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TV Review: Snowfall Season 1 - Let it Snow (No Spoilers)


I'll be honest, I wasn't going to watch Snowfall. I didn't care to watch another TV show about black kids selling drugs. Then I realized I was subscribing to respectability politics, something I had been a victim of, something I hated. Who was I to say we couldn't have another TV show with black kids selling drugs? I sat down and watched Snowfall and let me tell you, wow. I'm glad we got another TV show about black kids selling drugs, because this might be my favorite one ever. Yes, even more than The Wire.

Snowfall primarily follows three stories that weave a web around each other with the characters often coming into contact. The main story follows Franklin Saint. He's a 20 something, college dropout who works at a liquor store. Franklin wants to do good and has a strong sense of right and wrong. In the opening moments we see him chase down some kids who stole money from an ice cream man. His mother is a property manager and does everything she can to make sure his head is on right. Despite that, he's started selling marijuana for his uncle and hanging out on porn sets with his friends. It's there where he's introduced to Ari, a crazy man who just happens to be his new cocaine connection after fronting Franklin a key due to his bravery. Franklin's journey sees him form his own crew, deal with enemies and introduce crack cocaine to the city of Los Angeles.

Then there's Teddy, he's a Reagan guy. Teddy is a CIA official who was sent to LA because, well he's not all there in the head. He ends up being the main United States cocaine supplier, funneling the money back to Nicaraguan Contras. He's Ari's supplier. Teddy also has a son and an on and off again girlfriend he keeps trying to reconnect with but, his own issues keep that from happening.

Ari also supplies drugs to a startup Mexican cartel led by Lucia Villanueva. She employs a professional wrestler named Gustavo better known as El Oso, Franklin's favorite wrestler. Gustavo follows and even kills for Lucia because he is in love with her. Meanwhile Lucia plots to take control of her family's main drug operation in Mexico but is currently being blocked because she is a woman and they fear her tenacity.

All three stories are interesting on their own. I take that back, I don't care for Teddy and his story at all. I find it kind of boring and it seems like it's only there to explain how Ari gets his drugs to give to Franklin. The thing about Teddy is he deals directly to all the major players, except Franklin, but I predict that will change in Season 2.

As for Lucia and El Oso, I think the two of them have a great story. It works because Lucia knows how to run an organization, but doesn't have any connections beyond her family and only found Teddy by chance. Meanwhile, Gustavo is in it just for Lucia and has connections here in the states because he used to run with some gang members. There's also Lucia's cousin Pedro, who basically is a thorn in their side at every turn because he thinks everything should be his.

Now Franklin, I love his story because he's a drug dealer, but it's not the stereotypical TV drug dealer. Franklin clearly has a conscience that eats at him, sometimes for things he has no control over. On top of that I feel like the characters around him aren't just TV Tropes of how to write a drug series. Take for instance Jerome Saint played by Amin Joseph. Jerome is a drug dealer, he initially gives Franklin marijuana to sell. He doesn't kill anyone, he has rules about who he sells to and where. He constantly stays on Franklin about not throwing his life away. While to some people it may seem forced, but for me, he seems more like drug dealers I've known in my life.

Snowfall is charming because it acknowledges that people involved in the criminal world are still people at the end of the day with their own traits, codes of ethics and histories as well as vices. The plot takes place in the 80s so nobody talks about being anything other than straight in the show, but I'd be lying if I told you there weren't any other relationships. There's a key character in the show, which I won't spoil, who is bisexual and a past relationship plays a big part in Franklin's rise in the drug game. We see a man who only looks happy when he's with another man, we never see that character smile again.

The show also deals with issues of racism, police brutality, what it's like to be a police officer. One of the most serious scenes saw Franklin being choked by a white police officer, while another pointed his gun at the crowd, only to be stopped by a black police officer that lived next door. That same police officer, is seen protecting the neighborhood on his days off, but he's treated poorly by others because of his job as a police officer.

Snowfall is a really, really, good show. I had to do my best to cover it with no spoilers because, I wanted people to see it with fresh eyes, the same way I did. Knowing more than basic plot points kills a few big surprises in the show. If you haven't already checked Snowfall out, you need to. It won't disappoint you.

You should buy Darrell's Book, watch him on the Blerds Online YouTube Channel or The CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. 
Darrell S.

Hey, I write stuff, a lot of different stuff, that's all.

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