Snowpiercer’s fourth season needs to focus on world-building

Snowpiercer does not spend much time world-building to show how the freeze started. Instead, the series depicts people frantically hurrying toward the train, but then time jumps to the future, where the tailies are angry at their state of life, and the way of the world is already set.

Audiences are not privy to seeing how Melanie decided how the train would be run before it left its final station or how anyone else felt about those choices. But, when viewers see their first glimpse of the world the message is understood. Things need to change.

After the season one finale’s revolution, Snowpiercer avoids thinking too hard about how to rebuild society due to Wilford’s unexpected arrival. It is no longer about making things the best they can be for everyone, especially the tailies. Instead, it is about containing Wilford’s influence to Big Alice.

As the show continued, most of Layton’s energy went to fighting Wilford’s advances. The people desiring change won out. Although there were opportunities to change things, not much could get done as a power struggle continued without the ability to take a breath.

Season three’s conclusion is the first time that there may be a break in the cycle, and Snowpiercer needs to take advantage of that. Dystopian future shows can have a habit of skipping exploring how societies were built, and instead, they jump ahead to already existing societies while the audience plays catch-up.

Snowpiercer ends its third season in New Eden, and it needs to utilize the brand new environment. Melanie is on a train, and Wilford has been sent away. Layton can finally deliver on new world order. Will there be a new government? How will people survive in New Eden? Will Snowpiercer reveal these things to the audience or show their first days adjusting to a new world? The finale’s final moments jump three months ahead to Melanie on the train with no confirmation of what happened to Layton’s group then.

Rather than spending more time on wars between the same groups of people or conflicting with Wilford as the Big Bad once again, season 4 should focus on world-building. People have separated from their loved ones on the possibility that New Eden was real. Now, Snowpiercer can create storylines the series has never told before while showing how these people must come together to build a new life for themselves.