‘Snowfall’ Season 6 Episode 8 Synopsis: The Biggest Takeaways

(WARNING: Spoilers for this week’s episode of snowfall see below.)

Last week’s episode snowfall was dedicated to loss, grief and survival. The Saints were still reeling from Jerome’s death and some were better off than others. Franklin was affected by the loss but carried on as the deal still needed to be done. Louie was in despair, but to no one’s surprise, vengeance was on her heart. Others like Cissy and Leon also took Jerome’s death very seriously, but if anything, they wanted peace in their world more than ever. In last week’s episode, Franklin and Gustavo also got closer to their plan to take Teddy down, and while that was going down Louie left us on a bit of a cliffhanger as we had no idea who she was going to pursue on Jerome’s behalf. Would it be Franklin or would it be Teddy?

Well, in the eighth episode of snowfall Season six, we’re getting an answer to that. During the meal for Jerome’s funeral, Louie reluctantly agrees to keep her promise to Franklin and help bring Teddy down with some help from Gustavo. The plan is to trick Teddy into believing that Louie is betraying Franklin to him, only for Gustavo to come and help bring Teddy down. Of course, things don’t go to plan after Teddy makes a few requests that complicate their execution, but when Gustavo is apprehended by the DEA, all seems lost. Luckily for her, the KGB agent arrives to free Gustavo and take him to Teddy’s warehouse, where Franklin is almost hanging with a cable around his neck. By the mercy of those in power, Gustavo is able to take out the KGB agent and handcuff Teddy to safely free Franklin, making their plan a near success.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways we have after Season 6 Episode 8, Ballad Of The Bear:

If only Franklin and Louie would put their problems aside sooner

For the first time all season, Franklin and Louie work together to complete a mission. Granted, neither wants to work with the other, but despite some bumps and detours in the plan, things are going in their favor. After Gustavo is arrested by the DEA, the KGB agent who appears to be following them all day attacks the DEA officers in an attempt to free Gustavo and bring him to Franklin and Teddy. To the KGB agent’s surprise, Gustavo turns on him and kills him to free a bound Franklin. This is essentially the plan Franklin, Gustavo, and Louie had in mind: to trick Teddy, he comes out of hiding so Franklin can kill Teddy. When you see that it worked, or so we hope, you wonder what could have been accomplished and what lives could have been saved if Franklin and Louie had stuck together. Maybe things should just fall apart, but it’s still worth thinking about.

Gustavo was ready to fail, Franklin wasn’t

A million dollars and new passports. This is what Gustavo demanded of Franklin so that he would give up on Teddy and risk any protection from the CIA, DEA or KGB. Franklin agreed, acknowledging that the price was higher than what the aforementioned agencies were willing to offer Gustavo to give up Teddy. This asking price was not for Gustavo himself, but for his family, whom he brought to safety in the first half of the eighth episode. If we examine the moments of defeat between them in this episode – Gustavo being arrested in the backseat of a DEA agent and Franklin dangling off the ground with a cable around his neck – you can see a slight difference in their demeanor. Gustavo doesn’t seem as concerned as Franklin, whose inner fears are screaming in his eyes. That’s because Gustavo was ready to fail and prepared for it by making sure his family evaded potential DEA grasp. Franklin’s own remained in Los Angeles, vulnerable to any damage sustained in this failed plan. The thing about Franklin is that the thought of failure never crossed his mind. There was always a way out, but through luck and some kind of plan things fell back in his favor. In this case, it seems that Franklin’s refusal to fail worked for him as well as Gustavo’s preparation for failure worked for him.

Teddy overestimated his powers

just let us assume that Teddy killed Franklin’s father, just for this segment. You’d think Teddy might have realized that at this point he just bit off a little bit more than he could chew. But no, next thing Franklin’s $73 million was stolen and half his family turned against him. In season six, there was a sense that Teddy believed he was an impenetrable force. But as he stood handcuffed to a forklift in the warehouse where he intended to kill Franklin, the realization that he was far from the power he thought he was began to settle. As Franklin looks at him while contemplating his next move, Teddy is forced to accept that he is no longer the top dog. If we’re being honest, Teddy’s real power was only his governmental status. His ability to get Franklin and other families out of sticky situations and provide money, drugs and guns gave the Saints a golden opportunity, which they have cherished for the last six seasons. And despite all that, Teddy was alone in Los Angeles. If things went to the left for him, as they did in episode eight, there would be no backup around. There was no guardian angel. He had committed the same amount of wrongs as anyone he worked with. The difference is that unlike Franklin, he had no family or associates nearby who could have come to see him other than himself. When needed, Gustavo and Louie were there to save Franklin, and that wasn’t the case with Teddy. In the end he had simply overestimated his powers.

Franklin and Louie’s relationship ends here

That’s honestly not a huge surprise, but given the way their relationship used to be, it’s worth noting. From that point on, Franklin and Louie’s relationship will be pretty much gone. Yes, they saved each other’s lives with the presumed takedown of Teddy, but it was a mission in which they were both equally involved. It certainly doesn’t make up for Jerome’s death, something Louie will keep over Franklin’s head forever. When Franklin asks Louie for help to bring Teddy down, her answer is yes, only because she also wants to be free of Teddy, not because she has it in her heart to help Franklin. With Franklin’s nod, Louie charges back to who knows where before reuniting with Gustavo to set their plan in motion. The Saint family we were once new is no more, and any potential for a reunion is as good as any of us winning the lottery just because the leaders — Franklin and Louie — disagree, at least not in the foreseeable future. There are only two episodes left in the snowfall series, so it remains to be seen what the future holds for Franklin and Louie.

New episodes of Snowfall are available on FX on Wednesdays at 10pm EST/PST.