Last night’s (April 13) episode of FX‘s ‘Snowfall’ had the perfect title to describe it.
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“Departures” follows the aftermath of the LSD filled wedding of Louie (Angela Lewis) and Jerome (Amin Joseph). We quickly find out that Detective Buckley (Brandon Jay McLaren) was not able to carry out the hit that Louie hired him to manage. Buckley and other officers ran up on Kane (DeVaughn Nixon) and his associates and opened fire. The ambush left all of Kane’s men dead and left Kane barely hanging on, causing him to go into surgery. It was bad enough that Buckley couldn’t finish the job, but it got even worse for the cop when one of his fellow officers was shot and killed in the midst of the shootout. Buckley now had to worry about the botched job he had just done and his real job also hanging in the balance. His lieutenant eventually ordered him to take a drug test before ultimately suspending him and taking his gun and badge.
The suspension causes Buckley to start spiraling out of control. Noticing that he’s high, the mother of his children won’t allow the stressed cop to see his kids. This rejection leads Buckley to go looking to cop more drugs, which also doesn’t go as planned. He’s turned down by the drug dealer and told to leave until he pulls out his gun and ends up taking the drugs. His day is seemingly getting worse and worse until we find him in Louie’s office (doing the cocaine he just took). Buckley wants his money from the attempt at Kane’s life. Louie reemphasizes that the deal was for Kane to be dead. The unstable Buckley pleads his case to Louie and explains that he is in a position to lose his job and family. Louie then makes a surprising choice and offers Buckley a full-time spot on their payroll. The decision was especially shocking seeing how Louie and Jerome had just been contemplating if they should kill him or not.
While Louie was able to maneuver out of the conversation with Buckley, she had a few others she couldn’t squirm out of as easily. First, she was approached by Leon (Isaiah John), who had already expressed his displeasure with Louie going behind their backs to Franklin (Damson Idris). After Franklin basically said he was not going to get involved, Leon decided to go address Louie himself. The two discuss why Louie did what she did. Louie explains that where she wants to be, she can’t afford for people to just shoot at her and not do anything about it. She feels like if she didn’t do what she did, Kane would have come back to kill her down the line. The conversation ends with Leon telling her that he didn’t rat her out to Kane’s people but sooner or later they’re going to find out what happened and she needs to watch her back and be ready for what’s coming.
One person who wasn’t necessarily angry about Louie’s decision is Veronique (Devyn A. Tyler). She and Franklin push it off as Louie doing the right thing the wrong way. Franklin, still coming down and getting a grip from his high the night before asks Veronique if she wants to go out of town. Franklin flies the two to an undisclosed location where they have a much-needed heart-to-heart. Franklin explains what Veronique said to him in his hallucinations. Franklin goes on to confess all the sins he’s committed not just to survive, but to win. Not letting Franklin bask in his pity too much, Veronique shares a story about running a scam on a man with her mother that ended in a murder. She convinces Franklin that he is not the only monster and that love can change them for the better (and if not love, winning against their enemies).
Elsewhere in the episode, Cissy (Michael Hyatt), fresh off of her outburst at the wedding, meets with Ruben (Alejandro Edda) again. He had to cut his mustache due to her almost blowing his cover. He reminds Cissy that she was lonely and desperate when they first crossed paths. He insists that Cissy stop with her anxiety or else he won’t be able to help her and Franklin (who he claims the CIA will kill when they’re done with him). We also find out that through the intel he got from the wedding that he and his people would be able to go ahead and start looking into Gustavo (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) and Avi (Alon Abutbul). Cissy and Ruben’s relationship isn’t the only one that seemed to be making progress.
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Leon and Wanda (Gail Bean) conversed about their true love for each other and the possibilities of them actually leaving the country together. Teddy and Parissa (Tiffany Lonsdale) went to Avi’s together, where we see Teddy (Carter Hudson) tell his arms dealer that he would need to triple the guns they were receiving within 60 days so that he could finally end the war in Nicaragua. Avi gives Teddy a quick rundown of how Louie and Jerome’s wedding was laced with LSD. Ironically enough, towards the end of the episode, Ruben and a Russian partner of his, sneak into Avi’s place. Avi catches the two and ends up shooting the Russian and getting into a tussle with Ruben. Avi is eventually hit in the head with a bottle and knocked unconscious.
The most important interactions from this episode come from its heart and soul characters. After Louie and Teddy meet to re-up, Gustavo asks Teddy if he thinks it’s a smart idea to sell to both sides of a family. Teddy seemingly ignores the question and doesn’t think Franklin is the type to start a blood feud (which Gustavo obviously disagrees with). Franklin comes to the club and meets with his aunt and uncle. He tells Louie that he understands why she did what she did and he apologizes. He lets his family know that he wants to come out of everything in one piece and the only way they can do that is as a family. The conversation seems to be headed in a good direction until Louie finally drops the bomb on Franklin that she’s been hiding for a little second now. Franklin is completely caught off guard and becomes infuriated by the news. He argues back and forth with Jerome and Louie until he finally is fed up and tells Louie “Good luck” as if to say he was washing his hands with them and whatever happened next wasn’t his problem.
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The episode ends with an epic conversation between Franklin and Teddy. Franklin first offers an apology for calling and threatening Teddy’s life while he was under the influence. Franklin then goes on to let Teddy know how shocked he was to find out that he and Louie went behind his back and cut a deal. Teddy swears that it’s only business and not personal, but Franklin does not want to hear it. He explains how much he’s lost and sacrificed since they’ve been working together. Teddy responds by reminding Franklin that he has been compensated quite nicely for all the time and effort he’s put in. Nothing Teddy says moves Franklin though, as he can’t get over being betrayed. Franklin then makes a move similar to what he had just done with Louie and ends their partnership. Although he was resigning, Franklin still extends his hand for a handshake to show a sign of respect. Teddy reluctantly shakes his hand and Franklin wishes Teddy good luck also.
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All we can say after watching this episode is WOW. Is Avi dead or just unconscious? Is Louie ready for everything that comes with being the head of an organization? Will Cissy working with Ruben actually come back to haunt the family? Is Franklin’s relationship with Teddy really over? Be sure to let us know what you thought about this episode and what you expect to see in the finale, which is sure to be exhilarating.
Good Luck: “Snowfall” Season 5 Episode 9 Recap was originally published on globalgrind.com
