(WARNING: Spoilers for this week’s episode of Snowfall will be found below.)
Snowfall is just one episode away from officially closing the book on a series that will stand as one of the best from the last decade. In its final season, Snowfall has left no stone unturned and no character untouched. Fans are still reeling from the death of Jerome in episode six which joins noteworthy exits from the season that include Teddy’s father, Veronique’s mother, and Wanda. Franklin has attacked his family and been attacked by them as well, all in an effort to retrieve his stolen $73 million. In episode eight, Franklin moved one step closer to getting his money, which brings us to the penultimate episode of Snowfall season six.
In the ninth episode of Snowfall season six, we see what Franklin and Gustavo decided to do with Teddy and the KGB agent. Both are still alive, which may disappoint some fans, but it’s all a part of Franklin’s plan. Teddy has no value to Franklin if he’s dead, so the best Franklin can do is torture him until he gives up the account numbers for the $73 million. Teddy and the KGB agent are both handcuffed to a chair in a warehouse where they spend days in as Franklin, Cissy, Veronique, and Leon work to get the information they need from Teddy by torturing him. It starts with Franklin forcibly playing Russian roulette with Teddy, but when that fails, he ups the ante thanks to some advice from Veronique. Franklin then tortures Teddy by pouring hot grease on his chest, and after a couple instances of that, Teddy finally gives up the information that Franklin spent all of season six looking for… but not without making a deal first. It seems like things will come to a favorable end for Franklin and Teddy, but an angry and frustrated Cissy throws all of that away by shooting and killing Teddy seconds before Franklin could have Teddy transfer the money.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways that we have after season six’s ninth episode, “Sacrifice”:
Franklin’s $73 Million $37 Million Safety Net Wouldn’t Have Saved Him
Halfway into this week’s episode, Cissy stops Franklin in the middle of his torturing spree on Teddy and begs him to stop to everything. Cissy suggests that Franklin hand Teddy over to the KGB while they flee the country. It’s a bewildering suggestion to Franklin, who can’t seem to understand why Cissy suddenly wants to let go of the money. What he doesn’t know is that Teddy told her Alton is still alive and can be found in a Puerto Rican jail. Nonetheless, Franklin makes a deal with Teddy to take just half of the $73 million in exchange for Teddy’s freedom and his right to live for another day. Teddy promises not to tell anyone about his kidnapping and torture, and though Franklin seems to buy it, we know better than to trust Teddy. There’s nothing that would’ve stopped Teddy from having Franklin arrested once he was free. Furthermore, Teddy staying alive is not only a risk to the Saint Family, but to Gustavo as well. So much so, that he made Franklin swear that Teddy would be killed after the money was returned. $73 million — well, about $37 million now — and that alone wouldn’t have been enough to provide Franklin and his family the safety net they needed. I’m not too sure if he knew that, but it all doesn’t matter now, as Teddy will take that $73 million to grave and leave Franklin in the same position he started the season in.
Teddy’s Leverage Killed Him
For all of season six, and even seasons prior, Teddy used the leverage he had against the other Snowfall characters as a weapon against them. That leverage only worked because he was feared by them, and Teddy knew that, so he made sure to use it frequently against the likes of Franklin and Louie. In that end, all that leverage did for Teddy was hurt him more than it helped him. It got his father killed, it got him kidnapped, it got him tortured to extreme levels, and it got him killed. Instead of using it to get what he wanted faster and exit from the operation to safer grounds, all Teddy wanted to do was keep the Saint family under his thumb. It’s no surprise that someone, that being Cissy, cracked and retaliated with an attack that ended things once and for all. Leverage is something to use, not to keep, simply because its use goes away once the opposition becomes fearless. Cissy lost her fears once Teddy told her he shot Alton twice. Cissy then returned the favor directly to Teddy with no hesitation. So much for that leverage.
Cissy Finally Stopped Living Under Franklin’s Rule
Since the height of Franklin’s partnership with Teddy, there wasn’t much that Cissy could say to stop Franklin from diving headfirst into the drug game. She tried to talk him out of it, refused to take any money from him, and more, all to eventually accept his new lifestyle and get closer to him where she felt she could protect him. As soon as the decision was made, especially when Franklin’s real estate business was alive, Cissy found herself under Franklin’s rule. Sure, Franklin remained respectful to her more times than not, but her influence wasn’t enough to talk him out of things he set his mind to, which was more or less the case for people around Franklin. The latest example of this is seen in episode nine when Franklin dismisses his mother’s pleas for him to let Teddy go in favor of just packing their things and fleeing the country. For the first time in a long time, Cissy refused to obey Franklin’s commands. This time, she took it upon herself to make her family and other loved ones were safe. And the only way to do that, in her eyes at least, was to kill Teddy.
Franklin Couldn’t See Past The Money
All Franklin wanted was his $73 million back. Nothing could stop or distract him from getting it back either, something he boastfully declares in “Sacrifice.” “Hear me very clear,” he says to Cissy and Leon in the episode. “I’ll never give up. Never. I will get back my motherf*cking money.” Franklin’s pursuit of his money stopped him from appropriately grieving the death of his uncle Jerome. It stopped him from seeing the perspectives of anyone who questioned his decisions in the slightest bit. It caused him to curse out Veronique’s mother earlier this season and it made him kill Teddy’s grandfather, though that’s something that most viewers won’t object to him doing. In season six of Snowfall, Franklin could not see past the money, and while the journey towards it seemed worth it when he had a chance at getting it, you can’t help but run through the what-ifs and could’ve-beens now that the $73 million is long gone. Regardless of what they were, we can agree that through it all, Franklin couldn’t see past that 8-figure number. Maybe things could’ve been a bit different if he considered other options rather than waiting until irreversible damage was done to consider taking half of what was taken.
New episodes of ‘Snowfall’ are available on FX on Wednesdays at 10pm EST/ PST.
