Better Call Saul’s Mark Margolis in big Snowpiercer Premiere scene

Mr. Hector Salamanca himself, Better Call Saul’s Mark Margolis, took part in a major scene on TNT’s Snowpiercer TV Series premiere episode tonight.

This article contains spoilers for TNT’s Snowpiercer Season 1 Episode 1.

Mark Margolis’ Snowpiercer portrayal ended with his character ‘Old Ivan’ committing suicide in brutal fashion on tonight’s premiere episode “First, the Weather Changed”. The tailies (or underclass of Wilford Industry’s Snowpiercer train for those who haven’t seen the 2013 film), were throwing a birthday celebration for ‘Old Ivan’. He seemed to be relishing the attention at first, making but one simple wish. Privacy!

“There is only one extravagance that I would wish for my birthday… Privacy! To be alone for one hour with a Rachmaninoff recording!”

Snowpiercer tailie ‘Lights’ [Miranda Edwards] would hand ‘Old Ivan’ an iPhone with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 2” ready to play. Tailie Josie Wellstead [Katie McGuinness], Detective Andre Layton’s wife would signal to clear the room and respect Old Ivan’s request.

“Alright you heard him, everybody out!”

No one had a clue Old Ivan’s wish would be his last. Ivan would take a look at a black and white framed photo of what appeared to be his wife and younger self, smiling, before kissing it. The whole tail train carriage was enjoying Rachmaninoff’s concerto from their beds before the iPhone’s battery ran out. Pin-drop silence sentenced the tail back to reality.

Where music played, only ‘Old Ivan’s’ body remained, hanging from the ceiling. Lifeless. Old Ivan had used the opportunity to do the most personal of deeds without a shadow to stop him. A two pronged tool previously used to hold his photos together would drop to the ground.

Detective Andre Layton [Daveed Diggs] had previously mentioned ‘Old Ivan’ was the only one to ever see the north areas of the train in the opening minutes of the episode. Perhaps, Old Ivan had viewed such a high quality of life in the other train carriages that he couldn’t resign himself to living in the tail anymore. Memories of his younger days, not enough from a barren state of mind.

At first, Margolis seemed to have been channeling a new iteration of John Hurt’s ‘Gilliam’ from the 2013 film adaption… But it soon became clear Snowpiercer’s TV Series debut was distinctly meant as an alternate reality rather than a serialized TV remake with a new cast.

Pike [Steven Ogg] would later utilize Old Ivan’s suicide to fuel a full-scale tailie rebellion. Layton had been removed from the tail by Wilford Industries for unknown purposes (to the tail), seeming like a traitor. Without ‘Old Ivan’ or Layton maintaining calculating restraint, the action-based Pike was finally able to convince the tail to seek revenge now… Rather than later. Wilford’s soldiers would enter the tail to remove Old Ivan’s body… Only to find a most lively non-corpse in his place attacking at will, along with the rest of the tailies. A death not in vain.

To quickly recap: Those without a ticket to board Mr. Wilford’s train during the great climate engineering disaster (that froze the planet) live in slum-like conditions. Their forced station is the back of the train, the tail. The train carriage holding the ‘tailies’ was full of people living practically on-top of each other due to the confined space given to those who boarded illegally.

Be sure to read Ray Donovan’s Molly Sullivan should look familiar to Better Call Saul fans and Better Call Saul’s Patrick Fabian made a cameo on Barry in ‘Future Space’ for more BCS talents making their way onto your favorite shows!

Here’s how to watch Snowpiercer online via TNT live stream every Sunday!