This post contains spoilers from Smoke season 1 episode 2 from this point forward.
In the second of two episodes of Smoke made available this week, we get a major shakeup. In the pilot, we seemed to be tracking toward a fairly normal police procedural. But this series, from Dennis Lehane, isn’t about what you expect. With this second episode, “Your Happy Makes Me Sad,” we start to see the long game. Let’s dive into a twisty encore.
The manhunt continues in episode 2
As we begin the episode, there are still two serial arsonists. And it seems that both Dave (Taron Egerton) and Calderone (Jurnee Smollett) have made some headway on a different case. Dave managed to track our milk jug arsonist back to the restaurant where his last victims had a date night. Seems seeing other people happy bothers him and fuels his rage. Thanks to the leg work, Dave has a sketch of the suspect. It’s not a great sketch, but it’s a start.
Dave and Calderone try to follow up on the sketch. Dave still believes the subject works in fast food, too. That gives them some place to start. The victim can’t identify the man in the sketch, but the investigation continues. In the meantime, we see our arsonist, Freddy (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine), is pursuing his own dream. There’s an opening for a manager, and he decides to throw his hat into the ring.
In the other case, with the arsonist who loves setting chip displays aflame, Calderone has spotted something watching tape. They thought the suspect had a limp, but she spots that the limp disappears at times, meaning it could be a clever ruse. Calderone still believes that Archie (David James Lewis) is the man. So, the pair begin to surveil him day and night. But after a few days they have nothing.
Calderone and Dave tail Archie to a secluded property. It’s not his home residence. Calderone believes it could be a place he’s hiding something. But Dave suggests they don’t have enough for a warrant. While that might be true, it won’t stop Calderone. On her own, she decides to make entry. What she finds is surprising.
Archie isn’t the arsonist, but he is a creep. She finds a secret chamber that looks like something of a cell. She finds plenty of illegal weapons as well. Archie might be a doomsday prepper, or a potential domestic terrorist. When he surprises her, she shoots him in the thighs. In the aftermath, Calderone realizes this could be bad for her.
At first, she considers calling Steven (Rafe Spall) for help. But instead, she sets a more compelling scene for entry. She calls in ATF and appears to be the hero. But at the party celebrating her big win, Steven makes clear he knows the truth. He also presses her about where she’ll look for a suspect in the arson case now. She says she only has one potential suspect but declines to name them.
Personal lives on a spiral
In the pilot, it seemed that Dave had a good relationship with his wife, Ashley (Hannah Emily Anderson). He seemed to have a happy home life and a potential as a writer. But we start to see cracks in that façade in this second episode. It begins as Dave shares with Harvey (Greg Kinnear) that his marriage isn’t as idyllic as it appears. But what could be driving that?
Meanwhile, Calderone continues to deal with her own personal issues. She has a history with fire. We saw a glimpse of it in the pilot and we see some more in episode 2. She gets word a parole hearing is coming. Turns out that’s tied to the incident with fire in her past. But we’re getting glimpses of it in small ways, so far. Still, but the end of the episode it seems clear that she might be the more stable of the partners.
As the episode ends, while Calderone is getting a celebration with her colleagues, Dave’s home life is crumbling. He fights with Ashley and lashes out at his stepson, Emmett (Luke Roessler). It’s clear he has anger bubbling under the surface. He also gets rejected by a book agent, which only adds to his internal fury. But what does Dave use as an outlet? We find out, and the answer changes the game.
As the episode closes, we watch our firebug set another rack of chips on fire. As he slowly limps his way out of the store, the camera pans up. We see Dave’s face behind sunglasses and a hood. Turns out his outlet for his anger is setting the fires he’s been charged with solving. This changes the nature of the series. It also poses the question of whether Calderone is onto him. Either way, it’s a massive twist that leaves you wanting more.
I loved the pilot. It was seemingly a straightforward crime drama, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Heading into episode 2, it seemed weird that the show focused on Archie when he seemed like an obvious red herring. It also seemed strange that we were closely following one suspect and not the other. From that standpoint, the twist makes perfect sense. Turns out we have been following both arsonists at the same time. The question is whether Dave will get his man before Calderone gets hers. That’s the game we’ll be watching when the show picks up with episode 3 next week.
Smoke streams Fridays on Apple TV+. Check back each week as we recap the action right here.
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