Snowpiercer (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

Well, that was a frustratingly mediocre show. The ridiculous premise made for an entertaining movie, but wasn’t strong enough to support a full series. A pity because the actors are all great, but are let down by the material.

 

[jayembee]

I have the two-hour finale on my DVR. I feel like I need to get myself in the mood to sit and watch it.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Yeah, I've also got it on the DVR, but I'm not feeling compelled to watch it as a priority. I feel the entire series so far only accomplished what the film did in two hours. And where do they go from here? (I know, I know, sigh, flashbacks to Wilford)

 

[ChristopherG]

Wait until you finish. Next season should be fantastic!

 

[jayembee]

So I just watched the finale. I'm of two minds about it. I'm still not totally on board (no pun intended) with it, but I've moved more toward the end of the spectrum.

As I watched the first half, I realized that I had to stop looking at it as an apocalyptic science fiction show with an absurd premise, and start looking at it as an allegorical apocalyptic fantasy (much like, say, Stephen King's The Stand). In a most basic way, it's a microcosm of humanity all of whom are so tightly focused on short term practices that benefit them instead of on long term practices that benefit everyone (specifically shouting out to Climate Change). Melanie, for all of her horrifying decisions, was the only one (well, except maybe Jinju) who saw the big picture. And she realized, as Layton eventually had to, that sometimes you need to make unforgivable choices for the greater good.

I'm still not quite sold on the out-of-left-field twist that the finale left on, but I do have to confess that I'm interested in seeing where it goes from here.

 

[DaveF]

^ Yes, it's crucial to understand this a direct commentary on society. The ludicrous scaffolding of a concept can only stand up with that perspective, I think.

For instance, why does the train have private security for the wealth, the Brakemen (police / daily enforcers) and an non-police military force? Because that's now a typical nation is structured and so this show reflects that in its concept.

 

[ChristopherG]

it took the first 6 episodes for me to decide I was enjoying it. I thought the end of the season was satisfying and am looking forward to where the story goes.

 

[DaveF]

I didn't delete the TiVo Season Pass, but I'm waiting until the next season airs, and I know what all my TV choices are, before I decide whether to continue or not. The revelation of Wilford hijacking the train doesn't inspire me as a story development. Combined with the seeming discarding of the "sleepers" as a theme, which now feels like a huge plotting error realized too late into filming to remove, I'm not confident in the plotting strengths of the show going into a second season.

 

[ChristopherG]

I guess I have lower expectations for mindless entertainment.

 

[jayembee]

I'm in the middle. Dave's criticisms are reasonable -- though I think the sleeper issue wasn't a plotting "error" so much as something that wasn't immediately relevant to the revolution issue. Melanie (or Layton) revealing the truth about them wouldn't have made any difference to the Folgers and their minions. On the contrary, I could see the Folgers arguing that it was an unnecessary waste of resources. And the Tailies wouldn't have cared because their primary motivations were to achieve some reasonable standard of living.

I did say (or perhaps imply, since I didn't want to spoil anything) that I wasn't quite sold on the Wilford twist, but I am curious about how that will play out.

 

[jayembee]

So, has anyone been watching the second season? We're half-way through it by now.

Bat-shit premise be damned. I find myself having become thoroughly fascinated by the socio-political "ecology" of the train.

 

[Greg.K]

I've still only watched the first few episodes of season 1. I can't figure out how people get from one end of the train to the other with relative ease. A 1001 car train should be something like 15 miles long. Why are they traveling on dangerous tracks through the mountains? It's just too silly a premise to suspend disbelief on this.

But my wife likes Daveed Diggs so I may try to stick with it.

 

[KeithDA]

It’s trashy and a bit silly (more so than the film) - but I’m loving it. It’s just what I need in these strange times

 

[joshEH]

I've still only watched the first few episodes of season 1. I can't figure out how people get from one end of the train to the other with relative ease. A 1001 car train should be something like 15 miles long. Why are they traveling on dangerous tracks through the mountains? It's just too silly a premise to suspend disbelief on this.

There's a rapid-transit "monorail" system underneath the train (kind of a "train-within-a-train") to quickly get people from one end to the other -- this was established way back in the very first episode.

Also, both the original French graphic novel source-material and the 2013 movie both have the train traveling through dangerous mountain-terrain, which is going to be unavoidable at some point if you're circumnavigating the entire globe year after year.

 

[Greg.K]

There's a rapid-transit "monorail" system underneath the train (kind of a "train-within-a-train") to quickly get people from one end to the other -- this was established way back in the very first episode.

Also, both the original French graphic novel source-material and the 2013 movie both have the train traveling through dangerous mountain-terrain, which is going to be unavoidable at some point if you're circumnavigating the entire globe year after year.

Yeah, I’d missed the thing about the monorail In my semi-paying-attention state. I’m in the back half of season one now and finding it more interesting than the first half.

 

[Greg.K]

So, has anyone been watching the second season? We're half-way through it by now.

Bat-shit premise be damned. I find myself having become thoroughly fascinated by the socio-political "ecology" of the train.

We are four episodes into season 2 now and enjoying it. I like the new dynamics that the crew of Big Alice have brought to the show.

 

[NeilO]

Just finished the first season. We finally watched Hamilton on Disney+ and I was quite surprised to see Daveed "Layton" Diggs there playing Jefferson.

I am looking forward to seeing how the new characters change things up in the second season.

 

[Josh Dial]

We finally watched Hamilton on Disney+ and I was quite surprised to see Daveed "Layton" Diggs there playing Jefferson.

He originated the role on stage (and of course the Marquis de Lafayette)!

 

[Greg.K]

Just finished the first season. We finally watched Hamilton on Disney+ and I was quite surprised to see Daveed "Layton" Diggs there playing Jefferson.

I keep half expecting Layton to break out into a rap battle.

 

[jayembee]

I keep half expecting Layton to break out into a rap battle.

Or, based on the recent commercials he's in, delivering DoorDash with Big Bird and Cookie Monster (and Grover).