WARNING: Spoilers for this week’s episode of Snowfall will be found below.
In season six of Snowfall, the best chance of peace returning to Los Angeles seemingly lied in the hands of Leon thanks to his close ties to Franklin, Jerome, and Louie. Unfortunately, his return from Ghana proved that not only is he unable to repair things between the trio, but it also proved that he has his own battles to fight. Episode three concluded with Franklin issuing a warning to Leon to either pick a side or stay out of the mess. In this week’s side, we see Leon make his decision.
In episode four “Projects Boy” of this season, the focus remains on Leon in large part. His interactions aren’t with Franklin, Jerome, or Louie, but rather, with Deon who was put in charge of the projects after Leon’s exit. Leon isn’t a fan of how Deon is running things, and despite several recommendations from him to get things right, Deon opts to ignore him and do as he pleases. Furthermore, he mocks Leon for marrying Wanda who doesn’t have the best history in the projects as she is known as a former crack addict to those who live in the area. All of this leads to a huge fight between Leon and Deon, and while the former won the battle, it remains to be seen who will win the war. Elsewhere in the episode, Franklin pushes Veronique and her mother to find out who stole his $73 million while he connects with Kane to see why product is being made at a slower-than-expected rate. Oh, and you’re mistaken if you thought we were taking a break from the Franklin vs. Jerome & Wanda war this week.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways that we have after season six’s episode four, “Projects Boy.”
Leon Really Wants To Do Good
Leon returned home from Ghana a changed man. Yes, he was married to his longtime lover Wanda, but he also returned home with the goal of bringing some change to his community. In “Projects Boy,” it becomes clear that this change will be a lot harder to come by than expected for Leon. He gets home to see that things have only gotten worse with Deon in charge. Through peaceful conversations, Leon tries to bring back some level of normalcy to the projects, but Deon is set on doing things his own way. Leon, more frustrated than ever, sits several yards across from Deon seething with anger and frustration at how much things have worsened and how little people desire to make things better. So, when Leon gets into a fight with Deon, who we should note is much bigger than him, it’s done not in a moment of recklessness, but rather, to push forward his agenda of restoring order. Maybe it’s rooted in the guilt of his past doings, but Leon simply wants to do right by his people and his community, and though he’d like for it to be an easy process, he will go to whatever lengths necessary to make it happen.
Franklin Doesn’t Mind Getting His Hands Dirty
Desperate times call for extremely desperate measures, and in Franklin’s world, that couldn’t be any truer. In his world, everything needs to go as planned without error and without delay. It’s why Franklin loses his sh*t and goes off on Veronique’s mother Cassandra when she returns with a lot less information than he expected in regard to his missing $73 million. It’s why he demands that Kane allow him to go to one of the cook houses to see the process there and understand why less product than expected is being pushed out of there. It’s why he throws everyone out of the cook house, burns a cook’s face, and rolls up his sleeves to get to work. As Franklin told Kane, he built an empire and in a perfect world, he’d be sitting back to enjoy the fruits of his labor, but things are far from perfect now. So if it requires that he get his hands a little dirty, so be it. But one thing he won’t do is let his empire fall down.
Jerome And Louie Aren’t Going Anywhere
In “Projects Boy,” you nearly forget that the war between Franklin, Jerome, and Louie is still ongoing. Much of the episode focuses on Franklin’s effort to track down his lost money with help from Veronique and Cassandra as well as Leon’s effort to bring change in his community. Yet, in the closing moments of the episode, we’re reminded that Jerome and Louie are not to be forgotten as they seemingly employ the aforementioned cook whose face Franklin burned to lead them to his whereabouts. What results is a drive-by shooting and ambush that Franklin and Kane narrowly escape while successfully killing the treason-committing cook. Jerome and Louie can certainly put more focus on taking down Franklin, as they’re a duo who has a more established drug supply coming in. So with that said, it’s imperative that Franklin does a better job of staying on his toes because the shooting at Kane’s house could’ve ended a lot worse than it did.
Wanda Can’t Grow Where She Wasn’t Rooted
As Leon opened up about wanting to return home to fix some of the damage he was responsible for, it was clear that Wanda wasn’t as open to the idea of going back to Los Angeles. Wanda was a victim of all that went down in Los Angeles as she formed a deep addiction to crack. Though she was able to get clean from the drug, addiction is a lifelong battle and being away from LA helped her stay above it. With her return to the city, Wanda’s fear of falling off the wagon couldn’t be more obvious. Life is much better than it used to be for her: she’s married now, she’s in a much better position to hold and maintain a job, and she has a better outlook on the world. The truth of the matter is Wanda will probably do better somewhere that isn’t her old home. Wanda can’t grow where she wasn’t rooted. LA and those very projects that she and Leon are staying in are tethered to some of the lowest years of her life. Her battle with addiction becomes incredibly harder when the very drug she fights to overcome every day is being sold in her backyard and along the pathways that lead in and out of her current home. Leon may want to save the community, but Wanda may have to leave it in order to save herself.
New episodes of ‘Snowfall’ are available on FX on Wednesdays at 10pm EST/ PST.