Warning: SPOILERS for Snowpiercer season 2, episode 8, "The Eternal Engineer".
Mr. Wilford's (Sean Bean) victory in taking back Snowpiercer could mean he'll ensure Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs) will share the same fate as his other nemesis, Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly). Melanie was supposed to rendezvous with Snowpiercer but was left stranded in the freezing cold by the tracks at the end of Snowpiercer episode 6, "Many Miles From Snowpiercer". Expulsion from the train and death in the Freeze may be the horrible future also awaiting Layton.
When Joseph Wilford's 40-car supply train, Big Alice, permanently docked with Snowpiercer, the billionaire Messiah was surprised to learn that Melanie had surrendered the train to Andre Layton, especially since Wilford had never heard of Layton nor knew what a "Tailie" was. However, Wilford was quick to assess what kind of a threat Melanie and Layton together were to his plans to regain control of Snowpiercer. When Melanie announced that the world could be naturally warming and "the future is outside!", Wilford immediately seized the opportunity to goad Melanie into undertaking a dangerous (and suicidal) solo mission to get the Breslauer Research Station online to prove her theory. This ingenious divide and conquer approach ensured that Melanie - the enemy Wilford knew but also knew him and the train best - was no longer a concern. This only left "King Layton", as Wilford derisively called him, for Wilford to deal with.
Despite Layton's own plans and attempts to counteract Wilford's growing influence among the engers of Snowpiercer, he had numerous factors working to bring down his regime and the fragile democracy he installed after the Snowpiercer Wars. By the end of "The Eternal Engineer", it truly dawned on Layton how masterfully Wilford played his hand and took control of the train out from under him. It was the result of weeks of matters spiraling out of Layton's control, not having Melanie around as counsel and to countermove Wilford's plots, people like Miss Audrey (Lena Hall) turning and siding with Wilford, and the unrest within Snowpiercer that Wilford's mere presence fanned the flames of.
The old adage that "things always get worse before they can get better" certainly applies to Andre Layton's short-lived tenure in command of Snowpiercer. The question now is whether Layton can survive what Wilford has planned next for him now that Andre has been arrested and sent to Big Alice. With Layton completely stripped of his power and separated from his closest allies like Sam Roche (Mike O'Malley), who Wilford sent to the Drawers, the future looks bleak for Andre. Here's why Wilford's smartest move would be to leave Layton on the side of the tracks just as Melanie did to him seven years ago. Only by completely ridding the train of Layton can Mr. Wilford finally assume total, unchallenged control of Snowpiercer.
How Wilford Won And Took Back Snowpiercer
The most startling thing about how Mr. Wilford took Snowpiercer back from "King Layton" is how little effort the billionaire needed to expel in order to win. The society on Snowpiercer was always under the thrall of Mr. Wilford's unique cult of personality. Indeed, the power of Wilford even as a mere idea is something Melanie understood and took advantage of when she posed as Snowpiercer's Messiah for seven years.
Layton's revolution in Snowpiercer season 1 unified the Tail and Third Class to overthrow Mr. Wilford's "perfect order" but they never had the time to cope with the fallout of victory and give democracy a chance before Wilford and Big Alice suddenly emerged from the cold. For a great many of Snowpiercer's engers, the Tail was unwelcome stowaways, and these ill feelings never subsided. As soon as Snowpiercer found out Wilford was back, segments of the train immediately rallied behind their "true" leader to take back what was "his". This manifested in violence done in Wilford's name: Lights (Miranda Edwards) from the Tail was attacked and her hand was maimed by Wilford's loyalists. But even the pro-Wilford Breachmen were murdered, and Train Detective Bess Till (Mickey Sumner) uncovered it was all a plot by Pastor Logan (Brian Terrell Clark) to frame the Tail section and incite pro-Wilford hysteria. Soon, the Tunnelmen and the remaining Jackboots were conspiring to help Wilford's eventual takeover.
But the Icy Bob (Andre Tricoteux) to disable Snowpiercer's water intake (even though it led to Bob's death). Wilford then swept in with the only "God module" that could save the eternal engine from a complete shutdown. Yet Wilford's hack almost didn't succeed because of changes that Melanie made to the engine. However, this also worked in Wilford's favor because, once he was in the engine, he could address the people of Snowpiercer that he had arrived to save the train. Sure enough, Wilford "saved" Snowpiercer from the crisis he engineered himself. And once Mr. Wilford was in the engine eternal, he was there to stay, with Snowpiecer's and approval.
Why Layton Wasn't Fit To Run Snowpiercer
Layton has been struggling with his limitations as Snowpiercer's leader all throughout season 2 but Wilford really rubbed it in while they were both in the eternal engine. Joseph didn't miss any chance to remind Andre that he isn't an engineer and he didn't understand the technical problems Wilford, Javier (Roberto Urbina), and Ben (Iddo Goldberg) were dealing with. Wilford's barbs about how Layton could think he could run the train when he didn't know the slightest thing about how it worked only underlined Andre's insecurity with his failing leadership. Even Josie (Katie McGuinness) had harsh words for Layton's command when she told him that revolutionaries make the worst political leaders.
In Layton's defense, he's a genuinely good person, which is why he earned the loyalty and iration of Roche, Bess, and Ruth Wardell (Alison Wright), even though Layton mistrusted and tried to shut the Head of Hospitality out of his inner circle of confidantes. Layton wanted the Tail to have rights and for all of Snowpiercer's engers to share the same status in order to benefit the train as a whole. wever, Layton just didn't have the time for his democracy to take root and he lacked the ability to capture Snowpiercer's imagination like Mr. Wilford. Even Layton's attempts to keep Wilford's arrival in the eternal engine backfired and Wilford was right when he boasted that he was "too big to keep a secret". Unfortunately, Layton just couldn't play the kind of three-dimensional chess Wilford (and his ers) excelled at, and he didn't have Melanie to rely on to see what he couldn't.
Will Wilford Leave Layton Outside Snowpiercer To Die (Like Melanie)?
When Layton was taken into custody at the end of "The Eternal Engineer", Roche reiterated Wilford's promise that he would be treated well aboard Big Alice. However, Layton and the audience have ample reason to suspect that Wilford is just making lip service. (Especially since Roche and his family were immediately sent to the Drawers for Sam's loyalty to Layton.) Punishment is a game to Wilford and he's also too much of a showman to just keep Layton in Big Alice's brig. It stands to reason Mr. Wilford has a master plan in mind for Layton and one that plays into Joseph's sense of theatricality and poetic justice.
Snowpiercer already teased that Layton could lose his arm, a fate that Ruth saved him from. But Layton's arm being frozen off doesn't seem ironic enough for Mr. Wilford, and Andre has already been in the Drawers. Instead, Wilford could simply order Layton to be left behind on the tracks as Melanie did to him seven years ago. This would mean both of Mr. Wilford's nemeses would be literally left out in the cold with no chance of survival. The extra irony in condemning Layton to die this way is that Wilford used his own mad scientists, the Headwoods', technology to save Josie and give Layton's love interest cold immunity. In Snowpiercer season 2's penultimate episode, Wilford could put on a big show about King Layton's punishment and abandon Andre to the Freeze while he rides away in style aboard Snowpiercer, 1,034-cars-long.