Damson Idris, Performer of The Week
THE PERFORMER| Damson Idris
THE SHOW| Snowfall
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THE EPISODE | “The Struggle” (April 19, 2023)
THE PERFORMANCE | Idris has always been a favorite of mine. Snowfall’s complex protagonist Franklin Saint, but his raw and deeply unsettling final turn in Wednesday’s series finale left us utterly devastated. And sing his praises.
“The Struggle” found Franklin grappling with the terrifying reality that the money he so desperately craved, and had even killed for, was truly gone. We weren’t expecting a happy ending for the drug kingpin — he built his empire on cocaine and murder, after all — but we were wholly unprepared for how agonizing it would be to watch him unravel until he was a shell of his former self.
The anguish Franklin felt when he realized his mother wouldn’t help him, lashing out in fury of obscenities, hit like freight train. The callousness in which Franklin shot an innocent man behind the back to get a meager $12K shook us to our core. The moment that really broke us was the time Franklin gave up and fell into seclusion as his bills were not paid. While his face remained roughly the same, Franklin was barely recognizable in the show’s final moments, and that’s a testament to Idris’ searing portrayal of broken man at the end of his stunning yet inevitable downfall.
“I’m free,” Franklin said through a hollow smile. Franklin’s feigned happiness was a painful reminder of broken promises. Especially as we were left to the depressing image of the ex-crime boss, now destitute wandering aimlessly through the neighborhood he once controlled. Franklin was entitled to his tragic fate. Idris, too, deserves recognition for his truly outstanding and moving work that brought this gripping coming of age story to an end.
Scroll down to see who scored Honorable Mention shout-outs this week…
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