Smoke Review: Promising Thriller Feels Unfinished

Smoke Review: In this Apple TV+ crime drama series, a troubled detective and an enigmatic arson investigator team up to try and stop a series of arson incidents in the Pacific Northwest. Haunted by the past and desperate to stop the madness in the present, will the two find a common ground to stop the criminal(s) before it’s too late?

The series has 9 episodes, each with a runtime of around 60 minutes and is inspired by Firebug by Truth Podcasting Corp. The opening theme is “Dialing In” by Thom Yorke.

Smoke Review

SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH DAVE!

That’s all I could think about as I started off with the Apple TV+ series Smoke. Sure, the series features several people who could have committed multiple arson crimes over the past year, but there’s just something very unsettling about Taron Egerton’s Dave that makes me recoil every time I see him onscreen. And, of course, that’s proven to be not too out of the realm of possibilities as we continue to watch the series.

Smoke follows Detective Michelle Calderone as she joins Dave Gudsen to solve a bunch of arson incidents over the last year. Dave is icy at first, but they soon find themselves in tune and ready to hold the person accountable. Unfortunately, though, she realises that something about Dave is not right, and this hunch soon turns the entire case on its head.

The series twists and turns with its narrative, giving us a glimpse into a madman’s head while he tries to catch another madman burning houses down with milk cartons. From the first episode, we are told that two arsonists are at play here, and when the puzzle pieces finally get together, it paints a disturbing picture.

The series does a splendid job of bringing forth this narrative of the protector turning out to be the perpetrator, and you are left to question whether you are trusting the right person or not around every turn. The last two episodes, especially, are gruesome and are also when Egerton goes full psychopath. There’s a madness in his eyes that is hard to ignore and just feels so disturbingly creepy!

Unfortunately for the series, the truly thrilling moments come up towards the end of the runtime, and you feel genuinely afraid of Dave. Before that, the series tends to get a little slow and sluggish, trying to join the various parts of the puzzle together. I think the 1+ hour runtime is unnecessary for most of the episodes of the series, but considering the complex backstories of most of the characters, I guess it makes sense.

I guess some of the backstories are interesting as well, especially for Dave and Michelle, but other than that, sometimes things get a bit boring. On top of that, the series’s last episode, for some reason, adds another layer to the story and the crime that was probably not very necessary. I didn’t understand the point of adding this detail because it makes things more complicated for no apparent reason and doesn’t really go anywhere.

The last episode, especially, feels sluggish and rushed at the same time, adding unnecessary details yet not answering some important questions that it raises. Although I enjoyed the little psychological twist and all, some facts are missing from the story that make it feel unfinished and half-baked.

Thankfully, the performances are excellent and, as mentioned, Taron Egerton will make you so uncomfortable that it will make your skin crawl. Jurnee Smollett is fantastic as well, although they don’t really answer many questions that her character raises. It’s so odd. Everyone else is great as well, but underutilised in a way.

Final Thoughts

I had high hopes for Smoke, which, well, went up in flames by the end of 9 LONG episodes. I felt unsatisfied and confused with the ending, and although I am a big fan of open-ended shows, I feel like audiences need to see the facts at least to interpret.

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