(WARNING: Spoilers for this week’s episode of Snowfall will be found below.)
Even without looking into the storylines of season six of Snowfall, it was quite apparent that the downfall of Franklin’s empire would take place at some point during the season. For one, the historical account that this story is loosely based on says so, as we know how the United States eventually turned and handled the crack epidemic. Secondly, with the disappearance of Franklin’s $73 million to end season five, it was clear that Franklin wasn’t as invincible as we’d perceived him to be through the series. So far into season six, Franklin has managed to not only stay afloat but also bounce back somewhat. However, with the events that take place following episode four of the new season, it’s clear that we have reached the turning point in season six.
In episode five, “Ebony And Ivory,” four of the show’s main characters reach their respective breaking points in the new season. Franklin, more frustrated than ever at Teddy’s refusal to return his $73 million, devises a plan with Veronique and Cassandra to track down Teddy’s father and use him as ransom to get the money back. When it doesn’t work, we see Franklin (who’s already burned a worker’s face and later shot him) take a knife to McDonald and kill him — all while Teddy is on the phone. This moment also serves as a breaking point for Teddy. Elsewhere in the episode, we see the return of old Leon after he successful won a fight with Deon to take back control of the projects. This leads to Deon confronting Jerome, and though he’s unsuccessful in getting Jerome to side with him, the conversation does lead to the unraveling of Jerome which is showcased through a narrowly-avoided shootout and a later moment where he wallows in frustrations while drinking liquor.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways that we have after season six’s fifth episode, “Ebony And Ivory”:
Franklin Will Always Find A Way, But Did He Go Too Far?
In the second half of this week’s episode, we see Franklin, Veronique, and Cassandra begin their mission to get back Franklin’s $73 million from Teddy. It begins with Veronique and Cassandra venturing out to Kansas City in search of who we later learn is Teddy’s father Colonel McDonald. In a grand scheme, the mother-daughter duo breaks Teddy’s father out of the nursing home he was staying in and take him to his home. Franklin eventually joins them and makes a phone call to Teddy to let him know that he is currently with McDonald. Franklin warns Teddy that his father will be killed if his money is not returned, and when Teddy says he’s unable to do that, Franklin takes a knife to McDonald’s neck and kills him. This scene proves one thing about Franklin: he will always find a way. However, did he go too far this time? If there’s anyone in this show that is just as, if not more powerful that Franklin, it’s Teddy. We can certainly expect Teddy to retaliate, especially with Franklin’s own family in close proximity. Then again, there is the suspicious — one that Franklin believes — that Teddy killed his father Alton. Either way, the worse is yet to come between Franklin and Teddy.
Leon’s Turn Was Unexpected — And A Bit Disheartening
The look in Wanda’s eyes said it all. After cursing out the people within the projects who he believed had an issue with him, Leon — with a gun in hand — declared himself the new leader of the projects while daring anyone to take a shot at him. It’s quite the turn from the man we watched leave Ghana to return to Los Angeles in hope of creating change in his community. It now seems like the plans for change he had have gone out the window. Old Leon is back, and maybe, just maybe, he still has his eyes set on that change he wanted to put through. However, after fighting Deon and forcibly taking back the throne of the projects, Leon has to know that keeping it will bring back the fighting spirit that we saw within him in earlier seasons of Snowfall. This is probably why we get this look from Wanda after Leon’s daring call to the cohabitants of the projects. They worked so hard to grow and improve from their past ways, is it all about to be thrown away now?
Jerome Is At His Breaking Point
Things have not been going well in Jerome’s world, but it gets far worse than before in “Ebony & Ivory.” In short, he gets confronted by Deon, who also made sure to disrespect Louie to her face multiple times. Next, Jerome nearly guns down some who he suspects is following him, and he ends it off by wallowing in frustration and drinking his life away while seated on his newly repaired car. In Jerome’s world, the fight he’s put up usually yields results but in this case, especially in his battle with Franklin, he hasn’t made the progress he would’ve liked. Franklin has yet to return the money he stole from Jerome and Louie, and now, Leon is back in the picture as he’s taken over the projects where Jerome and Louie were selling product. The latter is less of an issue for him as he told Deon that there are no plans to stop selling to the projects because Leon is in charge. However, it appears that it’s part of a bigger feeling that Jerome has which he expresses to Deon during their conversation as his club. “These young n*****s, they ain’t got no respect, no code, no honor. They ain’t us.” It remains to be seen if those values are pointless to keep in their current war or if they’ll be worth it in the long run.
Is Veronique Prepared For The Worst?
“Ebony & Irony” opens with the Veronique and her mother Cassandra having a conversation inside a car as they stake out to find who we later learn is Teddy’s father Colonel McDonald. Cassandra asks Veronique if there’s an “exit plan” in place if their current one fails. Veronique assures her that “it’ll work,” but Cassandra isn’t about to let her daughter slip around the question. While it eventually goes unanswered as they’re distracted by the sighting of Colonel McDonald, Cassandra is absolutely warranted in her question… but it depends on how it’s being asked. Veronique hasn’t exactly worked her way into the trusting graces of viewers, probably because of her surprise appearance at the start of season five and her suspicious demeanor since then. Cassandra isn’t exactly trustworthy either, simply because of her past and the fact that Veronique — who, remember, we don’t really trust — had issues with her mother in the past.
So if Cassandra is asking this question in terms of Veronique the individual and mom, and not Veronique the girlfriend of Franklin, then our suspicions for the future are warranted. However, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for the moment. We eventually get an answer to Cassandra’s question at the end of the episode and it’s a nonverbal response. Veronique sits in McDonald’s living with her mouth wide open in shock as she watches him bleed out after Franklin took a knife to his neck. She may not have expected things to reach this point, but what she must now understand is things are only going to get worse from here. So yes Veronique, for the sake of you and Franklin, is there an exit plan in place? Are you prepared for the worst?
New episodes of ‘Snowfall’ are available on FX on Wednesdays at 10pm EST/ PST.
