‘Snowfall’: Damson Idris and Dave Andron on creating the perfect ending, not saying goodbye

SPOILER ALERT: The following story reveals major plot points from the season 6 premiere of FX’s Snowfall, Episodes 1 and 2.

FXing snowfall premiered its sixth season on Wednesday night, and while fans are already feeling the excitement of reuniting with Franklin Saint (Damson Idris) and the gang, it’s definitely bittersweet considering this is the show’s final season.

It will take weeks to process everything that happens as the story moves from the crescendo to the end, but in the meantime let’s enjoy the ride. The sixth season premiere, titled Fallout, begins with a reminder of who has been affected by the drug epidemic then and now, far beyond dealers, users and everyone directly involved.

A frightened young girl named Tisha sits on the front porch of her home, holding a comforting stuffed animal in her hand. A postman who knows the family asks them, “What’s the matter?” She admits her father never came home. Together they discover that her father is the latest victim of violence, leaving Tisha with an uncertain future.

Franklin is in the throes of his emotions when we next see him, broken and desperate to survive after Teddy (Carter Hudson) emptied his bank accounts. With a baby on the way, Franklin won’t accept defeat. There’s definitely ego and pride in the way, but he’ll never go down without a fight—even if some of the people he cares about get hurt along the way.

Franklin selfishly puts his needs before others, like his pregnant girlfriend Veronique (Devyn A. Tyler), who boards a private jet to carry out his dangerous assignments. Cissy (Michael Hyatt) was Franklin’s day-one ride-or-die, and she never wavered, even as she saved him from that future with tough love. Both women fight for a future and protect the future of the family Veronique carries, even as Franklin redirects his efforts elsewhere.

After robbing Jerome (Amin Joseph) and Louie (Angela Lewis), Franklin’s circle shrinks when his uncle takes down Franklin’s associates to get his money and products back. #RIPBblackdiamond

The chaos continues in Episode 2, where Franklin gets several chances to make amends. Franklin becomes involved in an encounter with Oso (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), who, at Teddy’s behest, is desperate to track down a mysterious stranger. This makes Franklin’s eyes light up.

As fun as it is to see Franklin and Oso duking it out, it was the tete-a-tete between uncle and cousin in “The Sit Down” that will stand as one of the show’s best moments.

When they meet, they are still far removed from Season 1. They are now enemies, adversaries in this game of drugs and violence, whose father-son relationship is broken beyond repair. There is definitely love between these two men caught up in the game for different reasons, but Franklin as we knew him is gone.

Jerome opens his heart and gives him words of regret for leaving him. Franklin responds in similar fashion by pointing a gun at him in the middle of the crowded dining room – Tisha watches from her booth. Yes, it will be a bumpy ride ahead.

Series co-creator Dave Andron and star Damson Idris break down the events of the first episodes and predict what’s to come.

Reporter: Damson, when we see Franklin earlier this season, he’s like a cornered cat ready to pounce. What insight into what goes through his mind can you share?

DAMSON IDRIS: I think you hit the nail on the head: he really is in survival mode. That’s the biggest comment I’ve given myself this season; just play with the fear and uncertainty. Actually, the good thing about Franklin this season — Veronique says, “You’ve always been able to see the rational and the irrational” — and that’s something he’s always played. He was always confident, even when he was out of his league. Now it’s all but there and the cracks are visible. And compared to how I played him before, Franklin was someone who was a daredevil who just jumped off a cliff and didn’t hit any rocks at the bottom. Now he approaches these rocks.

Reporter: Dave, what insight can you give into the process of writing the character of Franklin and his development over 6 seasons?

DAVE ANDRON: This guy said from the first minute, ‘I want to be a badass; I want to be cool,” and I said, “Look, you’re a kid who starts a dangerous game.” I remember in the first few seasons fans were saying how bad Franklin was at it and how he got the hang of it . . . Yeah, he’s an ass who went to private school in the valley, he’s not a gangster, I think developing that was part of the fun and trying to find the unique quirky ways to do it with Franklin to do and really let Damson play. If you think about the development of this character and see him now after he’s climbed so high and now has his back against the wall, you’ll find out what he’s capable of.

Reporter: Looking back on the series, there are many parallels between Franklin’s journey and Teddie’s. Are their fates intertwined?

THERE: I think with all the things that separate Teddy and Franklin, there are similarities. These are two young guys who are incredibly ambitious and very easy to spot when they say the end justifies the means. They had long agreed, both privately and professionally. I assumed people wouldn’t like the CIA and Teddy. I was like, no, no, he’s the white man and the government, so he’s the bad guy. But at some point we realized that the love for Franklin was so great that if he was on Team Franklin, people would be Team Teddy.

Reporter: Dave, Franklin and Oso crossed paths again this season. What can we expect from you and do you plan to close Oso with Lucia (Emily Rios)?

THERE: These two have an interesting history that goes way back. We knew where we wanted to take things, and there was a reason we sent Franklin and Oso on this odyssey together last season. If you look at the pieces on the board there is a survival game and who gives me the best chance of getting out alive.

As for Lucia, I think Oso’s story continued. What he always wanted was a family and he thought he would get it with Lucia, but he realized she wasn’t that person. Oso found what he wanted, what was really important to him. I know it’s frustrating not having all the answers, but Lucia just isn’t him anymore.

Reporter: In one of the most impressive and emotional scenes of the series, we really see how lost Franklin is when he meets his uncle at the diner. break it down for me, damson

TUES: Jerome was a father figure to Franklin. I think despite the animosity between Franklin and Jerome right now, Franklin blames Louie for everything. In his mind, none of this would happen without Louie’s deceit and betrayal. We’re not trying to set it up to show that, but I think audiences will see them as the common cause that made these two men compete against each other.

That last scene was such a beautiful scene, it was directed by Ben Younger. And as far as fight or flight goes, I feel like Franklin is in an all-or-nothing phase right now. He says so in the first episode where Jerome threatens his life at the airport. He says, “I’m ready for this and I’m ready for anything.” There is nothing he is not ready for. His money is really his only goal and he is ready to turn against anyone, Jerome, Leon (Isaiah John), Louie – even his mother.

Reporter: Damson, how do you say goodbye to Franklin and move on to the next thing?

I go to Trinidad and Tobago, go to the carnival and let Franklin vacation there.[Laughs] It was always a pleasure to build the character. He has changed so much over the seasons, from boy to man, and in the same way I have changed on this trip. I was 23 or 24 when I started the program and now I’m 31 and it’s like wow! It’s really nice to see Franklin as the foundation of my career. I will never really say goodbye to him. People on the street call me Franklin and I still turn his head. The character doesn’t really end, he will live on forever.

Reporter: Dave, what can you tease about how Franklin’s story ends?

THERE: Finding the end is hard, isn’t it? There’s a tradition in this genre of how antihero stories should end, and I felt like we needed to do something that undercuts that a little bit, but stays true to our series and who Franklin is. I think we found it, a surprising but inevitable end for him.