‘Black Snow’ Season 2 Episode 5 Recap: What To Expect From Finale?

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In the penultimate episode of Black Snow season 2, we prepare to close the chapter of Zoe as more questions arrive and an equal number of questions get resolved. We realize we are approaching the end. Apart from its tense drama, this episode is more like a laidback commemoration of the fiery rebel that was Zoe Jacobs. Like any youth of her age, through her simple and quiet acts, she tried to bring about change. 

Spoilers ahead

At the beginning of episode 5, Sean makes a desperate call to his mother asking for her help after his laptop gets taken away. Samara and James find multiple folders on the laptop, storing compromising photographs of multiple women. None of them seem to be aware of a photographer being around. Samara is tasked with finding out if Sean owns Sapphire Futures. Samara finds out that Sapphire Futures is a shell company, a business created to hold funds and covertly manage another party’s financial transactions. The firm bought ‘Xanadu’ a little after Zoe’s death but surprisingly left it empty for twenty years. James has his bet on the shell company owner being the real killer. Samara is convinced that it has to be Sean. 

When Sean meets Julie by the beach, he tells her what he has lost. The laptop that has been confiscated contains photos of Zoe, which includes the one taken at the Xanadu dam. That is not all. In fact, this laptop can incriminate Julie, as it holds the records of her ‘creative’ bookkeeping. Samara finds the address of Mandy, Cody’s mother, and prepares to interview her. Nadja breaks down upon learning that the DNA test confirms that the remains found are indeed Zoe’s. 


How does Mandy’s testimony help in the case?

Mandy corroborates Brad’s claim that he was with Mandy on that cursed night. She remembers it clearly as Brad chugged an entire bottle of rum and passed out on the couch, which allowed her some time to count her money. When asked about the money, Mandy reveals that it was a gift from Zoe. Zoe left $10,000 for Mandy, a proportion of her inheritance, to help her break away from Brad. Mandy gets emotional thinking about how she never saw Zoe again when she tried to pay her back. Mandy recalls that they were thrown out of the house that belonged to them after the property changed hands. The new owners knew that the land would be rezoned and threw out the tenants without any prior notice. After the land was declared as a residential zone, the value of the land went up ten times overnight. 


How does Julie threaten Zoe?

Back in the day, LGV Developments chose a local company for their new residential oasis, Mont Vista. The project was a boost for small local businesses such as Jacobs Family Construction, co-owned by Leo and Will. At the event, Zoe had spotted the man who she saw accepting the envelope from Julie Cosgrove. He was one of the big-shot councilors who controlled one portion of the local votes. When Sean realized that Zoe had stolen his camera, he threatened to leak the photos of her he had stored on his computer. Zoe even arrived to seek help from Julie to get access to her son’s laptop, but Julie refused. The extent of the knowledge available to Zoe regarding the truth behind Sapphire Futures seemed threatening to Julie. Zoe even threatened to spread the news that Julie was behind the rezoning of the Mont Vista land. Unperturbed, Julie reminded Zoe that should anything happen to Mont Vista’s future, her father’s company would suffer. 


Does Jimmy catch sight of Richie?

James asks his colleague Mia to be on the lookout for a car with the number plate 845FGI. He reaches a motel and spots the car he has been searching for. After waiting for a while, Richie shows up, but when James goes to talk to him, he runs, as if for his life. This disturbs James, as he realizes that Richie remembers him for the traumatic event of his childhood. He shows up to his therapy session completely drunk, which irks Nina a great deal. 


What is the truth about Sapphire Futures? 

Sapphire Futures is registered in the British Virgin Islands and run by a bartender as its director. Only, the bartender is a pawn who exists just to divert attention from the real owners. However, a loophole for the owners and pathbreaking evidence for the police arise when the bartender appears as a director of another company owned by Sean Cosgrove. Back when Zoe found out the truth about Sapphire Futures and Julie, she attempted to let Leo know about the muck he was getting into. Upon learning that Zoe had some serious allegations against the Cosgrove family, Will pushed her to take the help of Gita to talk to her father, as Gita was the one who secured the Mont Vista project for them. When Zoe arrived at Gita’s house, she was affected by the secret that Gita and her father were hiding from the family, that they were having an illicit affair. 

Sean is called in to the police station for an interrogation. James Cormack pressurizes Sean to break down and reveal the link between him and Sapphire Futures. It is clear that Sean is lying and trying to hide the truth, but when presented with Zoe’s photo at the dam, he surprisingly turns smug and confident. He is certain that the laptop would not have the original photograph. The reason becomes clear—he has bribed Constable Thorpe to steal his laptop from the evidence room and smuggle it out to him. Julie gets her hands on the laptop and turns emotional while going through its contents. After getting saved by a whisker, she wastes no time destroying the device by sticking it in the microwave oven. When Julie rebukes her son for storing those women’s photos on his device, Sean takes a jibe at her by reminding her of her culpability. Julie forced Sean to set up Sapphire Futures for a friend. Black Snow episode 5 ends with a question mark hanging over the identity of this friend.  


What to expect from the season finale?

The penultimate episode unknots most of the twists that the plot built up ever since Zoe’s backpack was found inside the abandoned radio station building. We are certain that Zoe is dead and there is a big cabal that is not only behind her death but also that of Cody. Sean and Julie, towards the end, become the main suspects. With Julie manufacturing and controlling votes with the help of corrupted councilors, and her son revealing himself to be a deranged predator, each becomes the other’s metaphorical washing machine. However, the one major question that leaves us with a lingering hunger for truth is the identity of the actual owner of the Sapphire Futures. In addition to that, we will find out the identity of Zoe’s killer and the truth behind Zoe’s manner of death. The episode opens up a can of worms in terms of the characters it introduces. We are forced to revisit Seb’s research on financial abuse. Seb seems to be aware of something that he tries to communicate to Nadja. The sixth episode would probably explore this loose thread, especially since Seb is seen enjoying his mother’s company at last.

Black Snow season 2 finale would also perhaps help further James in his pursuit of his brother. However, he had a damaging effect on Nina for turning up wasted during one of his sessions. The last episode might allow us to witness how that sore spot is dealt with by James and Nina. 


Damayanti Ghosh
Damayanti Ghoshhttps://letterboxd.com/deemem/
Damayanti is a Master of Arts in Film Studies from Jadavpur University. An inveterate admirer of the Hindi popular cinema, she takes equal pleasure in unearthing obscure animation and horror but does not let on much about it. Her favorite book is 'The Motorcycle Diaries'. Her favorite film is 'Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa'.


 

 

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