This post contains spoilers from Smoke season 1 episode 4 from this point forward.
We all have trauma. That trauma varies from person to person, as does the response to trauma. But for many, trauma is a driver. It can be a driver for good or a driver for ill. For our three central characters in Smoke, all are dealing with past trauma and present trauma that drives their actions. For one of them, it’s in the right direction. Let’s dive into this week’s episode, “Strawberry.”
Anger as a driver
For Dave (Taron Egerton) and Freddy (Ntare Mwine), pain and anger are a driver toward their actions. Both are struggling this week. Both are a powder keg. And both are ready to lash out, especially by the end of this week’s episode.
Freddy has been passed over. He’s sad. Then angry. Then frustrated. He drops in on Brenda (Adina Porter), practically begging her to change his hair to make him anonymous again. He’s on the edge. His behavior scares her, and she quickly sends him on his way. Undeterred, though perhaps cut off from the last connection to the world, he presses forward.
As we see him near the close of the episode, he’s doing what he knows: filling milk jugs with gasoline. He’s also managed to shave his head bald, shedding the visage of him as a hopeful man. Now, he’s preparing for a rampage.
Dave’s in a similar spot. Things remain icy with his wife Ashley (Hannah Emily Anderson) and stepson Emmet (Luke Roessler). He tries to atone at the outset, promising to do better. But as we end, Emmet has found his novel and believes him a liar. He and Ashley have had a blow up, and his idyllic home life is about to crumble.
Things aren’t much better at work. Calderone (Jurnee Smollett) is pursuing a lead to capture the Milk Jug arsonist. Dave is skeptical but goes along. At a demonstration lecture to begin the episode, he gives Calderone a dark insight into his mindset. She’s watching him, but he doesn’t seem aware.
Working late, they swap stories. Calderone opens up a bit about her failed love life. Dave, in turn, opens up about a past scare with his mother. The anger boils under the surface. The next day, when parting for the weekend, Dave even seems to go too far, making an unmistakably crude romantic overture. It doesn’t work.
As we end, he’s in a store starring at chips again. This time an attractive woman (Francisca Dennis) and flirts. Rather than setting a fire, he returns her flirting. He tells her he has “cravings.” This week he turns that craving into a casually dark hook up. But how long until he’s called to the flame again?
Trauma as fuel
Dave isn’t the only one with a painful past. The trauma with her mother has pushed Calderone. It’s pushed her to seek justice. It’s likely pushed her out of a stable personal life, too. But she’s working on it. After clashing with her brother (Mishka Thebaud) in the last episode, she meets him at a cock fight this week. It’s an awkward location, but it proves a good chance to clear the air.
She’s also focused on Dave. She finds out he had a previous partner, Ezra Esposito, with whom things ended badly. While the Chief (Greg Kinnear) doesn’t want to share details, when Calderone plies him with drinks she learns more. It was an ugly parting that resulted in Ezra sharing his belief that Dave was an arsonist. This, of course, is music to Calderone’s ears. She harbors the same suspicions and may soon have someone to help her pursue her theory.
The show continues to build tension. It’s hard to watch Dave in the best sense. He’s a man on the edge of exploding and letting his dark side out. Egerton is playing it beautifully and it’s captivating, especially during his games of cat-and-mouse with Smollett. I like the track of where this is going. I am curious to see how this plays out as we’re nearing the mid-point of the nine-episode season. There’s plenty to keep you engaged week-to-week.
Smoke streams Fridays on Apple TV+. We’re here each week recapping all the action. Check back next week as we dive deep into the world of Smoke.
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