie's daughter Alex, but this again is motivated out of his own interests, more than any paternal or loving ones.
It might be noted that Alex is one of the few (if not only) people who have seen Wilford's true face — he makes little to no effort to hide his murderous and narcissistic tendencies from her. Perhaps turning Alex into his protégé started off as a powerplay against Melanie, but now has become a very genuine and real bond (maybe seeing her as the proverbial heir to his throne, as he once did Melanie).
Alex is the only character to refer to him by any nickname, calling him "Dubs" (standing for the "W" in "Wilford"). Alex's inner monologue at one point suggests that he actually wanted to be called "Daddy Dubs" by her.This shows us a glimpse into the very complex mind of Joseph Wilford, one that is not necessarily pure evil. However, Melanie points out to Alex that he is also manipulating and pressuring her, wanting Alex to have the deaths of everyone on Snowpiercer on her conscience at one point.
When Alex demonstrated some reluctance in going along with Wilford's plans, whatever bond Wilford had with her immediately dried up, calling into question how genuine it ever was. He begins excluding her due to Alex's divided loyalties and takes pleasure in forcing her to figure things out on her own.
After Wilford succeeds in taking over the train, a completely disillusioned Alex turns on him and sides with Layton and his crew. Particularly after a humiliating puppet show intended to discredit Melanie in which Wilford also attacks and humiliates Alex and also, when he tells Alex, "You're just a tool I collected along the way. [...] A handy little lever to pry your mother out, and you did your job. Now you can join her trackside."
Despite his cold demeanor and cruelty, Wilford apparently really did care for Alex to a degree. After realizing that Alex will have to see the dead body of her friend Shilo, someone that Wilford himself had killed, Wilford is upset and apologizes to a hallucination of Melanie, saying that no one should ever have to see that.
Bennett Knox
No interaction between the two has been seen directly, but Bennett supported Melanie's decision to pose as Mr. Wilford to the train's passengers, although he later betrayed her in order to allow Big Alice to catch up to them, albeit because he thought that Wilford likely had much-needed supplies on his train. Notably, Wilford remembered Bennett while talking with Melanie, calling him by the nickname of Ben.
When Melanie tried to take Bennett with her aboard Big Alice, Wilford refused, calling it "a Ben-free zone." Bennett later tells Andre Layton that due to Wilford's need for control, he had always tried to keep Bennett and Melanie apart while they were in Wilford's engineering program, but they had refused to allow him to win which is at least part of the reason why Wilford doesn't want Bennett on his train. Bennett is concerned enough about Wilford's plans that he forms an alliance with Layton to keep the train safe together in Melanie's absence.
According to Bennett, "You know, when he chooses you, you enter his court. It's amazing at first. He's amazing. And then the knives come out. He divides people for sport. Melanie and I refused to let him. [...] Probably. His brand of jealousy isn't about anything normal like love or betrayal or sex. It's just about control."
Andre Layton
Layton and Wilford are enemies due to their being on opposing sides of the conflict and with their opposing plans for Snowpiercer. Wilford derisively calls Layton "King Layton" despite Layton's insistence that there are no kings onboard Snowpiercer and tries to have him assassinated. However, Wilford also has a degree of respect for Layton, admitting that he shows the qualities of a good leader.
According to Layton on Wilford, "He's a jealous man." And also called him a megalomaniac.
Layton also said to him, "Fragile, powerful men like you froze the Earth in the first place." And "You'll always have your little followers, but the majority will never love you like you want them to."
Miss Audrey
Ruth Wardell
Ruth once was loyal and believed he was a great man, until she saw who he is.
Ruth also said to him, I am loyal. To something bigger then you. You’ve got it all wrong, Mr. Wilford. […] Winning isn’t leading. And loyalty isn’t enough on its own. It has to come with love. And not the kind that you feed off. Unconditional love, sacrifice, for each and every passenger. […] You can’t ignore love. You can’t predict it either.
Katya
Katya is a elderly women who knew Wilford for a long time (she only spoke Russian). She was a neighbor in Sheffield and he was like a nephew to her. She would take him to the park and a chapel. He loved the chapel and would light a red candle in the glass window. On Snowpiercer she had a couchette in Third Class with vintage Wilford items, with her grandson Elan. She would ask Elan to light a candle every day, as a vigil until Wilford's return. Eugenia traded her a fur hat for a Wilford jacket (that she would use for the murder of Cherry Sherry) and they gave her a red candle to light.
Appearances
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Memorable Quotes
| “ | Good morning, dear family. Rise and shine. We are 2,468 days, from departure, and three days since reconnection. For a special comrade, I have chosen Camille Saint-Saens' "Royal March of the Lions." We are lions, here to reclaim our Engine Eternal from a gibbering pack of hyenas. Our pride stalks, waits, each of you playing your part in a great odyssey. Some pay a higher cost then others, and none among us have paid more then Icy Bob. We should all make sacrifices like our Bob, honing our purpose to the ready. Let our Coldman unite us, the point of our spear... For the day we retake what's mine. | ” |
| — Wilford to Big Alice | ||
| “ | The will of the people... How can you stand it? Every little faction. The cold heart of political power is obedience. | ” |
| — Wilford to Layton | ||
Trivia
- Wilford engineered Snowpiercer with portals, to freeze people's arms off as punishment. However, they were a idle threat that he never expected to use.
- He has a close relationship with Alexandra Cavill, akin to the relationship between Melanie Cavill and Ruth Wardell.
- Wilford has a female dog named Jupiter, that he has had since departure and is trained to attack and guard.
- Miss Audrey, is a former paramour of Wilford's and has a sadomasochistic relationship with him were she is the dominant party.
- Wilford makes people declare an oath of loyalty to him, by slitting their wrists, in a bathtub of water, with him in it, with or without clothes on either. Such as Miss Audrey and Kevin McMahon.
- Wilford apparently has no issue with nudity or his body, since he got in a tub naked with Kevin who was also naked, got out of a tub naked with Kevin and Mrs. Headwood standing there and grabbed Osweillers testicles hard and told him to do the same.
- He is an engineer as he wears an iron ring on his pinky finger. A symbolic representation of humility, of which he has none. Iron rings are given to Canadian engineering graduates.
- While Melanie said he had publicly taken credit for her invention of the Perpetual Motion Engine, Wilford was able to repair Snowpiercer when none of the other engineers could and has demonstrated a thorough understanding of its engineering and design second only to Melanie. He’s implied to be responsible for designing the harpoon cannon and together with Mrs. Headwood the EMP weapon meaning the self declared Head Engineer job title wasn't completely unearned.
- In The Show Must Go On, trying to retain Bess Till as his new advisor, he casually says he's not really feeling a sense of right or wrong; which is a major characteristic of a psychopath.
- While working in Compost, Layton said to Wilford, "You're a old, white dictator with a train set."
- The only time he has killed anyone himself, is when he executed the Breachmen murderers (including Eugenia).
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