'Snowfall' Season 6 Premiere: Franklin's Downfall Begins

Snowfall is now in its sixth and final season. And the doubleheader premiere sets the table for an epic standoff with Franklin and Jerome.

Franklin Saint (Damson Idris) anti-hero of FX’s crown jewel Snowfall, is not a superstitious man. He relies on cold facts for even the softest matters like deciding how he should handle family conflicts. But if he were the type to read horoscopes, he’d be partial to ominous fortunes like “An enemy lurks where your cradle’s kept” or, “A major windfall awaits should your eyes open wide enough.” 

But Franklin could use John Truby’s theory of supporting characters in stories who either ease the character’s quest or greatly obstruct it. They’re called fake-opponent-allies and fake-ally-opponents. Saint is constantly on the lookout for his opps, but can’t be solid on who will reveal themselves a barrier to the bag. Here’s a great way to watch for them. 

No other show on television right now asks its fans to invest so much in a main character who’d kill his dad if it meant sinking his foot an inch deeper in the drug game. Snowfall is now in its sixth and final season. And the doubleheader premiere sets the table for a Breaking Bad style reunion with our infamous Saint rifling through his uncle’s stash to rob him of the money he feels he’s owed from Jerome (Amin Joseph) and Louie’s (Angela Lewis) betrayal. Although the kingpin formula would have us believe Franklin’s a thinking man and, alert to the possibilities before they happen, he’s as erratic as Tony Mantana in the mansion, ruled by greed in the direst hours. 

The Fake-Ally-Opponents: Vee, Mama Cissy, Black Diamond and Dallas

The premiere’s title, “Fallout,” feels like a continuation of his worst fates, as he clings to his mother, Cissy (Michael Hyatt), as his only remaining ally as she dallies with the KGB (?!) to side-plot her own revenge mission. 

Fiancée Vee (Taylor Polidore ) wants cooler heads to prevail but Franklin’s left that somewhere mid-Season-Five alongside scraps of friendship with Leon, and his uneasy family business with uncle-turned-rival Jerome. It’s too late for that. Franklin’s rolling with a pair of contract killers, Black Diamond and Dallas, who are a far cry from the loyal, level-headed Peaches, and as interested in his long-term prospects as they are in staying out of his drama: not at all. Vee may appear as Franklin’s ally as a would-be baby mama, but seems way too comfortable maneuvering behind his back. Also, as OKP Social Guru Joe noted, ‘Franklin always says ‘I love you’ to her, but you never see her say it back to him.’ Could she be another snake? 

The Fake-Opponent-Allies: Jerome and Louie

As Franklin dodges Jerome, and scrambles to wash the money he just stole from him, the CIA, DEA, and KGB circle him like buzzards. He’s a wanted man by the most unwanted foes. Yet, unlike previous seasons where his drive was empire-building and crossing over to the legit world, he’s drunk off spite. Franklin’s so short on allies, everyone wants him to smooth over the relationship with his family to stay alive but his line in the sand is the strongest line of the episode: “So it’s business when I’m bending over but it’s personal when you gettin’ it?” No one gets over on him, not longtime foil Teddy and not his uncle. 

The Opp of All Opps: Teddy

As for Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson), the CIA plug gone rogue, he’s prowling in the shadows as always but incognito as his reputation’s gone up in smoke. He’s crossed his former employer, his Colombian and Panamanian contacts, and Franklin. The parallels between him and his rival put them in identical positions, which could predict an intersection of fates later on. But unlike Franklin, Teddy has no family to speak of, and must choose between constant exile and wiping out his growing list of enemies. Their choices limited, each has chosen betrayal as an escape hatch. ‘Get them before they get me.’ Teddy serves as both an ally, a villain, a fake ally, and whatever serves the overall motion of the plot. 

In the second episode, “The Sitdown,” Franklin and Jerome finally meet after Cissy’s unsubtle nudges, but it goes left quickly. Uncle Jerome flashes signs of his muscle days and backhand-slaps Franklin like nephew’s still in diapers. When Franklin tensely warns him to never do that again, he swats him from the other side. Soon, the younger draws his gun, tears welling in his dead-eyed stare. There’s no truce to be had because Jerome killed one of Franklin’s dual shooters and ran off with the plug. There’s no truce to be had because Franklin won’t cede responsibility for getting them tagged by the CIA in the first place. The “War of the Saints” seems like a fitting final arc for this series, which has been defined by backstabbing, posturing, and misplaced righteousness. We’ll gladly tap in for that. 

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Andrew Ricketts is a writer from New York. He wants to tell the story you share with a friend.