(This article contains spoilers)
Fire has always been fascinating. It’s devastating yet mysterious. Smoke, created by Dennis Lehane (Black Bird), taps into this fascination. Adapted from the true crime podcast Firebug, the story follows arson inspector Dave Gudsen (Taron Egerton), a former firefighter who flirted with death before retiring, on the trail of two arsonists. Police detective Michelle Calderone (Jurnee Smollett) joins this investigation against Gudsen’s will, but two brains are always better than one. That is, if they put aside their own baggage.
From the first episode, there’s almost no mystery as we know what haunts the main characters and who is one of the two arsonists they call the milk jug arsonist after his MO. Gudsen and Calderone face their own fire trauma. After almost getting stuck in a burning house as a firefighter, Gudsen still has nightmares of that night. For Calderone, it’s a fire started by her own mother that catches up with her, as her mother is now eligible for parole. Trapped in the closet of a motel room, she almost died, the fire claiming several lives. Both also have their own dysfunctional personal life to deal with, Gudsen and his failing mariage, Calderone and her past affair with her superior. A recipe for a disaster, unfortunately branded with many clichés and tropes, from some uninspired dialogues to lazy characterization.
As expected in this type of show, the duo starts on the wrong foot but manages to make it work. Gudsen, used to work alone, first doesn’t appreciate having his playground invaded by a cop imposed on him. As for Calderone, her botched affair led her to be put in a box, and sent to assist Gudsen in what could be seen a career dead-end for her. However, the case is important and if they fail to solve it soon, they all fall. The hunt can start.
Smoke didn’t meet a great success with critics, especially after the acclaimed Black Bird, also starring Taron Egerton, also created by Dennis Lehane. If the duo worked on the prison drama, Smoke doesn’t manage to convince the early audience. And for good reason: the first two episodes, which aired on the same day, are rather lackluster. For a series with only nine episodes, that’s wasted potential and time. Not that it’s bad, but let’s say it’s far from gripping.
And again, no real mystery here. By the end of the second episode, we discover who’s the second arsonist, which was rather obvious. The game now is to connect the dots, track down evidences, but how to play a game when the target is an insider?
The first two episodes don’t deliver what makes a great TV show but are good enough to make us want to see where all this will go. Because who doesn’t like a cat-and-mouse game? To me, the highlight of these episodes is Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine in the role of Freddy Fasano, the milk jug arsonist. The mumbling fast-food cook, imagining himself climbing the corporate ladder, juggles with his social status and his hatred for other’s happiness. “You gotta watch out for the quiet ones now,” says a pushy customer who keeps heavily hitting on him every time she orders. You don’t say, Brenda.
Smoke is available on Apple TV+, new episodes will be released every Friday.
