The cocaine saga Snowfall debuted on television screens in July 2017. Although its viciousness doesn’t provide the average viewer with exciting thrills, it serves as an astringent reminder of morality. The show indulges its audience through its nostalgic portrayal of Los Angeles in the mid-1980s and pays homage to John Singleton’s vision of the city. Set against the beginning of the crack cocaine epidemic and its transformative impact on culture, the story follows a selection of characters headed for a violent rendezvous. Here are the best seasons of Snowfall.
6. Season 5
The fifth season of Snowfall delves into the demise of Len Bias, an athlete who tragically succumbed to a heart attack due to cocaine abuse. The story, focusing on the main character Franklin and his thriving illegal drug business, has him navigating a new market, one saturated with competition. As he strives to remain at the forefront of this industry, the season examines the impacts of cocaine in all its facets. From underworld dealings to personal losses, viewers watch Franklin’s progress as he battles the changing dynamics of the illicit cocaine trade.
5. Season 6
Battles for power, dominion, and riches have reached an irreversible climax in the sixth and final season. However, the battle that matters most is the one for Franklin Saint’s soul. His wit has enabled him to evade crisis after calamity but with a dreadful price. Since beginning his journey, he has developed an entire empire underscoring wealth yet destroying the lives of countless others. Unwinding his narrative is an American story full of sharp contrasts and brutality entwined together, making escape impossible.
In these opening two episodes, this plotline comes into focus. Despite trying to flee from his past life, which is already an impossible task due to what he has caused, it is looking less and less unlikely. He takes on everyone around him: Uncle Jerome (Amin Joseph) and Aunt Louie (Angela Lewis); and his ex-CIA “companion’ Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson). This was all in pursuit of regaining the money he lost.
4. Season 1
Franklin gives viewers a ray of hope as they follow his journey through South Central Los Angeles. His uncle Jerome (Amin Joseph) and aunt Louise (Angela Lewis) welcome him into the family business of marijuana dealing. Franklin uses his newfound connections from an upscale, predominantly white high school in the valley to bring even more money into the trade.
The young man has a relaxed demeanor, so much so that when a pal from the valley asks Franklin to help with a cocaine deal, he replies jokingly, “Sure, I’ll be the Black guy—I always am!” Damson Idris puts on a masterful performance here, conveying his character’s forceful attitude and a good sense of humor. Behind all this hilarity lies Snowfall’s subtle irony: Cocaine is just around the corner, and no one has any idea how it will affect things.
3. Season 4
Many decried the third-season finale of Snowfall for permitting Franklin too easy an escape. After weeks of anticipation to witness him face the consequences of killing Officer Wright (Marcus Henderson), the show resorted to a contrived “it was all a dream” angle with Franklin evading Mel’s (Reign Edwards) offensive. Such criticism is truthful yet overlooks that this narrative needs to keep advancing. Franklin’s knack for dodging trouble drives him further into this realm.
Gustavo and Teddy face a dangerous new enemy in the drug trade, while Franklin climbs to the upper echelons of the criminal underworld. An investigative reporter from LA is getting closer to uncovering the truth about Officer Wright’s murder. Meanwhile, Leon seeks independence, as Cissy and Alton are trapped in the middle of the destructive crack cocaine war. These gripping first four episodes of Snowfall demonstrate that it remains an impressive, compelling show.
2. Season 2
Snowfall’s second season began with a shift in its narrative. It had become darker and more intense, packed with sudden decisions that spoke volumes. Even the show’s four intertwined stories came together more cohesively than before. Snowfall’s second season reveals power in many guises: bold action, scheming politics, financial clout, and audacity. Having proved its characters’ ambitions, Season 2 expands on them. But something is missing.
After four months, the series resumes with crack cocaine beginning to spread in the streets due to several conditions that early episodes explain. Franklin has been able to convert powder cocaine into profitable crack. Teddy has created both north- and south-bound networks for a CIA-sponsored illegal Contra cocaine venture. And Lucia, after assassinating her uncle, has become the family’s drug trade leader and determinedly seeks more success.
1. Season 3
Ranked as one of the best seasons of Snowfall, the third season begins with something familiar. The landscape encases the whole image; the blazing sun, and bright azure skies are filled with trees here and there. It reminds us of the first episode, where the wide-open sky clashed with the harsh heat of the street below, presaging a tragedy like the one in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. But times have changed now. As Officer Andre rolls through in his patrol car, he perceives composed people strolling around and talking jovially.
He is puzzled by this novel atmosphere or maybe just marveling at how places evolve. At once, in a corner, a woman leaps into a vehicle to take hold of crack cocaine. When the driver views Andre, he takes off abruptly, but the woman hangs on tightly and finally grabs a stone. Suddenly letting go of the door, she tumbles to the ground and thuds down. Andre strides over apprehensively, yet shockingly, she rolls onto her back, swallows a hit, and reclines onto the asphalt. Nothing surpasses the hit. Although their surroundings have shifted, not all the changes are positive.
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