Franklin Saint wasn't just building an empire; he was losing his soul. If you watched all six seasons of Dave Andron and Eric Amadio’s Snowfall, you know that the "business" of the 1980s crack epidemic wasn't just about brick counts and CIA backroom deals. It was about people. Specifically, it was about how power and trauma bleed into the most private moments of a person's life.
The snowfall sex scenes weren't there for cheap thrills or to pad out the runtime on FX. Honestly, they were narrative tools. Think about it. In a show where every character is constantly looking over their shoulder, the bedroom is the only place where the mask slips. Or, in Franklin’s case, it’s where the mask hardens.
Television handles intimacy in a lot of different ways these days. Some shows use it as a bridge, others as a weapon. Snowfall? It used it as a mirror. Whether it was Franklin and Mel in the early days or the complicated, often chilling dynamic between Franklin and Veronique later on, these moments tracked the moral decay of a man who thought he could outrun his own humanity.
Why the Intimacy in Snowfall Felt Different
Most crime dramas treat sex as a reward for the protagonist. The "Bond girl" trope is alive and well in the prestige TV era. But Snowfall avoided that trap. The showrunners, including the late, great John Singleton, understood that for a character like Franklin Saint, intimacy is incredibly dangerous.
When we talk about snowfall sex scenes, we have to talk about vulnerability. In the pilot, Franklin is a kid. He’s innocent, mostly. His early interactions with Melody Wright (played by Reagan Gomez-Preston) are bathed in that warm, golden L.A. light. It feels like a coming-of-age story. But as the cocaine starts flowing and the bodies start dropping, that warmth vanishes.
The shift is jarring. You notice it in the lighting. You notice it in the blocking. By the time Franklin is fully entrenched in his war with Teddy McDonald and the various cartels, his intimate moments feel transactional or, worse, totally detached. Damson Idris plays these scenes with a terrifying stillness. He’s there, but he’s not there. His mind is always on the money, the product, or the next threat.
The Evolution of Franklin and Melody
The tragedy of Franklin and Mel is basically the heart of the show’s first half. Their physical connection was a tether to the world Franklin was supposed to inhabit—the world of college, "legitimate" success, and community.
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When that tether breaks, it doesn't just snap; it burns. The scene where Melody, now struggling with the very product Franklin distributes, confronts him is one of the most painful in the series. It recontextualizes every "romantic" moment they ever had. It makes you realize that Franklin’s ambition didn't just destroy his enemies—it poisoned the people he claimed to love.
The Veronique Era: Power and Partnership
By the time Veronique Turner (Tiffany Lonsdale) enters the picture in Season 5, the vibe has completely changed. This isn't young love. This is a partnership between two people who understand the price of power.
The snowfall sex scenes involving Veronique are often cold. They happen in high-rise apartments or sterile offices. There is a specific scene in Season 5 where the intimacy feels almost like a business negotiation. They are planning their future, their exit strategy, and their "legitimacy."
But there’s a lie at the center of it.
Veronique represents Franklin’s desire to be a "real" businessman. But he can’t separate the two worlds. When things start to fall apart—when the $73 million goes missing—the intimacy vanishes. It’s replaced by suspicion. You see the physical distance between them grow on screen until they aren't even sharing the same frame anymore.
Comparison: Snowfall vs. Other Prestige Dramas
How does this stack up against something like The Sopranos or The Wire?
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The Sopranos used sex to show Tony’s hedonism and his desperate need for validation. In The Wire, it was often a fleeting moment of humanity in a bleak world (think McNulty and Beadie Russell). Snowfall is different because it uses intimacy to show the loss of self. Every time Franklin gets closer to his goals, he gets further away from being a person who can actually feel something.
Behind the Scenes: The Role of Intimacy Coordinators
It is worth noting that during the later seasons of Snowfall, the industry standard for filming these scenes shifted significantly. The rise of intimacy coordinators changed how these moments were choreographed.
For the actors, this meant a safer environment to explore the dark psychological spaces the script required. Damson Idris has spoken in various interviews about the toll playing Franklin took on him. To portray a man who is becoming increasingly hollow, even in his most private moments, requires a level of trust with your scene partner that only comes with careful preparation.
- Safety protocols: Every movement is rehearsed like a stunt.
- Narrative purpose: The director and coordinator ensure the scene serves the story, not just the "male gaze."
- Boundaries: Clear communication about what is and isn't okay for the performers.
This professionalism is why the scenes feel so grounded. They don't feel like "TV sex." They feel like real, messy, often uncomfortable human interactions.
The Cultural Impact of Snowfall’s Portrayal of Relationships
We can't ignore the racial and social context here. Snowfall was a show about the Black experience in Los Angeles during a pivotal, devastating era. The way it portrayed Black love and intimacy—even when it was failing—was revolutionary.
It didn't lean into stereotypes. It didn't make the characters caricatures. It showed Black men and women with agency, complex desires, and deep-seated fears. When a snowfall sex scene happened, it was grounded in the reality of South Central or the burgeoning wealth of the hills.
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The show also explored the fallout. Intimacy isn't just about the act; it's about the consequences. It’s about the children born into this chaos. It’s about the families torn apart. When Cissy Saint looks at her son, she sees the man he’s become, and that "man" was shaped in part by the relationships he chose to prioritize or sacrifice.
How to Analyze These Scenes Like a Film Critic
If you’re rewatching the series, pay attention to a few key things during the more intimate moments:
- The Sound Design: Is there music? Or is it just the ambient noise of the city? In Snowfall, silence is often used to emphasize Franklin’s isolation.
- The Eye Contact: Notice how often Franklin avoids looking at his partners as the seasons progress. He starts looking at the ceiling, the door, or into the middle distance.
- The Aftermath: What do they talk about right after? Is it love? Or is it the business? Usually, it's the business.
These details aren't accidental. They are the work of writers and directors who want you to feel the weight of the characters' choices.
The Final Deconstruction
By the series finale, Franklin is alone. The man who once had the world at his fingertips—and the love of women like Melody and Veronique—is a "ghost" haunting the streets of his old neighborhood.
The absence of intimacy in the final episodes is the loudest thing about them. There are no more snowfall sex scenes because there is no one left for Franklin to be intimate with. He has burned every bridge. He has alienated everyone who ever cared for him.
It’s a cautionary tale. It tells us that you can have all the money in the world, but if you lose the ability to connect with another human being, you have nothing.
Actionable Takeaways for Viewers and Creators
If you are a fan of the show or a budding screenwriter, here is what you can learn from how Snowfall handled these sensitive moments:
- Prioritize Character over Spectacle: Never include an intimate scene just because you think the audience wants it. Ask yourself: what does this tell us about the character's mental state right now?
- Watch the Lighting: Use visual cues to track character arcs. Warm tones for innocence, cool/harsh tones for moral decay.
- Focus on the Eyes: The eyes tell the story that the body cannot. In Snowfall, the eyes of the characters always revealed the truth of the situation, no matter what they were saying.
- Study the Work of Intimacy Coordinators: If you’re a creator, understand that these professionals are your best friends. They make the work better by making the actors feel safe to be vulnerable.
The legacy of Snowfall isn't just the action or the political intrigue. It's the way it forced us to look at the human cost of the "war on drugs." It showed us that the war wasn't just fought on the streets; it was fought in the hearts and homes of everyone it touched. When you look back at those scenes now, you don't just see a TV show. You see the tragedy of a lost generation.