| “ | It's just hospitality... killing a man. | „ |
| ~ Ruth and Andre Layton seizing Big Alice's Engine |
Ruth Wardell is a supporting antagonist in Season 1 of the TV series Snowpiercer. Ruth is the assistant head of hospitality who helps to oppress the people of the train due to her near-fanatical belief in Joseph Wilford. This leads to Ruth becoming one of the leaders of a First Class rebellion against Melanie Cavill. However, after the rebellion's fall and the arrival of the real Mr. Wilford, Ruth found herself torn between her loyalty to the train and her belief in Wilford, becoming more of an anti-hero. Realizing her mistakes and that Wilford was not what she believed him to be, Ruth began a path of redemption, befriending her former enemy Andre Layton and becoming one of his most trusted allies, even leading the resistance against Wilford in his absence. By the end of the series, Ruth has fully redeemed herself, becoming one of Layton's most trusted friends and allies and a leader of the survivors of humanity in her own right.
She was played by Alison Wright.
Biography[]
Background[]
When she was young, Ruth had a wild personality and led a group of girls similar to her that committed petty crimes. However, Ruth carried guilt about leaving one girl behind to get caught and the betrayal that the girl felt as a result for the rest of her life.
According to Ruth, her first love was an oil rig worker who died when his rig went down.
Later in life, Ruth ran a bed and breakfast in Kendal, England. She was personally recruited by Joseph Wilford to work on Snowpiercer after he was impressed with Ruth's attitude and disposition after she took him in for a night, unaware of Mr. Wilford's true nature at the time.
Hospitality Work[]
Following the Freeze, Ruth spends seven years working as the assistant head of hospitality, unaware that her coworker Melanie Cavill was actually pretending to be Wilford in order to control the train. As a part of her work, Ruth dealt with the Tailies which she found to be distasteful. Following their failed revolution, Ruth led their punishment of freezing off the arm of Suzanne, accepting it in lieu of her original demand of killing six Tailies in retaliation for the six people whom they had killed. Suzanne would later die of an infection as a result of losing her arm in such a manner.
Ruth later presides over LJ Folger's tribunal, although she is less than pleased with the outcome of it. When Snowpiercer is in danger of derailing, Ruth broadcast a message of hope to the train, urging them to support each other through the crisis.
The Rebellion[]
Ruth's faith in Melanie's leadership is shaken as she becomes increasingly confused and worried about her actions following the tribunal. Ruth allies herself with Commander Nolan Grey of the Jackboots and Robert and Lilah Folger who suggest that they usurp Melanie and replace her with Ruth. Although initially outraged at this, Melanie's dismissive and rude attitude towards her pushes Ruth towards allying herself with the First Class rebellion, particularly as she begins to develop a romantic relationship with Grey.
After LJ learns that Melanie had abandoned Wilford to die at boarding, Ruth's friendship with her is shattered and Ruth fully commits herself to the Folgers' cause. While Grey grooms Ruth to take the helm as the new head of the Eternal Engine, but there is concern throughout First that she is too closely aligned with the Folgers. However, the First Class army is defeated by an alliance between Melanie, Andre Layton and his own rebel forces, leading to the deaths of the Folgers, Grey and their entire army. Having not been present at Layton's faked surrender, Ruth is left as the sole surviving leader of the failed First Class rebellion. Choosing to work as an Engineer full time under Layton's new leadership of the train, Melanie leaves hospitality to Ruth who is furious about Melanie's lies and the loss of the love that she was building with Grey.
Return of Wilford[]
Shortly thereafter, the real Joseph Wilford arrives on the Big Alice supply train, much to Ruth's excitement as she believed that Wilford had come to save them. Gathering a welcoming committee, Ruth attempted to force her way into the Tailie greeting party at gunpoint with Layton reluctantly allowing Ruth to join. Much to everyone's shock, the person who emerges from Big Alice is Alexandra "Alex" Cavill, Melanie's believed-dead daughter who brings with her a list of demands from Wilford.
The return of Wilford puts Ruth's trustworthiness and allegiances into question as she has always been an almost fanatical devotee of his, but she also tries to help Layton deal with the situation. However, after learning that Layton's ex-wife Zarah is pregnant with their child, Ruth moves them both into First Class and Layton orders Ruth to figure out what side she's on. Ruth tells Layton that she's on the same side she's always been on: Snowpiercer's and the train's passengers. Ruth is angry when Layton later leads a failed invasion of Big Alice without consulting her.
Before leaving to conduct research on the Earth possibly warming, Melanie tells Layton to rely on Ruth and to not make the same mistake that she did of not being honest with her, thus losing Ruth's trust. The two women part on good terms and Ruth becomes one of Layton's closest allies as he tries to keep Wilford from taking over the train. True to her word, Ruth proves to be loyal to the train and its passengers above her devotion to Wilford, even refusing an offer to join him on Big Alice as a crisis breaks out. Her work with Layton causes Ruth to face the consequences of her own actions when she meets and protects Winnie, the young daughter of the woman who had lost her life because Ruth ordered her arm frozen off. Ruth expresses remorse for her actions and protects Layton from the same fate, admitting how wrong it was of her to have done it herself.
After Wilford takes control of the train, he offers Ruth a place at his side if she swears allegiance to him. Having finally seen her idol for what he truly is, Ruth refuses and is sent to Compost as a punishment where she forms an alliance with Layton to escape and steal the first ten cars of Snowpiercer to go after Melanie. However, Ruth is accidentally left behind when she takes too long to arrive, and Layton's crew are forced to separate the train early due to Wilford's intervention.
Redemption[]
Following Layton's departure, Ruth takes up his leadership position on the train, working to redeem herself for her mistakes. Over the next six months, Ruth organizes and leads the resistance against Wilford in Layton's place, working with his closest allies to protect and help the people suffering under Wilford's tyranny and to prepare for Layton's return. At one point, Ruth selflessly sacrifices herself, allowing herself to get caught so that her allies can disarm an EMP weapon that Wilford was building. Ruth is only spared from having her arm frozen off by the sudden return of Layton and Snowpiercer.
After Layton's return, he and Ruth warmly greet each other and she remains one of his most trusted advisors and friends. When Melanie Cavill returns and nearly starts another war, Ruth initially goes with her, but only to try to talk some sense into her friend. After seeing that it's impossible, Ruth refuses to help Melanie, telling the other woman that she has worked too hard to redeem herself to fall back into old patterns again, thus siding with Layton. However, Layton and Melanie are able to come to a peaceful solution rather than going to war again and Ruth helps them to kick Wilford off of the train.
A year later, Ruth has become the democratically elected leader of the New Eden survivors after Layton decides to step down, although he becomes a part of the town council that Ruth leads. Layton and Ruth briefly clash when Layton decides to take Big Alice when his daughter is kidnapped, something that endangers the town. Sam Roche convinces the two to put it to a vote before the people of New Eden rather than acting unilaterally and the people agree to allow Layton to take the train with certain very reasonable conditions that Layton easily agrees to. Ruth admits that she voted against it because she's worried about the impact of losing New Eden's main power source on the community that she's in charge of, although as Layton's friend, Ruth hopes that he'll be successful. Despite her reservations, Ruth personally joins Layton's mission, stating that it's her duty to ensure that the Engine is returned within the three weeks that Layton has been given. The mission ends with Layton being trapped in the Silo behind enemy lines after Ruth fails to rescue him and Ruth and his other allies escaping with the train and number of rescued passengers to New Eden. When Layton returns shortly after Big Alice arrives, he and Ruth fully reconcile with Layton holding no ill will against Ruth for having to leave him behind.
By the end of the journey, Ruth has redeemed herself, having gone full circle from an antagonist and a part of an oppressive regime to the first democratically elected leader of the survivors of humanity, even fighting alongside and leading the people whom she had once oppressed. After saving the world from another apocalyptic event, Ruth decides to share leadership of New Eden with Layton as the co-chairs of the council rather than remaining as the sole chairperson of the town.