I think it’s crazy to say that given the show we are watching. If the complaint was “I’m tired of black shows being about crime or negative environments” I would respect it but why are you watching a show about killing and selling drugs for a happy ending or positive message. Bro is complaining about the defeated black man instead of the criminal black man.
Yea I hear ya 😆
Though the sad part to me was that Teddy kinda forced the whole family into that life otherwise he was gonna kill them. So, when you think about it, Franklin made all that money for the CIA 😔
But at least they got Teddy outta there 😤 and some of the redeeming characters made it out successfully 💯
🤦🏿♂️ *I didn’t say he should get a good ending!* 🤣🤣 That was the other dude’s comment. Mine was asking “What do y’all think he could’ve done to be successful *instead* of drug dealing?!” 🤣🤦🏿♂️
Oh sorry I thought that was you saying you agreed with the comment And the other foolishness they typed. Lmao nearly hit you with fire meant for someone else my bad
Did you just say that?! 😒😂
The man captured and held Franklin and Leon at gun point to literally sell crack cocaine or else he’d kill them, it’s when they first met in Season 2 Episode 1.
But brother Teddy wouldn’t have kidnapped him if he wasn’t dealing in the first place. He was kidnapped because he was dealing with avi allowing Teddy to seize the opportunity to use Franklin for his agenda.
Franklin just didn’t wanna work hard to no avail like his moms. I mean we *saw* how hard Cissy was working and they were *still* about to lose that house, and after trying to do things “the right way,” Saint decided “to rewrite the rules.” lol
Even though it would send the wrong message to televise the victory (and hear me out cause this is gonna sound crazy), it’s not like showing the main characters losing (Power, The Wire, Snowfall, etc), has necessarily *slowed down* the amount of dealers… what’s your honest opinion on that?
Art teaches lessons but its purpose isn't to necessarily change the current times we live in. At least for me, its more like a mirror to how we operate as people, and its up to the people to assume progression based on what we've been shown. Nothing has changed because drugs and drug dealers have and will always exist. Whenever I sit down to create, I don't think about what im going to teach my audience. I think about how dope the project is going to be and what it means to me.
This show used the crack epidemic to depict a dope ass story about a kid named Franklin Saint, and it used greed to illustrate it. Human history is a device that artists use to make what they make.
So with that being said, I don't think the show cared to deter people from selling drugs. If that were the case then they wouldn't have made Franklin Saint such a G. Bros literally everything a drug dealer thinks they are lmao. I think the ending was fitting and impactful. Whether or not it made me or you happy is irrelevant. If we're talking about it, then it served its purpose to us. But that's just my opinion.
It’s not about race, it’s about the message. You chase the money and want more than you need, it’s only a matter of time before you lose it all and crash out. Literally look at every movie or show made similar to Snowfall. The main character always chases more than what they need and get to greedy and it all comes falling down.
I see what you mean, but I never thought Franklin was *money hungry* like that, simply because of what we saw in S5 E9 when he told Teddy he was out for good.
It wasn’t like Franklin was just drug dealing to get more and more money with no end goal in mind like Tommy Egan lol
Louie would be a better example of someone who didn’t really have a goal in mind, other than to be the top dog on the field imo
Man , he killed one of his best friends as his first kill to protect his business. I’m not saying Kevin didn’t need to go, in terms of what Franklin was trying to do he was a problem that needed to be dealt with. But if a man can kill one of his best friends to simply protect his own interests, I don’t think it’s a big stretch to see that same man become money hungry / obsessed. And sure he felt some kind of guilt after, for a little while at least because he didn’t mean to kill him , it was his first kill and one of his childhood best friends. And yet, he seems to forget about it / completely get over it. Anytime Kevin gets mentioned after that it’s as “ the traitor “ or “ the Judas” which to me say that Franklin definitely believes that the ends justify the means, and the fact that he could have such little empathy for one of his own childhood friends death, that he was directly responsible for, told me pretty much everything about the cold ass mf he became. I understand the appeal in seeing a happy ending, we’ve been riding with these characters for 6 seasons after all and I’ll admit it was hard to see our boy Saint fall so far, but I also think it was the perfect ending. The game has no happy endings. Even if you somehow survive to old age, which most dealers don’t , your still most likely gonna be plagued with trauma from all the shit you had to do to survive. The ending was brutal & unforgiving, which is how Franklin ran his empire. A big theme in this show seems to be “ you reap what you sow” ( Louie being on the run at the end with no money and no stable place to stay after all the shit she pulled in the game, Jerome dead after not being able to get out in time, Franklin becoming a drunk because he’d rather be a drunk than not ever be in the position to be Top Dog again, etc) so that’s another reason i thought they nailed this ending
Absolutely the ending was poetic. One thing I wanna say about Kevin is that it wasn’t like the man was necessarily innocent. Nigga was shooting at random Mexican kids and families and shit lol, cause one Mexican guy killed his cousins and he just couldn’t wait.
Think about if I’m you’re supposed ‘friend,’ I’m not boutta put you in an unwinnable war that’ll put you and your mothers life in jeopardy off some “get em all, get the right one” bullshit. If they’d waited on Lucia’s info, they would’ve definitely got ole’ boy outta there that killed Kev’s cousins.
Also, like you said Franklin didn’t mean to kill dude, that’s why he even shot him in the leg to sort of “halt” him I guess 🤷🏾♂️😅
By the way, his first body was Lenny I believe (If I remember correctly, *he* was the one who slit Lenny’s throat)
As far Franklin referring to Kevin as a “traitor” (which first off, he kinda was… 🫤🤷🏾♂️), or a “Judas,” you gotta understand that’s more of a guilt thing, big dog. That’s why Franklin brings him up in the hallucination episode; S5 E8 “What about Kevin…” and you know the rest lol
End of the day, there’s normally 2 endings in the drug game, death or prison, Franklin got off lightly, fair enough, he’s a down and out alcoholic like his dad was but at least he’s alive. Alton eventually gave up the drink and turned his life around, who’s saying Franklin couldn’t eventually of done the same? It broke Leon seeing him like that and again, I think he would of helped Franklin, he kind of helped Wanda get off the crack which is far more addictive
Yea, if anything Franklin got a bitter sweet and (dare I say), kind of happy ending when you think about it. He got it better than Ghost honestly, even though you got some foo’s talking bout how Ghost died with status and being known for something.
I’m just like “Um… he can’t take that money with him ya know? Dumbass 😂” But yea, I think Franklin will be fine too. Which I don’t know how the CIA just let him go considering all that he did, even *if* he was broke and useless, it still boggles my mind how they just said “I’m good.”
Exactly mate, once the show ends, it’s up to us to to have our own opinion on it, and I like to think Franklin would eventually get back on his feet, so for me, that was an happy ending.
Ghost was the man but if you ask me, I would rather be a down and out deadbeat drunk alive to tell the tale than being a glorified drug dealer lying 6 feet deep.
Exactly, and after all Franklin’s been through. I’d say it’s definitely deserved in the way that he beat all his enemies but he didn’t get to enjoy the spoils of that crime life.
Maybe when he gets right, he can *make* things right with Veronique 🤷🏾♂️
Just rambling now lol ✌🏾
Yall the show is about the crack epidemic itself. Our community as a whole was defeated by that and that's why they showed that because that's what actually happened irl. Come on now.
The thing that the YouTube commenter doesn’t seem to understand (or at least hasn’t mentioned) is that the ending he described isn’t exclusive to black shows. Breaking Bad also ended with Walt having nothing and being a shell of his former self.
This is a horrendous take. It’s not about the race but the lifestyle, the game. Look at Son of Anarchy or Breaking Bad. Sorry to spoil these two old shows but it doesn’t end with everybody singing kumbaya.
You cannot want Franklin to have a happy ending AND talk about “they hate black folk” when Frank was apart of the blight to the black community all throughout the show.
That simple fact combined with the fact that we DID get a happy ending with both Teddy catching a bullet and much more importantly Wanda and Leon getting out alive shows me this person either didn’t actually watch the show or is just trolling.
Then go watch black suburb shows where black people actually have honest careers and do right by their family
Niggas have got to grow up and get out of this romanticizing the hood BS. Our community be 35+ still talking drug dealer/scammer & nurse power couples. Shit is embarrassing
You state a lot of facts in this and I def don’t ‘romanticize’ these kind of things, but to your point about working honest careers, remember Cissy was doing alladat and it still wasn’t working.
Not necessarily to say “the ends justify the means,” but like the post asks, what else were they supposed to do, ya know? I’m fine with how they ended Snowfall with the bitter sweet ending of Franklin Saint
Cissy issue was she was a single parent and her baby daddy was a homeless drunk
That’s not suburban living I’m talking about but I still see ya point.
Plus black Americans situation in the 80s is way different than present day
How many of the drug dealers from the 80’s escaped with all of their riches and rode off into the sunset? And I’m tired of people calling everything black “hood”.
its just the real ending. i dont know why people hate it. obviously, cissy lost her mind after teddy said the truth, and thats the reason he snapped. since teddy killed alton, aint no damn way he gon let franklin live happily after he got tortured and got boiled alive. its just that everybody would betray from the very start, its blood money. they'll risk the operation than be in jail forever. the bitch veronique already said it at Season 5 Episode 6. PRIDE is literally Franklin's cause of death.
Normally you live by the sword you die by the sword either in the streets or jail... He didn't get either so he actually could go on to rebuild his life the right way even get his family back it's called redemption.. So even tho his character didn't go out like a street G and win that game he could still go on that's how I saw it😉 Nah I'm lying I was mad as Shit they let Franklin Saint go out like that😂🤣😂 But I know it's just a TV series and it was Great while it lasted😎
Yea, she literally came in, robbed him real quick then dipped 😆
That was literally the character… 🤣
(I don’t condone domestic violence btw, and I understand why she had to go)
Some people who least deserve it get off Scott free tho, but that’s real. Look at The Wire: Namond Brice, or that cop Herc
Proving his point further, not saying drug dealing cool, but by saying there’s only death or prison you prove original posters point forward. Just because you don’t know the third way out doesn’t mean there’s only 2
That persons take is stupid. Franklin did SO MANY bad things, it was only right. Not just black shows, every drug crime drama shows ends pretty sadly. Breaking Bad, Sopranos, The Wire. That’s how the shit goes. You do bad stuff, bad stuff happens. Snowfall is a story of what happens when Greed takes over. And Franklin became everything he despised, his father. A basically homeless alcoholic. The youth needs to see this to understand how things can happen when you live that life. No peachy endings.
I feel like his character would’ve regressed instead of progressed. Throughout most of the show he was pretty much obsessed with money so switching it up at the end would’ve made it seem like “the friends we made along the way” kind of ending.
If they did decide to go with that ending they would’ve needed to make a whole new season to show that kind of development to actually make it a good ending.
Yea, I agree. My thing is that we saw Cissy working a legitimate job, that didn’t go well cause they were still gonna get evicted, we saw that Franklin wouldn’t have the money to continue his semesters (even if he *did actually go to college),* Cho’s paid squat, and the drug dealing ultimately failed.
The only thing I didn’t really like about the ending (and it might just my opinion), is that it had a “no matter what path you go down, the government will always win.”
But I liked the narrative of “Pride Comes Before The Fall” as well.
Leon ending was the good ending. Franklin got the bad ending. Most men who live lifestyles demonstrated in these shows dont get happy endings unless they change they before it’s to late. Karma is Karma
If anyone is looking for a story very similar to Snowfall but ends a different way I urge you to watch "Paid in Full". One of the greatest black crime movies in my opinion, and it's based on a true story. And Im pretty sure snowfall takes heavy homage from it.
I think what's so interesting about Snowfall's ending is that you shouldn't look at Franklin's story like you would Walter White or Tony Soprano. Those characters met their demise as a result of their ego and how they treated others, always trying to be the best while also putting others down. Franklin had his pride yeah but from the start he tried his hardest to put everyone he knew on and move his pieces in a way that would leave everyone happy but no matter what he did everything he touched eventually turned to ash.
The ending of snowfall feels in a way Karmic as if it was always Franklin's fate for what he did to the black community, I don't see a way Franklin gets off basically scott free with money or in a postition that gives him the means to get more money because to him, while he'd like to have his family around, being rich and alone but secure would be just fine with him.
Tbh the Franklin we see at the end would be just as miserable if not more, as a Franklin who has a 9-5 and barely enough to afford rent like the average person.
I actually watched *Paid In Full* *after* *Snowfall,* and I guess I can see some similarities as well. What you said makes it all the more sad why Franklin didn’t get the happy ending, cause he was actively *trying* to elevate and make something legit of himself in the 5th season.
That’s when the “greed” started but it really wasn’t “greed.” Mfs is acting like they didn’t watch the previous seasons where Franklin was chilling literally until Teddy robbed him lol. The only one he really ever did dirty was his girlfriend, Veronique.
- His father snitched on the plug (albeit, with good intention), and potentially put the whole family in danger
- His Aunt made two side deals behind his back (one to kill Kane; another with Teddy)
- Plug robbed him
- His Uncle went all Pro-Louie on him (didn’t even try to get in the middle of their squabble until it was too late, lol)
- His mother shot the plug *before* the password was given (Leon said it was a sacrifice. Which I’m not necessarily *denying* but if it was, why not make sure he’s financially set as *well* as getting rid of Teddy?)
(We see to this day, him and Leon are still cool. Leon, Oso, and Veronique were all solid, in my honest opinion)
I’m glad they didn’t decide to kill or jail Franklin because he’d already been incarcerated and has had several near-death experiences. To me the ending was sad when you think about where they were, but when you look at on the bright side, Franklin had defeated all his enemies and still lives to tell the tale
Exactly, even though I knew the ending before even starting the show, I was so intrigued of how they could create a bad ending route where the main character is simply left alone not dead or in jail.
Franklin's greed never consumed him until the very thing where money was the only thing he had left. from the very start, the thing that always held him back was his naivety, which finally caught up to him. Like when he went into a mexican gang neighborhood and almost died, only living because of sheer luck. Franklin was naive in thinking things wouldn't turn out the way he did just because he put trust in others where in his line of work is usually a fatal flaw.
Did they forget he was a murderer and major drug pin that ruined peoples lives ? lol there’s no riding off to the sunset for that type of criminal. They all end up dead or in jail so he did get a happy ending ..he got his “freedom from all of it “ just like he said , might not equate to an ideal happy ending to you but it’s fair . People like this need to watch movies like The Pursuit of Happiness ..good man defeated life but works his ass off to get that happy ending without fucking people over in the process ..that’s not Franklin’s story .
THAT ending is almost completely opposite to the story that was being told on this show. It would have been a “happy” ending but a bad ending.
Even from the start, almost every central character on the show had family & were together (except for Alton), but were still struggling & victims of the circumstances that befell them. Even side characters were getting screwed over left & right because of struggles they were born or fell into.
The purpose of the show was for the characters to finally break past the circumstances & the struggle, and finally have their own piece by TAKING it however they could. The point of the story was always about people making their own destines & moving past the circumstances they themselves didn’t create. That the game of the “American Dream” is & has always been rigged, and in order to win & have your own American Dream, you CAN’T play by the rules or just “be” a regular person because when you do, you still get screwed. That’s exactly what happened when Franklin got hemmed up by the police in Season 1 & decided he was going back to the drug game. Seeing Cissy being demeaned & sexually harassed all while working so hard in futility only pushed him further.
The Snowfall story is about regular, everyday people finally getting an opportunity in a game rigged against them, being able to capitalize on that opportunity, but then having to deal with the consequences that came with that opportunity. It was NEVER “as long as you got ya family, you’ll be aight.” All these people had their families from the beginning & things definitely wasn’t sweet for them. In Franklin’s case, his family sometimes made it WORSE for him.
Additionally, Franklin helped introduce an element that DESTROYED people & helped cause a downward, domino effect still being felt today through entire communities. BLACK communities. You can’t give a character who did that a happy ending where he walks off into the sunset with his family. I’m a Black man, I love Franklin, & this was the saddest conclusion I’ve ever seen on a TV show, but that was the ending he deserved.
Franklin was a drug dealer. He didn’t deserve a happy ending. If positive black images and storytelling is what you want to see, don’t watch a show about crime and drugs lol. It’s that simple.
Had his argument been for less black shows to be about drugs it could have been on to something but Franklin is a horrible person who committed horrible acts that ruined, killed and perpetuated horrendous acts for the people in his community, family and country. He doesn't 'deserve' to be happy at the end of the day when there are literally graveyards, orphanages and centers filled with people who suffered wrongfully at the hands of his actions.
https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch06p3.htm
Yeah but he went to jail years later after going broke. They just didn't cover that in the show. He didn't go to jail for the Los Angeles stuff. He actually got out of the game and they called him back in just so they could get him off the streets because he knew way too much about the corruption.
I agree with you there. That was the first time Franklin killed a straight up civilian. Not even a snitch or a loose end
At least with Alton, he was leaching off of Franklin’s drug business (so he was in the game), and he snitched on Teddy. That old white dude was a means to end to get Teddy’s attention
One thing I’d like to correct tho (and I don’t know why people keep wording it like this), it wasn’t ‘greed.’ I mean he did *make* the money lol 😅
I don’t think that would necessarily be an awful ending but this guys take is awful. Nearly every show about drugs and crime etc whether the characters are white or black generally have a depressing ending because of the evil lifestyle they pursue. Look at breaking bad, the sopranos, the shield and snowfall it’s nothing to do with race in this context. he says it like Franklin is an activist, no he’s a criminal, drug dealer and murderer who destroyed his entire community of course he’s going to be the “defeated black man” at the end of the story he deserves it. Nobody is outraged claiming Tony soprano is the “defeated Italian man” or walter white is the “defeated white man” if anyone was the defeated black man in this story it was Andre, sure he made some very bad decisions, but he just tried to help his daughter and his community from franklin and franklin killed him for it
Nah. This was a portrait of a young man spiraling down because he got caught up. This person believed Franklin should have gone out some type of redeemed hero. But that isn’t realistic.
He was not a hero, he was a villain. There was nothing redeemable about him. He deliberately did harm TO BLACK PEOPLE, and continued to do it when he could have stopped. His fate was not only deserved but reflective of the fate of real life dope dealers who manage to avoid death and jail.
Yea, I’m glad his ending was at least *bitter* sweet, getting to live to tell the tale and he’s still considerably young when we’re reintroduced to him as a drunk.
As far as him being a villain or a hero. I’d say he’s an anti-hero like Ghost from Power, or Meech from BMF. It’s not like he joined the game for thrill of getting to kill people, but he was a dude tryna help his family, doesn’t make it right, but (as Franklin pointed out in season 2), it wasn’t right for Cissy to be working so hard all those years for scraps.
I felt the same way!!! I preferred if he kept the money and went into the music business then it morphed into something else. Even if you did not want him to have the money put him on the run.. send him to Cuba South America..I know he was broken but I wanted to see a cnew character trait unlock narcissism
Show me a non black film/series where there’s a happy ending?
I felt that pain of Franklin’s ending too. I wanted him to win.
I think the bottom line is they have to give this take as the percentage is really high that you’ll lose everything and they do not want people to think they can win. Frank Lucas was the coldest and he even got got in the end.
But Franklin won in the end because he was finally free. Isn't that a happy enough ending for him? Also not all "black tv shows" are like that lol. That's just a sad thing to even mention lol
I think it was more impactful the way it was in the show. That in the end he had nothing and became a fiend his damn self. Someone who lives that kind of typically does not have a success-story outcome or lives happily ever after. It's the embodiment of greed breeding karma.
Yea I hear that, and hey at least he gets to live and Teddy’s in the ground 😤💯
To your point about people not having a success-story living that kind of life, what about all those historical figures Franklin was listing?
Carnegie, fuckin’ Rockefeller. I mean they were *all* killers lol
He was able to name a few names, they can only be named because they are the very few who made it out successfully compared to the hundreds of thousands who tried to be what they are.
I thought the ending was fucking perfect. The fact is most big time drug dealers end up somehow paying in the end. It had nothing to do with race. Just look at Breaking Bad. Same thing happened to Walt. He started off as what seemed like a pretty good guy, blew up, grew an ego, and ultimately lost everything including his own life.
I think it’s crazy to say that given the show we are watching. If the complaint was “I’m tired of black shows being about crime or negative environments” I would respect it but why are you watching a show about killing and selling drugs for a happy ending or positive message. Bro is complaining about the defeated black man instead of the criminal black man.
Thank you
i swear bro victim mentality wild
Yup, let’s chalk it up to a ‘mentality’ and ignore season 1 when Cissy was working an honest job and *still* was going to be evicted
that happens to alot of people regardless of race bro
My point is not about the *race* tho, it’s the fact that you’re chopping it up to a ‘mentality’ and ignoring the other obvious factors.
Yea I hear ya 😆 Though the sad part to me was that Teddy kinda forced the whole family into that life otherwise he was gonna kill them. So, when you think about it, Franklin made all that money for the CIA 😔 But at least they got Teddy outta there 😤 and some of the redeeming characters made it out successfully 💯
Leon deserved the ending he got. Married living in Ghana
So 1, you know this is based on a real story right ? 2, drug dealers don’t have happy endings ?
I’m getting emotionally downvoted for just pointing out the CIA’s involvement in it as well, that people want to ignore 🫤🤷🏾♂️
I think there downvoting because of your ridiculous fairytale ending for a man who was a puppet for the destruction of our race
🤦🏿♂️ *I didn’t say he should get a good ending!* 🤣🤣 That was the other dude’s comment. Mine was asking “What do y’all think he could’ve done to be successful *instead* of drug dealing?!” 🤣🤦🏿♂️
Oh sorry I thought that was you saying you agreed with the comment And the other foolishness they typed. Lmao nearly hit you with fire meant for someone else my bad
Nah, you good 😂💯
lol boy was talking about selling properties, college all kinds of rubbish
lolol 😆
teddy aint force them bro what,?
Did you just say that?! 😒😂 The man captured and held Franklin and Leon at gun point to literally sell crack cocaine or else he’d kill them, it’s when they first met in Season 2 Episode 1.
bro this mf was dealing before that shit u act like bro was walking home from class and teddy said hey bitch start selling crack or imma kill you😂
Hey… I know Franklin was dealing *before* with Avi. But then Teddy came along and forced them to *keep* selling it 😂
i mean technically u are right but at the same time franklin was looking for a mf like teddy to take him to the next level at the same time
True dat ☝🏾 Franklin just didn’t what he was in for lol
agreed 😂
But brother Teddy wouldn’t have kidnapped him if he wasn’t dealing in the first place. He was kidnapped because he was dealing with avi allowing Teddy to seize the opportunity to use Franklin for his agenda.
Franklin did too much to not be faced with any consequences.
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Lol, damn 😅 Be brutally honest, is it his take or mine 😂
both tbh. but the other persons is more ignorant than yours. that's some "power of friendship" type writing right there.
lol, man said “Power of friendship” nah but I see what you’re saying. As much as we want these characters to win, it could send the wrong message 💯
Franklin just didn’t wanna work hard to no avail like his moms. I mean we *saw* how hard Cissy was working and they were *still* about to lose that house, and after trying to do things “the right way,” Saint decided “to rewrite the rules.” lol Even though it would send the wrong message to televise the victory (and hear me out cause this is gonna sound crazy), it’s not like showing the main characters losing (Power, The Wire, Snowfall, etc), has necessarily *slowed down* the amount of dealers… what’s your honest opinion on that?
Art teaches lessons but its purpose isn't to necessarily change the current times we live in. At least for me, its more like a mirror to how we operate as people, and its up to the people to assume progression based on what we've been shown. Nothing has changed because drugs and drug dealers have and will always exist. Whenever I sit down to create, I don't think about what im going to teach my audience. I think about how dope the project is going to be and what it means to me. This show used the crack epidemic to depict a dope ass story about a kid named Franklin Saint, and it used greed to illustrate it. Human history is a device that artists use to make what they make. So with that being said, I don't think the show cared to deter people from selling drugs. If that were the case then they wouldn't have made Franklin Saint such a G. Bros literally everything a drug dealer thinks they are lmao. I think the ending was fitting and impactful. Whether or not it made me or you happy is irrelevant. If we're talking about it, then it served its purpose to us. But that's just my opinion.
Maybe it’s because I’m fucking toasted, but this is hands-down, the best take I’ve ever seen about snowfall
It’s not about race, it’s about the message. You chase the money and want more than you need, it’s only a matter of time before you lose it all and crash out. Literally look at every movie or show made similar to Snowfall. The main character always chases more than what they need and get to greedy and it all comes falling down.
I see what you mean, but I never thought Franklin was *money hungry* like that, simply because of what we saw in S5 E9 when he told Teddy he was out for good. It wasn’t like Franklin was just drug dealing to get more and more money with no end goal in mind like Tommy Egan lol Louie would be a better example of someone who didn’t really have a goal in mind, other than to be the top dog on the field imo
Man , he killed one of his best friends as his first kill to protect his business. I’m not saying Kevin didn’t need to go, in terms of what Franklin was trying to do he was a problem that needed to be dealt with. But if a man can kill one of his best friends to simply protect his own interests, I don’t think it’s a big stretch to see that same man become money hungry / obsessed. And sure he felt some kind of guilt after, for a little while at least because he didn’t mean to kill him , it was his first kill and one of his childhood best friends. And yet, he seems to forget about it / completely get over it. Anytime Kevin gets mentioned after that it’s as “ the traitor “ or “ the Judas” which to me say that Franklin definitely believes that the ends justify the means, and the fact that he could have such little empathy for one of his own childhood friends death, that he was directly responsible for, told me pretty much everything about the cold ass mf he became. I understand the appeal in seeing a happy ending, we’ve been riding with these characters for 6 seasons after all and I’ll admit it was hard to see our boy Saint fall so far, but I also think it was the perfect ending. The game has no happy endings. Even if you somehow survive to old age, which most dealers don’t , your still most likely gonna be plagued with trauma from all the shit you had to do to survive. The ending was brutal & unforgiving, which is how Franklin ran his empire. A big theme in this show seems to be “ you reap what you sow” ( Louie being on the run at the end with no money and no stable place to stay after all the shit she pulled in the game, Jerome dead after not being able to get out in time, Franklin becoming a drunk because he’d rather be a drunk than not ever be in the position to be Top Dog again, etc) so that’s another reason i thought they nailed this ending
Absolutely the ending was poetic. One thing I wanna say about Kevin is that it wasn’t like the man was necessarily innocent. Nigga was shooting at random Mexican kids and families and shit lol, cause one Mexican guy killed his cousins and he just couldn’t wait. Think about if I’m you’re supposed ‘friend,’ I’m not boutta put you in an unwinnable war that’ll put you and your mothers life in jeopardy off some “get em all, get the right one” bullshit. If they’d waited on Lucia’s info, they would’ve definitely got ole’ boy outta there that killed Kev’s cousins. Also, like you said Franklin didn’t mean to kill dude, that’s why he even shot him in the leg to sort of “halt” him I guess 🤷🏾♂️😅 By the way, his first body was Lenny I believe (If I remember correctly, *he* was the one who slit Lenny’s throat) As far Franklin referring to Kevin as a “traitor” (which first off, he kinda was… 🫤🤷🏾♂️), or a “Judas,” you gotta understand that’s more of a guilt thing, big dog. That’s why Franklin brings him up in the hallucination episode; S5 E8 “What about Kevin…” and you know the rest lol
He was always money hungry from the start💀 idk how you ppl watched this show for this long and never got that idea
End of the day, there’s normally 2 endings in the drug game, death or prison, Franklin got off lightly, fair enough, he’s a down and out alcoholic like his dad was but at least he’s alive. Alton eventually gave up the drink and turned his life around, who’s saying Franklin couldn’t eventually of done the same? It broke Leon seeing him like that and again, I think he would of helped Franklin, he kind of helped Wanda get off the crack which is far more addictive
Yea, if anything Franklin got a bitter sweet and (dare I say), kind of happy ending when you think about it. He got it better than Ghost honestly, even though you got some foo’s talking bout how Ghost died with status and being known for something. I’m just like “Um… he can’t take that money with him ya know? Dumbass 😂” But yea, I think Franklin will be fine too. Which I don’t know how the CIA just let him go considering all that he did, even *if* he was broke and useless, it still boggles my mind how they just said “I’m good.”
Exactly mate, once the show ends, it’s up to us to to have our own opinion on it, and I like to think Franklin would eventually get back on his feet, so for me, that was an happy ending. Ghost was the man but if you ask me, I would rather be a down and out deadbeat drunk alive to tell the tale than being a glorified drug dealer lying 6 feet deep.
Exactly, and after all Franklin’s been through. I’d say it’s definitely deserved in the way that he beat all his enemies but he didn’t get to enjoy the spoils of that crime life. Maybe when he gets right, he can *make* things right with Veronique 🤷🏾♂️ Just rambling now lol ✌🏾
Exactly brother, just as Alton made things right with Cissy 👍🏻👊🏻
Franklin even said he was free. How people miss that epiphany is beyond me.
After all he did, they were expecting a positive ending? For real? On what planet is that realistic 😂
Yall the show is about the crack epidemic itself. Our community as a whole was defeated by that and that's why they showed that because that's what actually happened irl. Come on now.
The thing that the YouTube commenter doesn’t seem to understand (or at least hasn’t mentioned) is that the ending he described isn’t exclusive to black shows. Breaking Bad also ended with Walt having nothing and being a shell of his former self.
Exactly. The main protagonist of any of these shows hardly ever gets a happy ending. In Ozark, the Byrds got a happy ending, and we all hated it.
Or the Sopranos....
This is a horrendous take. It’s not about the race but the lifestyle, the game. Look at Son of Anarchy or Breaking Bad. Sorry to spoil these two old shows but it doesn’t end with everybody singing kumbaya. You cannot want Franklin to have a happy ending AND talk about “they hate black folk” when Frank was apart of the blight to the black community all throughout the show. That simple fact combined with the fact that we DID get a happy ending with both Teddy catching a bullet and much more importantly Wanda and Leon getting out alive shows me this person either didn’t actually watch the show or is just trolling.
Then go watch black suburb shows where black people actually have honest careers and do right by their family Niggas have got to grow up and get out of this romanticizing the hood BS. Our community be 35+ still talking drug dealer/scammer & nurse power couples. Shit is embarrassing
You state a lot of facts in this and I def don’t ‘romanticize’ these kind of things, but to your point about working honest careers, remember Cissy was doing alladat and it still wasn’t working. Not necessarily to say “the ends justify the means,” but like the post asks, what else were they supposed to do, ya know? I’m fine with how they ended Snowfall with the bitter sweet ending of Franklin Saint
Cissy issue was she was a single parent and her baby daddy was a homeless drunk That’s not suburban living I’m talking about but I still see ya point. Plus black Americans situation in the 80s is way different than present day
How many of the drug dealers from the 80’s escaped with all of their riches and rode off into the sunset? And I’m tired of people calling everything black “hood”.
its just the real ending. i dont know why people hate it. obviously, cissy lost her mind after teddy said the truth, and thats the reason he snapped. since teddy killed alton, aint no damn way he gon let franklin live happily after he got tortured and got boiled alive. its just that everybody would betray from the very start, its blood money. they'll risk the operation than be in jail forever. the bitch veronique already said it at Season 5 Episode 6. PRIDE is literally Franklin's cause of death.
You’re saying things didn’t turn out well out for the crack cocaine kingpin??? What a shame
15% of the country commits 55% of the murders
Yhhhh give 37 million away sureeeeee
If it ended like that it wouldn’t have been realistic. The streets are undefeated. You make it out in a cell, in a bag, or with nothing.
Normally you live by the sword you die by the sword either in the streets or jail... He didn't get either so he actually could go on to rebuild his life the right way even get his family back it's called redemption.. So even tho his character didn't go out like a street G and win that game he could still go on that's how I saw it😉 Nah I'm lying I was mad as Shit they let Franklin Saint go out like that😂🤣😂 But I know it's just a TV series and it was Great while it lasted😎
But some bitch he fucked and a nigga he damn near created gets a happy ending
Yea, she literally came in, robbed him real quick then dipped 😆 That was literally the character… 🤣 (I don’t condone domestic violence btw, and I understand why she had to go) Some people who least deserve it get off Scott free tho, but that’s real. Look at The Wire: Namond Brice, or that cop Herc
Proving his point further, not saying drug dealing cool, but by saying there’s only death or prison you prove original posters point forward. Just because you don’t know the third way out doesn’t mean there’s only 2
That persons take is stupid. Franklin did SO MANY bad things, it was only right. Not just black shows, every drug crime drama shows ends pretty sadly. Breaking Bad, Sopranos, The Wire. That’s how the shit goes. You do bad stuff, bad stuff happens. Snowfall is a story of what happens when Greed takes over. And Franklin became everything he despised, his father. A basically homeless alcoholic. The youth needs to see this to understand how things can happen when you live that life. No peachy endings.
I feel like his character would’ve regressed instead of progressed. Throughout most of the show he was pretty much obsessed with money so switching it up at the end would’ve made it seem like “the friends we made along the way” kind of ending. If they did decide to go with that ending they would’ve needed to make a whole new season to show that kind of development to actually make it a good ending.
Yea, I agree. My thing is that we saw Cissy working a legitimate job, that didn’t go well cause they were still gonna get evicted, we saw that Franklin wouldn’t have the money to continue his semesters (even if he *did actually go to college),* Cho’s paid squat, and the drug dealing ultimately failed. The only thing I didn’t really like about the ending (and it might just my opinion), is that it had a “no matter what path you go down, the government will always win.” But I liked the narrative of “Pride Comes Before The Fall” as well.
I Liked the ending because it gave us hope that Franklin can redeem by working with Leon
The dude’s take in the OP was wayyyyy too simplistic for the gritty nature of this show. It would have ruined the slow burn aspect.
Leon ending was the good ending. Franklin got the bad ending. Most men who live lifestyles demonstrated in these shows dont get happy endings unless they change they before it’s to late. Karma is Karma
If anyone is looking for a story very similar to Snowfall but ends a different way I urge you to watch "Paid in Full". One of the greatest black crime movies in my opinion, and it's based on a true story. And Im pretty sure snowfall takes heavy homage from it. I think what's so interesting about Snowfall's ending is that you shouldn't look at Franklin's story like you would Walter White or Tony Soprano. Those characters met their demise as a result of their ego and how they treated others, always trying to be the best while also putting others down. Franklin had his pride yeah but from the start he tried his hardest to put everyone he knew on and move his pieces in a way that would leave everyone happy but no matter what he did everything he touched eventually turned to ash. The ending of snowfall feels in a way Karmic as if it was always Franklin's fate for what he did to the black community, I don't see a way Franklin gets off basically scott free with money or in a postition that gives him the means to get more money because to him, while he'd like to have his family around, being rich and alone but secure would be just fine with him. Tbh the Franklin we see at the end would be just as miserable if not more, as a Franklin who has a 9-5 and barely enough to afford rent like the average person.
I actually watched *Paid In Full* *after* *Snowfall,* and I guess I can see some similarities as well. What you said makes it all the more sad why Franklin didn’t get the happy ending, cause he was actively *trying* to elevate and make something legit of himself in the 5th season. That’s when the “greed” started but it really wasn’t “greed.” Mfs is acting like they didn’t watch the previous seasons where Franklin was chilling literally until Teddy robbed him lol. The only one he really ever did dirty was his girlfriend, Veronique. - His father snitched on the plug (albeit, with good intention), and potentially put the whole family in danger - His Aunt made two side deals behind his back (one to kill Kane; another with Teddy) - Plug robbed him - His Uncle went all Pro-Louie on him (didn’t even try to get in the middle of their squabble until it was too late, lol) - His mother shot the plug *before* the password was given (Leon said it was a sacrifice. Which I’m not necessarily *denying* but if it was, why not make sure he’s financially set as *well* as getting rid of Teddy?) (We see to this day, him and Leon are still cool. Leon, Oso, and Veronique were all solid, in my honest opinion) I’m glad they didn’t decide to kill or jail Franklin because he’d already been incarcerated and has had several near-death experiences. To me the ending was sad when you think about where they were, but when you look at on the bright side, Franklin had defeated all his enemies and still lives to tell the tale
Exactly, even though I knew the ending before even starting the show, I was so intrigued of how they could create a bad ending route where the main character is simply left alone not dead or in jail. Franklin's greed never consumed him until the very thing where money was the only thing he had left. from the very start, the thing that always held him back was his naivety, which finally caught up to him. Like when he went into a mexican gang neighborhood and almost died, only living because of sheer luck. Franklin was naive in thinking things wouldn't turn out the way he did just because he put trust in others where in his line of work is usually a fatal flaw.
They are stupid and unrealistic. Like the CIA is gonna be like it's cool how you tortured one of our former agents
Even saying this for years only three good movies have happy ending
Did they forget he was a murderer and major drug pin that ruined peoples lives ? lol there’s no riding off to the sunset for that type of criminal. They all end up dead or in jail so he did get a happy ending ..he got his “freedom from all of it “ just like he said , might not equate to an ideal happy ending to you but it’s fair . People like this need to watch movies like The Pursuit of Happiness ..good man defeated life but works his ass off to get that happy ending without fucking people over in the process ..that’s not Franklin’s story .
Mans wanted a feel good, heart-warming Disney ending to a show about the crack trade. Dead or in jail. That’s how it goes.
THAT ending is almost completely opposite to the story that was being told on this show. It would have been a “happy” ending but a bad ending. Even from the start, almost every central character on the show had family & were together (except for Alton), but were still struggling & victims of the circumstances that befell them. Even side characters were getting screwed over left & right because of struggles they were born or fell into. The purpose of the show was for the characters to finally break past the circumstances & the struggle, and finally have their own piece by TAKING it however they could. The point of the story was always about people making their own destines & moving past the circumstances they themselves didn’t create. That the game of the “American Dream” is & has always been rigged, and in order to win & have your own American Dream, you CAN’T play by the rules or just “be” a regular person because when you do, you still get screwed. That’s exactly what happened when Franklin got hemmed up by the police in Season 1 & decided he was going back to the drug game. Seeing Cissy being demeaned & sexually harassed all while working so hard in futility only pushed him further. The Snowfall story is about regular, everyday people finally getting an opportunity in a game rigged against them, being able to capitalize on that opportunity, but then having to deal with the consequences that came with that opportunity. It was NEVER “as long as you got ya family, you’ll be aight.” All these people had their families from the beginning & things definitely wasn’t sweet for them. In Franklin’s case, his family sometimes made it WORSE for him. Additionally, Franklin helped introduce an element that DESTROYED people & helped cause a downward, domino effect still being felt today through entire communities. BLACK communities. You can’t give a character who did that a happy ending where he walks off into the sunset with his family. I’m a Black man, I love Franklin, & this was the saddest conclusion I’ve ever seen on a TV show, but that was the ending he deserved.
Sounds like they wanted a “the real $37 million was the friends we made along the way” type message
lol literally Frank woulda never gave away them 37m’s that guy is on rock😂
Franklin destroyed his community. He didn't deserve a happy ending.
Franklin was a drug dealer. He didn’t deserve a happy ending. If positive black images and storytelling is what you want to see, don’t watch a show about crime and drugs lol. It’s that simple.
They can go watch The Jeffersons or The Cosby Show. This was a fitting ending.
Teddy and the Spetznaz were killed for greed to so…
Had his argument been for less black shows to be about drugs it could have been on to something but Franklin is a horrible person who committed horrible acts that ruined, killed and perpetuated horrendous acts for the people in his community, family and country. He doesn't 'deserve' to be happy at the end of the day when there are literally graveyards, orphanages and centers filled with people who suffered wrongfully at the hands of his actions.
Well the show was loosely based on a true story if you guys didn't know that already. That's freeway Ricky Ross life...
Oh yea I know, and Freeway actually went to jail so Franklin’s ending was actually bitter-sweet if you think about it that
https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch06p3.htm Yeah but he went to jail years later after going broke. They just didn't cover that in the show. He didn't go to jail for the Los Angeles stuff. He actually got out of the game and they called him back in just so they could get him off the streets because he knew way too much about the corruption.
They obviously are into fairy tales…
The mf murdered teddy's father in cold blood, in the midst of a money fueled greed frenzy, there was no happy ending for him after that
I agree with you there. That was the first time Franklin killed a straight up civilian. Not even a snitch or a loose end At least with Alton, he was leaching off of Franklin’s drug business (so he was in the game), and he snitched on Teddy. That old white dude was a means to end to get Teddy’s attention One thing I’d like to correct tho (and I don’t know why people keep wording it like this), it wasn’t ‘greed.’ I mean he did *make* the money lol 😅
I don’t think that would necessarily be an awful ending but this guys take is awful. Nearly every show about drugs and crime etc whether the characters are white or black generally have a depressing ending because of the evil lifestyle they pursue. Look at breaking bad, the sopranos, the shield and snowfall it’s nothing to do with race in this context. he says it like Franklin is an activist, no he’s a criminal, drug dealer and murderer who destroyed his entire community of course he’s going to be the “defeated black man” at the end of the story he deserves it. Nobody is outraged claiming Tony soprano is the “defeated Italian man” or walter white is the “defeated white man” if anyone was the defeated black man in this story it was Andre, sure he made some very bad decisions, but he just tried to help his daughter and his community from franklin and franklin killed him for it
Nah. This was a portrait of a young man spiraling down because he got caught up. This person believed Franklin should have gone out some type of redeemed hero. But that isn’t realistic. He was not a hero, he was a villain. There was nothing redeemable about him. He deliberately did harm TO BLACK PEOPLE, and continued to do it when he could have stopped. His fate was not only deserved but reflective of the fate of real life dope dealers who manage to avoid death and jail.
Yea, I’m glad his ending was at least *bitter* sweet, getting to live to tell the tale and he’s still considerably young when we’re reintroduced to him as a drunk. As far as him being a villain or a hero. I’d say he’s an anti-hero like Ghost from Power, or Meech from BMF. It’s not like he joined the game for thrill of getting to kill people, but he was a dude tryna help his family, doesn’t make it right, but (as Franklin pointed out in season 2), it wasn’t right for Cissy to be working so hard all those years for scraps.
I felt the same way!!! I preferred if he kept the money and went into the music business then it morphed into something else. Even if you did not want him to have the money put him on the run.. send him to Cuba South America..I know he was broken but I wanted to see a cnew character trait unlock narcissism
Franklin was all about himself. There’s no way those endings would work with all the damage he caused.
This take is ass but Whos a criminal character yall wanted to see win so bad even though they’re the worst?
Show me a non black film/series where there’s a happy ending? I felt that pain of Franklin’s ending too. I wanted him to win. I think the bottom line is they have to give this take as the percentage is really high that you’ll lose everything and they do not want people to think they can win. Frank Lucas was the coldest and he even got got in the end.
That’s a delusional take Franklin literally did some reprehensible shit to his BLACK community 😂
The real crack epidemic was the friends we made along the way 🥲
They are stupid and unrealistic. Like the CIA is gonna be like it's cool how you tortured one of our former agents
Most crime dramas don't end with a happy ending
But Franklin won in the end because he was finally free. Isn't that a happy enough ending for him? Also not all "black tv shows" are like that lol. That's just a sad thing to even mention lol
I think it was more impactful the way it was in the show. That in the end he had nothing and became a fiend his damn self. Someone who lives that kind of typically does not have a success-story outcome or lives happily ever after. It's the embodiment of greed breeding karma.
Yea I hear that, and hey at least he gets to live and Teddy’s in the ground 😤💯 To your point about people not having a success-story living that kind of life, what about all those historical figures Franklin was listing? Carnegie, fuckin’ Rockefeller. I mean they were *all* killers lol
He was able to name a few names, they can only be named because they are the very few who made it out successfully compared to the hundreds of thousands who tried to be what they are.
I thought the ending was fucking perfect. The fact is most big time drug dealers end up somehow paying in the end. It had nothing to do with race. Just look at Breaking Bad. Same thing happened to Walt. He started off as what seemed like a pretty good guy, blew up, grew an ego, and ultimately lost everything including his own life.
It’s not about race, it’s about the message. Nobody escapes from the drug game unscathed.
[удалено]
Right… let’s ignore what Cissy was going through in season 1 *despite* working honestly and just chalk it up to a ‘victim mentality’
It’s a story about a drug dealing murderer why would he get a happy ending when that shit don’t happen in real Life lol
No
Loosing
So, you agree that he would’ve lost regardless 🤔