Snow Angels' Second Season Introduces a Much More Desolate World
Snow Angels has been portraying its world as a desolate, seemingly never-ending death trap ever since the debut issue first. Somehow, the second season just made that world even bleaker than before.
Snow Angels' first season begins with two sisters and their father living inside a massive Trench that has been shielding them and their fellow Trenchfolk for generations from the harsh arctic elements beyond. The Trench's incredible size isn't just in terms of its height, however, but its length, a fact that has been drilled into these people ever since they were born. For of the three rules the Trenchfolk have grown up with, one states that the Trench goes on forever. While an overwhelming fact, the most ominous of these three truths is that the Trench provides, especially when taking into account that another rule is that venturing out beyond the Trench means certain death. The fact that the person or thing who wrote these rules felt the need to reiterate that the Trench would help them creates the impression that someone or something has been trying to keep them there and not just for their own safety. In Snow Angels, the Trench provides people with life, so why would anyone want to leave if it would just result in them dying?
Inevitably, the father and his two daughters are forced to leave their home when the dreaded Snowman slaughters their "village" and attempts to kill them, too. Since they are trapped in the Trench, they only have one, simple option; Go forward. But then the unthinkable happens. They reach the end of the Trench despite believing their entire lives that it was endless. This, in turn, forces them to leave the place they never thought they could even if they wanted to. What's worse, the two girls must go on alone because their father is now dead.
This is where the sisters find themselves in Snow Angels: Season 2 #1 by writer Jeff Lemire, artist Jock, and letterer Steve Wands. The girls' only hope is that their late father recently disproved yet another rule before his death. Once long ago, he left the Trench and survived. But it doesn't offer much solace because they can now travel in any direction other than forward and back as there's no wall limiting where they can go. And there's no guarantee that any of these possibilities will provide shelter or is the right way. Additionally, they are now exposed to the harsh elements of the outside world for the first time. Before they had the Trench's high walls to shield them, but not anymore. As such, the younger sister finds herself unable to go forward at numerous intervals during the second season's debut issue, forcing her older sibling to pull her back up to her feet while offering words of support.
Although the Trench seemed like a prison and created the impression that there was no way out, it still sheltered those living inside from the harsh winds. The Trench also created a sense of order in Snow Angels' story. All the main characters could do was move forward (or backward if they wanted to be killed). There was no other way they could go. But outside the Trench, their options are endless. And none of them look promising.