Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Snowpiercer season 2
Snowpiercer star Daveed Diggs says the upcoming fight between the two trains of the series will feel like a naval battle, with the focus on strategy rather than direct conflict. Diggs, who won a Tony in 2016 for his performance in Hamilton, continues as the lead character on the sci-fi thriller as it rolls into season 3 on TNT. The ensemble is rounded out by Sean Bean, Alison Wright, Mickey Sumner, Lena Hall, Iddo Goldberg, Mike O'Malley, and Steven Ogg.
Snowpiercer, based on Bong Joon-ho's 2013 film of the same name, follows a world destroyed by nuclear winter. The story centers around the last remnants of humanity, who survive on a train that travels across the globe. In the Snowpiercer season 2 finale, Diggs' Layton separated the first 10 cars of the train and is now in control of the engine that powers it, while Bean's tyrannical Wilford controls the other 1,023 cars. Snowpiercer season 3 picks up six months after the separation, as Layton's train tries to find rumored areas of the planet where the climate is warming.
In an interview with TVLine, Diggs discusses the train battle set for the upcoming episode 3, taking place in a maze-like area of interlocking tracks. The actor compared the battle to the nautical drama film Master and Commander starring Russell Crowe. He explained how shooting the Snowpiercer episode felt like an intense chess game, where the conflict relies on cunning tactics rather than brute strength. Read Diggs' quote below:
“Imagine a battleship battle, I haven’t seen any of [the episode] yet, but that’s certainly what it felt like to shoot. There’s a lot of trying to deduce what part of track somebody might be on, because there are thousands of miles of track that have been laid and you can switch between them. There are valleys that you can end up in that are track-heavy with lots of switchbacks, so it becomes about predicting where your enemy might be. You try to get the higher ground so you can see them, but they can’t see you.”
Diggs' comments are a fascinating insight into the upcoming episode, and it will be interesting to see if the actor's experience filming the epic train clash ultimately comes across as he describes on screen. But while Diggs had shed new light on what fans can expect from the upcoming battle between the trains, Snowpiercer season 3's new emphasis has mostly been on finding hope beyond the characters' current confines. The series has introduced a new character Asha (Archie Panjabi) who survived the apocalypse in a North Korean nuclear power plant, suggesting a widening scope for the narrative. It has also being hinted that Melanie (Jennifer Connelly) will return after presumably dying in the cold in the Snowpiercer season 2 finale, further suggesting that survival outside the train is possible. Perhaps the recently confirmed Snowpiercer season 4 will explore this storyline in more depth, if the teased train war shifts the power dynamic between Layton and Wilford.
Though Snowpiercer doesn't have the same subtlety or subversive elements of its big-screen predecessor, it nonetheless does an interesting job of examining humanity's proclivity for subjugation and classism, even in extreme circumstances. With the expanded scope allowed through a long-form television show, Snowpiercer can go in new directions with its world-building and character development. And though the results haven't always been consistent, this adaptation of Bong Joon-ho's original story is still interesting to take in. No matter what the outcome of the train battle is, Snowpiercer will continue to provide post-apocalyptic drama for its fans across season 3, and create some epic action sequences in the process.
Source: TVLine