Dominant Traits is the ninth episode of the fourth season of Snowpiercer. It is the thirty-ninth episode overall. The episode aired on September 15th, 2024, on AMC+. On July 8th, 2024, the episode was however unexpectedly made available on a Belgian streaming service, without further comments from AMC.[1]
Synopsis[]
IMDB:
AMC+: Alex sabotages the track switch computer and, with Layton's help, escapes to town hall.[2]
Intro[]
| “ | First, I must apologize for my actions. You deserve better. But our discourse was leading us in circles. And I was unable to gather my thoughts. Perhaps I can better express myself in this form and cooler heads will prevail. I have never met someone who saw the world quite like I did, a like-minded peer who knew when to make the tough decisions if it was in the name of good. Some might suffer, yes, but only so a vast amount more could benefit. But it's not too late. We can still change the course of history. You only need to see the errors of your ways, to have faith in my abilities as I have in yours. Once we have the power of both Engines to reach the launch point, we can send Gemini into the atmosphere to counteract the effect of the CW-7. And -- and -- and the Great Thaw can begin. And thanks to our work, the survivors, the strong souls who perservered through the Freeze, they will witness life of all forms breathed back into this world. A world that will no longer need Snowpiercer, 876 cars long. | ” |
| — Nima in a letter to Melanie. | ||
Plot[]
Melanie awakens in a room in the Isolation Car where she finds a letter from Nima apologizing, but also justifying and explaining his actions. After finishing, the disgusted Melanie crumples it up and throws it away.
In New Eden, Layton and Sykes are pinned down by Ace of Spades' sniper fire which Layton deduces is coming from the east hills. People run through the streets, including Till, moving from cover to cover. Hiding, Oz attempts to tune the radio that Roche gave to him. At gunpoint, Alex activates the track switch computer, but suddenly floods it with foam in order to keep it from being used, declaring that their deal is off because the IPF had shot her friend. Outside, Josie tends to the wounded Boki, but she can't stop the bleeding. Ruth boards Big Alice where Z-Wreck informs her that their defenses are ready in case the IPF tries to board the train. Ruth closes the shutters over the helm's window and goes to check on the other passengers as they aren't safe with a shooter in the hills.
In the Library Car, Nima loads up the rocket's warhead with vials of Gemini. Wolf calls Nima with the news that Alex had destroyed the switch control, but Nima is sure that she can fix it as well, telling Wolf that Alex is capable of extraordinary things. Nima orders Wolf to press her while he works on a solution on his end.
As Ace continues shooting at the town, Boki urges Josie to leave him and to help Alex instead. Josie rushes to Javi's workshop, dodging a shot from Ace who warns Wolf that someone's coming. Wolf shoots at Josie through the window, forcing her to take cover. Javi arrives, taking cover near Boki and telling Josie that he needs to get inside of his workshop, but Josie explains the situation to him. Seeing that Boki isn't doing too good, Josie helps him to the clinic for treatment, ordering Javi to find Layton and warn him about Alex.
Till makes her way to Oz who finally manages to tune the radio into the IPF's communications, impressing Till as they learn from the radio that Alex had busted the switch control. Wolf orders Ace to keep the New Eden residents pinned down while he handles it, and Ace reports that he's got ammo to spare. Layton spots Javi making his way through town and joins him, annoyed that Javi isn't just staying put. Javi explains that Alex is locked in his workshop with one of Nima's soldiers and they're gonna make her flip the switch. Sykes worries that Nima can blow the hills once he gets the Engine and bury the town, but Javi reveals that using the data plate that he had recovered from the detonation receiver of the booby trap that had nearly killed him. From it, Javi has the detonation frequency for the bombs, and he can build a jamming device to block the trigger signal. Making a run for it using Layton's shield, the three run to a barricade in front of the Old Ivan Library where Oz and Till join them.
In the clinic, Doctor Pelton works to remove the bullet from Boki who no longer feels pain much anymore due to the Cold Treatment that he had received. While Josie thinks that being impervious to pain makes you stronger, Boki tells her that it's the opposite: pain is good because it tells you that something is wrong. Josie acknowledges that she still feels pain, but it's just different for her now. Doctor Pelton successfully removes the bullet, but Boki has lost a lot of blood. Over Boki's protests, Josie volunteers to donate her blood for a transfusion as she's type 0, a universal donor.
At the barricade, Till tells Layton that Alex has bought them some more time and they have to find a way to take out the sniper. Layton orders Oz to use his radio to distract the sniper while Till sneaks up into the hills to take him out, but Oz and Till argue about which one of them should go. Layton leaves them to figure it out, ordering Sykes to go to the Engine to help Z-Wreck in case the IPF attacks it and instructs Javi to stay in cover while he goes to help Alex.
On Snowpiercer, which is parked at the far end of the Trestle Bridge from New Eden, Nima visits Melanie who demands to be taken to Alex. Nima explains that Alex has been relocated to New Eden and could use some parenting right about now.
In New Eden, Ace kills a fleeing resident, but he is unable to get a bead on either Layton or Sykes. Layton makes his way to the workshop and Ace warns Wolf that their enemies are mobilizing on him, causing Wolf to order Rat to move in. As Alex works on fixing the computer, Layton uses the attached blade on his spear to attack the window to the workshop, distracting Wolf. Alex takes advantage of the distraction to stab Wolf in the leg with a screwdriver and escape. As Wolf runs out after her, Layton strikes him to the ground, and grabs Wolf's rifle, shooting Rat in the arm before it runs out of ammo. Layton grabs Alex and flees for Town Hall, his shield blocking one of Ace's shots as Rat goes to help his injured comrade. Alex and Layton are able to make it safely inside of Town Hall.
On Snowpiercer, Nima tells Melanie that she'll have to finish retrofitting the Big Alice Engine in order to get Snowpiercer to the launch point in time, but Melanie refuses to help him, pointing out that by Nima's own timeline they don't have enough time for that and New Eden won't just allow their Engine to be stolen for the second time. Nima reveals to the shocked Melanie that Layton's people are pinned down under sniper fire and that they're going to stay that way until his forces are through and Alex has found a way to streamline the final steps in the Caterpillar System which means that they can finish what they started. However, Melanie won't work with Nima anymore after everything that he's done. Nima warns that based on their current distance from the launch point and Melanie's own climate models, the trains must leave New Eden together soon. If Melanie doesn't help him, Nima will have no reason to keep holding the town and Big Alice hostage, thus leaving him with no other choice but to bury them.
Oz and Till make their way behind another barricade where they play rock paper scissors in order to determine who will go with Oz winning. Oz explains to Till the best way to sneak up on the sniper, only to have her take off while he's still speaking to do it herself, leaving the radio behind for the annoyed Oz.
In Town Hall, Alex tells Layton that Animal Squad won't shoot her because they need her, but Layton isn't so sure. As Layton tries to call for any patrols to help Oz and Till, Alex asks about Wilford. Layton reveals that Wilford had made it aboard Snowpiercer, but he had died there, shocking Alex. Alex asks if Layton did it, knowing that he would be justified after everything that Wilford had done with Liana and Zarah and mentioning how she had tried to kill Wilford once too, but Layton tells her that Wilford had killed himself. Alex realizes that it was because Wilford knew that he was never getting out of there alive.
In the Library Car, Nima shows Melanie how Alex had found a way to streamline the retrofit by merging the hydraulic systems of the two trains and he expresses admiration for how Alex's mind works. Melanie reminds Nima of how he had once refused to work for an energy company that was dumping chemicals into the Atlantic Ocean and compares it to what he's doing now. Melanie realizes Nima was responsible for creating CW-7 and thus the Freeze and that it was CW-7, not Gemini, that he was working on 15 years ago. Nima admits that his team was responsible for CW-7's creation, but he insists that it was because all of the other members of his team having small minds and refusing to listen that the Freeze happened and now, they must fix that mistake. Nima frantically insists that Melanie's wrong and he's nothing like the polluters that he had once hated and that they're launching hope, not poison, into the sky, but Melanie is unimpressed. Nima orders Melanie to get whatever she needs to finish the retrofit as they'll be leaving soon.
In the clinic, Doctor Pelton performs the transfusion, causing Josie to have flashbacks of Mrs. Headwood experimenting upon her in the Silo. In the flashback, Headwood notes that Josie's symptoms have progressed quite rapidly and injects her in the stomach with something or draws something from her stomach with the needle.
Oz runs out into the open and, taking cover behind his shield, taunts Ace over the radio with insults, causing Ace to focus his fire on Oz. Buffalo orders her comrade to ignore Oz and to stay on task and maintain his position. Oz recognizes Buffalo's voice as the one that he had heard in the hills before Liana's kidnapping and on the night that Roche disappeared. A confused Buffalo has no idea what Oz is talking about, but Oz is just relieved that he wasn't going crazy and that it wasn't the ghost of his psycho ex-wife haunting him, that it was instead just an Irish mercenary. The annoyed Buffalo tells Oz that she's an Engineer, not a mercenary, and asks Ace how he got a radio.
In Town Hall, Layton prepares to go help Till and Oz, while Alex is struggling to process the news of Wilford's death. However, Javi spots Rat heading for Town Hall and radios a warning to Layton which is heard by Alex who calls him back just in time. As Layton and Alex hide on the upper level, Rat searches through the train car for anyone. The two run for the catwalk exit with Layton using his shield to block Rat's gunfire. After a few shots, Rat runs out of bullets and switches to his pistol. On the catwalk, finding the door to the next car locked, Layton attacks Rat and engages Zarah's killer in a fight. Ace takes aim at Layton, but having successfully snuck up on the sniper, Till attacks him. Rat overpowers Layton and tries to throw him off of the catwalk, only to suddenly be shot, sending Rat falling backwards off of the catwalk to his death. In the hills, a relieved Till lowers the sniper rifle, having killed Ace and taken his gun just in time to save Layton's life.
With the attack over, Layton, Alex, Till, Ruth, and Oz gather in the center of town. Layton thanks Till who reveals that she got lucky as it was Ace's last bullet. Josie reports that Boki got shot, but he won't let that stop them while Layton tells the others that Javi's in his shop working on his jamming device for the bombs. While Big Alice is currently locked away with no way for Nima's forces to get it, the people of New Eden also can't use it to escape. While the IPF is sure to come back with heavier forces, their original plan to ambush them when they enter town can still work. However, Alex warns her friends that if Gemini is launched, it will spread across the globe, erode the atmosphere and kill them all, shocking everyone. What Alex did to the track switch will only hold Nima off for so long and if he gets the Engine, he'll eventually get past it.
On Snowpiercer, Nima loads the Gemini warhead into the rocket. Wolf enters with the news of what's happened.
In his workshop, Javi works on building his jamming device and successfully gets it tuned to the detonation frequency.
Nima tells Melanie that they're ready to head out and she tells him that the best approach is going to be to back Snowpiercer into town. However, Nima refuses to risk leaving the train vulnerable and he intends to escort Melanie into town on foot. Melanie warns him that the Engine will freeze if it's left idle for too long, but Nima tells her that the Engine has extended time in the warm pocket which he's sure that she already knew. Melanie reminds Nima that the retrofit won't be complete until the Engines are connected and insists that her way is quicker and more efficient, but Nima tells her that it won't be a problem once they've cleared the town. IPF soldiers begin arming themselves, confusing Melanie who had thought that there weren't any weapons left, but Nima claims that Milius had saved some for a rainy day. Melanie implores Nima not to be the kind of person who does this, but Nima feels like he has no other choice. Melanie tells him that there's another way, but Nima reminds her that Alex had the exact same thing and now his sniper is dead in New Eden's hills. While Nima has avoided using the stick that the Admiral so proudly wielded, desperate times seem to require more than a carrot. Melanie once again asks Nima to hear her out about what she has in mind.
New Eden's forces wait in position for the IPF attack and Layton orders everyone to wait for his orders to attack as Nima's forces, including Melanie, enter the town. Ruth wonders why Melanie has come and if she's there to make a deal, but Layton knows that Nima isn't interested in a deal. Melanie subtly shakes her head at Layton, causing him to order everyone to run. Nima's soldiers launch gas grenades into New Eden, sending everyone fleeing into shelter. Alex confronts her mother who gives Alex a gas mask as the attack continues. Oz falls victim to the gas and is carried to safety in Town Hall by Layton and Till. With the New Eden residents having retreated, Nima's forces, joined by Alex, make their way unopposed to Big Alice.
In the Engine, Z-Wreck kills a soldier with his crossbow before the Engine is gassed as well, knocking out Z-Wreck, Sykes and the woman with them. Nima is pleased with the results of Melanie's plan, but she just tells him to vent the cars so that they can get on with it. Nima warns Melanie that they only have a few hours to stay on schedule as the soldiers drag Z-Wreck and the others out.
IPF soldiers and workers swarm through New Eden, carrying supplies to the Engine and checking out the town. In Town Hall, the victims of the gas attack are treated by those less affected. Till recognizes the gas as the same stuff that she got gassed with back on Snowpiercer. The gas isn't deadly, but the victims will be out of it for awhile. Ruth notices that Alex isn't there with them and Till guesses that the soldiers must've grabbed her in the chaos, but Josie suggests that Melanie had wanted to save her daughter before she launched the attack. Ruth protests that they don't know that Melanie was behind that, but Till points out that it is kind of on brand for her. Layton believes that she might've been coerced, but Josie points out that Melanie and Nima have control of both Engines again as well as the town. Conceding that they can't be sure of Melanie's allegiances, Layton states that Alex is on their side no matter which side her mother is on.
On Big Alice, Melanie oversees the retrofit of the train and admits that gassing New Eden was actually her idea. Melanie saw it as the lesser of two evils since Nima was ready to go full force otherwise. Having been gassed by Nima herself, Melanie knew that he had a safer weapon, and she got him to use it instead. Melanie confirms that she has no intention of giving Nima what he wants. Alex explains that she had worked on the blueprint with Nima in the Engine in the hopes that he would lead her to Melanie, but Nima didn't tell her anything.
Headwood leads Nima to one of New Eden's greenhouses where he enjoys a strawberry. Headwood calls New Eden a marvel that exists because of Nima and tells Nima that her husband had also pushed boundaries for the betterment of humankind and she just wishes that he was here to see all of this. Headwood calls what the people of New Eden are doing -- enjoying this miracle while wanting to deprive the rest of the world of it -- unfair. Nima leads Headwood to Rat's corpse and asks if she might have any thoughts about what they might do about having lost such a valuable asset in the field. Looking at a canister on Rat's back, Headwood tells Nima that anyone who is lost can be found.
Ruth finds Josie watching Nima and Headwood through a window and checks up on her. Josie is furious that the people who have been torturing them in one way or another are strolling around their town and eating their food, feeling that their heads should be on spikes at the gates instead. While sympathetic to all that Josie's been through, Ruth is alarmed by how vengeful she is. Josie feels that they should be using the harm that's inflicted upon them as a measure for the harm that they inflict back. Ruth reminds Josie that there's a stark difference between justice and vengeance and Josie tries to insist that she's fine, but Ruth knows that none of them are.
On Big Alice, Melanie asks Alex how they can get in touch with Layton, and she suggests that they can raise him on the radio in Town Hall if Layton had gone there after the attack. Melanie tells her daughter that they can call up the antenna cable that runs up to Big Alice's control cab, and the two act like they're working on the retrofit. The two reach a comms panel where Melanie reveals that she had stolen a walkie that they can use to patch into the comms and call Town Hall. However, they're going to need to distract Nima as he might notice that the comms are active if he's at the helm. Alex suggests convincing him that there's a hitch in the retrofit, but Melanie doesn't want him poking around in the Sub-Train.
Alex offers to go to the Engine and lure Nima out of the cockpit, but Melanie thinks that's a bad idea too as she doesn't trust him. Alex tells her mother that Nima thinks of her as a protege and treats her like a science experiment, something that doesn't surprise Melanie. Melanie reveals to a shocked Alex that Nima is "the donor," meaning that he's actually Alex's biological father. Melanie explains that she and Nima had worked together on an environmental engineering competition at MIT, and Nima had used to be a good man. Before going their separate ways after grad school and despite them only ever being coworkers and friends, Nima agreed to father a child for Melanie who was ready to be a single mother. Melanie had never thought that she would see him again and now that they're back together, keeping the truth from Alex was starting to feel like a lie which Melanie didn't want. Struggling to process the news, Alex decides to go to the Engine to distract Nima for her mother. Alex reports on their progress to Nima and asks him about how Nima is her father. Surprised that Alex knows, Nima agrees to talk with her for a few minutes, leaving the helm and noticing one of the comms channels activating.
Melanie contacts Town Hall where Layton and Ruth answer her. Melanie apologizes for using the gas, explaining that it had seemed like the lesser evil with the arsenal that she saw in Nima's possession. Melanie explains that she's bringing Snowpiercer into town and she needs Layton to board it and help her and Alex put up a fight. Having seen Layton storm the train before, Melanie is sure that he can do it again. They need to find a way to stop the rocket from launching before retaking the trains from the IPF.
In the Engine, Alex asks Nima for his side of the story, which he tells her will probably line up with Melanie's. Nima helped Melanie simply because she was his friend and she asked, and he goes into a scientific explanation about dominant and recessive genes, telling Alex that the nurture part of fatherhood she got from Joseph Wilford, but by nature, Nima is her father. Nima states that Alex needs to stop explaining herself to lesser people when right across from her is a partner who will never know Alex better. Although they've only spoken a few times, Nima is her father by genetics if nothing else which is not something that Alex can overcome, unlike the twisted nurturing influences of Wilford.
Studying a map of the town, Layton and Ruth try to come up with a plan. Layton points out that they'll get shot down by Nima's soldiers as soon as they charge out of the door and they need to thin the herd somehow, but it can't be done from inside of Town Hall and Ruth realizes that not everyone is inside with them.
In the hills, Javi sets up his completed jammer. Ruth radios him and Javi tells her and Layton that they can't know for sure if it's functioning unless the IPF tries to blow up the hillside. Layton and Ruth ask Javi to move a bomb despite it not ending well for him the last time, but Javi did learn a bit from almost blowing up.
Alex rejoins her mother who confirms that they're actually doing this if they can get out of the Engine undetected and Alex suggests the side door as a solution to that problem. Alex tells Melanie that she was right and Nima is not her dad. Nima joins them and Melanie announces that Nima can give his driver the word. In Snowpiercer's Engine, Buffalo begins reversing the train into New Eden. As everyone arms themselves, Town Hall shakes from the train's approach. Ruth tells Layton that they just need Javi to punch their ticket.
In the center of town, a soldier notices a bundle sitting on the ground with Javi's Spring Doll sitting on top of it. As soon as the soldier touches the doll, the bomb that it's attached to detonates. Seizing their chance, everyone rushes out of Town Hall and begin disarming the stunned and injured soldiers. A few manage to aim their rifles at the New Eden residents, creating a standoff, before Josie grabs the gun of one and discovers that the soldiers haven't got any bullets and have been bluffing them the entire time. Taking advantage of this, they subdue or kill the remaining soldiers. However, moments later, Snowpiercer simply backs right over the track switch and connects to Big Alice. Melanie cedes system controls to Buffalo and engages the caterpillar system. Nima congratulates Melanie, telling her that she'd just helped to change the course of history.
Dozens of soldiers emerge from Snowpiercer to stop Layton and his fighters from boarding the train. Seizing the chance, Layton has those armed with crossbows fire on the IPF forces before leading a charge through the soldiers who are unable to counter the New Eden fighters, leading to a one sided massacre of the invading enemy forces. Layton, Ruth, Josie, Till, Javi, Boki, Oz, Lights and a number of others are able to make it onto the train and Nima orders Buffalo to pull out of the town immediately. As the doors close, a small number of Layton's fighters aren't able to make it onboard in time and the few surviving IPF soldiers surrender to them.
Nima orders his men to stop Layton and secure the sub-train, intending to follow once everything on Big Alice is wrapped up. As both trains cross the trestle bridge, Wolf confirms that they're out of the blast radius and Nima orders him to blow the hills and bury the town. However, Javi's jammer successfully blocks the signal, saving New Eden from destruction. Frustrated, Nima realizes that Melanie had organized this whole thing, only to find her and Alex gone from the Engine. Melanie and Alex escape into the sub-train and head uptrain to meet up with Layton.
Quotes[]
| “ | You shot my friend! Big Alice isn't going anywhere. Deal's off. | ” |
| — Alex betrays the IPF because they attacked. | ||
- Z-Wreck: "Downtrain cars are covered."
- Ruth: "We have people ready at the bottleneck?"
- Z-Wreck: "Yeah, besides, ain't no soldiers getting in here anytime soon."
- ― Z-Wreck and those defending Big Alice are ready for attack.
- Z-Wreck: "Shit, I might slip into that tub."
- Ruth: "Not unless you're getting shot at."
- ― Z-Wreck likes Wilford's tub, but Ruth sets his priorities straight.
| “ | You shush me again and I'm gonna use you as a human shield. | ” |
| — Till to Oz. | ||
- Layton: "Javi! Javi, you gotta stay put man."
- Javi: "Alex is locked in my shop with one of Nima's soldiers. They're gonna make her flip the switch."
- Sykes: "If Nima steals the Engine, he could blow the hills."
- Javi: "I can stop that. Look, we recovered this data plate from one of the detonation receivers. I can use the frequency on it and build a device that can jam the trigger signal."
- Layton: "First things first, we gotta get to Alex. Keep your heads down."
- ― Javi fills his friends in on the situation.
- Doctor Pelton: "Sorry for the fishing expedition."
- Boki: "It's ok, doctor. You keep on fishing. It's where I don't feel much anymore."
- Josie: "That's all right. Being immune to pain makes us stronger."
- Boki: "No, no, no. It's not true. Pain is important. Tells us something is wrong."
- Josie: "I still feel it. It's just, it's different."
- ― Boki discusses pain with Josie as Doctor Pelton treats him.
- Till: "It sounds like Alex bought us some more time. We gotta find a way to take out that sniper."
- Oz: "Yeah, I'm on the wrong end of a carnival game out there."
- Layton: "That radio. Oz, you distract him with it while Till, you head up to the hills, take him out."
- Oz: "Wait, hold on. Shouldn't it be me to take care of the sniper? I know those hills better than anyone."
- Till: "And I faced the Animal Squad. And I know how they fight."
- Layton: "Y'all can play roshambo for it. I'm gonna go get Alex."
- Sykes: "Hey, where do you want me?"
- Layton: "Go to the Engine with Z-Wreck in case they attack it. Javi, will you please stay put?"
- Javi: "Ok. I'll stay put."
- ― The group comes up with a plan.
- Nima: "I see my words were of no consequence."
- Melanie: "Take me to Alex."
- Nima: "That's actually why I'm here. She's been relocated to New Eden and could use a little parenting right about now."
- ― Nima seeks Melanie's help to deal with Alex.
- Nima: "To get Snowpiercer to the launch point, you'll have to finish retrofitting the Big Alice Engine."
- Melanie: "It's not happening."
- Nima: "If what Alex did to the track switch is irreversible, then, then it's our only solution."
- Melanie: "On your timeline, I don't think that even works. And New Eden won't just stand by and let you steal their Engine for the second time."
- Nima: "They're already standing by. Layton and his people are pinned down under sniper fire and will stay that way until we're through. Luckily, Alex, uh, found a way to streamline the final steps in the Caterpillar System. Like mother, like daughter -- always elevating her thinking. And, and, and now we can finish what we started."
- Melanie: "No, no, we're not working together anymore. You are on your own here."
- Nima: "Based on our current distance from the launch point, and your climate models, there isn't much time until Snowpiercer and Big Alice must depart New Eden together. We -- we -- we need them both."
- Melanie: "I think my position's clear."
- Nima: "If you don't help me, I'll have no reason to continue holding the town and Big Alice hostage. You'll be leaving me no choice but to bury them."
- ― Nima tries to convince a reticent Melanie to help him, resorting to threats.
- Till: "All right, so how are you gonna stop the sniper from spotting you?"
- Oz: "Well, well, well, my little New Eden tourist. Sniper's here, right? So, you head out from the east end 'cause it's flatter and more shielded from the sniper's vantage point. After about 50 meters, it curves round to the back side of the hill, where I can sneak up on him from behind. There's this little cluster of rocks blocking his view so the little piss-ant won't know what -- (Notices that Till's gone.) Shit!"
- ― Oz explains his plan to take out the sniper, only to have Till sneak off to enact it herself.
- Alex: "They won't shoot me. They need me."
- Layton: "You sure? They seem pretty pissed off."
- Alex: "Well, it seems like we're both good at that."
- ― Layton and Alex share a particular talent.
- Alex: "So, I know you got Liana, but how did you escape the Silo?"
- Layton: "Just kept going up."
- Alex: "Was Wilford with you?"
- Layton: "(Into the radio.) Hey, uh, any patrols out there, I need you over to the east side to cover Till and Oz."
- Alex: "I mean, I know that he was with you and melanie, but I don't know if he made it onto Snowpiercer."
- Layton: "Yes. Wilford did make it onto Snowpiercer. And that is where he died."
- Alex: "Huh? Oh, uh -- Did you -- did you kill him? I wouldn't blame you if you did. I mean, after everything with Liana and Zarah, I -- I tried to kill him, too, once, you know. I didn't cut deep enough."
- Layton: "He did it to himself."
- Alex: "'Cause he was never gonna make it out alive, was he?"
- ― Layton shares some news with Alex.
- Melanie: "Do you remember when you wouldn't work for an energy company that was dumping chemicals into the Atlantic? Do you? Because I do. And now you've made this poison. And you wanna launch it into the atmosphere."
- Nima: "A poison that created New Eden."
- Melanie: "At what cost? And how do you know it'll work any different than it did with CW-7? You weren't working on Gemini 15 years ago. That was CW-7. That was you."
- Nima: "My team. It wasn't just me. It was my team. It was a hundred voices, small minds, incapable of seeing -- but now it's up to me to fix their mistake -- us. You're wrong, Mel. You hear me? You're -- you're wrong. I'm -- I'm nothing like those polluters who only concern themselves with their bottom line. That's not me. And it's not poison we're launching into the sky, it's hope. It's hope. You'll realize it soon enough. Gather whatever you need to finish the retrofit. We'll be leaving soon."
- ― Melanie confronts Nima who refuses to accept and learn from his mistakes.
| “ | Oi. You up there. You swap those rifles out for a BB gun because you couldn't hit a red elephant's ass. You animal blokes like finger painting, right? Maybe if I put a bullseye on my face, it'll help you. | ” |
| — Oz taunts Ace of Spades into targeting him. | ||
- Buffalo: "Ignore him, Ace. Stay on task and maintain your position."
- Oz: "Do I know you? Why were you talking to me in the hills?"
- Buffalo: "I wasn't. Who the hell is this?"
- Oz: "All this time I thought I was going mad because my psycho ex-wife was haunting me. Turns out it's just some Irish mercenary."
- Buffalo: "I'm not a mercenary. I'm a bloody Engineer. Ace, how'd this wean get a radio?"
- ― Oz finally solves his ghost mystery.
- Layton: "Hey. You still got a pretty good aim."
- Till: "Yeah, and a whole lot of freaking luck. There was only one round left in the chamber."
- Ruth: "Send a sniper and we'll counter with a Bess Till. Is everyone all right, then?"
- Josie: "Uh, Boki got a souvenir in the gut, but it's not gonna slow him down."
- Layton: "Javi's in his shop, working on the jammer so the bombs won't go off."
- Oz: "But we're good though, right? 'Cause they'd have to get to Big Alice first. And she's locked off in a vault with no keys."
- Ruth: "Which also means our plan to use the Engine to escape is off the table."
- Josie: "Well, we know that they're going to come back with heavier forces."
- Layton: "It's all right. The plan still works. Lead 'em down Main Street, start an ambush."
- ― The group reconvenes after the attack is repelled.
- Alex: "Well, Nima's countermove won't be what you think. He's determined to launch that rocket at all costs. And if he succeeds and Gemini does launch into the stratosphere, it'll eventually spread across the globe, including over New Eden. It'll erode the atmosphere. We will all get poisoned. We will lose oxygen until we can't breathe, and that's just before the blood boils out of our bodies. So, yeah."
- Ruth: "Right."
- Till: "Holy shit."
- Layton: "That's a lot."
- Alex: "What I did to the track switch will only hold Nima off for so long. And, if he takes the Engine, he'll eventually get past it."
- Oz: "But how can he get the Engine past a locked switch without derailing it?"
- Alex: "Well, you just answered your own question."
- ― Alex shares the stakes with everyone.
| “ | That right there, that's what we've all been scratching and clawing for. The bridge back to the lives we once knew. | ” |
| — Nima loads the rocket. | ||
- Nima: "Bringing Snowpiercer into New Eden won't be a problem once we've cleared the town."
- Melanie: "I thought there were no more weapons."
- Nima: "Milius saved some for a rainy day."
- Melanie: "Don't be this person, Nima. Don't do this."
- Nima: "They've give us no choice."
- Melanie: "There's another way."
- Nima: "Yeah, Alex said the same. And -- and now my sniper is dead in their hills. I've -- I've -- I've avoided using the stick that the Admiral so proudly wielded. But desperate times, they -- they -- they seem to require more than just a carrot."
- Melanie: "Just hear me out."
- ― Melanie tries to keep Nima from just slaughtering everybody.
- Alex: "You're not actually handing over the tricked-out Engine over to Nima, right? Especially after he gassed New Eden?"
- Melanie: "Gassing town was actually my idea. Believe me, it was better than the alternative."
- Alex: "Well, I'm sure after my little stunt, Nima was ready to go full force."
- Melanie: "Yeah. Good news is, he gassed me, you know, so I knew he had a safer weapon."
- Alex: "He gassed you?"
- Melanie: "Yeah. So, uh, no, we're not giving him what he wants."
- ― Melanie explains her seeming betrayal.
- Melanie: "What happened in the Engine?"
- Alex: "Just worked on the blueprint with him and tried to gain his trust. Thought he would tell me where you were."
- Melanie: "Did he tell you anything?"
- Alex: "He reminded me that he's smart."
- Melanie: "Right."
- ― Mother and daughter catch up.
- Nima: "Here lies another injustice. When -- when I found out we lost a valuable asset in the field, I wondered, with -- with your experience if... you might have any thoughts?"
- Headwood: "Hmm. Anyone who is lost... can be found."
- ― Nima and Headwood examine Rat's corpse.
- Ruth: "Hey. Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. We just wondered where you slipped off to."
- Josie: "Look at them. Strolling around our town, eating our food. Their heads should be on spikes at the gate."
- Ruth: "Well, I certainly understand the sentiment. Those people out there have tortured us all in one way or another. You've had the brunt of it, haven't you?"
- Josie: "It's not about me. You know, sometimes I just feel like people around here want to minimize the harm that we've suffered. We should be using it as a measure."
- Ruth: "For what?"
- Josie: "For the harm that we inflict back."
- Ruth: "We may take the, uh, high road attitude at times, but surely there's a stark difference between justice and vengeance, isn't there?"
- Josie: "I'm fine, Ruth."
- Ruth: "No, you're not. None of us are."
- ― Josie is worryingly vengeful.
- Melanie: "Alex. Um... He's the donor."
- Alex: "The donor? He's my biological father?"
- Melanie: "He was different back then. And we worked together on an environmental engineering competition at MIT. He was passionate about it. He was a good person."
- Alex: "Then what happened after grad school?"
- Melanie: "We went our separate ways."
- Alex: "Not before making one hell of an arrangement."
- Melanie: "Well, we have different priorities in life. We were never in a relationship. It was only work between us. But I respected him. I was ready to be a mother."
- Alex: "So you wanted to raise me alone. He wanted that, too. It had to be anonymous. I understand all of that. But why would you tell me now?"
- Melanie: "I didn't think Nima and I would ever cross paths again. Here we are. The omission was starting to feel like a lie. I don't want that between us."
- Alex: "So my father is the one who is trying to destroy the world."
- Melanie: "Donor. Yes. But not if we stop him."
- Alex: "Well, I am going to the Engine because that seems like the best strategy."
- ― Melanie reveals to Alex a shocking truth about Nima.
- Alex: "I also thought that we could discuss the whole that you are my dad."
- Nima: "Melanie wouldn't use that term."
- Alex: "Well, neither would you, apparently."
- Nima: "Well, we have a few minutes."
- ― Alex seeks answers from her father as a distraction.
- Melanie: "Layton, do you copy?"
- Layton: "Yeah, Melanie. I'm here. So is Ruth."
- Ruth: "And there's a few people downstairs wouldn't want us talking to you."
- Melanie: "Sorry about the gas. Um, from the arsenal I saw, it seemed like the lesser evil."
- Layton: "Ok, what's your play?"
- Melanie: "Stop Nima. I'm bringing Snowpiercer into town, need you to board the train and help us put up a fight."
- Layton: "Yeah, how exactly are we supposed to do that?"
- Melanie: "I saw you rush the train once before. I have faith you can do it again."
- Ruth: "Then we take the trains back."
- Melanie: "First, we all board and figure out how to stop that rocket from launching."
- ― Melanie conspires with Layton and Ruth.
- Alex: "I wanna hear both sides of the story, so this your chance to tell me yours."
- Nima: "I'm sure it lines up with your mother's."
- Alex: "Ok, then. Then why did you do it?"
- Nima: "Melanie was a friend, and she asked."
- Alex: "So it was a transaction?"
- Nima: "Don't be so reductive. You know you're more than that. Look. The conditions in which we're raised play an important role in shaping us. But the influence of our genetics holds the stronger sway. You've had fatherly influences on -- on both sides. The -- the nurture part, that you got from Joseph Wilford, but the nature -- that, you inherited from me."
- Alex: "Both such sane people."
- Nima: "You -- you know the difference between dominant and recessive genes?"
- Alex: "One overrules the other."
- Nima: "Mm-hmm. Whether advantageous or detrimental, and the other gene can't compensate for it."
- Alex: "Is this your weird way of telling me that I have your eyes?"
- Nima: "It's my way of telling you that you need to stop explaining yourself to lesser people when standing right across from you is a partner who will never know you better."
- Alex: "We've had like five conversations. So how do you really know me?"
- Nima: "Because even if it's through sheer genetics, I am irrefutably your father, and unlike the twisted nurturing influences of Joseph Wilford, you can never overcome your own blood."
- ― Nima gives a purely scientific explanation as to how he's Alex's father.
- Ruth: "Javi, do you copy?"
- Javi: "Yeah, I'm here. You guys all right?"
- Ruth: "Is the jammer functioning?"
- Javi: "We won't know for sure unless they try to blow up the hillside."
- Ruth: "Well, that's encouraging. We have a small favor to ask, since you're already there."
- Layton: "We need you to move a bomb."
- Javi: "That didn't go so well last time. But I did learn a bit from almost blowing up."
- ― Having solved one big problem, Javi is asked for another huge favor.
- Melanie: "How'd that go?"
- Alex: "You're right. He is not my dad."
- ― Alex's conclusion about Nima after getting answers from him.
- Layton: "So much for the track switch. Snowpiercer's coming."
- Ruth: "We just need Javi to punch our ticket."
- ― Layton and Ruth realize that they are running out of time.
| “ | What, haven't got it in you? | ” |
| — Josie to a soldier who points a gun at her, but doesn't shoot. | ||
| “ | Hey! They haven't got any bullets. | ” |
| — Josie makes a game changing discovery. | ||
- Ruth: "The train didn't bypass the track switch."
- Layton: "It went over it."
- ― Snowpiercer arrives in town.
Cast[]
Main Characters[]
- Jennifer Connelly as Melanie Cavill
- Daveed Diggs as Andre Layton
- Mickey Sumner as Bess Till
- Alison Wright as Ruth Wardell
- Roberto Urbina as Javier De La Torre
- Michael Aronov as Nima Rousseau
- Rowan Blanchard as Alexandra Cavill
- Katie McGuinness as Josie Wellstead
- Sam Otto as John Osweiller
- Chelsea Harris as Sykes
Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
- Herschel Andoh as Wolf
- Noah Crawford as Rat
- Miranda Edwards as Lights
- Graeme Guthrie as Ace of Spades
- Rhona Rees as Private Taylor
- Kwasi Thomas as Z-Wreck
- Olga Zippa as Buffalo
- Spencer Graham as Nervous Soldier
- Cameron Grierson as Vigilant Soldier
Trivia[]
- The episode was mistakenly named Dominant Trails, this was fixed before the episode aired on AMC+.
- A dominant trait refers to the inheritance of traits that are typically passed vertically from parent to child where both the parent and the child are affected by the trait or disorder that is related to that gene.
- The title is a reference to Nima telling Alex about the dominant traits that she had inherited from him while explaining how he is her father even if through sheer genetics rather than Joseph Wilford who had raised her.
- This episode's opening monologue consists of a letter that Nima Rousseau writes to Melanie Cavill, where his voice is heard verbalizing its content while she reads it.
- Big Alice is revealed to have shutters for its helm windows.
- Boki reveals that he isn't entirely impervious to pain, just mostly. Josie still feels pain, just differently.
- Josie reveals that she is Type O.
- Layton suggests that Oz and Till play roshambo in order to decide who will go after Ace of Spades. Roshambo is another name for the game rock paper scissors which the two play as Layton had suggested.
- Alex learns about Wilford's death from Layton.
- It's revealed that Nima was working on CW-7 15 years ago, not Gemini. According to Nima, it was his research team of 100 people that created CW-7, although Nima places the blame for it going wrong on everyone else not listening to him, just like Nima refuses to listen about Gemini and insists that everyone but himself is wrong about it.
- In a flashback, Mrs. Headwood appears to be either injecting something into Josie's stomach or drawing something from her stomach with a needle, possibly suggesting that she's pregnant.
- Oz discovers that Buffalo, the Irish Engineer of Animal Squad, is the source of the voice that he heard in the hills in Snakes in the Garden and North Star. Buffalo had no idea that Oz could hear her as seen by her confusion when Oz confronts her about it.
- Buffalo calls Oz a "wean," which means that she was calling Oz a child.
- With the deaths of Ace of Spades and Rat, only Wolf and Buffalo are left of Animal Squad.
- Alex warns her friends about the effects of Gemini if Nima isn't stopped from launching it.
- Snowpiercer is revealed to be able to stop for extended periods of time without freezing while it's in New Eden's warm pocket.
- Nima is revealed to be Alexandra Cavill's biological father, although he is more of a sperm donor as he had agreed to help Melanie have a child who Melanie intended to raise as a single parent. The two were never a couple. Nima suggests that by nurture, Wilford is her father while Nima is her father by nature.
- After talking to Nima, Alex comes to the conclusion that Melanie is right and that Nima isn't truly her father in any way that matters.
- Javi's Spring Doll is destroyed when he uses it as the trigger mechanism on a booby trap.
- The International Peacekeeping Forces soldiers having no bullets is an homage to the Snowpiercer movie where Curtis Everett and the Tailies begin their revolution after discovering that Wilford's soldiers apparently have no bullets. It later turned out to be a trap in order to get them to launch the revolution.
- This revelation was foreshadowed throughout the season. Even Animal Squad are only seen sparingly using their guns and both Wolf and Rat quickly run out of ammo in this episode. In A Moth to a Flame, a soldier that Layton fought with ran out of bullets after his gun went off only a few times during the struggle.
- Javi manages to stop the IPF's bombs by planting a jamming device set to the trigger frequency of the detonators.
- Nima successfully steals Big Alice, but Layton and a number of fighters, including Ruth, Josie, Till, Boki, Javi, Lights and Oz manage to board Snowpiercer in an attempt to take it back and stop him. The remaining soldiers in New Eden surrender to the people who had stayed behind.
Body Count[]
- 1 New Eden resident (shot by Ace of Spades)
- Ace of Spades (stabbed in the heart by Bess Till)
- 1 International Peacekeeping Forces soldier (shot by Z-Wreck with a crossbow)
- 1 International Peacekeeping Forces soldier (blown up by Javier De La Torre with a booby trap)
- 1 International Peacekeeping Forces soldier (head bashed in by Boki)
- 1 International Peacekeeping Forces soldier (kicked in the head by Josie Wellstead)
- Many International Peacekeeping Forces soldiers (killed by the New Eden fighters as they rush aboard Snowpiercer)