Snowfall
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Who doesnt love a reunion?
Cissy is back from Cuba with fresh braids and a quiet fervor.
Wanda is understandably nervous when the two women finally meet, but Cissy is cordial.
I hope its been a safe space for you, she tells her.
I came as soon as I heard, she says.
I guess it was the push that I needed.
Truth be told, there wasnt anything for me back there.
Showering Veronique with affection, she emphasizes her appreciation for her sons companion.
Franklin is lucky to have you, Cissy tells her.
I left him with a heavy burden.
At a Japanese-steakhouse dinner celebrating her return, Franklin makes a toast to his mother.
Cissy Saint, you built this house, he says, gesturing to his expanding empire.
Welcome home, Mama.
You want in on the game?
I didnt come back here to be a burden, Franklin.
I wanna help, but I also dont want to be kept in the dark, not anymore.
This seasons resident firefighters are arguably Louie and Jerome.
To explain how integral rap is to his existence, Maurice remarks that he slid out my mama rhyming.
Of course, it isnt Jeromes fire to extinguish.
Louie learns of her contacts involvement in the raid when Jerome informs her of the unchecked brutality.
He need to be dealt with, he tells her.
Unsurprisingly, the officer rejects her suggestion of communal concern and scoffs at her presumptuous use of the wordour.
Since when the fuck are they my people?
He goes on to explain his dissociation as a reaction to intramural delineations.
You do what I ask; youll be fine, he responds, refusing empathy once more.
Something of a fire starter himself, Leon has his revolutionary fire ignited by the raid.
Ari is calm as Leon discusses his desire to declare war on the police.
As it turns out, his calm is the result of a long-standing rapport with revolutionaries.
With this experience in mind, Ari cautions him.
I get one of them pigs before they get me, I figure thats a win, Leon explains.
And what hell do you think will visit upon your people if you kill one of them?
Cant be any worse than what they doing right now, Leon retorts.
Maintaining his militant posture, Leon declines Franklins invitation to Cissys welcome-back dinner.
Folks here in the projects?
Black people everywhere, Leon explains.
You could [help people] and still show up for me tonight, Franklin suggests.
Leon, having grown disillusioned with their friendship and their line of work, resists Franklins efforts at persuasion.
Ill never forget what your moms did for me, but I cant [come].
When Cissy goes to visit Leon, she gauges the raids damage with her own eyes.
Leon lights up thinking about how revolution got them there.
Cissy, noticing the heavy artillery at Leons spot, offers her insight into the nature of revolutionary organizing.
There are other ways to wage revolution, Cissy explains.
When we were with the Panthers, a lot of times we made change without firing a shot.
Leon listens but remains steadfast.
Well, maybe you should have, he says.
Maybe, she responds.
(Let me find outCharles E. Cobbis in the writers room!!!)
Theyre not coming after you, right, these cops?
Just your people on the street, Teddy inquires.
Dont worry about it.
To calm his nerves, Franklin tries to find solace in Teddys sociopathy.
Teddys different, mainly paranoid, all business.
As long as I keep the money flowing, Im safe, were safe, he tells Veronique.
Mama Saint is unmoved by her sons efforts to extinguish the threat Teddy poses.
We all know what happened [to Alton].
Teddy McDonald killed him, Cissy states emphatically.
We cant say that without proof, Franklin rebuts.
To wipe him off the face of the earth?
Only one man wanted that, she tells her son.
Thus, after she learns Teddy is back, Cissy starts making big moves.
Upon meeting a mysterious man named Ruben at a diner, she speaks with conviction.
Ive made contact with my family.
My sons confirmed that hes back, she tells Ruben.
I want answers first … and then it’s possible for you to kill Teddy McDonald.
(Cissy got shooters?!)
Perhaps, in the end, revolution will be the invention of the mother.
Rapper Chief Keef asked the timeless question, How you warrin?
on his 2014 single War.
This feels like Leons energy if you gave him the aux.
Im stuck between Dead Man Walking, by Brent Faiyaz, and N 2 Deep (feat.
Future), by Drake, for our not-so-saintly Mr. Saint.
A Song for Cissy: Between her husband and her son, Cissy cant catch a break but heartbreak.
Luckily, theres no heartache Gloria Ann Taylors 1973 single Love Is a Hurting Thing cant affirm.
She doesnt get too comfortable, and Jerome is the only person she trusts.
Louies song is Trust Nobody, by Ama Lou.
