Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Smoke Episode 6. After two weeks of intense character work, Apple TV+’s crime drama Smoke has returned to the main investigation through arguably the most important episode thus far. “Manhood” sees Taron Egerton’s Dave making giant leaps in his case against the Milk Jug arsonist (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine), while Michelle (Jurnee Smollett) begins forming her case against Dave and recruits quite a group to do it. New faces arrive, alliances are formed — there’s even a surprising arrest.
‘Smoke’ Episode 6 Puts Dave on the Right Path

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Episode 6, titled “Manhood,” opens with Dave in the hospital. “So you’re OK?” asks Ashley (Hannah Emily Gudsen), her expression one of clear disappointment. Dave questions her indifference, but she’s realized their marriage isn’t working, and that he “wounded” her and Emmett (Luke Roessler). Ashley basically asks for a divorce, and Dave doesn’t take it well, abruptly asking her to leave. He then walks to the mirror and briefly sees someone else before the nurse asks him to leave; they need the room. At the office, Harvey (Greg Kinnear) tells Michelle about the arson that claimed the lives of the husband and wife in Episode 5. He says the wife was a doctor in the middle of a malpractice lawsuit, and police think the arsonist is the complainant, a copycat of the Milk Jug arsonist. Dave, however, visits the crime scene and discovers the husband was the HR manager at Coop’s. Speaking of Coop’s, the new manager, Dev (Lou Ticzon), is asking about Freddy, who hasn’t been to work. Lee (Dakota Daulby) calls him, but Freddy is acting even stranger than usual. He says he’s done with Coop’s and asks Lee to meet him after work at Paragon Park. Meanwhile, Esposito (John Leguizamo) rants to Harvey about Dave being the arsonist. He’s unhinged because he’s clearly on a few substances — you know, Red Bull, Mountain Dew, ketamine, the usual — but Michelle actually backs him up: Dave Gudsen is the D&C arsonist. She tells Harvey about her suspicions, Dave’s book, and all the inconsistencies in the arson cases over the years. Harvey finally agrees to help the case, both because Michelle plainly tells him that, if he doesn’t, she’ll “put his career in a blender” and because he, deep down, also thinks it can be possible. As for Dave, he’s existing somewhere between fantasy and reality. In his mind, he’s Magnum PI, saying things like “murder doesn’t have a jurisdiction” and being smarter than everyone else. In reality, he’s just bribing lab technicians and chasing the evidence. To his credit, though, he is, for the first time, actually close to catching Freddy once he discovers the bird tags on the bags from the HR manager’s fire.
‘Smoke’ Episode 6 Sees a New Team Forming Against Dave

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Michelle plays Dave’s hilariously self-aggrandizing book for Harvey. Meanwhile, Steven (Rafe Spall) arrives with Special Agent Dawn Hudson, ATF (Anna Chlumsky, FINALLY showing up), just as Dave calls Harvey. The Commander tries to keep things cool, but Esposito’s phone rings, and Harvey clumsily says Michelle is there with him. She also tries to act cool, but Dave knows something is going on, even if he can’t quite put his finger on it. Dave tracks the bird tags to the convenience store, and, checking the security cameras, comes across one Mr. Freddy Fasano. The newly assembled team tries to build a case against Dave, but all they have is circumstantial evidence at best. Esposito makes some awkward and hilariously unsubtle passes at Hudson, who reacts with a mix of disbelief and humor while everyone else wonders if he really is the best they could find for such a crucial case. Esposito tries to show off by flaunting his so-called contacts, only to be met by someone who very obviously doesn’t want to talk to him on the other side of the phone. Harvey takes over and bonds with the man over their shared dislike for Esposito. The whole scene is quite funny, the kind of humor that’s been sorely missing from Smoke so far. For his part, Dave uses the image he got from the security footage to go to Coop’s headquarters, where the HR manager’s assistant identifies the man as Freddy Fasano. She also tells Dave about Freddy’s managerial application, calling it “ridiculous,” but Dave fires back at her snarky attitude. He then goes to Coop’s, where he meets Dev, who describes Freddy as “nothing.” Dave subtly intimidates Dev, clearly seeing a piece of his unhappiness reflected in Freddy. As for the team, tensions arise when Steven reveals that the device Michelle found couldn’t be tested for Dave’s DNA, since the sample was insufficient, and thus the results were inconclusive. An angry Harvey tries to leave, claiming that Michelle and the others are so desperate to pin the fires on anyone that they don’t care about ruining Dave’s life. As he tries to leave, a bit of Dave’s book catches his attention. In his narration, Dave mentions a crime and refers to a “stipachio” ice cream. A shaken Harvey recalls how the grandfather in one of the fires mentioned how his deceased grandson mispronounced “pistachio” as “stipachio” in a one-on-one interview; the only way Dave could’ve known such a specific detail was if he was actually there the day of the fire.
‘Smoke’ Episode 6 Shows Freddy at His Creepiest

Now, on to Freddy, who is at the deserted Paragon Park (closed for the season). He mounts the merry-go-round and walks the empty playground, both aimless and somehow purposeful. He then walks over to the spinning teapots and drops a few things in one: the Coop’s employee handbook and a considerable sum of money, plus his personal documents — ID, birth certificate, baby photos — and sets them on fire. We can now tell the mental state Freddy is in. Lee shows up, and Freddy gives him a bizarre tour of the park, which he seems to know a lot about. “I was happy here,” Freddy says, before revealing he won’t be back at Coop’s. Lee vents out about Dev, and Freddy casually suggests killing him. Lee goes along with what he thinks is a joke before Freddy suggests burning Dev alive while he sleeps, revealing his full address and the fact that he lives with his mom and sister. Lee connects the dots, mentioning how the Coop’s HR manager got burned alive the night before. Freddy smiles knowingly. Now, Freddy and Lee are next to the roller coaster, drinking beer. The former asks the latter if he has ever seen a mouse in a trap and asks what he’d do if it were alive; Lee answers he’d stomp on it “to end its pain,” but Freddy’s expression reveals that probably wasn’t a great answer. Freddy asks for Lee’s phone and car keys, and a crying Lee complies out of fear at realizing just how dangerous Freddy is. Freddy throws the phone away and keeps the keys before giving detailed instructions on how to leave the park and reach a bus stop. A terrified Lee walks out of the park, Freddy walking behind him, menacingly.

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‘Smoke’ Episode 6 Sees Freddy Making One Last, Desperate Move

Image via Apple TV+

At his home, Harvey processes the news about Dave and punches a photo of him, cutting his hand. His daughter shows up and treats him, while Harvey recalls how Dave once comforted a victim of one of his fires. He also mentions how Dave was behind 256 fires. At her home, Michelle finds Benji (Mishka Thébaud) sitting on her porch. He tells her their mother is coming out of prison, but she reacts with nothing but pain, much to his disbelief. They are family, he says, but she won’t hear it. Dave digs deeper into Freddy’s past. He learns from a social worker that Freddy went through 27 foster homes between birth and his entry into society. He stayed in the last home from 16 until he was 19, at which point he had to leave because the state stopped paying for him. The social worker says that Freddy “dodged a bullet” by leaving because the house burned down six months later, and everyone died: two adults, two teenagers, and two kids under six. However, Dave laughs and says that Freddy “was the bullet.” Next, Dave waits outside Freddy’s home. Loading his gun, he breaks into the nearly empty apartment. He searches the kitchen cabinets, the fridge, the deserted bedroom, then the bathroom — and finally, the closet, where he stumbles upon the milk jugs. He then goes to check Freddy’s computer but finds nothing of interest. Next is the trash, where Dave finds the card for Brenda’s (Adina Porter) salon. Now, we’re at Brenda’s home. She arrives and immediately notices something strange. Soon, Freddy comes out, holding a jug full of oil, which he begins pouring all over her floor. With a lighter in the other hand, Freddy says he went to the movies and everyone laughed, but it wasn’t funny. Brenda says people are strange, but Freddy goes on as if he weren’t talking to her. When she asks who he’s talking to, he replies, “To you, Mrs. Yolanda.” Freddy is reliving the day he left the foster home at 19, saying he still feels the same way he did that day. Brenda cries, telling Freddy she doesn’t want to die. “How else we gonna reach heaven?” he asks, raising the lighter — and then, Dave shows up like a real action hero. Realizing the floor is covered with oil, he unloads his gun and throws it at Freddy. Quickly, Dave grabs an extinguisher and bathes Freddy before he can click the lighter. As Freddy lies on the floor, covered in foam, and Brenda watches in disbelief, Dave starts laughing; he’s finally the man of the hour. “You’re safe now,” he says to Brenda, who looks down at his pants to find a raging erection. Episode 6 of Smoke is quite possibly the most plot-heavy chapter since Episode 2. “Manhood” features Dave realizing his wildest fantasies by literally being the hero of the hour. Michelle is a bit sidelined this week, but Harvey gets a chance to shine, while Esposito steals every scene with his off-putting irreverence. We also earn valuable insight into Freddy’s psyche, with Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine giving an Emmy-worthy performance as the character’s story approaches the finish line.