Sumith Prasad
The fifth episode of AMC’s post-apocalyptic series ‘Snowpiercer’ season 4 chronicles Bennett “Ben” Knox and Bess Till’s efforts to save their friends from the clutches of Admiral Anton Milius. After offering Liana to Andre Layton, the commander of the International Peacekeeping Forces leads the former and his allies to the research center, where Melanie Cavill bids adieu to Ben, only to lock them up. The group retaliates against the admiral in different ways. While Layton is obsessed with finding his daughter, Ben joins Till to save as many people as possible from the Snowpiercer, which ultimately threatens his life! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Ben Sacrifices Himself for His Friends and New Eden
When Layton focuses on finding Liana and dealing with the threat of the resurrected Joseph Wilford, Ben, Till, and Ruth discuss saving the passengers of the Snowpiercer. Since New Eden’s survival depends on the return of the Big Alice, they decide to hijack the train and go to the community by rescuing as many people from the Snowpiercer as possible. They fight several obstacles and find a way to enter the larger train. Till lead several passengers to the Big Alice, and Ben goes to the engine to separate the latter from the titular train. Meanwhile, Milius ensures the engineer cannot move forward with the separation.
Ben then tells Till that he will disconnect the Big Alice from the Snowpiercer by boarding the latter. He asks her to take the train’s responsibility until it reaches New Eden. Since Miles is on the Big Alice to take the train to the community, Till bids her adieu to her friend, believing he will remain on the Snowpiercer, awaiting his partner, Melanie. However, Ben has been lying to her, considering that disconnecting the two trains manually is the only way to separate them. With no suits to protect him, the mission is nothing but Ben’s death sentence.
Even though Ben knows that he will die separating the two trains, he moves forward with the same, as he does not want the Big Alice’s passengers and New Eden’s residents to die. Separating the train from the Snowpiercer by sacrificing his life is the only way he can rescue his friends on the former and in the community. He chooses his demise over the deaths of his companions, especially since only an engineer can complete the mission.
Iddo Goldberg Has Exited Snowpiercer
Ben’s death marks the conclusion of Iddo Goldberg’s appearance in ‘Snowpiercer.’ Since the engineer’s body freezes right after disconnecting the Big Alice from the Snowpiercer, the chances of the same falling overboard are immensely high. Considering that nobody on the train is aware of his mission, it is unlikely that anybody will go to the end of the coach to check on him. Having said that, we can expect him to appear in Melanie’s thoughts or flashback scenes, especially when she learns about his sacrifice. Apart from that, we don’t need to anticipate Goldberg to be featured in the science fiction series.
Ben’s sacrifice is a pivotal plot development the post-apocalyptic drama uses to showcase the stakes in the war against Admiral Anton Milius. Since the commander is a new character, it is essential to establish his potency as a powerful antagonist for the fourth season storyline to work. Through the death of a beloved character like Ben, the episode depicts what it takes to win a battle against him. His sacrifice is also expected to create fissures between Milius and Melanie, who didn’t join forces with the soldier for her partner to die. Thus, Ben’s death is justifiable considering its aftermath.
In the upcoming episodes, we can expect Till and Ruth to take the Big Alice to New Eden to rescue the community’s residents. If they find a way to communicate the news to their friends on the Snowpiercer, the outrage against Milius may increase, paving the way for the culmination of the war between him and Layton.
Read More: Miss Audrey: What Happened to Her? Is She Dead or Alive in Snowpiercer?
