WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Snowpiercer Season 3, Episode 5, “A New Life,” now available on TNT.
In Season 3 of Snowpiercer, Mr. Wilford (Sean Bean) has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest lows. He thought his Eternal Engine was protected, but Layton’s violent rebellion rose up and once more deposed him, despite the likes of Strong Boy dying.
It led to Wilford being poisoned by Roche in his cell, but the tyrant survived. However, after Layton himself began spinning a sinister lie, Wilford may have inadvertently gotten a new movement. And due to what he’s experiencing with his mental health, it may indeed be a redeemed one.
Wilford was experiencing a ton of fever dreams after Roche injected him with the sleeper agent he used on people, like Roche’s family, in the Drawers. As a result, Wilford saw Mel, her daughter Alex, as well as both the sins and good things he did. After all, he had pure intentions of protecting mankind after the planet froze over, but his narcissism, lust for power and control, and a dark sense of debauchery corrupted him.
However, when he woke up — barely alive — and was taken to his car, Alex cut a sympathetic figure. In fact, in Layton’s brief conversations with Wilford on the insurgence targeting Layton and a pregnant Zarah, it became clear Wilford was seeing the same cycle occur. It seems to have impressed on him, catalyzed by Alex reading to him, treating him like a dad for what he did when he took her in. They both helped heal each other after Mel abandoned them, so Wilford could want to do better if Layton botches it.
Ultimately, if the ark falls, they’ll all die, so this brush with mortality, along with sensing Layton is incompetent or breaking morals, can produce a new Wilford. And whether or not people like to admit it, he’s the savior, outside of Mel, who knows the equipment and tracks to keep them alive. It’s why he is so pensive, not fighting or quarreling, but wanting to rest. He came off like a reborn Wilford — recovering, contemplative and tired of being the antagonist, finally ready to assume responsibility.
What’s also sketchy is that Alex may be losing faith in Layton, while clinging to Wilford’s love. If she can cure him of his hatred, the train will bend the knee and let him take charge, especially once the secret leaks how Layton lied about New Eden in the Horn of Africa being a warm spot to colonize. And with Audrey (Wilford’s lover) also celebrating the birth of Layton’s daughter, strumming her guitar and singing for the lower-classes, her genuine care could signal a big turn for all those who follow Wilford.
Once he embarks on a path of light and love, she will too, and obviously, so will her followers. Alex may subscribe as well, and all those who felt betrayed by Layton’s lies could take the gamble too by giving a second chance to the expert who knows the lay of this frigid land. Only this time, he may lead selflessly after that brush with death and karma for what he did in the past.
See if Wilford has truly changed in Season 3 of Snowpiercer, with new episodes airing Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on TNT.
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