top of page

Snow(Down)Fall and the pain of void.



Snowfall (2017- 2023, FX )- A tv show that is comparable to The Sopranos or Breaking Bad for the power of its writing, performances, and visual storytelling. The series is about the 1983 uprising of drugs in U.S. and revolves around three lead characters — Franklin Saint (a 19-year-old L.A boy), Teddy MCD ( a CIA operative), and Gustavo ( a wrestler turned goon). I am not going to write more about the show— but a bit about the climax as its emotionally building up on me. The ending is emotionally much more powerful than Walter white’s or Tony Soprano’s fate and the impact it had on me  was huge. Its going to take a while for me to get back to my normal. so just venting

<mild spoilers ahead>


The narrative closely follows Franklin Saint’s Rise and Fall as a naive street kid to a powerful drug lord to a psychopathic narcissist to a hopeless destroyed hobo. You are so emotionally invested in this guy from the beginning. Thanks to a powerful performance from Damson Idris. We are seeing his changes as and when it happen, but we are rooting for his success throughout the show and it we are given the same hope as Franklin himself. We believe so strongly that this guy is going to win at every challenge that comes in his way, and we almost forget to notice the personality changes that is happening in Franklin. We dont even realize that he is not the good guy anymore- that transition happened somewhere. That’s the power of the show’s writing. Another brilliant example of great filmmaking is the finale. After the day of Franklin’s complete downfall, there is a major time jump to 5 years. And we are shown Franklin by revealing him (his current condition) very slowly. When Lee sees him at his home, we see Franklin inside the house (which is not well-lit), looking almost normal like in the previous episodes. Then light comes inside and we see that he has a beard now. He comes of the house and his clothes are visibly torn. Franklin starts speaking to lee and we realize that he talks completely differently now as a drunkard would. They are walking and he turns to his side and smiles, revealing that he is missing a tooth. In a final closeup shot, we see that his eyes are bloody red. We would start realizing at this point that death was a much better closure for him and us. 


Do Not miss this show. Its worth the emotional trauma the void of its end gives.

Comments


Untitled-1.png
bottom of page