Characters / Snowpiercer (2020): Staff

Snowpiercer Main Character Index
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Staff of Snowpiercer

The Staff of Snowpiercer.

Snowpiercer is manned by a diverse crew, consisting of several departments and a strict hierarchy. Everyone, from Third Class and Second, aren't technically just passengers and are actually crew members. They all have a part to play in keeping the train in order.

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Higher-ups

Ruth

Ruth Wardell

Portrayed By: Alison Wright

Melanie's ruthless assistant, who oversees taking people from the Tail or delivering demands to them, activities she seems to feel are beneath her.

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• The Atoner: Insists on finding Winnie herself, despite the dangers of the anti-Tail riots, after finding out she was responsible for her mother's death. She later risks her life trying to help Layton save Pike (then saving Layton) from the rampaging mob.
• Became Their Own Antithesis: Starts the series as perhaps the most enthusiastically pro-Wilford person on the staff, and saying she looks down on Tailies would be an understatement. By the Season 3 premiere, she has become the leader of the resistance against Wilford on Snowpiercer, and developed a respect for Mr Layton.
• Berserk Button: When ruminating to Layton on their ruined friendship, Melanie speculates Ruth's is being lied to.
• Big Damn Heroes: She, of all people, pulls a small one when she stops an angry mob from freezing Layton's arm off by shaming them and pointing out how barbaric the old regime on the train and its punishments were.
  • In a twist of fate, Layton unknowingly returns the favour in Season 3: Ruth is going to have her arm frozen off by Wilford for heading La Résistance against him, but the timely return of Layton and the pirate train puts a stop to that.
• Broken Pedestal:
  • A double one when it turns out Melanie has been lying to her the whole time and Melanie also claims that Mr. Wilford was a fraud. Seems to hit hard in season 2 where she starts questioning all the horrible things she did in his name, and is solidified when she realises what the man himself is like.
  • Interestingly, becomes this to Pike in turn. The two work together so well against Wilford, Pike becomes sincerely convinced she's a better leader for the train than the increasingly political Layton, leading to a very ill-judged attempt to kill him so she can take over. When he later finds out she's aware of Layton's New Eden lie, he's crushed, and is killed not long after.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: She's utterly baffled as to why Winnie is so scared of her, and has to be reminded that she not only threatened to freeze Winnie's arm off after Pike's rebellion, but actually did so to her mother, leading to her death.
• Cartwright Curse: Comes with her unfortunate tendency to fall for men who try to stage coups and end up dead when they fail: Nolan Grey in season 1 and now Pike in season 3.
• Character Development: A very interesting case, in that the core of her character remains consistent throughout the entire series, but how she expresses it changes so drastically she's one of the show's best examples of character development. At the core of Ruth's character is her Undying Loyalty to the train and its passengers. She is on Wilford's side when she equates him with the train, and his social structure with what's best for it. When she witnessed how Layton's system improves the passengers' actual lives and, especially, how much Wilford disregards the passengers and the train's very safety so long as he gets to be in charge, she switches sides for good. By season 3, she's actively putting her life and well-being at risk against the current ruler (Wilford) for the good of all passengers, encourages the overcoming of the class system and warmly embraces the plan of finding New Eden to give all passengers hope, and a shot at a safer, more normal life.
• Cracks in the Icy Façade: Began as a Wilford loyalist, not batting an eye when freezing limbs of insurgent passengers, including children. In the course of the series, Andrew's optimism starts to rub more and more on them, and start reflecting on her past, the first time when meeting the little daughter of the woman she mutilated (said mother having volunteered to protect her daughter Ruth originally wanted to punish). In the end of the series, she joined Andrew's colony in East Africa.
• Defiant to the End: She is calm and collected when she lets herself get captured by Wilford, is confronted by him, and is sentenced to having her arm frozen off for leading the rebels and sabotaging his weapons. She is also politely dismissive of his petty Kick the Dog moment.

Wilford: I'll make sure they mount the cuff nice and high, where prosthetics are impossible.
Ruth: Wouldn't wear one anyway.

• Defrosting Ice Queen: Her friendship with Zarah and Layton's placing a measure of trust in her gradually thaws Ruth from the raving zealot she was at the end of season 1, ruminating on her past mistakes and even being the first to believe that Melanie has survived when her signal starts failing to come in. She eventually undergoes a true Heel–Face Turn when events conspire to show her the effects of her own actions in the first series, coming to be one of Layton's truest supporters.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Considering her character arc, her tearful, incredulous smile when she gets off the train and feels the sun on her face in New Eden for the first time in almost eight years is really heartwarming.
• Easily Forgiven: Played with. Circumstances in the immediate aftermath of the Revolution (i.e.: Wilford's surprise return) make her a necessary Token Evil Teammate to Layton's inner circle; therefore, she faces no punishment for her years of enforcing brutal policies on the Tail or supporting the Folgers' attempted coup. However, she gets constantly Locked Out of the Loop by Layton and really needs to prove herself before even his other advisers start to trust her.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He may or may not have been manipulating her into joining the coup, but she's devastated by Grey's death and repeatedly brings it up in the final episode.
• Expy: Early on, to Minister Mason from the Snowpiercer film: both are Wilford loyalists with strong Yorkshire accents who wear furs when they visit the Tail and contemptuously keep the Tailies in line with violence. Gradually defied as the series goes on, as unlike Mason, Ruth willingly undergoes a Heel–Face Turn agaisnt Wilford once she realises what he's like and confronts her own past actions towards the Tail.
• Face Death with Dignity: Downplayed in that she doesn't face capital punishment, but this is how she goes about having her arm frozen off for leading La Résistance and sabotaging Willford's electromagnetic weapon.
  Ruth: Let's get it bloody off then.
  • In her mind, this would also double as atonement for inflicting the punishment in the first place.

Wilford: The irony is, I built the ports as an idle threat, never expected to use them. You did. Thirteen times.
Ruth: I'll pay my penance.

• From Nobody to Nightmare: A former bed and breakfast owner before meeting Mr. Wilford and being hired by the train, and now one of the main figures behind its tyranny.
• Heroic Sacrifice: She willingly gives herself up to Kevin to buy time so that Pike and the other rebels can disarm Wilford's electromagnetic weapon against Layton and the Pirate Train.
• Hidden Depths: At first she comes across as just a stuck-up, callous (if not downright sadistic) higher-up with zero empathy for anyone else, except for her unctuous (and entirely professional) regard for the First Class passengers' whims. But once Snowpiercer is in serious danger of derailing and Melanie is nowhere to be seen, Ruth grabs the microphone and delivers an impromptu and truly touching rousing speech to keep all the passengers calm and hopeful.
  • For most of season one, it seems her only true skills are handling with (very effective) diplmacy the small grievances and petty whims of First Class, to the point that even Leyton and his entourage initially dismiss her usefulness when negotiating with Wilford. Season three reveals that she has such a precise and extensive knowledge of all of Snowpiercer's possible routes that she is able to piece together which one they've taken only with a map and second hand information about which intersection they've just switched on – and from that, guess the current location of the Pirate Train Layton and his friends are on. All of this from inside her windowless, isolated hideaout.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: She goes from the very top of the train's pecking order, as Head of Hospitality, to the literal, absolute bottom, working, living, eating and sleeping locked up in "the Swamp", the compost unit where all the trash and sewage of the train end up. Given the character, it's a surprisingly sympathetic version of this trope, considering that by that point she had acknowledged how wrong her previous actions were, actively worked to make up for some of them, and had completely abandoned her quasi-religious devotion to Wilford: in fact, she ends up in Compost specifically because she refused to take Wilford's offer to be his Head of Hospitaliy in exchange of announcing they'd leave Melanie behind.
  • It gets even more poignant and sympathetic in season three, when we find her bundled up in the semi-frozen undertrain while leading La Résistance, a long, long way from the stuck up, golden wristwatch-wearing, well coiffed and made up Deputy Head of Hospitality from season one. Mr. Wilford even lampshades that:

Wilford: To be honest, I'm more impressed with how low you went to grovel it out in the bowels.
Ruth: Well, I do try not to disappoint, sir.

• Humiliation Conga: She has one when, stripped of her teals, she is marched from First Class all the way down to Big Alice, where she is to work in compost for the rest of her life, walk of shame style. Some paper ball throwing and Edible Ammunition by Wilford loyalists ensues. To drive the point home even more, one of her stilettos gets stuck in the floor, forcing her to complete her walk barefoot. Would have doubled as Break the Haughty if, by that point, Ruth hadn't completely defrosted and firmly completed her Heel–Face Turn.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • A lot of her other rantings are dubious at best, but she's dead right that Melanie gets to escape any consequences for her actions as she becomes an (official) engineer, while the rest of them have to deal with the fallout of her actions.
  • Probably not intentionally, but when she shows up to welcome back Mr. Wilford, Layton concedes that having her try diplomacy first is a good idea.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Already a borderline religious fanatic towards Wilford, she turns into an Ax-Crazy counter-revolutionary after learning that Wilford is not on the train. She gets better.
• Karma Houdini: She doesn't suffer any consequences for her years of enforcing brutal punishment on the Tail, nor for her support to the Folgers' attempted coup. When she does get some Laser-Guided Karma, it's not for her past actions, but more of a case of No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: she gets sentenced to Compost, the lowest position on the train, for refusing to leave Melanie and her scientific research behind.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Sort of. After seven years of her being one of the chief enablers of the class system that kept the Tailies in a filthy, overcrowded living space, surviving off disgusting protein bars, there's admittedly a lot of irony in seeing her forced to eat those same bars and live in a cell where all the sewage and garbage of the train pile up. Too bad that's not actual retribution for her past actions, just Wilford punishing her for defying him.
• Last Chance to Quit / We Can Rule Together: After overthrowing Layton, Wilford offers the chance to join his new regime to all of Layton's clostest circle. Ruth is offered to become Wilford's Head of Hospitality, effectivly The Dragon in charge of mantaining public relations with supporters and dishing out punisment to the dissidents. She refuses and ends up working in Compost as a result.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: To the Folgers and Grey during their coup - she at least wants to follow Wilford's rules in transitioning power, while they rapidly slip into dictatorship.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Repeatedly bemoans Layton's inability to share information with her the way he does the rest of his allies.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: When Grey and the Folgers suggest she join their coup and replace Melanie, she instead tries to reveal the plot to Melanie. She changes her mind when a stressed out Melanie lashes out at her over what she assumes is Ruth simply being the messenger for entitled griping by first class.
• Mouth of Sauron: She's the one who goes to the Tail to deliver in-person messages and administer punishment.
• My God, What Have I Done?: When she realises she doesn't even remember Winnie, despite threatening to have her arm frozen off (and having her mother's arm frozen instead, leading to her death), she starts questioning her actions in the name of Wilford in a way she never did before.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: When Wilford takes over, he offers Ruth to keep her post as Head of Hospitality under him, on the condition that she is the one to announce that they're not going back for Melanie and her scientific research on temperatures rising again. Ruth knows well that means not only certain death for her friend, but also crushing any hope of a life outside the train, and condemning all the passengers to be Wilford's hostages all their lives. She refuses, and gets sentenced to work in Compost for her troubles.
• Oh, Crap!: When she sees the pirate train leaving as planned, she's joyful - then realises she's stuck on the wrong half with a vengeful Wilford.
  • Has another one after clubbing Icy Boki in the head with a shovel as a diversion, and realising she now has to run for her life.
• Only Sane Man: Is this to Layton and Melanie when the two fight over whether to take Snowpiercer to New Eden or stay the course.

Ruth: Oh, come on, for pity's sake, both of you! [...] This isn't over. We'll figure something out.

• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Roche gets very worried whenever she starts referring to him by his first name, Sam.
  • To the audience, when she, one of Wilford's most fervent loyalists, goes from gushing over him to not saying a single word to him when it becomes clear he tried to sabotage the Engine for his own gain.
• Oop North: Ruth has a prominent Yorkshire accent.
• Pet the Dog: Her relationship with Layton is tempestuous to put it mildly, but when she finds out Zarah is pregnant by him, arranges for them to move to one of the vacant First Class cars to have somewhere comfortable to bring up the child. She seems struck by the hope having a baby in such an anarchic time represents.
• Pretty in Mink: Spots a large furcoat when going downtrain to the colder Tail section.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives the politest one ever to Mr. Wilford when he questions her loyalty.

Wilford: If you'd only stayed loyal...
Ruth: I am loyal. To something bigger than you. You've got it all wrong, Mr. Wilford.
Wilford: [Chuckling] I hear that all the time, and then I win.
Ruth: Winning isn't leading. Loyalty isn't enough on its own. It has to come with love, and not the kind that you feed off. Unconditional love, sacrifice for each and every passenger. You can't ignore love. You can't predict it either.

• Rebel Leader: The Season 3 premiere shows us that, having accitendally been left behind on Snowpiercer when the Pirate Train departed, in the intercurring six months she, without any input from Layton, has stepped up to be the elusive leader of La Résistance against Wilford, has set up a network of contraband and spies, and is using the latter to track Layton's itinerary from her hideaway, all the while eluding Wilford's police.
• Sanity Slippage: A combination of finding out her idol has been dead for years, her best friend has been lying to her and her lover has been killed, and being excluded from Layton's new governing council, has her beginning to show serious cracks.
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: When Melanie takes back the train hoping to avoid the dangerous trip to the uncertain New Eden, initially Ruth plays Team Switzerland and tries to reason with her on behalf of Layton. But when an increasingly desperate, severely outnumbered Melanie considers an alliance with Wilford, Ruth is having none of that.
• Silent Treatment / Tranquil Fury: Being a Teal belt of Politeness Judo, Ruth has a well-mannered (if condescending) word for everyone, even those she personally dislikes. You know you're in deep shit with her when she stops speaking to you altogether, as Melanie finds out. It's even more unsettling when, on the wake of her Heel Realization, she goes from enthusiastically greeting and fawning over Mr. Wilford whenever they meet at the border, to not uttering a single word at him when they fetch him to repair the Engine afteer it's clear he sabotaged it in the first place. For the audience, it subtly invokes Nothing Is Scarier.
• Team Switzerland: Still acting firmly in the whole train's interest, she plays this between the warring factions of Melanie and Layton in the Season 3 finale, advocating for a diplomatic resolution and trying to talk sense into both.
• Token Evil Teammate: The only one of Layton's advisors who didn't switch sides during the Rebellion, she was participant on the oppression of the Tail for years and supported the Folgers' plan to seize the train until the end, which results in her getting Locked Out of the Loop. Still, she learns and tries to make up for her mistakes and actively strives to make order out of Layton's rule.
• Undying Loyalty: She's utterly devoted to Mr. Wilford and sees him as the savior of humanity. The truth breaks her. When it turns out he is still alive and on another train, she desperately tries to get him back in charge. Unfortunately, Mel's conversation with Wilford when they meet indicates he doesn't remember her at all and subsequent events have realising Wilford's true nature and what it means for the train.
  • When she realises how brutal and insanely selfish Wilford is, she develops one for Layton and Melanie, to the point of refusing a direct offer from Wilford and be sentenced to Compost as a consequence.
  • Ultimately, her actions prove that she's sincere in her claim that her true loyalty lies with the Train and its passengers. Her blind faith in Wilford stems from her belief that the man saved them all and his class system is what keeps the Train's fagile society glued together. When that turns out not to be the case and Layton's system proves less brutal, she slowly switches sides. And when Melanie rises the possibility of building a life outside of the train, she wholeheartedly supports her in spite of their personal differences, all for the good of the passengers on Snowpiercer.

Wilford: If you'd only stayed loyal...
Ruth: I am loyal. To something bigger than you.

• Villainous Friendship: She seems to sincerely be good pals with Melanie. That, of course, all goes out the window after The Reveal that Mr. Wilford has never been on the train and Melanie is posing as him.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gives Layton one seething with Tranquil Fury after his attack on Big Alice fails, castigating him for not only keeping her out the loop about it (as opposed to the Engineers) but getting numerous people killed and wounded for no gain in a surprise attack that only serves to make Wilford angry enough to almost kill them all.
• What You Are in the Dark: Starting off as a fervent Wilford supporter, to the point of zealotry, she has three such moments that cement her character developement:
  • Midway through Season 2, Wilford offers her to cross over to Big Alice. Ruth won't leave Snowpiercer while an as of yet unidentified crisis is unfolding.
  • At the end of Season 2, Wilford himself offers her a job as Head of Hospitality on the condition that she be the one to announce they're leaving Melanie stranded in The Freeze. Ruth refuses.
  • In the Season 3 finale, she plays Team Switzerland but remains by Melanie's side while trying to solve the crisis at hand. When Melanie considers an alliance with Wilford, Ruth is horrified and bolts out of the car.
    Ruth: Well, I'm sorry. But I've spent too long redeeming myself to go back now.

Grey

Commander Nolan Grey

Portrayed By: Timothy V. Murphy

A brilliant tactician, hardened leader, and former British SAS member who commanded men before the Freeze. He relishes keeping things in order and getting his hands dirty in combat.

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• Ambiguous Situation: Did he really care for Ruth, or was he just using her the same way he seems to have been taking advantage of the Folgers? He dies before we ever see an answer.
• Arch-Enemy: To Layton. They remember each other very well from the night Layton boarded; Grey was the one shoving people off the train.
• Blood Knight: He's very obviously having the time of his life hacking and maiming his way through the Night Car.
• The Cameo: Briefly pops up in Melanie's flashbacks in season 2, showing us more of his role as Wilford's chief enforcer the night the train left.
• Death Glare: As befits someone with his grim personality.
  Martin: He mostly just stared at us coldly, which, I won't lie, is very effective.
• Genius Bruiser: He's an incredibly formidable hand to hand fighter and plots out the Jackboots' battle strategies.
• Hidden Depths: Grey might be a sadistic animal, but he's far from a fool. He doesn't fall in line to kiss Wilford's ass, slyly pointing out that Wilford's speech "paraphrased" Winston Churchill. Later, he shows a softer aspect of his personality when flirting with Ruth Wardell.
• Icy Blue Eyes: He has very sharp, focused blue eyes that highlight his cold-hearted personality.
• Informed Attribute: Supposedly he's a good tactician, but his approach to the Tailies' homemade ballista calls that into question. While flanking around behind is a good plan, he essentially throws his men directly at the weapon in the meantime to serve as a distraction. Keep in mind that this weapon has no capability to fire anywhere that isn't directly in front of it and the hall has ample cover along the walls.
• Karmic Death: The man who relished throwing people off the train to freeze to death is himself detached from the train and presumably freezes to death.
• The Starscream: He's plotting against Melanie alongside the Folgers even before The Reveal Wilford isn't on the train, and indicates to Ruth he'll get rid of them as well once peace is restored.
• Stupid Evil: He's the originator of the plan to gas the rebels downtrain, despite the fact it'll likely kill a lot of the train's civilian workforce. When Javi suggests things might still end bloodlessly if Layton and Ben surrender, he makes it clear the gassing is his preferred option.
• We Have Reserves: He has his men continue to charge the makeshift ballista the Tailies have set up in the maintenance tunnels while he takes a squad to circle above and flank them, even though it takes several failed charges for the Jackboots to finally outlast their ammunition supply.

Brakemen

The Brakemen

The Brakemen are the Security Force on board the Snowpiercer. They act very much like the Police force of the old world. They carry only batons as opposed to the Jackboots who carry axes and spears. Their main failing is that their group lacks any members with experience as detectives - something that proves problematic when Sean Wise turns up murdered.

Roche

Sam Roche

Portrayed By: Mike O'Malley

The lead brakeman and somewhat of an enforcer. He was employed by the real Mr. Wilford before the Freeze.

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• By-the-Book Cop: Follows the rules of Snowpiercer rigidly - he's furious when he catches Till and Oz beating up Layton, and later suspends Oz when he finds out he's being smuggling drugs to the Tail.
• Da Chief: As the lead brakeman, he's essentially the equivalent of a police chief.
• Disappointed in You: Says this word for word when it turns out Till has sided with Layton.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • Roche is an unsympathetic hardass, but he's still infuriated to discover that Oz has been dealing in drugs and sexual extortion. He's also openly shocked when Till starts putting the boots to Boki the following season as the stress of Wilford's return and the Tailie mutilations get to her.
  • He's also the only one objecting to the Folgers and the Jackboots variously humiliating Layton when the surrender happens.
• Happily Married: His wife also survived the Freeze on the train (although not all of their children did) and he tells Layton in the first episode he would rather be spending time with her than wasting it on him.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Initially seems quite callously indifferent to the Tail's plight, and really doesn't get on with Layton at first. However, he's repeatedly shown to do the right thing throughout the series, standing with Layton to get rid of Grey even at the cost of a serious beating, and is much more open to Layton's democratic way of leading compared to Ruth.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Layton convinces him to stand down when the real fighting breaks out, appealing to the loss of life that will happen and the train's need for surviving people who can provide order in the aftermath, no matter who wins.
• Number Two: Increasingly serves as this to Layton after Wilford's return, given Melanie's absence and Ruth and Till being frozen out of the decision-making process. Ironically, where Ruth comes to regret her order-driven behaviour in Wilford's name, Roche is having doubts as Layton's leadership crumbles.
• Put on a Bus: Wilford consigns him to the Drawers with his family as punishment for supporting Layton.
  • The Bus Came Back: Is freed from the Drawers after Layton retakes the train.
• Sanity Slippage: After discovering his wife Anne died in the Drawers, he goes completely off the rails, drowning himself in booze and trying to kill Wilford - even spending time in a padded cell. A combination pep talk/"The Reason You Suck" Speech from his daughter brings him back to himself, and he's restored to his old job once more.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: As it becomes apparent Jinju and Till's argument about supplying food is about to escalate into a nasty lover's argument, he immediately makes himself scarce.

Till

Bess Till

Portrayed By: Mickey Sumner

A thoughtful, empathetic, and savvy brakeman who is part of the train's security force. She finds herself at the center of a mystery that rocks the train's uneasy status quo.

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• The Alcoholic: As a few people note in season 3, her default reaction to stressful events is to drown them in a tide of alcohol.
• The Atoner: She was assigned to the first of LJ and Erik's murders, and feels tremendously guilty about the way Nikki Genet was scapegoated for it. When Layton is assigned to solve Sean Wise's killing, she sees assisting him as a chance to make things right.
• Best Friend: By Season 3, Till doesn't deny Audrey's claim that she sees Layton as her best friend.
• Butch Lesbian: Even when out of uniform, she dresses very conservatively compared to the more glamourous Jinju.
• Category Traitor: Sides with the Tail after seeing Melanie's brutality first-hand.
• Character Development: One of the series' standout examples; she starts as an inexperienced and cynical cop with a Lack of Empathy towards the Tail, though with a softer side towards Jinju. Her experiences with Layton and her discovering Melanie drawered him without reason convince her the system needs to change, leading her to regain her idealism and stand with Layton's rebellion as one of his main lieutenants. Season 2 develops her further, exploring her feelings of hopelessness and nihilism in the face of continued trouble as Wilford returns.
• Dark and Troubled Past: She was a rookie cop during the year that the freeze became inevitable and was there for a lot of the riots and breakdowns.
• Did Not Get the Girl: Chooses her principles over her lover Jinju when she supports Layton. It tanks their relationship in the final episode.
• Everyone Has Standards: Early on; she's (mostly) OK with Oz giving Layton a kicking after he mouths off once too often, but she's profoundly horrified when it turns out he's part of the train's drug trade. Later, his trying to strangle Josie when she's found in the Drawers is the final straw, and her knocking him out is her first major step in joining Layton.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Initially can't stand Layton and hates working with them - but their common experiences finding the serial killer gradually awaken her empathy and bring her round to his desire for freedom. While there's a fair few ups and downs after this, she never stops believing him, even describing him as her best friend at the end of season 3.
• Heel–Face Turn: Gradually comes round to Layton's side after seeing Layton's fundamental decency - and then seeing him get stuck in the drawers by Melanie. By the last few episodes she's one of Layton's main lieutenants.
• Hidden Depths: Proves surprisingly knowledgeable about religion during her conversations with Pastor Logan, saying her father was "Jesus-y".
• Honest Advisor: After his victory Wilford makes her this as, by his own admission, he needs someone to act as his conscience. Subverted somewhat as he doesn't actually listen to her.
• I Choose to Stay: In the Season 3 finale, Bess decides to stay with Melanie's train at the last second, just before the train splits to be with Audrey.
• The Lancer: She is by Layton's side when the revolution happens. And again when he takes the first ten carriages as a pirate train to retrieve Melanie.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Begins to feel the bite of this in season 2, turning up to Layton's planning meetings only to discover she's been frozen out of his more important decisions.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Despite being on the good guy's side, Season 3 shows Bess has immense guilt over her time as a Brakeman and believes she's rotten. Thankfully, Audrey gives her some much-needed closure.
• Official Couple: Hooks up with Audrey in the latter half of season 3.
• Oh, Crap!: When she KOs Oz as he tries to strangle Josie, she almost immediately sports a look of shocked apprehension, not believing what she just did.
• Old Cop, Young Cop: The "young cop" to Layton during the mystery arc.
• The Peter Principle: For all Layton and Roche's faith in her as the new train detective, she's too wrapped up in her own inability to belong and sense of loss to really be effective at it, working out Pastor Logan was the organiser of the Breachmen's death too late to stop Wilford totally undermining Layton's leadership.
• Rank Up: Layton and Roche promote her to train detective in early season 2. Later, it's implied she becomes the new lead Brakeman after Roche leaves the train for New Eden.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: As Layton's lieutenant, she's the Red to Audrey's Blue. She's notably more aggressive, favouring hitting the Jackboots before they regroup after the Night Car battle, where Audrey favours fortifying the cars they've taken.
• Sanity Slippage: The stress of her new role, the attacks on the Tailies and Wilford's return begin to take their toll in season 2. As she admits to the pastor, she's lost her role in life and anyone who cared about her - now she's got nothing and ends up having a one-night stand with a Night Car bartender while wasted at the viewing party.
• Straw Nihilist: Rapidly heading that way; her opening narration in season 2 has her despairing at the fact that after everything that's happened to the Earth, the last humans are still killing each other.
• Trauma Conga Line: She's put through the wringer in season 2. She breaks up with Jinju, has to deal with her feelings of having lost her role in life, becomes Train Detective only to immediately have to deal with the Tail mutilations, sees all the Breachmen killed because she works out Eugenia's role too late, discovers her own mentor Pastor Logan is behind it all and then sees Layton's leadership crash and burn as Wilford takes over again.
• The Watson: Plays this role to the more experienced Layton as they work together to find the Serial Killer. Different from the norm in that while Till eventually warms up to him, Layton doesn't trust her until she joins his cause wholeheartedly after helping him escape from the Drawers.

Oz

John "Oz" Osweiller

Portrayed By: Sam Otto

A young brakeman and police-type figure of the train.

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• Abusive Parents: Implies when he gets honest just after the train almost derails that his mother beat him badly when drunk - and was even worse sober.
• Blackmail: Towards Till when he catches her releasing Layton.
• Break the Haughty: After abandoning the brakemen in the revolution, his efforts to convince the Tail and Janitors that Wilford's return is an opportunity fail, leading to the latter making him do manual labour.
• Dirty Cop: He's a brakeman, and corrupt to the core, moonlighting for Terence.
• Dirty Coward: The only brakeman to abandon Roche's blockade against the Taillies. While the others are openly relieved when Roche stands them down, none of them abandon their post the way Oz does.
• Everyone Has Standards: Immediately comes to LJ's defence when Wilford brings up her dark past, and insists his intentions with her are honourable.
• Evil Brit: One of the show's most unambiguously rotten characters in the first Season, and retains his actor's natural southern English accent.
• For the Evulz: One of the few characters to prefer his new life on Snowpiercer over his pre-Freeze existence, he loves the power being a brakeman gives him. When he's extorting Till for knocking him out to get Layton out the drawers, his demands are basically "let me do whatever the hell I want and don't stop me".
• Hidden Depths: Shows a bit of fear and mutual comfort with Till when it looks like the train might be doomed. He's also an excellent pianist and singer, as he proves when he does an incredible version of "Winter Song" that impresses even Wilford.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Despite genuinely loving L.J., by late season 3 he's definitely emerged as the less malicious part of the marriage, genuinely believing in New Eden and trying to talk her out of getting involved with Wilford's escape and counter-revolution towards the end of the series.
• Jerkass: A smug asshole who abuses his power at every turn and is only out for himself. He becomes more of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold in Season 2 with his relationship with L.J however.
• Jerkass Has a Point: In the pilot episode he objects to the Tailies taking a moment with old Ivan's body, as he's clearly suspicious, but is overriden by Till's humanely wanting to give them a moment to say goodbye. He's right, and the Tailies switch Ivan with Z-Wreck to ambush them and kick off an new rebellion.
• New Job as the Plot Demands: The series' need to keep him around has seen him switch from Brakeman in the first season, to janitor in the second when absolutely nobody but Terrence will take him on. He's head of the janitors alongside LJ after Pike kills their old boss, and by season 3 their toadying to Wilford lands them both as proprietors of the Night Car - something they even retain after Layton takes the train back. The finale sees him heading to New Eden, intending to see where life takes him.
• Knowledge Broker: His and LJ's new position in charge of the Night Car - the one entertainment spot left of the crippled train - means they hear things from their clients they're able to trade to Kevin while he hunts down the resistance.
• Odd Friendship:
  • In the finale ends up bonding with L.J. of all people over the fact they're both universally hated. Gets romantic later on.
  • There's also his relationship with Till; despite their being polar opposites on just about everything, they're still friendly enough after he becomes a Janitor that they share a drink while she tries to get information on the Tailie mutilations. He even admits to missing her, much to her visible surprise and helps her find clues that lead her to Wilford's agents on Snowpiercer. Downplayed, however, in that a few episodes later he admits that just because they'd been through a lot together it doesn't make them friends.
• Official Couple: Proposes to and marries L.J. in season 3, though he's a lot less happy than his new wife about Wilford turning it into a giant spectacle.
• Opportunistic Bastard: Questions (correctly) whether Wilford will win against Layton, leading him and L.J. to switch sides just before Layton's victory.
• Pet the Dog Takes L.J. under his wing in the final episode, even being remarkably cool with her punching him in the face.
• Police Brutality: A frequent practitioner, beating the shit out of Layton early on and later performing a Groin Attack on Walter to determine where the strike leaflets are coming from.
• Rank Up: He and LJ are practically leaders of the janitors in the aftermath of Terrence's death.
• Relationship Upgrade: Gets together with LJ late in season 2 after admitting she's his "favourite" person.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Is the first to abandon the Brakeman line when Layton and his army come calling, leading to their position being rendered untenable.
• Sexual Extortion: He accepts blowjobs as payment for kronol.
• Sports Hero Backstory: Used to be a football midfielder before the Freeze. Even directly compares his beating up Layton to taking penalty kicks.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Downplayed, as he's still a bit of a dick, but he's clearly the less vicious part of his marriage to L.J., and seems to have softened a bit in season 3. His conversation with Asha where he promises to name his latest culinary creation after her is maybe the nicest he's ever been to anyone.

Fuller

Fuller

Portrayed By: Benjamin Charles Fuller.

One of the younger Brakemen.

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• Punch-Clock Villain: Fuller - like many of the other minor Brakemen - largely comes across as just looking to Roche for guidance and being a bit confused and uneasy throughout the train's power struggles.

Jackboots

Jackboot Gardiner

Jackboot Gardiner

Portrayed By: Doron Bell

One of Gray's goons.

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• Mook Lieutenant: He seems to be one of Gray's primary subordinates when it comes to putting down rebellions and is at his side when they both end up fatally outmaneuvered by Layton.

Jackboot Tyson

Jackboot Tyson

Portrayed By: Andrea Ware

One of Gray's goons.

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• Hazy-Feel Turn: She starts out as a loyal subordinate of sadistic thug leader Grey. By season 3, she's willing to defy Wilford in exchange for a bribe (a bath when water is being rationed heavily), although this is mostly just because she's suffering under Wilford's tyranny now and has little reason to remain loyal to him.
• Killed Off for Real: Assigned to guard Wilford, she's killed when he tempts her with a poisoned cigar in a moment of celebration.
• New Job as the Plot Demands: When Layton retakes the train from Wilford, she returns to service as a Brakeman.
• The Remnant: She is one of the few jackboots to survive season 1, and remains part of the pro-Wilford crowd which causes trouble for Layton.

Jackboot Clifford

Jackboot Clifford

Portrayed By: R.J. Fetherstonhaugh

One of Gray's goons.

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• The Remnant: During season 2, he has authority among Gray's few surviving subordinates and wants Layton gone and Wilford in charge.

Others

Boscovic

Bojan Boscovic

Portrayed By: Aleks Paunovic

A large and fearsome-looking Breachworker, one of the most dangerous jobs on the train, with frostbite scars and stumped ears who is used to the cold and jokes about the hazards of the job.

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• Alliterative Name: Bojan Boscovic.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Presumed killed in the explosion that wiped out the aquarium, Boki was rescued and turned into a new version of Icy Bob. He's not just immune to the cold but completely impervious to pain - but he's also hideously scarred and mentally seemingly little better than an animal.
• Broken Pedestal: He loses his reverence for Wilford when he realizes that Wilford deliberately sabotaged Snowpiercer, meaning he must have been behind the assassination of the other Breachmen to deprive Snowpiercer of the means to fix it.
• Braving the Blizzard: His entire job involves exposing himself to the deadly elements, and he has the scars to show for it.
• The Bus Came Back: Returns in the season 3 finale, now a brainwashed and horribly scarred successor to Icy Bob, firmly under Wilford's control.
• Ear Ache: Constant exposure to the hazardous outside has worn down his ears to stumps.
• Feel No Pain: After being recovered from his attempt to destroy the aquarium, Mrs.Headwood's treatments render him unable to feel any sort of pain, not just the cold.
• Friend to All Children: He's warm and cheerful around kids when he's presented to the primary school children after performing some vital work on the train.
• Large and in Charge: The largest and most muscular among the already massive Breachmen, and by all indications their leader.
• Red Herring: Season 2 hints at he and the Breachmen being moles for Wilford, but then Wilford's moles wipe out the Breachmen and only Bosco survives thanks to Roche and Layton confronting him just before the assassin got to him.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: For all his niceness in the first season, the second shows he's also a fervent Wilford loyalist. When he and Till question him over Lights being mutilated, Roche implies that being a dick is his default state.
• Unwitting Pawn: He attacks the Last Australian, believing the Tail killed all the other Breachmen - kicking off the anti-Tail riots that Wilford wanted.

Tristan

Tristan

Portrayed By: Ian Collins

A member of Hospitality and Ruth's assistant.

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• The Announcer: Tristan was in charge of Snowpiercer's announcements; unfortunately, he's not good at it, and Zarah took over to his relief.
• Butt-Monkey: He never has much luck when we see him, either getting berated by Ruth for something minor or getting fired by her to make way for Zarah making the morning announcements. Even he's relieved by the latter.
• Nervous Wreck: Tristan has his moments.
• Number Two: He's Ruth's assistant in Hospitality, though he's not as great as her at the job.
• Passing the Torch: Tristain finally takes up Ruth's role as head of Hospitality on their half of Snowpiercer in the Season 3 finale.
• Rank Up: Becomes the new head of Hospitality when Ruth leaves the train for New Eden.
• The World Is Just Awesome: Tristan admits that he always wanted to visit the Amazon rainforests, even if it is frozen over.