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2 weeks agoon
Warning: The Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 10 review contains spoilers for series finale episode “Last Stop”.
Dr. Headwood was right in last week’s episode, “They want to deprive the rest of the world of their New Eden.”
Why are we supposed to be cheering on ‘heroes’ who want to stop Nima from trying to save the world? Just so they can selfishly live out their lives in the ‘warm picket’ Nima created to begin with?
Melanie Cavill blames Nima for creating the current icy state of the planet and claims he’ll just fail again. But considering New Eden was a success, what’s so wrong with Nima’s plan?
Ruth, Till, Layton, Josie and crew just want to maintain the status quo of their mundane lives playing cards and council politicians. The non innovative people live fat off of the work of Mr. Wilford’s eternal engine and Dr. Nima Rousseau’s New Eden.
Seeing Nima’s plan fizzle out was one of the most disappointing moments in all of Snowpiercer… Second only to the exit of actor Sean Bean (Mr. Wilford) from Snowpiercer Season 4. The worst part: There will be no second gemini missile launch attempt, it’s over for this series.
We’ll never know if Nima’s plan would have saved the world or not because Alex predictably sabotages it.
And all for what? Some trite, boring, predictable ending complete with last minute, mismatched couple pairings with minimal chemistry.
It’s ironic Nima calls himself just a chemist and not a leader. Why exactly is Ruth a leader? It seems Tailies have short memories to what Ruth, Till, Oz, and Roche did in Season 1. These former villains for some reason get redemption arcs but not Nima.
Instead, for two episodes Melanie subtly emasculates Nima. Just look at the way they had Melanie endlessly remind Alex (and the audience) that he was a donor. So there would be no doubt that Melanie didn’t actually sleep with him.
But really, Snowpiercer ended with Mr. Wilford’s (Sean Bean) exit. Again this episode we see Rowan Blanchard with a passionless performance of Alex when asked by Melanie about Mr. Wilford’s death.
Even though shows like The Walking Dead are guilty of overindulging in emotional talkie scenes, Snowpiercer does the exact opposite here.
Instead of an emotional, heart-wrenching moment, it’s like the air has been sucked out of the room. Alex could care less to discuss Wilford’s passing, she has more ‘important’ things to consider.
Not even Jennifer Connelly could save the scene. A waste of her immense acting talents, frankly. Because Alex Cavill has no range outside of smug, smartest girl in the universe in this series.
Only former villain Ruth Wardell (Alison Wright) who has been phoning it in all Season 4 in an ill-fitting role as a ‘hero’ character might be worse.
Imagine being expected to cheer for a school teacher archetype who’s always nagging you about breaking the rules. Cool? No, just no. They should have had Ruth betray the group fully long ago but they just wouldn’t do it.
Just as Audrey who previously was one of the most interesting characters in the series with Wilford became just a regular goody-goody with Till.
Snowpiercer’s Season 4 ending finishes on a whimper instead of a grand spectacle. In Melanie’s own words, ‘the warm pocket could end today or 50 years from now’. So by ‘stopping’ Nima they’ve just delayed the inevitable, traded tomorrow for today.
Beyond the convoluted plot line, “Last Stop” is just not aesthetic to look at visually. Overly crowded, dark train cars completely miss the beauty of Snowpiercer’s first season.
There is no magic here, just drab corridors with faceless bad guys in armor. Empty and lifeless. The weakest cinematography wise of all of Season 4.
We’re constantly told instead of shown. Dr. Headwood presents Nima something early that isn’t immediatley visible on screen. Josie decides not to eliminate Dr. Headwood because of of her actions off-screen… Reminiscent of Roche’s empty storytelling to cover for no lack of real, substantive plot the other episode.
“Last Stop” is a disappointing episode to conclude Snowpiercer all around. So much unfulfilled promise gone to quickly wrap up the show with a modern Hollywood-esque shallow ending.
Enjoyed this Snowpiercer review? Looking for more critiques and Snowpiercer recaps? Read the following on the fourth and final season:
– Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 9 Review: So-so writing
– Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 4 Review, Recap: Truth vs Hope
– Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 3 Review: Father vs Ruler
– Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 2 Recap: The Sting of Survival
– Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 1 Review: ‘Snakes in the Garden’
Visit our Snowpiercer section for exclusive interviews, reviews, recaps, trivia quizzes and much more content you won’t get anywhere else!
We’ve covered the post-apocalyptic sci-fi TV series from the very beginning in 2018 at New York Comic Con.
Be sure to watch and read some of our Snowpiercer cast interviews below:
– Iddo Goldberg Snowpiercer Interview: Ben vs Mr. Wilford’s Tyranny
– Roberto Urbina Interview: Javi’s Dog Bite PTSD on Snowpiercer
– Katie McGuinness talks Snowpiercer’s Josie Wellstead (Interview)
– Tom Lipinski Snowpiercer Interview: Kevin, Mr. Wilford, Miss Audrey’s insidious triangle
– Snowpiercer’s Lena Hall on Miss Audrey ‘fixing’ Kevin (Interview)
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Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 9 Review: So-so writing
Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 5 Review: Sean Bean is King
Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 4 Review, Recap: Truth vs Hope
Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 3 Review: Father vs Ruler
Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 2 Recap: The Sting of Survival
Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 1 Review: ‘Snakes in the Garden’