Snowpiercer Season 2 Episode 4: A Simple Trade- Review- Give Me A Reason To Love You

A chilling opening sequence of Snowpierecer Season 2 Episode 4 reveals why Miss Audrey has been so troubled, and Kevin wasn’t Wilford’s first victim.

Everything is a trade. Even life is a trade. Heat becomes energy; oxygen gets traded for carbon dioxide, chemicals become emotions. On Snowpiercer, those trades can be deadly. Onboard the train 1034 cars long, there is a delicate balance being disrupted. Life on the two trains is a ballet of intricate moves. One foot out of place and someone is losing a limb. Such is the precarious nature since Wilford arrived. Snowpiercer Season 2 Episode 4 is the tale of two leaders.

Layton offers equality, peace, and hope. Wilford offers cruel treats. Wilford rules with a brutal stick and a poisoned carrot. If Snowpiercer had been set in another world, he would undoubtedly be Jim Delos. He revels in violent ends leading to violent delights. Both men are charismatic and respected, but only one commands respect without giving any in exchange. Wilford doesn’t care about anything but control, and if that requires him to hurt people or play the part of a benevolent benefactor, he can for a time. When threatened, his facade slips though. Not even Alex is immune from his wrath. Wilford is offering frostbite treatment in exchange for a night out. It’s a seemingly kind gesture that only highlights what a monster he is. Too bad Alex doesn’t see it yet.

A Simple Trade allowed us to spend extended time in the Night Car. The ornate place for sin and healing is a dichotomy. It grew from something ugly into a glamorous place of redemption. Snowpiercer has worked as an enclosed environment where danger and opportunity coexist because of sets like this one. It is by far and away the most dynamic of all of the cars and, coupled with Lena Hall’s fantastic performance, is spell-bounding. Kudos to Barry Robison and Stephan Geaghan and Louise Roper, and Bobbi Allyn for the production and set design giving Miss Audrey the perfect backdrop to shine.

Both men are preparing for a party. Layton needs to show strength and hope. They need a public spectacle of the uplink connection because it spreads possibility fast. For Wilford, he is hoping for Melanie’s failure and a chance to see Miss Audrey again. She is his muse, his whipped puppy. He is drawn to her as much as he loves hurting. The problem is she is a weakness, and he doesn’t like admitting it, regardless of how bad he wants her. His obsession maybe both of their undoing.

An interesting group of couples provides sparks both sexually and sociopolitically. Bes is lonely since losing Jinju; she has struggled with survivor’s guilt. After she speaks to Pastor Logan(Bryan Terrell Clark), who is quickly becoming the train’s heart and soul, she realizes she is craving a connection. She finds one in the Night Car. Everyone’s favorite psychopath LJ and Alex bond over the Northern Lights and some pot. They are a dangerous partnership. Finally, the Last Australian found another. The two Aussies share a bond, and she looks ready to talk. It shouldn’t take long for her desire for a connection to outweigh her fear.

Ruth and Zara are working together in Hospitality. They both are hoping to bolster their bond with Layton. Both women understand he is the key to their survival. Ruth wants trust, and Zara wants power. She wants information from the inside to both help Layton and control his relationship with Josie. Speaking of Josie, it wasn’t lost on me that Miles’s surprise appearance tonight put Josie in direct parallel with Melanie. Both women have had to leave their children behind for the greater good.

Miss Audrey’s rendition of Give Me A Reason To Love You by Portishead was one of the best scenes to date, only rivaled by her cover of Bad Religion. The haunting lyrics delivered in Lena Hall’s Tony Award-winning voice perfectly sums up the pain behind the glitz. Her song is a carefully designed seduction created solely to captivate Wilford. For the first time, we see cracks in Wilford’s control. He may have done unimaginable things to her, but she clearly still has some sway over him. The dance begins between these two old acquaintances. Who will come out on top is anyone’s guess. How enormous a toll it will take on her, we don’t know. Hall’s emotive intensity was outstanding this week.

I have to admit there hasn’t always been a great deal of tension or urgency in Snowpiercer. The episodes were always entertaining but not anxiety-inducing. The last five minutes of Snowpiercer Season 2 Episode 4 was perfectly paced. I knew that Melanie would connect, but somehow I found myself holding my breath. That connection represents hope for the train. It also represents a coming storm. Wilford doesn’t like to lose control, and Melanie’s success is a failure for him. Layton and Alex look worried because they know Wilford is very dangerous when he loses.

By the end of Snowpiercer Season 2 Episode 4, Wilford has two women very worried. Miss Audrey is projecting confidence but knows her relationship with him is ugly. Theirs is a horrifying love built on abuse. It is a vicious cycle of pain and pleasure that leaves them both affected. How much control Miss Audrey can maintain is the big question. The second woman is Josie, who is very vulnerable. Somehow Wilford knows she is vital to Layton.

Josie may be in terrible pain and at his mercy, but Wilford underestimates her strength. She froze to protect her people. There is very little Wilford can do to her shy of personality changing experiments. If that happens, Layton will strike back, and it won’t be pretty. Snowpiercer has become a powderkeg of pent up frustrations and distrust. For seven years, this war has been brewing. At this point, everyone is looking for a fight. Someone to blame, someone to relate to, and someone to push down in the quest to build themselves up. Find all our Snowpiercer coverage here.

Stray Icicles

• What happens when Wilford realizes just how much Alex cares about Melanie? LJ may be the leak. She has janitors access, a love for Wilford, and a nasty self-preservation streak. She might have been the one to tell Wilford about Josie.
• What exactly is this food kink Wilford and Miss Audrey are into? Miss Audrey could use it to poison him.
• I love that the Brittanica Encyclopedia is a currency in this new world.