Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Smoke Episode 9. After eight weeks, Apple TV+’s Smoke has finally reached an ending — though more with a fizzle than with a bang. The crime drama starring Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett has been a solid, if somewhat unimpressive, watch, largely because of its compelling cast. However, this last episode pretty much drops the ball, rushed in some parts and lacking urgency in others. Episode 8 ended with a shocking twist: Michelle (Smollett) accidentally killed her boss/lover, Steven (Rafe Spall), and framed Dave (Egerton) for it. Scumbag though he was, Steven’s death will still probably weigh heavily on her, not just because she had feelings for him, but also because she’s not a bad person. Still, Michelle is reckless and somewhat ruthless, and while she’s been too good at fixing her mistakes, including shooting Arch Stanton (David James Lewis) all the way back in Episode 2, one does wonder if this is a misstep she won’t be able to avoid.
‘Smoke’ Episode 9 Tries to Tie Up Every Loose End

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Episode 9, titled “Mirror Mirror,” opens with Dawn (Anna Chlumsky), Esposito (John Leguizamo), and Harvey (Greg Kinnear) arriving at Steven’s charred house, where they learn from Captain Pearson (Amy Carlson), quite succinctly, that they are off the case and a new team will be taking over. Michelle isn’t there, but it’s not long before she arrives, doing her best to hide her guilt behind a mask of aloofness and sunglasses. To her credit, she does one hell of a job faking ignorance as Harvey prevents her from entering the crime scene to protect her feelings — anyone with eyes could see there was something between her and Steven, and Harvey is just being a decent guy. On a side note, Kinnear is so good as the concerned, paternal figure, and it’s a shame he hasn’t had more to do in this show besides being just another member of the team. It’s not long before someone finds the glove that Michelle conveniently placed in the back of the house, but not before her world comes crashing down when she sees the next-door neighbors have cameras, one of which must’ve surely caught her walking out of Steven’s house as the fire started. She quickly pulls herself together as Pearson approaches her and asks about Steven. All signs point to Dave, even if they’re also investigating other persons of interest — old enemies, people Steven sent to jail, and even his estranged wife and her brothers. Pearson then assures Michelle that she’ll catch whoever killed Steven, using the phrase “fecal Holocaust” to boot. Michelle then does what any guilty person would: go to a convenience store and buy a ton of burner phones, using one to call Benji (Mishka Thébaud) and ask for help. Now we’re on to Dave, who spent the night at Reba’s (Erin Karpluk). As he watches the news of Steven’s death, he realizes he’s about to be framed. If someone asks questions, however, he’ll say he was with Reba all night, but she’s not having it. She was on two Lunestas and a massive sex hangover, after all; she can’t be certain that he was there all night! He tries to intimidate her, but by now, we should know he can’t intimidate a fly.
‘Smoke’ Episode 9 Is the Most Stylish of the Season

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Now, Dave is at the office and meets Harvey. The two share a tense exchange where Dave tries to ascertain his innocence, but Harvey is not having it. Dave killed a kid at one of his fires; there’s just no coming back from that. Egerton and Kinnear do some great acting here, the former shifting from being on the defense to the offense and back, and the latter remaining firm despite his obvious discomfort. The scene ends with Dave once again trying to intimidate someone, but Harvey kicks him out of his office. Dave’s just taking L after L now. An unforeseen complication follows: the fire at Steven’s house sent tiny particles into the forest behind it. The wind carried them into a sawmill deep in the forest, and one was enough to set the whole thing on fire. This sequence is among the best in Smoke, largely thanks to Joe Chapelle’s dynamic camera and Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans’ ticking score. Dave and Michelle are in the city looking into a fire at a lab that started via hacking, and it’s fascinating to see Dave out of his element in a case he can’t crack because a) he didn’t cause it, and b) there was no physical act involved. There’s no point of origin, no incendiary device; only a clever hacker who disrupted the temperature of a room that handled delicate, highly flammable gases. The confusion on his face is a great bit of subtle acting by Egerton. Soon, an alert for the wildfire arrives on everyone’s iPhone (yes, they’re all iPhones), and Dave is back in his element. He gets to be the hero again, driving into the fire, and bringing Michelle along for the ride. The two talk in the car, and Dave mentions the first fire he ever saw, describing it as “beautiful,” and finally revealing that he absolutely does love the flames. Thunder roars in the sky as Harry Nilsson’s “Jump Into the Fire” plays, because Smoke has never really been subtle. As Dave speeds into the burning forest, Michelle threatens him with her gun, demanding he stop the car. He does… by crashing it into a tree. Dave hits the airbag but quickly regains consciousness only to see Michelle standing in front of him, the forest burning around her. It’s an exhilarating sequence that would seem more at home in a big-screen blockbuster than an Apple TV+ series, full of a style and confidence we haven’t really seen before. Dave and Michelle reach out for their guns simultaneously, but she’s faster, and she starts firing at him. Dave drops his gun and clumsily tries to reverse the car as Michelle unloads one, two, three cartridges on him. Dave tries to make a run for it by crawling out of the car, but Michelle stops him and proceeds to beat the living crap out of him. She considers killing him, but the sudden rain snaps her out of her violent trance.
‘Smoke’ Episode 9 Delivers One Last Twist About Dave

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Meanwhile, Benji breaks into the neighbor’s house, downloads the video evidence of Michelle exiting Steven’s house onto a USB, and deletes it from the TV. Esposito meets Michelle and Dave on the edge of the forest and reveals that the DNA from the glove came back, and it’s a perfect match for Dave. The two escort Dave back to HQ, where a line of very angry policemen is waiting for him, all ready to give him a very aggressive welcome. Michelle volunteers to talk to him, but she wants to clean up first. Alone in the bathroom, we get a taste of what her life will look like from now on: the ghost of Steven taunts her, telling her that her framing of Dave will never hold up, and they’ll reopen the investigation. Cops avenge their own, after all, and all it takes is for someone to say Michelle and Steven were involved for her to become a suspect. She pulls herself together again, but something tells us the facade won’t last forever. Michelle and Dave have their one-on-one. He seems chipper, saying she has no real evidence on him, even with the glove at the crime scene, which is “thin” at best. Michelle reveals specific details in Dave’s book that only the arsonist could’ve known, but he seems to have an excuse for everything; he’s innocent, he insists. Dave even tries to use some of the same tactics Freddy (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine) used on him during their confrontation in Episode 7, and brings up her mother, but Michelle is a tougher nut to crack, even if he gets quite close. Meanwhile, Esposito and Dawn get a warrant to search Dave’s car — you know, the one that he crashed back in Episode 5, which has been impounded ever since. Esposito knows Dave’s disguise must be there, and after searching the car, he finally discovers the glove box hidden deep within the engine, moved by the crash. There, he gets what he needed: The glasses! The hoodie! The cap! Dave’s entire attire, at this point, might as well be sold at costume stores as “Arsonist #2.” Michelle gets a message with the evidence and erupts in laughter as she shows the photos to Dave. He keeps saying, “That’s not me,” and he’s kind of right. See, it’s here that Smoke delivers its final twist: the Dave we have seen thus far is not the real Dave. No, the real Dave is balder, heavier, and more… normal, less Hollywood hero and more Chief Wiggum. Yes, the Dave we have seen for the past nine episodes — square-jawed, fit, and traditionally handsome; in short, Taron Egerton — is how Dave sees himself. In his mind, he is Donald, the self-insert protagonist in his utterly ridiculous novel; he’s cool, handsome, and effortlessly charming, the type of dude men want to be and women want to be with. In real life, he’s just another overweight and lazy investigator. Depending on how you see it, this choice is either a really interesting commentary on the dissonance between our self-perception and our actual selves or a profoundly stupid twist that comes out of nowhere and thinks itself far more clever than it is. To its credit, Smoke does kind of set the twist up, most notably in Episode 6, when Dave briefly sees his actual reflection in the hospital mirror. However, the execution is a bit jarring; it happens in the last two minutes of the episode, and while the makeup is far more convincing than other stuff we’ve seen before — this is no Dear Evan Hansen, at the very least — it still looks like Taron Egerton in a fat suit, adding an unintentionally hilarious layer to what should be a shocking twist. To make matters worse… that’s it! That’s the end of Smoke: a staredown between Dave and Michelle, the former choosing to remain in delusion and the latter satisfied that she finally broke his facade. Yes, she did nail Dave in the end, but there’s no real sense of closure here. In my original review of Smoke, I gave the show a 7, but this moment plays a bit worse on a rewatch. Steven’s murder doesn’t really lead to anything regarding Michelle’s character; it’s just a way to frame Dave, rendering it a bit cheap. Michelle’s arc also seems incomplete, and if it weren’t for Smollett’s committed performance, everything would probably fall apart. On the other hand, the character of Dave is probably among the best we’ve seen from Egerton, but the twist about him overrides the preceding narrative, rendering the whole series a huge, elaborate shtick, a lie at best and a joke at worst.