How Did ‘Snowfall’ End? Everything to Remember Before ‘The Drop’ Premieres

FX’s The Drop: A Snowfall Saga is taking viewers back to the world of Snowfall, this time against the backdrop of Los Angeles’ early ’90s rap scene. The new drama follows fan favorites Wanda and Leon a few years after the events of the original series as the city and its streets shape a new era with the rise of rap music.

Snowfall, which chronicled the devastating impact of the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles, ended its six-season run in 2023. Its finale delivered an especially bleak conclusion for many of its characters, particularly Franklin Saint (Damson Idris), whose once-massive drug empire had completely crumbled, while several of the show’s other major characters met tragic fates of their own.

Wanda Bell (Gail Bean) and Leon Simmons (Isaiah John), however, were among the few who made it out with the possibility of something better ahead. With the pair now at the center of The Drop, it’s worth looking back at where their stories and those of the other major Snowfall characters stood when we last saw them.

What happened to Franklin Saint?

The series begins with Franklin Saint as a 19-year-old convenience store clerk and weed dealer in South Central Los Angeles who becomes a notorious drug lord worth millions during the rise of crack cocaine. To get there, he orders the murders of friends, innocent people, and family allies to protect his empire while helping fuel the crack epidemic devastating his community.

By the end of the series, Franklin’s CIA handler, Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson), steals $73 million, wiping out his wealth and legitimate real estate investments. Franklin nabs Teddy and is about to get half the money returned, but seconds before the transfer can happen, Franklin’s mother, Cissy (Michael Hyatt), shoots and kills Teddy, ending her son’s obsession with getting it back.

When we last see Franklin, he’s broke, drinking heavily, and about to lose his mother’s house. His clothes are torn and dirty, his teeth are rotting, and a man who once had $73 million is thrilled when Leon gives him $20 to buy alcohol.

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As the authorities take his house, the series leaves Franklin as the one thing he never wanted to become: His father.

Franklin Saint is not among the characters announced for The Drop: A Snowfall Saga at this point.

What happened to Wanda Bell?

Unlike Franklin, Wanda Bell and Leon Simmons receive one of Snowfall’s most hopeful endings. Instead of being destroyed by the drug game, they manage to survive it.

Wanda starts as a scrappy, bright young woman who is brought into Franklin’s operation by her boyfriend, Leon, to help cook crack. But after trying the drug herself, she quickly develops a severe addiction. She eventually begins stealing and working with rival dealers, leading Franklin to cut her off and leaving her homeless.

Wanda’s turning point comes when she saves Leon’s life during a drive-by and takes a bullet for him. To repay her, he pays her hospital bill and secures extra nights so she can have time to clean up her act. The experience becomes a wake-up call, and she decides to get clean.

Her recovery is long and difficult, and Wanda eventually leaves Los Angeles to distance herself from the environment that fueled her addiction. She and Leon later reconnect, travel to Accra, Ghana, and get married before eventually returning to Los Angeles.

The Drop: A Snowfall Saga centers on Wanda’s attempt to make a name for herself in Los Angeles’ burgeoning rap music industry in the early ’90s.

Ray Mickshaw / ©FX / Courtesy Everett Collection

What happened to Leon Simmons?

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Leon begins Snowfall as Franklin’s fiercely loyal childhood friend and the muscle behind his growing drug empire. But his life changes after he accidentally kills a 5-year-old during a shootout with a rival gang. Overcome with guilt, Leon begins questioning his life and the violence and destruction the drug trade has brought to his community.

He helps Wanda get clean, and eventually the two move to Ghana, where they get married. He later returns to South Central and uses his remaining drug money to give back to the community, including funding a free legal clinic.

In the finale, Leon tries to help a broke and alcoholic Franklin, but realizes there’s little more he can do for his old friend. He ultimately walks away from the drug game and focuses on helping the community he once helped harm.

When talking to Franklin in the finale, Leon mentions that Wanda is getting into the music scene, providing the first hint of where their story is headed and setting the stage for The Drop: A Snowfall Saga.

The Drop: A Snowfall Saga, Series Premiere, September 8, FX and Hulu