Snowpiercer (2020) s04e09 Episode Script

Dominant Traits

1
[TENSE MUSIC]

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.
Shit.
Sniper must be in the East Hills.
We got to clear these streets.
Perhaps I can better
express myself in this form.
And cooler heads will prevail.
I had 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.
You shot my friend!
Big Alice isn't going
anywhere. Deal's off.
Some might suffer, yes,
but only so a vast
amount more could benefit.
It's not working.
But it's not too late.
We can still change
the course of history.
Downtrain cars are covered.
We have people ready at the bottleneck?
Yeah, besides, ain't no soldiers
getting in here anytime soon.
Shit, I might slip into that tub.
Not unless you're being shot at.
I'm going to check on the
rest of the passengers.
None of us are safe with a
bloody shooter in the hills.
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-seven.
And the great thaw can begin.
Call for you from the field, sir.
Yes?
The girl destroyed the switch control.
Alex broke it. She can fix it.
What if she can't?
She's capable of extraordinary things.
Press her.
I'll work on a solution on my end.
And thanks to our work,
the survivors, the strong souls
who persevered 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.
[DRAMATIC THEME MUSIC]

[TENSE MUSIC]

Don't worry about me. Help Alex now.
Go.
Heads up. You got a visitor.
Javi, get back inside.
I need to get in my shop, Josie.
We can't get in the
door. Alex is in there.
One of Nima's animals is
forcing her to flip the switch.
I hate them all. I'm pissed.
- He's not looking so good.
- It's just a scratch, go.
- Go!
- It's not. Come on.
We need to get him into the clinic now.
Go, come on, man.
Javi. Find Layton.
- Tell him about Alex now.
- Okay.
[TENSE MUSIC]

Ah, that sniper's all over
us. We gotta find a way
- [SHUSHES]
- [BROKEN RADIO CHATTER]
- What are you doing?
- Shh.
You shush me again and I'll
use you as a human shield.
The girl busted the switching control.
- Is that the enemy?
- Yeah.
On the radio that Roche gave me.
Nice work. Nice work, Alex.
Just keep them pinned
down while I handle it.
Copy that. I've got ammo to spare.
What the hell is he doing?
Javi!
Javi, you gotta stay put, man.
Alex is locked in my shop
with one of Nima's soldiers.
They're gonna make her flip the switch.
If Nima stalls the Engine,
he could blow the hills.
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.
First things first,
we've gotta get to Alex.
- Keep your heads down.
- Okay.
[MUSIC INTENSIFIES]

Sorry for the fishing expedition.
It's okay, Doctor. You keep on fishing.
It's where I don't feel much anymore.
That's all right.
Being immune to pain makes us stronger.
No, no, no. It's not true.
Pain is important.
Tells us something is wrong.
I still feel it.
It's just, it's different.
Gotcha.
Ah, shit. He has lost a lot of blood.
- Well, I'm type O.
- No, no.
Josie, I cannot ask that of you.
Get the needle.
[SNIPER SHOT]
It sounds like Alex
bought us some more time.
We got to find a way
to take out that sniper.
Yeah, I'm on the wrong end
of a carnival game out there.
That radio. Oz, you distract him with it
while Till, you head up
to the hills, take him out.
Wait, hold on. Shouldn't it be
me to take care of the sniper?
I know those hills better than anyone.
And I faced the Animal Squad.
And I know how they fight.
Y'all can play roshambo for it.
- I'm gonna go get Alex.
- Hey, where do you want me?
Go to the engine with Z-Wreck
in case they attack it.
- Javi, will you please stay put?
- Okay, I'll stay put.
[BEEPING]
[TENSE MUSIC]

I see my words were of no consequence.
Take me to Alex.
That's actually why I'm here.
She's been relocated to New Eden
and could use a little
parenting right about now.
[SNIPER SHOT]
[TENSE MUSIC]

[SNIPER SHOT]
[SNIPER SHOT]
[MUSIC INTENSIFIES]

[SNIPER SHOT]
They're mobilizing on you.
Rat, move in.
Hurry up already!
[GROANS]
Take cover.
[GRUNTS]
We got to go. Come on.
- Where are we going?
- Town Hall. Go, let's go.
[SNIPER SHOT]
Cut across.
Right through there. Ready, go.

[GROANS]
Last bit, you got it?
Go!
To get Snowpiercer to the launch point,
you'll have to finish retrofitting
- the Big Alice engine.
- It's not happening.
If what Alex did to the
track switch is irreversible,
then, then it's our only solution.
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.
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.
No, no, we're not
working together anymore.
You are on your own here.
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 need them both.
I think my position's clear.
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.

[SNIPER SHOT]
Okay.
[GRUNTING SOFTLY]
- [SIGHS]
- Yes.
- [GRUNTING SOFTLY]
- Yep.
[GROANS]
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
- Yes, yes!
- Ah! Damn it.
- You'll be needing this.
- Yeah.
All right, so how you gonna stop
the sniper from spotting you?
Well, well, well, my
little New Eden tourist.
[EXHALES] Sniper's here, right?
Uh-huh.
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
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

[SIGHS]
Shit!
[BULLET RICOCHETS]
They won't shoot me. They need me.
You sure?
They seem pretty pissed off.
Well, it seems like
we're both good at that.
So I know you got Liana, but
how did you escape the Silo?
Just kept going up.
Was Wilford with you?
Hey, uh, any patrols out there,
I need you over to the East
Side to cover Till and Oz.
I mean, I know that he
was with you and Melanie,
but I don't know if he
made it onto Snowpiercer.
Yes. Wilford did make
it onto Snowpiercer.
And that is where he died.
Huh?
Oh, uh
[STAMMERS]
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.
He did it to himself.
'Cause he was never gonna
make it out alive, was he?
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
What somehow she found a way
to streamline the retrofit
by merging the hydraulic systems.
Alex's mind, it's, it's
it's fascinating to watch,
unconventional, but ingenious.
You know, working and
working and working a problem
until there just isn't one.
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 want to launch
it into the atmosphere.
A poison that created New Eden.
At what cost?
And how do you know
it'll work any different
than it did with CW-seven?
You weren't working
on Gemini 15 years ago.
That was CW-seven.
- That was you.
- My team.
It wasn't just me. It was my team.
It was 100 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.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

Your symptoms have
progressed quite rapidly.
What have you done to me?
[GRUNTS]
[SCREAMS]

[SNIPER SHOT]
Oi. You up there.
You swap those rifles out for a BB gun
because you couldn't
hit a red elephant's ass.
[SNIPER SHOT]
[GRUNTS]
You animal blokes like
finger painting, right?
Maybe if I put a bullseye
on my face, it'll help you.
Ignore him, Ace.
Stay on task and maintain your position.
Do I know you?
Why were you talking to me in the hills?
I wasn't. Who the hell is this?
All this time I thought I was going mad
because my psycho
ex-wife was taunting me.
Turns out it's just
some Irish mercenary.
I'm not a mercenary.
I'm a bloody engineer.
Ace, how'd this wean get a radio?
I gotta go help Till and Oz.
[SNIPER SHOT]
You okay?
Yeah, I'm okay.
Um, just do what you need to do, Layton.
[INTENSE MUSIC]

Layton,
if you can hear me,
get out of there, man.

Layton!

You're gonna run across
through the catwalk exit.
I'm gonna make sure
he doesn't fire at you.
He has an automatic weapon.
Unless you can punch through
bullets, we're screwed.
Go.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

It's locked.
Layton!

[BOTH GRUNTING]
- [SCREAMS]
- [GRUNTS]
[BOTH GRUNTING]

[SHOUTS]
[SNIPER SHOT]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[SIGHS]
Hey.
Still got pretty good aim.
Yeah, and a whole lot of freaking luck.
There was only one round
left in the chamber.
Send a sniper and we'll
counter with a Bess Till.
[CHUCKLES]
Is everyone all right, then?
Uh, Boki got a souvenir in the gut,
but it's not gonna slow him down.
Javi's in his shop,
working on the jammer
- so the bombs won't go off.
- 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.
Which also means our plan
to use the engine to
escape is off the table.
Well, we know that they're gonna
come back with heavier forces.
It's all right. The plan still works.
Lead 'em down Main
Street, start an ambush.
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.
[CLEARS THROAT] Right.
- Holy shit.
- That's a lot.
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.
[CLEARS THROAT UNCOMFORTABLY]
But how can he get the
engine past a locked switch
without derailing it?
Well, you just answered
your own question.
That right there,
that's what we've all been
scratching and clawing for.
The bridge back to
the lives we once knew.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Are we ready to bring
Melanie through town?
There's been a complication.
Okay, come on.
[CHIMING]
[GRUNTS]
Vamos.
We're ready to head out.
The best approach is gonna be
to back Snowpiercer into town.
And leave it vulnerable?
No, we'll be escorting
you into town on foot.
The engine will freeze if's
it left idle for too long.
It has extended time
in this warm pocket.
But I'm sure you already know that.
You know the retrofit won't be complete
until the engines are connected.
My way is faster and
more efficient, Nima.
Bringing Snowpiercer into New Eden
won't be a problem once
we've cleared the town.
I thought there were no more weapons.
Milius saved some for a rainy day.
Don't be this person,
Nima. Don't do this.
They've given us no choice.
- There's another way.
- Yeah, Alex said the same.
And now my sniper is
dead in their hills.
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.
Just hear me out.
No one make a move until I say so.
Why has he sent her?
To make a deal?
He's not interested in a deal.
Run.
Run!
[GAS CANISTERS HISSING]
Everybody get back!
Find shelter, now!
Get inside!
Mom! Mom, what's going on?
Put this on.
[TENSE MUSIC]

[COUGHING]
Come on.
[GRUNTS]
Oz.
- Come on.
- Come on.
- Oz.
- [GROANS]
[ALARM BLARING]
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

- [CROSSBOW FIRES]
- [GRUNTS]
Down, down!
[GAS CANISTER HISSING]
[COUGHING]
[RESPIRATOR HISSING]
Look what we accomplish when
we put our minds together.
Let's vent these cars
and get on with it.
By all means.
Only a few hours to stay on schedule.
[GRUNTING]
[TENSE MUSIC]

Hey, hey. Head up, drink up.
[COUGHS]
It's the same stuff I got gassed
with back on Snowpiercer.
It isn't deadly, but they'll
be out of it for a while.
[GROANING, COUGHING]
Alex, she's not here.
- Anyone see her in the chaos?
- They must have grabbed her.
Or maybe Melanie wanted
to save her daughter
before she launched the attack.
We don't know that she was behind that.
I mean, it is kind of on brand for her.
She might have been coerced.
Melanie and Nima have control
of both of the engines, again,
and the town. Their
soldiers are outside.
What, we're just gonna
stay in here like prisoners?
[COUGHS]
Whatever side Melanie's
on, Alex is on ours.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Secure that tread to the chassis
and back onto itself.
You're not actually handing over
the tricked-out engine
over to Nima, right?
Especially after he gassed New Eden?
Gassing town was actually my idea.
Believe me, it was better
than the alternative.
Well, I'm sure after my little stunt,
Nima was ready to go full force.
Good news is, he gassed me, you know,
so I knew he had a safer weapon.
- He gassed you?
- Yeah.
So, uh,
no, we're not giving him what he wants.
What happened in the engine?
Just worked on the blueprint with him
and tried to gain his trust.
Thought he would tell me where you were.
Did he tell you anything?
He reminded me that he's smart.
Right.
[WIND BLOWING]
Your first taste of New Eden.
[GIGGLES]
I suppose you're used to it by now.
Oh, it's a marvel.
One that exists because of you.
Because of you, this life can flourish.
My husband also pushed boundaries
for the betterment of humankind.
I just wish he was here to see all this.
Sounds like we would've gotten along.
Uh-huh.
You know, the people here,
they want to enjoy this miracle,
and yet they want to deprive
the rest of the world of it.
How is that fair?
Here lies another injustice.
When I found out we lost a
valuable asset in the field,
I wondered, with your experience, if
you might have any thoughts?
[DARK MUSIC]

Hmm.
Anyone who is lost can be found.
[CHATTER]
- Hey.
- [GASPS]
Sorry.
Didn't mean to startle you.
We just wondered where
you slipped off to.
Look at them.
Strolling around our
town, eating our food.
Their heads should be
on spikes at the gate.
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?
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.
For what?
For the harm that we inflict back.
We may take the high
road attitude at times,
but surely there's a stark difference
between justice and
vengeance, isn't there?
I'm fine, Ruth.
No, you're not.
None of us are.
How do we get in touch with Layton?
There's a radio in Town Hall.
If he went there after the
attack, we can call to it.
We can call up the antenna cable
that runs up to Big Alice's control cab.
Just act like we're
working on the retrofit.
Walkies are closed loop,
but if we patch into the comms,
we might be able to reach Town Hall.
Well, the only problem is,
Nima never gave us a walkie.
Helped myself.
Huh.
Okay, we'll need to distract Nima.
If he's at the helm, he might
notice the comms are active.
Well, we could convince him that
there's a hitch in the retrofit.
Mm, not sure we want him
poking around down here.
Then why don't I go to the Engine
and lure him out of the cockpit?
- No.
- Why not?
[SIGHS]
First of all, I don't trust him.
Well, he thinks of me like a protégé,
studies me like a science experiment.
Yeah, I bet.
You don't have to worry.
I can handle myself.
Alex.
Um
He's the donor.
The donor?

He's my biological father?

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.
Then what happened after grad school?
We went our separate ways.
Not before making one
hell of an arrangement.
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.
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?
I didn't think Nima and I
would ever cross paths again.
Here we are. [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
The admission was starting
to feel like a lie.
I don't want that between us.
So my father is the one who
is trying to destroy the world.
Donor.
Yes.
But not if we stop him.
Well, I am going to go to the engine
because that seems
like the best strategy.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

Melanie's just crossing the
T's and dotting the whatever,
so the retrofit will be done soon.
Thank you for the update.
You're welcome.
I also thought that we could discuss
the whole that you are my dad.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

Melanie wouldn't use that term.
Well, neither would you, apparently.
Well, we have a few minutes.

[SOFT BEEP]
[SOFTLY] Layton, do you copy?

Yeah, Melanie.
I'm here. So is Ruth.
And there's a few people downstairs
wouldn't want us talking to you.
Sorry about the gas.
Um, from the arsenal I saw,
it seemed like the lesser evil.
Okay what's your play?
Stop Nima.
I'm bringing Snowpiercer into town,
need you to board the train
and help us put up a fight.
Yeah, how exactly we
supposed to do that?
Saw you rush the train once before.
I have faith you can do it again.
Then we take the trains back.
First, we all board
and figure out how to stop
that rocket from launching.

I want to hear both sides of the story,
so this is your chance to tell me yours.
I'm sure it lines up with your mother's.
Okay, then.
Then why did you do it?
Melanie was a friend and she asked.
- So it was a transaction?
- Don't be so reductive.
You know you're more than that.
Look. [SIGHS]
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 both sides.
The nurture part, that you
got from Joseph Wilford,
but the nature
that, you inherited from me.
- Both such sane people.
- [SCOFFS SOFTLY]
You know the difference between
dominant and recessive genes?
- One overrules the other.
- Mm-hmm.
Whether advantageous or detrimental,
and the other gene
can't compensate for it.
Is this your weird way of telling me
that I have your eyes?
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.
We've had like five conversations.
So how do you really know me?
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.

There has to be a way.
This is our town,
and we will get the hell
out of it if we want to.
As soon as we charge out that door,
Nima's soldiers will shoot us down.
We need to thin the herd somehow,
but we can't do it from in here.
Then it's a good thing
not all of us are.

Javi, do you copy?
Yeah, I'm here. You guys all right?
Is the jammer functioning?
We won't know for sure unless
they try to blow up the hillside.
Well, that's encouraging.
We have a small favor to ask,
since you're already there.
We need you to move a bomb.

That didn't go so well last time.
But I did learn a bit
from almost blowing up.
We're actually doing this, huh?
Yeah, if we can get out
of the engine undetected.
There's always the side door.
How'd that go?
You're right. He is not my dad.

You can give your driver the word.

[ENGINE RUMBLING]
So much for the track switch.
Snowpiercer's coming.
We just need Javi to punch our ticket.
[TENSE MUSIC]

[SHOUTING]
- Now!
- [ALL SHOUTING]
Move, let's go!
Ruth.
Ah! [PANTING]
- They're coming!
- Move!
- What, haven't got it in you?
- [GRUNTS]
Ah!
Hey! They haven't got any bullets.
[GRUNTS]
[RUMBLING]
The train didn't
bypass the track switch.
It went over it.
[RUMBLING AND GRINDING]
[TENSE MUSIC]

Ready to connect the trains.
Coupling sequence initiated.
[GEARS CLANK]
Coupling complete.
Ceding system controls
and engaging caterpillar system.
[TENSE MUSIC]

Well done, Melanie.
You just helped change
the course of history.

This is our chance.
All right, form up.
- Crossbows!
- [BOLTS WHIZZING]
[SOLDIERS GRUNTING]
Get on the train!
[SHOUTS]
[GRUNTING, GROANING]
- [ROARS]
- [GRUNTS]
Layton and the others boarded the train.
Pull out of the town now.
Stop Layton and secure the subtrain.
We'll wrap up things here and follow.
Are we out of the blast radius?
We are.
Blow the hills.
[TENSE MUSIC]

[WIND HOWLING]
What's wrong?
He must have jammed the signals.
No.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
You orchestrated this
whole thing, didn't you?

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