I thought the alternate reality was a beautiful showing of the justification for Franklin's path in life.
If you think the alternate reality was meant to show what his life COULD have been if he stayed away from crime, I believe you missed the point.
Rather the alternate reality gave us a look into the harsh realities of what his life WOULD have been like if Franklin did not take control of his destiny. In this alternate reality everyone was worse off, Leon is a hardened criminal, Jerome and Aunt Lu are still dealing weed from their living room, Franklin's mother suffers to pay the bills without the help of Franklin's father, and Franklin himself was kicked out of school forced to head back home to a life of oppression and poverty. He tried to live within the system and the system no matter what was built to fail him.
The alternate reality was used to show us that no matter what path he choose he wouldn't be able to control anything in his life, and if you remember that's exactly what Franklin tells Mel he wants in the first season, freedom. When he wakes up from this alternate reality is when he knows he can't give up. He has to keep fighting for that freedom, because if he gives up he will end up living in the system designed to fail him.
My only complaint is that I wish the episode was longer. It would have been easier to follow and they could have fit more information in there like how Franklin was saved, or where is Mel.
If you think the alternate reality was meant to show what his life COULD have been if he stayed away from crime, I believe you missed the point.
Rather the alternate reality gave us a look into the harsh realities of what his life WOULD have been like if Franklin did not take control of his destiny. In this alternate reality everyone was worse off, Leon is a hardened criminal, Jerome and Aunt Lu are still dealing weed from their living room, Franklin's mother suffers to pay the bills without the help of Franklin's father, and Franklin himself was kicked out of school forced to head back home to a life of oppression and poverty. He tried to live within the system and the system no matter what was built to fail him.
The alternate reality was used to show us that no matter what path he choose he wouldn't be able to control anything in his life, and if you remember that's exactly what Franklin tells Mel he wants in the first season, freedom. When he wakes up from this alternate reality is when he knows he can't give up. He has to keep fighting for that freedom, because if he gives up he will end up living in the system designed to fail him.
My only complaint is that I wish the episode was longer. It would have been easier to follow and they could have fit more information in there like how Franklin was saved, or where is Mel.