After nine episodes, justice was served on the Apple TV+ series Smoke. Kind of. The fires are out, but smoke and ash still linger after the one-hour series finale.
This review contains spoilers for Smoke on Apple TV+.
Smoke episode 9 is a somewhat satisfying series finale
When it comes to the series finale of any crime drama thriller show like Smoke, we want these cases to be closed and the criminals to be caught. So when evaluating Smoke episode 9 using that criteria, we can check that box. Freddy Fasano (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine) was successfully identified as the milk jug arsonist and was locked up in Smoke episode 7. By the start of the Smoke series finale, that feels like ages ago, though. It could’ve been more entertaining for both arson cases to not close until the end of the series — especially since their identities were revealed in Smoke episode 2. But this Apple TV+ series has had some inconsistencies with timing throughout, so we can’t say we’re surprised.
As for the other serial arsonist who arson investigator Dave Gudsen (Taron Egerton) and police detective Michelle Calderone (Jurnee Smollett) have been looking for, the case isn’t closed as tightly. Calderone and the police manage to get evidence on Gudsen and actual crimes they can charge him with, but it’s not a definitive ending. Some people may like that. Some may not.
Regarding the episode as a whole, Smoke episode 9 simply wasn’t as good or entertaining as other episodes. Smoke episode 8 ended on such a big note, setting up a big finale, but the ending itself fell a bit short. We wanted to be more on our toes. We wanted a riveting conclusion. Instead, it felt like much of the other episodes where the pacing could have been improved.
Dave Gudsen’s Disbelief and Delusion
Smoke episode 9 offers more on Gudsen and why the arson investigator is a serial arsonist. Much like the show itself, it’s a bit of a contradiction. Smoke overall has been a slow burn and a fast burn story at the same time, but it was both surprising and not surprising to learn Gudsen is more mentally unwell than we suspected. When Calderone questions Gudsen after his arrest, she asks who he sees in the mirror: himself or Donald, the arsonist in his novel who’s supposedly not him.
We saw Gudsen look in the mirror one or two times in Smoke episode 6 but didn’t think too much of it. He saw someone who didn’t look entirely like him in the mirror then. But that was also while he was in the hospital after a car crash and likely on some sort of drugs. In the Smoke series finale, however, when Gudsen gazed at the mirror in the questioning room, it was clear: Gudsen’s face was not actually Egerton’s. The photos his wife, Ashley (Hannah Emily Anderson), was packing away confirmed the play in appearances.
Gudsen is not a fit, conventionally attractive man with a chiseled jaw. He is an older, tired man with thinning hair and a receding hairline. Every time Gudsen claimed to be innocent and a hero, we chalked it up to his ego and him generally being a jerk. We didn’t think he actually meant it. We didn’t think he was legitimately delusional and had some sort of split personality disorder. So that was an interesting twist.
Smoke ends with unfinished business and loose ends
It’s not abnormal for viewers to finish a series with questions still left unanswered. There are always some what ifs and open endings. But the Apple TV+ series included a few storylines and characters that we could have done without. The show and story ultimately would’ve been the same without them.
We’ve said this a few times, and we’ll say it again: Emmett, Ashley’s son and Dave’s stepson, is easily forgettable. He didn’t need to be there. Ashley would have seen how awful Dave was without him being a terrible stepfather. Being just a terrible person and husband would have been enough.
As for the task force assembled to take Gudsen down, we understandably don’t know what their futures hold. But we generally enjoyed their dynamic and place in the show. They didn’t all get along easy peasy, but it did often pose a nice contrast to Calderone and Gudsen.
The last thing we see in Smoke episode 9 is Calderone’s face, and we still don’t understand why the storyline with her mother was a thing. We saw her go to her mom’s parole hearing. She spoke with her siblings and sister-in-law about her mom a few times. But in the end, it didn’t actually affect her arc. It feels like its only relevance was when Gudsen used it as ammo and basically made fun of her for it because, as we know very well by now, he’s vile.
All episodes of Smoke are now streaming on Apple TV+.
