Going into Season 2, Snowfall was already becoming one of my favorite shows we’re currently reacting to. After finishing the season, it’s safe to say this was solidified. For a show that aired on FX, it had no business being this damn good.

Season 1 introduced us to three very different worlds: Franklin Saint entering the drug business, CIA operative Teddy McDonald devising a complicated plan to arm the Contras in Nicaragua in the fight against communism, and Lucia Villanueva scheming to take control of her family’s drug operation. Season 2 takes those three storylines and slowly begins to weave them together, placing much more emphasis on the personal cost of each character’s choices.

Franklin continues to expand his operation and make significant gains, but Season 2 does a great job of showing that his success comes with a price. Franklin is becoming a major force in his neighborhood, and that means he is bringing violence and addiction to it. His ambition also begins to strain his friendships, leading him to make difficult choices as a drug boss.

Then there’s Teddy, who truly earns his reputation as the “hardest working man in the country.” His storyline becomes increasingly intense as his operation faces challenge after challenge. Teddy becomes almost completely consumed by his mission to keep the operation alive and continue supplying weapons to the Contras in Nicaragua. What makes his story so interesting is how his obsession with the mission slowly destroys the life outside of it. Bringing his brother into the operation only increases the risks, while his relationship with Julia and his son, Paul, deteriorates. By the end, Teddy is willing to sacrifice his family and personal life for what he believes is the greater good.

Lucia and Gustavo, meanwhile, become the faces of the Villanueva family operation. The controversial takeover attracts attention from both in-family gangs and the DEA. Their discovery of DEA involvement, along with the realization that Pedro is the informant, corner Lucia into a precarious position. After killing her cousin, Lucia ultimately walks away from the operation she fought so hard to control, leaving her storyline on a surprisingly abrupt note.

Initially, I wasn’t a fan of how Lucia’s story ended. Her sudden disappearance felt really strange, especially after how important she had been throughout the first two seasons. However, learning that Emily Rios requested to leave the show because the heavy drug-related subject matter was affecting her mental health and potentially her own sobriety and recovery gave the storyline more context for me. While I still wish the character had received a more satisfying on-screen conclusion, knowing the circumstances behind her departure made the decision much easier to understand.

Snowfall isn’t just your run-of-the-mill rags-to-riches drug kingpin story that glamorizes the lifestyle. There are real consequences to your actions or inactions. Every major character is forced to make a sacrifice or pay a cost. Franklin gains power but fractures the relationships he once cared about and loses his morals. Teddy keeps the operation going at all costs, even if that means estranging himself from his family. Lucia gets closer to the power she desperately wanted, only to ultimately walk away from it.

That’s what makes the show feel so grounded. Snowfall isn’t simply another story about a drug kingpin building an empire. It’s about people sacrificing pieces of themselves to get what they want.

Season 2 takes everything that worked about the first season and raises the stakes considerably. The characters are becoming more fleshed out, the consequences are becoming more dire, and the lines between personal ambition, morals, and loyalty are becoming blurrier.

I’m officially locked in. I can’t wait to see what Season 3 has in store for us.

– Pat