Snowfall had yet another episode that fell kind of flat. The cold open showed promise as it opened with Teddy, a two-seater airplane and an unconscious Alejandro stranded in a Mexican desert. However, as the episode went along, it lost focus and engagement.
Of the three characters, Teddy got the most screen time for once. “Seven-four” was centered around the Fourth of July. Snowfall never shows their plane crash but instead, uses Teddy to tell the story of what happened. Throughout the episode, Teddy is talking to himself, well a most-likely-dead Alejandro, about the decisions he’s recently made from joining the mission to not trusting Alejandro completely.
While Teddy’s arc through this episode was focused on surviving, there was some comedic relief when strong winds whip through their camp. Teddy goes off about spending the Fourth in a Mexican desert with an unconscious Nicaraguan and kilos of Peruvian cocaine which got a laugh out of me. In the end, Alejandro magically wakes up and even though he’s dehydrated, he’s able to get the plane into the air and off to their destination.
The ominous opening and life-or-death situation were too much build up for Alejandro to wake up at the end and fly them to safety. It almost seemed too easy. It was enjoyable to see Carter Hudson carry the entire storyline, but in the end, his performance almost felt pointless.
Speaking of pointless storylines, both Franklin and Gustavo’s fell flat in “seven-four.” For a show that hooked me with the premiere as it focused on the drug epidemic of 1980, Snowfall has lost focus and basically forgotten its purpose.
Gustavo was shafted again with barely any screen time to formulate a plot. He ultimately ends up going to Lucia and Pedro’s family party where he officially meets their fathers. Feeling confident, Gustavo mans up and faces Lucia, telling her that since he’s killed two men for them, he deserves to be full partners with her and Pedro once they take control. I have said this since the premiere, but Gustavo is a deep character who is constantly trying to move ahead in the game. To fully grasp his motives, there needs to be more shown of his storyline. Of the three, his is the one that is moving the slowest.
Franklin’s storyline, on the other hand, won’t slow down. His storyline in “seven-four” focused on his family drama between his mother and father. Franklin ends up bailing his father out of jail and this is the first time we actually get to meet him.
Franklin’s mother wants nothing to do with him after the drama he put her and Franklin through. We see Franklin’s pure character shine in this episode by the mere fact he bailed his father out and won’t stop defending his actions when his mother protests. Franklin obviously still cares for the man but the same can’t be said for him.
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The cops arrive at their neighborhood party because of reports of gunfire, but it was actually Gerome setting off fireworks. Things get heated and while Franklin’s mother is trying to defuse the situation, Franklin tries to help and ends up getting put in a headlock by a cop. While everyone is trying to free Franklin, his father quietly walks off into the distance, showing his true and unfaithful colors.
The problem with this part of Franklin’s storyline is that the writers rushed through it. They were trying to portray the racial tension between authority and the south side during this time but it was barely touched upon. Everything happened so quickly. From the cops arrival to Franklin being okay that there was barely any time to sink in what happened. The majority of Franklin’s arc in “seven-four” should have been more heavily focused on that one event since it was what ultimately leads him back to Avi and the life of a coke dealer.
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