Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Smoke Episodes 1-2.
Apple TV+’s new prestige series, Smoke, debuts with a two-episode premiere that sets up the main premise and then some. Starring Taron Egerton as an arson investigator and Jurnee Smollett as a detective pairing to catch two serial arsonists in the Pacific Northwest, the show comes courtesy of Dennis Lehane, who previously created 2022’s Black Bird, also starring Egerton. Smoke mostly lives up to its lofty expectations, and this two-part opener is a great start for a solid, if uneven, crime drama.
‘Smoke’s Premiere Puts You Right Into the Fire
Smoke opens with an incredible scene that immediately puts you into the fire; flames rage everywhere, walls and ceilings are crumbling, and a lone firefighter struggles to make sense of the inferno. Egerton’s voiceover describes the fire: unyielding, uncontrollable, and above all, fair. Fire doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, good-looking or not, strong or weak; if you cross it, it’ll consume you. As it turns out, this scene is a nightmare experience for Egerton’s character, who we soon learn is arson investigator David Gudsen. In the morning, Dave’s wife, Ashley (Hannah Emily Anderson), tries to get something out of him, but he is aloof. He reveals the nightmare is a memory of a time he got trapped in a flaming building and confused his reflection in a mirror for another firefighter. The two seem to have a good enough marriage, and Dave is soon taking her son, Emmett (Luke Roessler), to school. His attempts to bond are unsuccessful, so he relents.
The next scene introduces us to our female lead, Michell Calderon (Smollett), tearing down a wall inside a dilapidated house before taking a shower; she seems angry, vague memories ringing in her head. Next, she’s in Dave’s office, telling him she’s been assigned to help him with his ongoing case: two arsonists terrorizing the area. One has been at it for a year, and the other just six months. After a tense first meeting, they hit the road, exchanging pleasantries, getting to know each other, and sharing details about the case.
Here, the episode cuts to its first great scene from one of the arsonists’ POVs. He walks into a convenience store and drops a device into a bag of chips before walking out; before long, the entire rack is on fire. This particular arsonist sets two fires in different places but in a short timeframe, thus spreading the department thin; Gudsen calls him a “D&C:” divide and conquer. He believes the D&C is an active fireman, prompting Calderon to seek permits to access the database. Dave also reveals that arsonists act out unhappiness, feeling powerless in their real lives. He then chats with his boss, Harvey Englehart (Greg Kinnear), about Michell, and they both agree that, if she’s there, it’s because someone has it against her. Later, Dave and Ashley have dinner, where he reveals he’s writing a book based on his experiences as an arson investigator.
The Investigation Heats Up in ‘Smoke’
Smoke‘s premiere also introduces Freddy Fasano (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine), who works at a fried chicken restaurant, Coops, and is bullied by his coworkers. He leads a seemingly miserable life, with his manager taking advantage of him. Freddy is quiet and somewhat meek, having difficulty speaking. In the morning, Michell works out furiously. Soon, we learn what those memories haunting her are. As it turns out, she’s been having an extramarital affair with her boss, Steven Burk (Rafe Spall). When he announces he’s just left his wife and children for her, Michell reacts with hostility, saying she never asked him to do that before asking for a break. The two fight, and Steven proves he can be just as nasty, telling her that if their relationship is over, he’ll make it hard for her. Even if she wins in the end, he says, it’ll be a long road of losing. Now, her presence in the arson investigation, a clear demotion from her previous status, makes sense.
The D&C sets another fire, and Gudsen explains the device to Michell in a strangely flirtatious exchange: it’s a cigarette with two matches attached. Simple enough. Back at the office, Harvey tells them in no uncertain terms that, if they don’t catch the arsonist soon, it’ll be their heads on the chopping block. With access to the firefighter database, they get two names: Scotty Bucyk (Ben Cotton) and Arch Stanton (David James Lewis), both of whom have been absent from work for almost every single D&C fire. Their investigation with the former hits a dead end when it turns out Scotty was promoted to an engineer two years ago, meaning he drives the truck and thus hasn’t missed any days, even if his record says he has. However, Arch is a walking red flag, and the questioning soon turns hostile when he insults Michell without explaining his absences.
On their way back, Dave reveals that the other arsonist, the original one, operates exclusively from Trolley Town and must work at a fast food shop because he uses frying oil in a milk jug to set his fires. Now we know how Freddy features in the plot. Steven visits Michell at her home, and the two share a few hostile words before he leaves. Back to Freddy, he is now at a bar, carefully watching a group of friends having fun. Freddy follows two of them back to their home, waits for them to go to bed, and sets their house on fire with his milk jug. He watches the flames with an expression of awe. Dave arrives at the scene and learns of the couple’s trip to the bar. He goes to question the bartender and learns that a man wearing a hoodie and glasses sat alone in the bar, confirming his suspicions that the milk jug arsonist stalks his victims before making his move.
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‘Smoke’ Wants Us to Really Know Its Arsonists
Episode 2, titled “Your Happy Makes Me Sad,” starts with a flashback of Michell as a child. She’s in a closet, and the room outside seems to be on fire. Back in the present, the morning after the fire, Michell and Dave have breakthroughs in each case. She realizes the D&C doesn’t really limp, while he gets a police sketch of the milk jug arsonist. Meanwhile, Freddy starts a conversation with a regular customer, Brenda Cephus (Adina Porter), who compliments him and suggests he should apply for the new manager position. His dreams soon fall apart when he learns he needs a high school diploma to apply for the position. At home, Dave shows his book to Ashley, a librarian, who says it’s good but needs more female characters. He buys her praise, but she seems uncertain. Also at home, Michell receives a letter regarding a parole hearing, and she reacts emotionally.
The next morning at Coops, Freddy’s coworker Lee (Dakota Daulby) tells him he can still apply for the manager position with a GED. However, he mocks Freddy upon learning he’s 43 rather than the 60+ he assumed. On the other side of town, Michell and Dave follow Arch Stanton to a secluded trailer, where he drops a few groceries before leaving. They watch his house for five days before accepting he’s not doing anything anytime soon. A short scene also introduces Harvey’s daughter, Lauren (Mackenzie Cardwell), who asks for the keys to his lake house, where she’ll get married shortly.
At Coops, Freddy shows up with a clean dress shirt and a more positive outlook after learning he can indeed apply for the position with a GED. Brenda then suggests he come by her salon to get a new haircut on the house. Freddy does and experiences human touch and proximity for the first time in probably a long time, to the point where he sheds a tear. Later that night, Dave and Harvey share a drink, and the former talks about his uncertainties with his marriage to Ashley.
Michell Goes Down a Dangerous Path in ‘Smoke’ Episode 2
By this point, it’s been two weeks since the last arson attack, and Michell has become convinced Stanton is the D&C. She goes back to his trailer and breaks in, eventually discovering an underground bunker filled with chambers, including what looks like a BDSM room and one filled with dangerous and surely illegal weapons. As she investigates, she hears a click and quickly turns around and shoots Arch in both legs. She asks him why he sets fires, but he denies it; instead, Arch says his work absences are due to him building the bunker.
Running out of the trailer, Michell considers calling Steven, but ultimately refuses. Instead, she decides to frame Arch, loading his truck with many of his illegal weapons, including an M60, before calling the incident to the ATF. With the police there, Michell says she has been watching Arch because of the arson investigation and saw him loading the truck with the weapons. Assuming he was going to carry out an attack, she instead chose to act. The police officers seem hesitant, but Michell is still heralded as a hero for stopping what apparently seemed like a Columbine-like attack.
Dave receives a rejection letter from an agent and reacts with jealousy to Michell’s big arrest. Things get even tenser when Ashley reveals Emmett’s dad is moving, and now the teenager will be moving in full-time with them. However, Dave seems more preoccupied with his rejection, annoying Ashley. When a very emotional Emmett arrives, Dave’s clumsy attempts at comforting him lead to a violent exchange where Emmett disregards him, and Dave almost loses it before stepping out. At a bar, Michell celebrates her big arrest, before Steven arrives and questions her cover-up. She confesses that Stanton is not the arsonist, and when Steven questions if she has any other suspects, Michell mentions she only has one. The final scene shows the D&C walking into a convenience store and setting another fire. The camera then shows it’s Dave Gudsen, walking away, smiling at a job well done. That’s right; in just its first two episodes, Smoke has already revealed the identity of its two arsonists, their whereabouts, motives, and MOs. From here on out, the investigation will only get more intense.
Smoke
Smoke begins with two episodes that take their time setting up the series’ premise while still offering enough compelling drama.
- Release Date
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June 26, 2025
- Network
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Apple TV+
- The production values are all top-notch.
- The cast is all-around great, especially Egerton, Smollet, and Mwine.
- There is an overall familiarity to Lehane’s previous efforts.
- The pacing is a bit uneven, revealing major plot point straight away yet moving at a glacial pace in others.
