Warning: SPOILERS for Snowpiercer Season 3, Episode 1 - "The Tortoise And The Hare."

Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly) doesn't appear in Snowpiercer season 3's premiere and she is still believed to be dead. But in death, Melanie could exploit Mr. Joseph Wilford's (Sean Bean) weakness and become a more powerful Messiah than the Eternal Engineer himself. Cavill apparently perished in Snowpiercer season 2's finale when she vanished after Wilford ensured that the Great Ark Train left her in the cold. However, Jennifer Connelly remains part of Snowpiercer season 3's cast and appears in the promotional materials. Melanie Cavill may take on an even greater role than before in Snowpiercer season 3 despite her demise.

In Snowpiercer season 1, Melanie essentially became Mr. Wilford when she lied to the train for 7 years that their billionaire Messiah was aboard and sequestered in the Eternal Engine. Cavill's ruse was exposed and Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs) led a revolution that resulted in his taking control of Snowpiercer. But when Mr. Wilford arrived aboard his own train, Big Alice, in Snowpiercer season 2, Melanie and Layton found themselves allies against the greater threat of Wilford. Meanwhile, Cavill discovered that the Earth is getting warmer and she went on a solo mission to the Breslauer Research Station to prove her theory that the future is outside the train. With Melanie gone, Wilford regained control of Snowpiercer from Layton and he left Melanie for dead. Layton and his friends, including Melanie's daughter Alexandra Cavill (Rowan Blanchard), retaliated by stealing Snowpiecer's engine, creating a super-fast 10-car pirate train. Believing Melanie dead, Layton and his team spent the next six months traveling to Melanie's "warm spots," but they were unable to find her fabled New Eden.

Related: Snowpiercer season 2's Biggest Unanswered Questions

Snowpiercer season 3's premiere used Melanie's memory and spirit as a powerful inspiration. For Layton and his loyalists, proving Melanie right is about giving Snowpiercer hope for the future, and the fact they haven't found New Eden after six months of looking is a heartbreak the pirates are weathering. Meanwhile, aboard Snowpiercer's remaining 1,023 cars, Mr. Wilford relishes eliminating his old enemy, Melanie, and the billionaire never believed her theory that the world is warming since it was a threat to his power. But Layton's pursuit of Melanie's dream turns Cavill into a Messiah in her own right, especially after Andre saw a vision of New Eden in Snowpiercer season 3's premiere. If Layton can reunite Snowpiercer and get the passengers united to find Melanie's New Eden, it would turn Cavill into a Messiah-like inspiration more powerful than Mr. Wilford's rule of fear and cult of personality.

Alex sitting down and turning around in Snowpiercer

Alex is also coping with what Melanie's death means. Thanks to Mr. Wilford raising her from age 10-17, Alexandra believed Melanie was her enemy until she realized she loved and admired her mother after they reunited aboard Snowpiercer. With Melanie gone, Alex has very large shoes to fill, and the teenager fears that even with her natural talent, Melanie is an impossible act to follow. But Melanie's daughter is the perfect balance between Wilford and her mother. Alexandra can be instrumental in taking away Joseph's mystique and replacing it with Melanie's. Alex can also be a key figure in elevating Melanie into a Messiah figure to rival Wilford if Layton's band of pirates reunites with Snowpiercer.

Although Jennifer Connelly's weekly presence as one of Snowpiercer's marquee stars is definitely missed, it's also a good thing Layton and his group didn't suddenly find Melanie Cavill miraculously alive. This isn't to say Melanie won't somehow be found somehow in Snowpiercer season 3 but keeping Melanie deceased allows TNT's post-apocalyptic sci-fi series to explore what she means to the characters and the show. If Snowpiercer retcons Melanie's death, her resurrection will hopefully be earned. In the meantime, Cavill can still potentially reappear throughout Snowpiercer season 3 in flashbacks or through other means. Should Melanie come back to Snowpiercer season 3 in the flesh, it will be fascinating to see what kind of a threat she becomes to Mr. Wilford if Cavill transitions into a Messiah figure herself.

Next: All 142 Characters Who Died In Snowpiercer Season 2

Snowpiercer Season 3 airs Mondays @ 9pm on TNT.