Line #12 Awesome/Snowpiercer


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chrisevanssnowpiercer.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: Curtis shows why ItWorksBetterWithBullets.]]
3
4	'''As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
5	----
6	[[foldercontrol]]
7
8	[[folder:The Film]]
9	* Curtis believes that Wilford's guards have used up all their ammo, and that their guns are just for show. It's a logical assumption (as he can look at clues like empty witness holes in their magazines), but it's still ultimately an educated guess; there's no way Curtis can know for sure if he's right. Curtis decides to find out the hard way when he races to the front of the crowd during the head count, grabs a guard's assault rifle, puts the barrel to his own forehead, and pulls the trigger. ''Click.'' It's empty. Cue another passenger shouting ''"They've got no bullets!"'' and rushing the guards, starting the revolution.
10	* The plan to stop the four security doors from closing, with the tail-section hauling a chain of interconnected barrels out from its hiding place to jam the doors as all of their fighters to overwhelm the security force in the section.
11	** A GiantMook is the last man standing, and the rebels can't get past him. Grey races across the chain of barrels, parkours his way over and around the man, and kills him so fast that he can hardly react.
12	* The Axe Gang fight has several moments:
13	** Curtis goes full warrior in this scene, cleaving through foe after foe with a hatchet as the camera focuses on him in slow motion.
14	** Edgar saving Curtis's life by launching his whole body into an axe-man that was about to attack Curtis from behind.
15	** The Axe Gang uses the darkness of the tunnel to their advantage, having brought night vision goggles so they can attack the tail-section while they're blinded. To combat this, the tail-section fighters light several torches with one of Namgoong's precious matches to make the fight considerably less one-sided. It creates a very hellish, chaotic atmosphere for the battle.
16	* Yona [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice kicking a spear into Franco the Younger's path]] as he tries to escape and attack Curtis, and her father sweeping him away from her with a vicious kick to the face. Especially satisfying since Franco the Younger [[HeroKiller has just killed Edgar]].
17	* The greenhouse and aquarium cars are both beautiful to look at.
18	* Curtis forcing Mason to eat a "protein bar" while he and his friends dine on sushi for the first time.
19	* Egghead's NonchalantDodge of an axe while walking and dispatching people with an SMG at the same time.
20	** Leading up to this, the villains get one when the egg cart is revealed to have been hiding loaded firearms.
21	* Grey displaying his ImprobableAimingSkills when he hurls a knife into the teacher's chest as she sprays the room with bullets. This could also count as a {{Tearjerker}}, since she is practically full-term pregnant.
22	* Curtis coldly executing Mason with a bullet to the head in revenge for Gilliam's death, then proclaiming, "[[TheDeterminator We go forward]]."
23	* The long-distance shootout between Curtis and Franco the Elder. There's a cool moment when they've reloaded and are standing solidly as they both fire a single shot, only to lower their guns when they realize the train's movement is preventing them from actually hitting each other.
24	** The very quick (but very significant) ActionFilmQuietDramaScene that occurs when Curtis and Franco are reloading their weapons. There is a silent close-up of a beautiful snowflake floating through one of the bullet holes in the window and slowly melting in the air, which Minsoo focuses on. [[ChekhovsGun And it's not just because it makes for a pretty shot]].
25	* The sauna fight, wherein [[ImplacableMan Franco the Elder]] comes very close to smashing Curtis and his team singlehandedly.
26	** Franco has just knocked Curtis out and is about to kill him. Grey then puts his hand between the knife and Curtis, forcing Franco back with the strength of his impaled hand. Though, this quickly turns into NightmareFuel.
27	** Minsoo is able to beat Franco back and pin him to the ground. When Yona tries to help by stabbing Franco, Minsoo grabs her wrist and twists it until she lets go of the knife without turning his attention away from his enemy.
28	* Minsoo revealing that he's not just a drug-addicted InsufferableGenius, but is a ScienceHero who has been slowly accumulating all the Kronole he's been given to form an improvised plastic explosive. Why? So he can blow off the door on the side of the train and escape, because he believes the ice age is going to end soon.
29	* Seeing Curtis finally beat up Wilford is a pleasant sight, though it certainly doesn't solve anything.
30	* Curtis redeeming himself by sacrificing his arm to save Timothy's life.
31	* In their last moments, Curtis and Minsoo [[HeroicSacrifice use themselves as shields to protect Yona and Timmy from the explosion]].
32	* The destruction of the train (and all the evil it preserved) is as awe-inspiring a sight as it is horrifying.
33	* The appearance of the Polar Bear at the very end is a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for the planet Earth. That creature didn't just manifest out of thin air, it's fully grown so it's at least 10 years old and appears to be well fed. That means that the planet has been habitable for the entirety of the 18 years mankind has been locked up on that train due to our own stupidity of freezing our biosphere. Earth itself is just fine. Who knows, there might even be more humans somewhere living in the wild, surviving the 2nd Ice Age.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder: The Graphic Novels]]
37	* The scene in which Timmy appears. Some viewers might not even realise that it's Timmy... but then, who shows up? ''Yona''. Yona explains that she survived a different train that derailed ''and'' the polar bear that was coming after her and Timmy.
38	* The climax, in which most of the passengers choose an uncertain, but free, future. They manage to eke out an existence similar to the lifestyle of the real life Inuit people due to the gradually warming planet. The final image in ''Terminus''? A small green shoot against the comics' DeliberatelyMonochrome color palette. The world is not fully doomed. EsotericHappyEnding? Yes, but the characters ''truly earned'' it.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:The Series]]
42	!!Season 1
43	[[AC:1 - First, the Weather Changed]]
44	* The tail-enders' revolution almost goes off without a hitch. If it hadn't been for the extra guards, they might have made it past the door.
45	* The reveal that the Hospitality host Melanie is actually Mr. Wilford.
46
47	[[AC:2 - Prepare to Brace]]
48	* Josie's opening narration: “The only reason we’re here is we refused to die in the first place. We’re as persistent as the cold. Forever trapped in ice, we keep our eyes on the floor, dig our nails in and prepare to brace... They can take our limbs, our children, our leaders. They keep trying to take our dignity. But any survivor will tell you they checked their dignity at death’s door. The more they steal from us, the more human we become.”
49	* Melanie is not a new leader, she’s been running the train for seven years.
50	* While the same words have been used to justify the authoritarian nature of the train, Melanie's belief is almost pro-humanity. “I see three thousand souls surviving on a planet that’s determined to freeze all life in place. We’re still in motion, alive and kicking, and it’s not thanks to chance, or fate, or God! It is thanks to order!”
51	** Layton's ShutUpHannibal response to the above speech.
52
53	[[AC:3 - Access is Power]]
54	* Layton’s perceived enemies are smart: the supposed thug Grey actually recognized Wilford’s speech quoting from Winston Churchill, while Melanie and Roche both knew Layton tried to communicate with the tail. Of course, he outplays them both when he reveals the "new" drug Kronole isn’t new, and in fact a brakeman has been trading them for blowjobs.
55	* Layton getting the better of Osweiller twice in one day, first with Roche, later because of Terrance the janitor, much to the brakeman’s dismay.
56	* When he sees Miles' hair in the drawer room, Layton jumps into PapaWolf mode and demands to know where the boy is.
57	* Layton slipping Josie an implant by kissing her.
58
59	[[AC:4 - Without Their Maker]]
60	* Melanie and Layton playing good cop/bad cop to the first class passengers. When the Folgers refuse to let Layton proceed with his investigation and demand to speak to Mr. Wilford, Melanie pretends to call him, and Lilah backs off.
61	* Josie successfully getting out of the tail and meeting with Astrid.
62
63	[[AC:5 - Justice Never Boarded]]
64	* Miss Audrey sending a platter of cockroaches to first class.
65	* The victorious applause as a third class passenger is allowed on the tribunal for the trial.
66	* All three members of the tribunal finding LJ guilty. Sadly, this doesn't last due to a message from "Mr. Wilford" communing the sentence due to her being underage, but even then this is met with disapproval.
67	* Till knocking out Osweiller and helping Josie escape with Layton.
68
69	[[AC:6 - Trouble Comes Sideways]]
70	* Dr. Pelton helping Josie and Layton.
71	* Melanie successfully repairing the train's faulty brake line, seconds before the train can derail.
72	* After their near-death experience, Till loudly proclaims she's not going to let Osweiller blackmail her anymore.
73
74	[[AC:7 - The Universe Is Indifferent]]
75	* Miss Gillies helping Dr. Pelton arrange a secret meeting between Miles and Josie.
76	* Josie, after losing one of her fingers to the cold, freezes her hand and smashes it so she can slip out of her handcuffs and attack Melanie.
77	* In retaliation for Josie's death, Layton arranges for LJ to learn the truth about Mr. Wilford, knowing that she tell everyone.
78
79	[[AC:8 - These Are His Revolutions]]
80	* The tail-enders' entire plan. Using the chaos happening in first class over Mr. Wilford's identity, they're able to take advantage of the reduced amount of guards present and leave the tail, cutting communication lines and freeing a few of their allies from the drawers. Then there's the huge fight in the night car, where they manage to force Grey and the jackboots to retreat.
81	* Big John's HeroicSacrifice.
82
83	[[AC:9 - The Train Demanded Blood]]
84	* Against all odds, Melanie and Layton manage to outmaneuver Commander Grey and the Folgers, trapping them on one section of the train and ejecting them into the Freeze while keeping the rest of the train intact.
85
86	[[AC:10 - 994 Cars Long]]
87	* Layton's RousingSpeech to the passengers before they are breached by Big Alice.
88
89	!!Season 2
90	[[AC:1 - The Time of Two Engines]]
91	* Melanie manages to exploit a design flaw in Big Alice to prevent Wilford from detaching the larger train from Snowpiercer. While it leaves Snowpiercer at the mercy of Wilford's forces, it also means that Wilford has no choice but to keep Snowpiercer running, or else Big Alice will freeze.
92	-->"You over-designed it. ''I'' told you that."
93
94	[[AC:3 - A Great Odyssey]]
95	* The engineers managing to combine the power of Snowpiercer and Big Alice's engines to get the joined trains over a track thought to be impassable.
96
97	[[AC:7 - Our Answer for Everything]]
98	* Faced with a mob that demands tail blood for the death of the breachmen, Layton offers to let the mob shove his arm out the port until it freezes -- but is saved at the last minute by Ruth, who angrily shames the mob into dispersing.
99
100	[[AC:8 - The Eternal Engineer]]
101	* In a villainous example, Wilford manages to exploit his seeming rescue of the train and Layton's unwillingness to start another revolution in order to depose and capture Layton without any violence.
102
103	[[AC:8 - The Show Must Go On]]
104	* In case her HeelFaceTurn was in doubt, Ruth is unwilling to betray Melanie for the position she's always wanted. She is effectively defrocked and still manages to hold her composure and unflinchingly walk her way into Big Alice. Even losing a shoe doesn't stop her from keeping her head held high.
105
106	[[AC:10 - Into the White]]
107	* After a whole season of barely outmaneuvering Wilford and his fanatics, Layton and the other resistance deliver an utterly crushing blow to his cult by stealing the engine away from him. It's gonna be very hard for him to keep promoting himself as the Eternal Engineer when Snowpiercer is barely limping along.
108
109	!!Season 3
110	[[AC:1 - The Tortoise and the Hare]]
111	* With Layton, Till, Alex and Josie all gone, the resistance aboard Snowpiercer could have easily fallen apart, but Ruth and Pike have managed to keep it going.
112	[[AC:2 - The Last to Go]]
113	* The entirety of the Resistance destroying Wilford's EMP device.
114	** Pike and Lights successfully throwing it out the back of the train after accidentally activating it.
115	** Ruth calmly giving herself up to an oblivious Kevin to buy them more time, despite the likelihood she'll be killed for it.
116	** The ensuing explosion alerting Layton's train to their location, giving them a crucial element of surprise over Wilford.
117
118	[[AC:3 - The First Blow]]
119	* Assisted by Josie providing a distraction, Layton manages to sneak up on Wilford and beat the shit out of him in his own quarters, forcing him to surrender the entire train with minimal violence.
120	* Admittedly, she only does it to [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor get on the winning side]], but there's LJ killing [[TheDragon Kevin]] by stabbing him in the throat while he's distracted by Wilford's order to stand down.
121
122	[[AC:9 - A Beacon For Us All]]
123	* Melanie managed to keep herself alive for six months by shoving herself into a tiny rail car and putting herself in suspended animation.
124
125	[[AC:10 - The Original Sinners]]
126	* With Layton realizing that he can't overthrow Melanie and Wilford again without significant casualties, and Melanie realizing that she can't compete with Layton unless she has Wilford's backing, they both realize that the common denominator in their problems is Wilford and thus TakeAThirdOption, ambushing him and shoving him into Melanie's capsule to spend some time in exile. They then come up with a compromise to prevent another war between them -- dividing the train in half, with Layton's faction travelling on to the rumored warm spot while Melanie's faction continues on the regular track in order to collect more data.
127	* Against all odds, Layton leads his followers to the warm spot and finds that it's actually livable. For the first time in years, they're able to leave the train without wearing breach suits.
128	[[/folder]]
129

Context Awesome / Snowpiercer