DISCLAIMER: This recap of Snowpiercer Season 4 Episode 6, “Bell the Cat,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
“Bell the Cat” seemingly sets the narrative endgame wheels into motion. However, the story still feels somewhat hollow and stagnant. That said, I’m excited to presumably have Jennifer Connelly back next week. We need a dose of Melanie.
I feel like I left “Bell the Cat” with more questions than answers. Where’s Josie? Why is Wilford sick? Is Ben really dead? What are Wilford’s true motives? Where is Roche? Here’s hoping we get answers in the remaining four episodes.
RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Snowpiercer episode, “The Engineer”
Snowpiercer, “Bell the Cat”
We open with Wilford (Sean Bean) providing narration as he makes repairs in the Silo following Ben manually uncoupling the trains on last week’s episode. Then, we flash back to 11 months earlier, wherein Dubs is still in the track scaler when Admiral Milius (Clark Gregg) and his crew find him. While Wilford receives treatment in medbay, Milius introduces himself, hoping they can help each other.
In the present, Wilford continues to make repairs. He tries to chat up one of Milius’s men. Milius pops in to ask how long it’ll be until the tunnel is unblocked. Wilford insists it won’t be long now. Milius demands he finish that evening. Meanwhile, Alex (Rowan Blanchard) asks Nima (Michael Aronov) if her friends escaped on Big Alice. Nima confirms they did but omits Ben’s death.
He pivots to discussing Alex’s symptom reports and logbooks. He’d like to look through them. Alex orders Nima to tell her who escaped and who didn’t — starting with Layton. Speaking of Layton, our hero (Daveed Diggs) wakes up on an abandoned floor in the Silo. He notices the elevator doors are locked. While moving about the floor, we see a group of strangers approach him from behind.
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Big Alice
Later, Dr. Pelton (Karin Konoval) gives Bess (Mickey Sumner) water on Big Alice. Unfortunately, that’s all anyone’s had at this point. Bess finds Ruth (Alison Wright) examining their food stores. She encourages Ruth to deliver a speech to the passengers to boost morale. Of course, they’re all grieving the loss of Ben. Ruth attempts to give a pep talk to the crew; however, she herself feels too discouraged to offer encouragement. She walks away.
Next, Javi (Roberto Urbina) contacts Oz (Sam Otto), who’s outside in the snow looking for Roche. While Oz doesn’t find Roche, he stumbles upon none other than Whiggins (Kristian Bruun) in a tent … missing a hand. Elsewhere, Nima asks Milius for another sample run so he can continue his tests. He wants to test his subjects for nosebleeds (like Alex).
Woozy Wilford
Then, Wilford starts to feel woozy while working on repairs. We see he cut his hand. Dr. Headwood (Sakina Jaffrey) tends to his wound in medbay. She asks Wilford if his vision blurred during his dizzy spell before hooking him up to an IV for more treatment. He must be ill, which is why Josie was giving her blood for him (against her will).
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Later, Layton continues exploring his new surroundings. He finds a sample list that includes animals that have undergone testing. Suddenly, he runs into the aforementioned group of strangers. They boast gnarly scars on their faces and bodies. They knock Layton unconscious.
Questioning Whiggins
In New Eden, Javi, Oz and Sykes (Chelsea Harris) question Whiggins. Whiggins claims he was on Snowpiercer. He tried to escape Milius’s soldiers. Apparently, they cut off his hand before he did. Javi urges him to cut the crap — they found his hand, which was clearly torn off. Oz asks Whiggins to tell them where Roche is. Whiggins claims he hasn’t seen Roche since the trains separated.
Sykes digs her fingers into Whiggins’ arm stump, causing him to cry out in pain. Javi asks Sykes to lay off the torture tactics. Meanwhile, Wilford regales the soldiers with a fun story from our titular train’s early days. Milius barges in and reminds Wilford of the “no smoking” policy in the breakroom. Then, Milius puts out Wilford’s cigar on the back of a soldier’s hand. Why? Because this particular man thought Wilford’s setup on Snowpiercer was more fun than the Silo.
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After the encounter with Wilford, Milius heads into an elevator and starts punching the wall. He tries to calm himself down. Even the most stoic can occasionally lose their cool. Meanwhile, Layton wakes up tied to a chair. He meets Kari (Sumalee Montano), the leader of the people who dwell on the abandoned floor. At the same time, Milius assigns Wilford to join the crew for a sample run.
Wilford realizes this is Milius’s way of getting rid of him. Milius’s men will kill him. Wilford runs into Alex on his way out. She notices he’s acting strangely, to which he responds with, “Stay on the right side of the tracks, Alex.”
Joker and the Thief
Later, Kari explains that the testing on the upper levels went awry, resulting in a chemical leak. She and the others were sacrificial lambs — entrapped on the abandoned floor. Now, Milius’s crew swoop down periodically to draw blood samples. Sure enough, Wilford and the Peacekeepers arrive. Kari leaves Layton alone as she and her pals battle the Peacekeepers. We get a diegetic moment as “Joker and the Thief” by Wolfmother blares over the speakers.
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Kari and her friends try to ward off Milius’s men as best they can. Unfortunately, the baddies get their blood samples for Nima. Afterward, one of Milius’s soldiers whirls around to shoot Wilford. Wilford claims he forgives the soldier. He understands the man is merely following orders. However, the soldier refrains from killing Wilford. Unfortunately for Wilford, he runs into Layton, who doesn’t look too happy.
Then, Layton proceeds to beat the snot out of Wilford. Wilford fights back by stabbing Layton in the shoulder near the base of his neck. Wilford scampers off. Meanwhile, Bess heads into Big Alice’s engine, aka Wilford’s old stomping grounds, to find Ruth in the bathtub. She gives Ruth food. They chat about not feeling hopeful and decide to do something to honor Ben’s sacrifice.
The Aftermath
Later, in New Eden, Oz persuades Javi and Sykes to let him chat with Whiggins. He’ll weasel the truth out of him one way or another. Kari reunites with Layton, offering medical assistance for that nasty stab wound. As for Wilford, who has blood dripping down his face, he locks himself in a room away from Layton.
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While Kari treats Layton’s wound, she explains that she and her colleagues were trying to discover a way to reverse the effects of the CW7. However, the chemical leak resulted in the others sealing off the floor. They’ve been trapped on the floor for three years — experiments for those above them.
Meanwhile, Oz invites Whiggins to his tent on the mountain. They have drinks and shoot the sh*t. Oz asks Whiggins if he can tag along when the latter returns to Snowpiercer. Whiggins shakes his head, claiming this isn’t possible. “What if I gave you your Nightcar service in exchange?” Oz asks. Elsewhere, Alex examines the car Ben breached on Snowpiercer. She starts to piece together the mystery.
The Truth
Layton finds Wilford holed up in a room. He grabs a chair and attempts to break the glass between them. Layton insists Wilford won’t leave here alive. At the same time, Alex finally gets the truth out of Nima. Ben manually uncoupled the trains by going outside without a suit, and he died. Alex sheds tears for her fallen fellow engineer.
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Next, Wilford claims that Layton can’t kill him; he’s the only one who knows where Liana is. Wilford contacts Milius after repairing the abandoned floor’s communication system. Wilford tries to convince Milius to take him along when the latter boards Snowpiercer. Milius rejects him, stating he planned to leave Wilford on the abandoned floor so Layton could have a go.
After hanging up, Wilford reveals Milius will send his men down there to finish the job. This allows him and Layton to escape. Why not temporarily join forces to maximize their chances of getting out? The enemy of my enemy and all that. Understandably, Layton is reluctant, but he agrees to the temporary team-up.
An Interrogation
Later, Oz wrestles information out of Whiggins by binding his wrists and ankles and oiling his feet. Oof. Someone call wikiFeet. Someone call Tarantino. I’d like to rinse my eyeballs with hydrogen peroxide, please, and thank you. However, Oz goes too far, ignoring Whiggins’ usage of his safeword. Oz demands to know if Whiggins pointed out Zarah to them. He admits he pointed out Dr. Headwood.
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After this, Whiggins insists he jumped off the snowcat with his bag when he learned what they planned to do to Zarah. His hand got stuck in the treads. Whiggins adds that they left him there to die. In fact, he saw Milius’s men digging his grave. The soldiers dug several graves along the cliff, which caused the avalanche. Then, Oz leaves Whiggins there.
Meanwhile, Nima and Alex chat about the rocket launches and how the warm spots formed. Alex learns about the human and animal testing. It’s all part of the mission, according to Nima. Alex realizes that his data is incomplete without someone who lived outside, i.e., her.
It’s Alex
Next, Wilford tampers with the elevator, telling Layton they can joyride it to the top. Kari observes them. She hands them a knife to help jam the elevator doors open. Elsewhere, Nima draws blood from Alex. Then, she swipes his access bracelet. Layton and Wilford brace themselves for Milius’s men to arrive; however, it’s Alex on the other side of the elevator doors.
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Later, Ruth, Bess and the other passengers carve the letter “B” for Ben in the engine room on Big Alice. It’s a lovely tribute. Outside, Oz finds bombs planted around the mountain, not dug graves. He informs Javi and Skyes about his findings, stating that the enemy plans to explode the mountain and bury New Eden. Nima realizes his bracelet is MIA and asks someone to track it. He asks for a shut down of the east elevator.
Milius barges into the room with good news: Melanie’s snowcat has been spotted three miles out. She should be back soon. Then, they can complete the mission.
RELATED: Read our Snowpiercer recaps
Snowpiercer drops new episodes every Sunday at 9 pm EST on AMC, BBC America and AMC+.
Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: MELANIE CAVILL
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
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