I tried to do shit the right way, went to the other side. Know what I learned? The game's rigged. It ain't made for people like us, so you know what? I'm rewriting the rules.
-Franklin Saint
Franklin Saint is one of the three protagonist in the FX original series, Snowfall. He is a 19 year old convenience store clerk who rose to become South Central LA's notorious drug kingpin and the patriarch of the Family.
Biography[]
Before the Series[]
As a kid, Franklin was mostly living with his mother, Cissy Saint, while his father, Alton Williams, was participating with the Black Panthers in various activities. After a few years, his parents separated. His father became homeless and roamed the streets of South Central Los Angeles.
Season 1[]
In 1983, he was working in a retail store called 'Cho's' as a clerk, but his life changed when he helped Rob Volpe and his family acquire and purchase some cocaine, which is how he met Avi Drexler, an ex-Mossad agent who now runs his own syndicate. Since then, he was peddling kilos from Avi's place and selling them to Claudia Crane, a nightclub owner in South Central, who his Auntie Louie introduced him to. He tried to get his uncle Jerome to help him in the cocaine business, but Jerome refused upright, making it known that yeyo is a product that cannot be sold in the black community and should only be sold to white folks. In Oakland, when he, Leon, and Kevin were preparing to do a deal with the Murder Dubb Devils MC, he discovered a new type of drug that has never hit LA from a homeless junkie living inside a former Black Panther office. He is then introduced to Reg, a crack dealer, and shows him the kilos of coke. He is then introduced to Swim and learns how to convert cocaine into crack and tells both Leon and Kevin that crack is the future of their drug empire. He solidified his foothold as LA's notorious kingpin after he forced Ray-Ray at gunpoint to kill Lenny as payback for nearly killing Leon.
Season 2[]
After Avi was busted by the LAPD, Franklin was kidnapped along with Leon, who was also arrested the day of the bust, by Teddy McDonald and interrogated for any information as to why they were at Avi's. Franklin then learned he was Avi's plug and began dealing through him. When 2 of his dealers, Vic and Delroy, were murdered by Conejo in Pico-Union, Kevin became unhinged and Franklin reached out to Lucia Villanueva and El Oso for information on the Los Monarcas hitman. Lucia warned him that going after the killer would bring consequences to Compton. Franklin kept the information under wraps and then the Villanueva Cartel reached out to him seeking the recipe for the crack in exchange for the hitman's identity. Franklin refused to provide, unaware Kevin went behind his back just to avenge his cousin. At Acuña Park, Franklin and Leon arrived to stop Kevin from killing Conejo and bringing a war to South Central. Kevin refused to listen to reason and as he fired upon Conejo, Franklin shot Kevin. Agent Lorena Cardenas was present and spotted Franklin and Leon running while she went to check on Kevin. Franklin later learned that Kevin died of the gunshot and he was wanted for murder. He was prepared to skip town, but when he went to the house to say goodbye to his mother, Sergeant Andre Wright and his LAPD buddies swarmed the house and took Franklin into custody. He spent some time in jail, was denied bail, and was transferred to Pitchard Detention Facility. He was then released courtesy of Teddy and that's when Franklin realized his new plug was working for the U.S. Government.
Season 3[]
As his business venture in the coke game expanded, Franklin acquired a place in the Hills where he stashed his money and his secret documents. During that time, Andre was hot on his trail. Franklin even resorted to making deals and doing business with Manboy of the Crips and Skully of the Bloods. When his cookhouse was compromised in the LAPD raids, he confronted his crew and personally had Leon execute the guy running the cookhouse that night. Another issue Franklin faced was Andre's daughter, Melody, who began to develop an addiction to the rock. Knowing Andre wouldn't stop to see Franklin's business being taken down, Franklin broke into his home and killed him, then fabricated it to look like a suicide. One LAPD officer, Herb Nixon, confronted Franklin, making it known that he wasn't a fool, but also made it clear that he had a price tag and was willing to look the other way in exchange for protection money. Melody, however, discovered her bedroom window unlocked, knowing that was Franklin's usual entrance to her house, and realized her father's death was no accident. During the funeral, Franklin saw Melody leave and head to her house, assuming she was looking to get high again, only to be shot by her and left for dead. After getting out of the hospital, Franklin soon discovered his hood was facing war between the Compton Crips and the Inglewood Bloods. He found the Family in a weak position during his absence, but the fact that he had the plug was the only thing keeping him and those close to him alive.
Season 4[]
Franklin later reconnected with his ex-girlfriend, Tanosse, who took a job at Louie's new nightclub. To survive he needed to keep his enemies close to him as he convinced Manboy to help lure Skully into an ambush at the docks while Peaches handled to coordination for the ambush. He was able to convince Skully to show up to a meet, however, Skully was high on a substance and begin losing it as he fired a round in the air, causing one of Manboy's goon, Dimehead, to rush the ambush too early. The ambush failed, leaving Franklin with a big mess on his hands. Skully then decided it was time to kill Franklin and deal with the Family. There was a drive-by battle in Gardena that resulted in several deaths, including Skully and Khadijah's daughter, Tianna, courtesy of Leon, who was gunning for Skully. This created a bigger problem as Franklin now had to deal with both the Bloods and Crips who built a coalition to hunting down Leon. After Khadijah killed Fatback, placed a bounty on Leon, and did a drive-by at Fatback's funeral, resulting in Louie being put in the hospital, Franklin and his crew decided to draw out Khadijah by buying off her friends, Black Diamond and Dallas, resulting in Jerome killing her. Beforehand, he learned Tanosse was working for Manboy and had her set up an ambush by convincing him he'll get the plug. Manboy wasn't an idiot and nearly killed Tanosse at her home, but Franklin and his boy knew he wouldn't take that bait so he killed him and his boys in Tanosse's neighborhood. During that time, he learned his father joined together with a journalist in exposing the CIA's funding of the Contra War. This created friction between Franklin and Teddy. Cissy and Alton agreed to leave the country and bid farewell to Franklin.
Season 5[]
Franklin, one year later, is now running a major real estate firm with his new girlfriend, Veronique, who was pregnant with his unborn child, while still maintaining his position as the kingpin in the crack game. Elsewhere, his father vanished. He had a business dealing with Grady Williamson, until Teddy reemerged. Apparently, Jerome and Louie wanted to separate from the Family and go their own way while Leon was running the Projects. Franklin made it known that there are some things that are kept in his Inner Circle and to remain out of the ears of their foot soldiers. As soon as he learned Rob's dealer, Thad Brenner, knew about Franklin's CIA connection, Franklin realized Rob opened his mouth, and shot him in the desert for that. Another foe, Kane, who was Kevin's brother, made his was to the surfaced after doing time in prison. There were 3 coordinated drive-by's set, especially on Franklin, which didn't make the mark. Franklin soon realized Peaches betrayed him and even ransacked his hidden stash. Instead of going to war, Leon was able to talk Kane down and offer him an opportunity to fix the broken Hamilton household. Louie, on the other hand, chose blood. When Franklin learned Louie made a deal with Teddy to deal directly from him, he decided to part ways with Teddy and leave the game, but the consequences were dire when his fortune was hijacked and his accounts were drained. Desperate, he attempted to get Louie to help him with the situation with Teddy, but Louie, who was drunk with power as the crack queen, refused. Franklin even pulled a gun on her, but was disarmed by her new enforcer, Beau. All ties to Louie and Jerome were officially cut. Infuriated with limited options, Franklin now made revenge a major priority. He had 2 enemies: Teddy, the man who stole his money and Louie, the woman who betrayed her own kin for power. He hired Black Diamond and Dallas to help him knock off Louie's and Jammin' Jerome's. He even visited Kane in the hospital after the assassination attempt on his life and told him Louie tried to off him, hoping to leave Louie in a vicarious position. When Cissy told Franklin about her connections to the KGB with a plot to kill Teddy, Franklin was immediately on board.
Season 6[]
Franklin was introduced to Rubén by Cissy and learned he was wanting to expose the CIA and their connection to the cocaine game. Franklin sought out all legal revenues of retrieving his stolen fortune, but no dice. He then learned that Vee enlisted her estranged mother, Cassandra, in tracking down the funds. They eventually tracked down the accountant, William Cox, and as soon as he learned that they needed Teddy just to find the money, he became impatient. He even learned that his Uncle Jerome retaliated for the theft by killing Black Diamond, courtesy of Big Deon's double-cross. His home in the hills was also raided and tore apart by Louie's bent cops. After tracking Teddy's father down to a retirement home in Kansas, Franklin murdered him while on the phone with Teddy, which immediately prompted Cassandra to drop the con and flee. Back to the war between Louie and Kane, there was a second attempt on Kane's life who was aided by Franklin as her crew shot up his girls house and learned they were aided by the traitor, Todd, who wanted payback for the burn scar Franklin gave him. He help Kane track down Louie who frequented an equestrian center. After learning that Kane kidnapped Louie and upon learning of her fate, Franklin chose to lead Jerome, Leon, Skully, and a coalition of Bloods and Family enforcers to raid Kane's compound and rescue Louie, but at the cost of losing some men, especially Jerome. He later got Oso on board with a plot to take down Teddy while learning he was forced to work as a CI for Tony Marino and the DEA. He also made amends with Louie and got her on board to bate Teddy. Being used as bate, Franklin was grabbed by Teddy and brought to his warehouse and fearing the plan backfired, Oso saved him while learning Rubén may have double-crossed him. He soon had Teddy and Rubén as his prisoners and held them at his stash house. He tortured Teddy until he agreed to part with half the fortune in exchange for his life, which was not part of the agreement he made with Oso and didn't sit well with Cissy. After Cissy killed Teddy and was arrested by the cops, Franklin had no chance of reclaiming his money, and to make matters worse, Teddy's handler, Agent Stephen Havemeyer, vowed to convict Franklin if he didn't turn over the KGB spy. To be clear of the CIA, Franklin surrender Rubén to them. Desperate to keep the Downtown Property, Franklin attempted to get a loan from Leon but was denied, and sold every building he had to Cissy's old boss, Arnold Tulfowitz, in order to fund the. When he learned Veronique tried to sell his share of the Downtown Property to Paul Davis, Franklin became violent and saw that Vee was no longer on board. Franklin soon learned that Vee swiped all the money he acquired from selling all the properties, in which he became unhinged and in a far worse place. He even took up drinking in the process. Months after, he still wasn't willing to give up his share of the Downtown Property and determined to find Vee, he lost his tie to Top Notch but was able to track down Peaches and kill him, only to find that he spent almost all the money stashed from his first stash house. At the end of the 80's, Franklin was addicted to alcohol, and went down the same path his father took in the earlier life. He lost his family home after the bank foreclosed it. He also learned that he had a son.
Aftermath[]
It was Franklin's pride and ego that brought him to where he went to. The Downtown Property became the end of him as he'd rather it be ripped from his hands than sell it. Everyone he knew and loved saw how unhinged he became, let alone, was known to double-cross others by going for the deals that would best suit him, and they could no longer stand by him.
Appearances[]
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Quotes[]
- "For Leon, motherfucka!"
- — Franklin to Lenny after forcing Ray Ray to slit his throat. (The Rubicon)
- "You dumb motherfuckers! Wrap this shit up! We out of here!"
- — Franklin to Jerome, Leon, and Kevin ordering them out of Pico-Union. (Prometheus Rising)
- "I'm a black man in America, God damn it! Hell yeah, I'm being paranoid! You know, people of your complexion don't exactly have the best record when it comes to dealing with people like me. And when it comes down to it, white people be afraid of blacks, but it should be the other way around, Mr. Kidnapper!"
- — Franklin to Teddy at the cemetery after being called paranoid based on Avi's early release from jail. (Serpiente)
- "But listen, I wanted to tell y'all. I know shit ain't been easy. That I'm tougher on you than I need to be. It's only so when we expand I can put y'all in charge. Shit we got going on now, man? It's just the beginning. We just warming up. We building an empire. You feel me?"
- — Franklin to Leon and Kevin at the Beach (The World is Yours)
- "You played by the rules, and you got screwed. I'm making up my own rules."
- — Franklin to Cissy upon learning she won't accept the house paid off by him. (Surrender)
- "Haven't been getting much sleep since I got out. No shock, I know. What's strange is it ain't the beatings I see in my dreams. It's not Ray-Ray, not the dude who hung himself, not the bars, not the guards. It's Reed Thompson."
- — Franklin narrating as he is at Kevin's grave. (Education)
- "You see, for years, the U.S. has been fighting a covert war in Nicaragua, trying to stop the Communists. Avi's been smuggling foreign-made arms from the Middle East to Panama on Reed's behalf. We talking tens of millions of dollars worth, enough to fight an entire fuckin' war. I don't think our Mr. Reed Thompson's just some drug dealer. I think he works for the government. And now, I think we work for him."
- — Franklin's final narration as the Season 2 finale closes. (Education)
- "If the combat boot fits..."
- — Franklin to Andre in his vehicle after calling him a fraud for betraying the black community to the system. (Protect and Swerve)
- "Y'all motherfuckers think we stupid? Huh? We don't know every fucking thing y'all do? Y'all do good, and we'll take care of you, always, but if you fuck up..."
- — Franklin to his entire crew after the cook house was raided, ending with Leon executing the man who was running the cook house. (The Game That Move as You Play)
- "Just be ready to shoot every motherfucker in there if need be."
- — Franklin to his boys as they pull up to Avi's new place. (Confessions)
- "I built this shit! Me! Brick by Brick! And I'll be damned if I let you tear it down just 'cause you don't like the way another n!##a talk. (sighs) Drive, motherfucker!"
- — Franklin to Leon when warning him about his altercations with Manboy. (Blackout)
- "I didn't build all of this just to make a bunch of money and leave, abandon our people."
- — Franklin to Cissy and Alton upon learning of their suggestion to run. (Other Lives)
- "I was right about this rock. We're making more money than we ever could've dreamed of. What I was wrong about was the cost. Lives are gonna be destroyed. Ain't a thing I can do about that now except to keep going, keep thing under control as best as I can, you know?"
- — Franklin to Teddy discussing the pros and cons of the rock. (Other Lives)
- "See, that's the difference between me and you, Drew. I don't give up my people."
- — Franklin to Manboy refusing to turn over Leon. (The Get Back)
- "Who's identified in this article? Who's father they quoting? I'm the one in trouble here, not you. And not you! But what do I get? Concern? An ounce of fucking compassion? Nah! I get, "Franklin, what's gonna happen to me?" Well I'm gonna tell you what's gonna happen to you: nothing. And why is that? 'Cause I'm gonna step in front of the bullet, like I did with the Judas motherfucker Kevin, like I did with the bitch-ass Andre, and like I always have to keep y'all safe. Now if you have any constructive ideas to help me get through this shit, then I promise you. I'm listening, I promise. But if not, if not, then please keep your heads down, keep your mouths shut and let me get us out of this, like I got us out of every motherfucking thing else!"
- — Franklin to the Family leadership at Louie's. (Betrayal)
- "Well I hate to break it to you, but everybody's got to answer to somebody, and me? I answer to the man who may have disappeared my fucking father, and who will do the same to us if we don't move this product. Now I don't know about y'all two, but I'd like to stay alive long enough to enjoy what I've made. So from hear on out, I don't want to hear anything else about kilos or prices. Y'all want to go out on your own? Fine! But do not for one second fuck around with what I got to do to get mine, 'cause I promise you there is nothing I'm not prepared to do."
- — Franklin laying down the law to Louie and Jerome during the exchange at the gas station. (Lions)
- "We gonna have to burn this whole motherfucker to the ground, Mama!"
- — Franklin to Cissy after learning of her KGB contacts and making a plan to bury Teddy McDonald. (Fault Lines)
- "Remember back on Catalina, what I told you? The things I've done to make this money? So you can imagine after all of that, starting back at zero? That ain't gonna happen."
- — Franklin to Veronique justifying his actions against Louie and Jerome. (Fallout)
Victims[]
- Kevin Hamilton (Shooting)
- Andre Wright (Shooting)
- Drew “Manboy” Miller (Shooting)
- Rob Volpe (Shooting)
- Todd (Shooting, Alongside Kane)
- Colonel McDonald (Stabbing)
- Indiana (Shooting)
- DeJohn” Peaches” Hill (Shooting)
- CRACKHEAD (SHOOTING)
- Miguel Flores (Shooting
Gallery[]
Promotional[]
Scenes[]
