Ouroboros

In the beginning of episode 7, we see Layton on the train. He’s in a dream, and everything is one big dream. He sees everyone on the train in different gear, and he can’t tell which gear is his own.

According to Layton, he’s about to die. A spirit guide tells him that she can help him find the Tail Boss, who can return him to the real world.

Till cuts his arm as a reminder that he needs to leave the alternate reality if he wants to return to his own. The longer he stays in this reality, the longer it will take to get back. ..

Layton sets out on a quest to find the word needed to get into the Tail, and comes across a cartographer who tells him a riddle that will present him with the answer.

The thing is, Layton isn’t actually alone heading up the train, he’s also with Wilford too, who’s dressed in a white suit and hat to boot. Pike’s here as well, dressed up as a priest. He urges Layton to repent for his sins, pointing out the trail of dead bodies he’s left in his wake (both in this world following a shoot-out just prior to this scene and in the real world too.)

Till is distraught following what’s happened to Layton and the drama involving Pike. Audrey convinces Till to let her head in and see Layton, touching his chest and whispering to “remember himself.” This seems to work too, as Layton  begins to hear the echoing voice bleed through to this alt-reality.

Wilford begins sifting through various charts and books as he listens to Layton’s brush with death. He’s excited about something, but all will be revealed at the end of the episode.

The Tail Boss asks Layton what he knows about death, and Layton tells him that it’s the answer to a riddle he was told earlier. The Tail Boss then asks Layton to bring him death, and Layton does so.

This woman is Liana, and as she looks up at Wilford, she admits that he’s there to face her death. There’s a bomb in her bag, which soon explodes… and brings Layton back to the Snowpiercer. Or does it?

Layton wakes up to find himself in a dream with Asha. The cut on his arm starts bleeding, indicating that he’s still in the dream, only a different layer of it from the looks of it. Asha hides her locker from Layton, pointing out that he won’t like what he’s going to find in there. ..

Layton pushes past and opens the door, where he finds a calendar sporting the tree of New Eden. Layton made up the whole New Eden thing based on this calendar, and the hallucinations appear to be memories of what he saw when he was with Asha. Off the back of this, Layton finally awakens aboard the real Snowpiercer. ..

As the episode ends, Wilford’s research and constant searching brings new clarity. It turns out he’s found signals in France when she was away finding Melanie. They’ve never been to France to produce this signal themselves so it would appear that Melanie is alive. She’s still out there!

The Episode Review

In the latest episode of “Snowpiercer,” Layton must complete a series of tasks to make it down to the tail of the train.

While the idea is nice, “Death and Repentance” lacks much direction, hanging feebly to the theme of death and repentance while also struggling to justify its existence given this is another throwaway episode. ..

This season of New Eden has been slow-paced and directionless, losing the initial tension and thrills that the two trains brought. ..

I’m hopeful that the end of this season can bring some relief and a positive ending. I think people will be sticking around after such a mundane season.