| “ | Anne, you realize, Wilford… he designed this train with portals that freeze people’s limbs off. | ” |
| — Sam Roche talking to Anne about Wilford in The Eternal Engineer. | ||
Sam Roche is a main character on TNT's Snowpiercer. He is portrayed by Mike O'Malley.
History[]
Roche played three years of JV baseball.[1]
A former police officer, Roche worked security detail for Joseph Wilford for 4 years.[2] He eventually was hired to be Lead Brakeman by Wilford Industries. Before boarding Snowpiercer he had the privilege of shaking hands with Mr. Wilford. During the freezing of the world, he and his wife manage to survive due to his employment under Wilford Industries. However, two of his three children did not survive. He married his wife 20 years ago.[3]
Throughout The Series[]
Season 1[]
In These Are His Revolutions, Roche and the Brakemen block the charging Tailies in the Chains. However, only Layton and Bess Till approach him rather than attacking all at once. The two attempt to convince Roche and his men to stand aside peacefully for them with Roche unsure of what to do, his faith shaken by the revelation of the truth about Mr. Wilford. After Oz abandons his post, Roche decides that he can't bring himself to stop the Tailies and orders his men to let them all pass freely.
In The Train Demanded Blood, Till approaches Roche for help with their plan to detach the cars containing the Folgers, Grey, and their army. Though initially reluctant, Roche agrees to help and brings Layton to the schoolroom, supposedly as a surrendering prisoner. When Grey and the Jackboots take Layton uptrain to make an official announcement, Roche locks the door to the sub-train and pulls a hidden gun, leading to a struggle that leaves him unconscious. However, Layton and Roche are rescued by Z-Wreck, Strong Boy and The Last Australian. Layton orders his friends to take Roche with them to safety, identifying Roche as one of them.
In 994 Cars Long, Roche struggles to help maintain order as chaos spreads as the Tailies celebrate having the run of the train. Roche later joins the Tailies in preparing to greet whoever comes out of Big Alice when it arrives with the real Mr. Wilford, although he is shocked when Alexandra Cavill emerges. Roche is so shocked by this revelation that he lowers his spear.
Season 2[]
In The Eternal Engineer, after Wilford takes control of Snowpiercer, Roche facilitates Layton's surrender before he and his family are placed into the Drawers on Big Alice.
Season 3[]
In The First Blow, Bess Till talks with the imprisoned Miss Audrey about Roche and his family being locked in the Drawers and her hope to rescue them because of how kind Roche has always been to her even when they were at odds. Despite being on the opposite side of the conflict, a sympathetic Miss Audrey offers her sincere hope that Roche and his family survived.
After the Pirate Train's return and Wilford's defeat, Roche is rescued from the Drawers by Till and Doctor Pelton. However, the two discover that while Roche and his daughter Carly had survived and are in stable condition, his wife Anne had died at some point during their six months locked up.
In Bound by One Track, after his release and recovery from the Drawers, Roche spiraled into depression and started drinking and sleeping in the Night Car. Blaming Wilford for the death of his wife, he stole an IV bag of the suspension drug and a syringe and injected it into Wilford's heart, putting him into critical condition.
In Setting Itself Right, as the train passes through a cloud of volcanic toxic gas, Roche, now the lead Breakman once again, leads his men in checking on the passengers. While checking up on Carly, he discusses the loss of Anne with her and bonds with his daughter by dancing together.
In The Original Sinners, Roche keeps his Breakmen as a neutral faction between Layton and Melanie, attempting to keep order in the train. However, he reluctantly agrees to help Melanie after she joins forces with Wilford. Roche delivers Melanie's ultimatum to Layton who is uninterested in it.
After everyone is given a choice between remaining on the train and going to New Eden, both Roche and Carly immediately decide to join everyone on Big Alice in going to New Eden. Although the train derails, the passengers all survive and find New Eden to be habitable. Roche enjoys the outside world with his daughter for the first time in years.
Season 4[]
In Snakes in the Garden, a year later, Roche is a member of the New Eden Town Council and serves as the town's head of security. However, while Roche is looking after Liana Layton, he is attacked by Rat and Mrs. Headwood who kidnap Liana, killing Zarah as they escape. The still unconscious Roche is later found by Layton and Josie who call for medical help for their friend. Layton later expresses concern for Roche's state.
In Life Source, the recovered Roche reveals to Oz that he isn't crazy as Oz has been hearing the people watching them rather than ghosts from Snowpiercer as Oz had believed. Roche recruits Oz to help him with security for New Eden and he argues with Ruth Wardell about her unilateral decision to not let Layton take Big Alice after Liana. Roche urges the two to put it to a vote before the people of New Eden, telling Layton that he's sure a lot of people wouldn't be able to live with themselves if they keep Layton from going after his daughter. Roche expresses remorse for his inability to protect Liana, but Layton tells Roche that he's not to blame. After the town votes in favor of letting Layton take the Engine and a few cars, Ruth leaves Roche in charge of New Eden while she joins the mission.
In North Star, a week after Big Alice's departure, New Eden deals with wild weather and power outages. Oz returns from patrol with a severed hand that Roche enlists Javi to investigate. As Javi and Sykes discover that the hand belongs to a Snowpiercer passenger, Oz and Roche search the mountainside for further clues amidst a blizzard. As Oz hears a mysterious radio transmission, Roche spots something and abruptly vanishes as Oz frantically looks for him.
In Bell the Cat, Roche remains missing with Oz's attempts to find him being unsuccessful. Oz's search for Roche leads him to Stu Whiggins, a former First Class passenger and a Jackboot who is the source of the severed hand and is in a tent near where Roche vanished. Oz and Sykes suspect that Roche has been taken prisoner by the International Peacekeeping Forces and try without success to find out where he might be from Stu.
Personality[]
He is very strict but is also quite a funny guy sometimes.
Relationships[]
Sam Roche had a wife, Anne Roche, and a daughter Carly Roche. Before the Freeze, Anne had always wanted to take a holiday to the Giza pyramid complex, but they never managed. They’d made some crack that they were smart to wait till the off-season.
Appearances[]
| Appearance | EP1 | EP2 | EP3 | EP4 | EP5 | EP6 | EP7 | EP8 | EP9 | EP10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Season 2 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Drawers | ||
| Season 3 | Drawers | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | H | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Season 4 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Missing | ✔ | |||||
| Appeared | Did Not Appear | H = Hallucinations | ||||||||
| V = Voice | C = Cameo | F = Flashback | ||||||||
Memorable Quotes[]
- Layton: "I'll do it for rations and Third Class immigration for the Tail."
- Roche: "You're not entitled to anything here! The passengers had tickets, all the crew had jobs. [...] You Tallies boarded the train like rats!"
- ― Layton and Roche in First, the Weather Changed.
| “ | Your only concern is finding out who tortured and killed Sean Wise. And if you try communicating with the Tail again, I’ll stick your head out a port myself. | ” |
| — Roche to Layton in Access Is Power. | ||
- Roche: "Uncuff him."
- Jackboot: "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa."
- Grey: "Not you too, Roche."
- Roche: "Cuffs. Quickly."
- Grey: "Get them off."
- Jackboot: "All right."
- Grey: "Do you know how much damage a bullet can do down here?"
- Roche: "I'm counting on your brain pan to slow it down. You two, on the floor."
- ― Roche aids the revolution in The Train Demanded Blood.
- Roche: "What’s on your mind?"
- Ruth: "When Audrey and Mr. Wilford turned back at the border last night, he asked me to step over on to Big Alice."
- Roche: "Well, you’re still here."
- Ruth: "Didn’t know what to do. There was a time that I would have."
- Roche: "Now you’re not so sure?"
- Ruth: "I serve Snowpiercer just like you. We had order for seven years. I know it was Melanie, but they were his rules, weren't they?"
- Roche: "Yes, we had order. You want to do that job again? Taking arms? Running a gulag at the back of the train?"
- Ruth: "[Sighs]"
- ― Ruth and Roche discussing about Wilford's system in Our Answer for Everything.
- Roche: "Hey, just passing through the neighborhood. You all right?"
- Carly: "Is it really super poisonous out there?"
- Roche: "It’s never easy, is it, sweetheart?"
- Carly: "I keep imagine Mum out there with Alex’s mom. I know she isn’t, but I can’t help it."
- Roche: "Hey, you can think about it anyway you want. You wanna know what I do? It’s crazy."
- Carly: "What?"
- Roche: "I get up in the morning and I tell myself, “Anne is in the closet.” I know she’s not, and I know I’ll be disappointed, but… I go to the closet anyway. Start moving clothes around. ‘Hello? Anne?’ I look high… and I look low. ‘Anne?’"
- Carly: "Shitty, Dad, she’s not there."
- Roche: "Right? But then what happens? Something interrupts. You. Farting, or snoring, or sleeping late. […] And I know... I’m just saying, this is what happens. But I know, if you’re still here, then she is too. So I make her a fake coffee and I go about my day."
- Carly: "It’s quiet around here without her."
- ― Roche comforts his daughter as they both loses someone they love in Setting Itself Right.
| “ | Back before the Freeze, Anne had always wanted to take a holiday to the pyramids, but we never managed. Then we get on Snowpiercer, and there they are, every three months, just whizzing past the window. Anne would make some crack that we were smart to wait till the off-season. | ” |
| — Roche talking about his late wife in A Beacon for Us All. | ||
Trivia[]
- He has spoken the opening dialogue in The Eternal Engineer.
- His awards and decorations are a mixture of ribbons used in the United States Armed Forces. Also on the collar of the Brakers is the insignia for an O-2 officer (US Army/Air Force/Marine Corps 1st Lieutenant or Navy/Coast Guard Lieutenant Junior Grade) They are as follows: National Defense Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Silver Star, Antarctica Service Medal Ribbon, Army Good Conduct Medal.
- He has been married for 20 years.
- This character is a tribute to the drawer and co creator of the graphic novel Jean-Marc Rochette.
- Roche has a Boombox and a Cassette tape of, Roxy Music, "More Then This".
- In North Star, Roche mysteriously vanishes in a blizzard, leaving his fate unknown.
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