Mary Elizabeth Gillies, best known as Miss Gillies, is a recurring character in TNT's Snowpiercer. She is portrayed by Fiona Vroom.
She is an encouraging and well-rounded school teacher who is responsible for educating Snowpiercer's next generation. She supported Layton's revolution by making Miles sick so Josie can see him in the 2nd Class Clinic Car, and later smuggling a gun for Layton and Roche.
Not much is known other than she is a 2nd Class passenger. It is likely that she is the only teacher on Snowpiercer, and is responsible for teaching many classes, suggesting she is rather unreplaceable much like The Notary, both of them being the only professionals in their fields. However, she was only ever shown teaching children, suggesting that it is not possible to obtain higher education on Snowpiercer.
We were introduced to Miss Gillies when she took her class to learn about plants in one of the greenhouse cars at the same time that Layton got taken there by Roche.
During LJ Folgers trial she was the representative of second class who decided on the guilty verdict, the verdict would be overturned by Melanie out of fear LJ would reveal the true nature of the drawers, much to the representatives frustration.
Miles is one of Miss Gillies' students. On his last day, before he is taken to the Engine as "Mr. Wilford's" new engineer, he is accompanied by Bennett. Miss Gillies gives him an orange with some sort of substance inside that causes him to be sick, therefore allowing him to be taken to the 2nd Class Clinic Car, where Josie was disguised as a nurse. That allowed the rebel army to use Miles' presence in the engine, which later led to the appearance of LJ Folger in the Engine Car. Miss Gillies can be seen trying to get Bennett's attention while Josie is talking to Miles, trying to flirt with him and asking him numerous questions about his job. Later, when Josie finishes talking to Miles and leaves the room, Bennett realizes something is wrong and tries to follow her - with no result. Miss Gillies can be seen making eye contact with the doctor afterwards, clearly indicating that she was in fact cooperating with the rebel army, although her motives were unknown and she's suspected to be one of the "good people" of 2nd Class, much like the doctor, who decided to help the rebel army, even though they had nothing to gain from it.
In the Tailies' Revolution, Miss Gillies visits Martin Colvin under the pretense of talking about tutoring for his children. With neither wanting the Folgers and Commander Grey in charge, Martin slips her a gun that she hides in the sub-train for Andre Layton and Roche to find.[1] Later when Andre Layton have full control of the train and is making an announcement, she is seen listening among the crowd.
In A Single Trade, she is seen among the partying people and also watching Melanie's connecting to the first balloon.
In Keep Hope Alive, her class presents a mural that they have painted, to support Melanie.
In The Tortoise and the Hare, six months after the departure of the Pirate Train, Doctor Pelton pulls Winnie out of class to deliver a secret message to Ruth Wardell. Apparently a member of the continuing resistance against Wilford, Miss Gillies simply acknowledges the action with a nod and continues on teaching.
In The Last to Go, she helps LJ do the make up and get ready for the wedding.
When she needs to make the choice between staying on Snowpiercer or going to New Eden on Big Alice. Miss Gillies chooses to stay on Snowpiercer, standing holding hands with Doctor Pelton and listening to Miss Audrey singing in the Night Car after the separation.
She is shown to genuinely care about her students, and is generally a good person who acknowledges the hardship that the Tailies went through, to the point where she helped them. She shows no loyalty towards Cavill's, Wilford's or Folgers' administration, instead helping those who she believes to have been mistreated and capable of better leadership. Even in Season 3, when Big Alice is the only power source on the train following Layton stealing Snowpiercer's head, she remains loyal to him and assists the rebel army.
| Appearance | EP1 | EP2 | EP3 | EP4 | EP5 | EP6 | EP7 | EP8 | EP9 | EP10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | C | |||
| Season 2 | C | ✔ | ||||||||
| Season 3 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | H | ✔ | |||||
| 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 Appear | H = Hallucinations | ||||||||
| V = Voiced | C = Cameo | F = Flashback | ||||||||
| “ | But plants didn't always grow here in Ag-Sec. Actually, before everything was frozen, they grew in the ground! I know. It's true! And that's why it's very important to learn about seeds and plants, so that one day, we can grow food on a warm Earth again. | ” |
| — Miss Gillies teaches students about agriculture in Greenhouse (C0842). | ||
| “ | Miles, it's time for dinner. | ” |
| — Miss Gillies come to get Miles when he was talking to Layton. | ||
| “ | I’m Mary, the primary teacher. I ought to thank you for your craft. The kids love New Paper Day. | ” |
| — Miss Gillies to Walter Flemming. | ||
| “ | We can watch from here. He’ll never be out of your sight. (…) I bet you have a nice cabin. You should see the things I’ve seen. They’ll do anything to get out of school. Anything. It must be so interesting, working all with the… (…) What’s uit like working for Mr. Wilford? He’s such a fascinating (…) I don’t know how you deal with all this. The pressure you’re under—OH! TELL ME ABOUT YOUR ENGINE. TELL ME ABOUT THE ENGINE!! | ” |
| — Miss Gillies distracting Bennett so Josie and Miles could talk. | ||
| “ | Since Melanie’s departure, the kids have been talking a lot about the planet’s future. So they created something to share their hope with the entire train. | ” |
| — Miss Gillies presents her student's work. | ||
| “ | That’s a beautiful name, Chunder. Go put it on the tree! | ” |
| — Miss Gillies talking to her student at the baby tree. | ||
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