WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Snowpiercer Season 2, Episode 5, "Keep Hope Alive."
The second season of Snowpiercer is turning out to be a chess game between Mr. Wilford (Sean Bean) and Layton (Daveed Diggs). Wilford wants total control back of all 1,034 cars, not just Big Alice, but he knows he has to play it patient, biding his time until the right moment.
And now, it seems like the moment has come as the show's latest massacre on the giant ark may very well be Mr. Wilfrod's most genius plan yet.
The latest episode sees Alex, Audrey and Josie hearing whispers on Big Alice that Wilford is going to make a big play with the sinister Breachmen. It's believed they're the muscle he'll be using for a coup because they're hardcore loyalists of his. But just when it seems like they're gearing up, proceedings conclude with mysterious, hooded assailants murdering each of them.
It's a shocking sequence that leaves Layton's team wondering what's going on, but clearly, this is the secret cult Wilford had on board all this time. It's unclear if he bought out Tailies loyal to Layton in the past or if these are new players, but Layton's petrified knowing these figures skulk in the shadows. To make matters worse, if they can kill these titans, they're definitely elite assassins, evidenced by how cutthroat, clinical and efficient they are. What makes this even more intimidating, though, is that it's going to be spun as Layton snuffing out people he believes belong to Wilford. He's already used Pike to murder Terence to protect Josie as a spy on Big Alice, and other people like L.J. and Oz were also part of this, so once someone talks, Layton won't have any credibility left.
Given he's yet to call elections and people are wondering if he lied about democracy, it's not looking good for Layton. He also chaired the council that lied about Mel still making contact, and while that was for the good of everyone, it'll look terrible in the public eye. This is what Wilford was angling for all along, using perception and his brain, not brawn, to win the war. He knows that by killing off this minority, he can poison the minds of the majority, where there were always more people on the fence. And once they come to his side, with his killers in tow, Wilford can easily take back Snowpiercer.
Snowpiercer stars Jennifer Connelly, Daveed Diggs, Alison Wright, Mickey Sumner, Susan Park, Iddo Goldberg, Katie McGuinness, Lena Hall, Annalise Basso, Sam Otto, Roberto Urbina, Sheila Vand and Jaylin Fletcher. The series airs on Mondays at 9pm ET/PT on TNT.