Sumith Prasad
FX’s crime drama series ‘Snowfall’ revolves around Franklin Saint, a local drug dealer who emerges as the kingpin of the drug scene of Los Angeles in the 1980s. Franklin’s growth as the drug lord gets accelerated after he joins hands with Theodore “Teddy” McDonald, a former CIA operative who trades drugs in return for money to fund the war against Communism. In the fifth season finale, Teddy turns against Franklin and steals the latter’s $73 million. The sixth season of the show progresses through the kingpin’s efforts to retrieve the same. Will he succeed in getting his money back? Let’s find out! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Franklin’s Loss: $73 Million Unrecovered
No, Franklin does not get his money back. In the fifth season finale, Teddy steals Franklin’s $73 million, stored in accounts in Panama, with the help of his accountant William Cox. Ever since the money is stolen, Franklin tries several ways to retrieve the same, only to not garner favorable leads upon moving forward in any of the ways. Although his partner Veronique Turner’s mother Cassandra Turner offers her help to get the money back from Teddy, in return for a part of the same, she leaves Franklin’s gang upon witnessing him killing the former CIA operative’s father to threaten him. Cassandra realizes that she doesn’t need to risk her own life in the war Franklin is fighting and decides against returning to Los Angeles.
In the eighth episode of the season, Franklin captures Teddy and tortures him for his money. Although Teddy initially believes that Franklin will not kill him when he has the money, the former CIA agent eventually realizes that the kingpin’s desperation may lead him to hurt the former more. He strikes a deal with Franklin to divide the money so that Franklin can walk away with $37 million without bothering him in the future. Teddy even makes the call to his bank to make the transfer to gain his freedom, only for Franklin’s mother Sharon “Cissy” Saint to intervene. Before he could say the password to move forward with the transfer, Cissy kills Teddy, ending the transaction before the money is transferred to her son.
Cissy makes sure that Franklin doesn’t get the money to ensure his safety. “I don’t think there’s any chance Teddy would leave Franklin alone. I think Cissy felt like this was the only thing that could happen to know that Teddy would not go after Franklin,” co-creator and showrunner Dave Andron told Men’s Health about Cissy’s decision to stop Franklin from getting the money. “For Cissy, it was like, “He’s on his own now. I’ve saved his life. He doesn’t have the money, but I saved his life. Now, Teddy will never come after him,” he added.
According to Andron, Franklin wouldn’t have been able to use the money for his own needs even if Teddy’s transaction has completed. “I very much see Cissy’s point of view. I also understand everyone’s reaction: ‘She couldn’t have waited five more seconds?’ No, she couldn’t have because if Franklin gets that money, I don’t think [the CIA] are really going to let him keep that money. He’s not going to learn anything. Unfortunately, he doesn’t anyway, but she does the only thing she thinks is possible,” Andron said in the same Men’s Health interview.
The creative heads behind the show conceived ‘Snowfall’ as a tragedy. Franklin not receiving the money Teddy stole from him is the foundation of the tragic end of the young kingpin’s saga. Without the money, Franklin starts to deal with debts and unpaid mortgage payments. He loses his properties and the men who always had his back. In the closing scene of the series, we see Franklin on the verge of losing Cissy’s house, the only property he owns, since he couldn’t pay the property tax of the place. He even has to beg Leon Simmons for $10 to buy alcohol, only two years after dealing with hundreds of millions of dollars as the king of Los Angeles’ drug scene.
