Born to Bleed

Pike wakes up from a bad dream and is still alive, but Layton wants everyone to join him in Big Alice. Pike doesn’t want to go, but Layton tells him it’s the only way to save the world.

Layton watches as Zarah and Layton hold their new baby. He is still convinced that Pike is solid and not compromised. He watches as they cradle their new baby and believes that the traffic will be better now that Pike is back in business.

Ruth heads down to see Roche who’s still locked up. He refuses to tell the psychologist what they want to hear, admitting that he’s consumed by thoughts of revenge and determined to kill Wilford the next chance he gets. “The longer you feel this way, the longer he wins.” Ruth says grimly, eventually leaving him in lock-up.

Carly, his daughter, appears later in the episode and begs him to come home.

Till begins to do the rounds and pieces together who is responsible for the bomb. She realizes that two bricks are missing, with a possibility that Tailies have smuggled in materials. This gives her the next place to examine.

Authorities are still investigating the use of a fertilizer bomb in Layton City, and it’s now being revealed that the pages for the recipe for the bomb were ripped out of a book belonging to one of the members of the Tailie War Council. This means that only those on the council would know where the book is, meaning Layton has a big problem. ..

Layton realizes that Pike is responsible for the murders and chases him down the train. However, Pike manages to outrun Layton and continues to run through the carriages. ..

Layton refuses to make this public, given that it could make Pike hostile, as Till works with the Brakemen to set up checkpoints in an effort to stop Pike. ..

Ruth finds out that Pike is the bomber at checkpoints. She heads into Pike’s chambers where she finds Layton searching his belongings. He gravely holds up the ripped bits of paper from the recipe book, confirming that he is the bomber. ..

Pike, who is travelling with Asha, finds himself in the company of Ruth, who is urging Pike to turn himself in and be done with this madness. Pike refuses, and also refuses to answer whether he’s doing all this for Ruth. ..

The group believes that the best way to resolve this conflict is to go old-school. Specifically, they’re going to suggest “Old Ivan’s way” to resolve it. This is a Tailie tradition that sees two individuals discuss and resolve their issues face-to-face. If it can’t be resolved peacefully, it could result in a one on one fight to the death.

Pike sits down with Layton, who asks him what he wants. Pike bitterly retorts how much power he has and demands justice for the Tail.

Liana is eager to put the past behind them, but Pike brings up the New Eden lie and demands knives be drawn. Layton doesn’t have a choice, realizing that if he doesn’t do this then it could result in the whole train learning about his lie.

As the pair fight, Layton stabs’ Pike and kills him. “I hope you find it frozen,” Pike whispers before passing away.

The train’s decision to stay with Pike that night resulted in Layton experiencing visions. Eventually, he passed out. ..

The Episode Review

Snowpiercer returns with an emotionally charged episode, one that sees Pike meet an untimely end and all roads leading to New Eden – and potential doom. The bomb blast last week set up this conflict, and seeing Pike killed off like this is a bit disappointing. ..

This season has felt a little directionless at times, with many of these episodes just meandering through episodic conflicts and chewing up time until the big reveal of New Eden. With only 4 episodes left, it’s becoming increasingly likely that this will be held off for the finale. ..

While this chapter works to show just how far these characters have come, it also highlights some problems with the scripting. Pike’s character turn and descent into madness feels a tad contrived.

However, Roche too is suffering badly and his lust for revenge could well be his undoing. Whether he’ll be let out this season or even attempt to kill Wilford again remains to be seen. ..

The film leaves everything open as we continue on to New Eden, leaving the audience with a lot of questions about what will happen next.