In one of the final episodes of the season, Smoke takes big swings as a game of cat and mouse develops between the investigators and Dave.
I won’t lie, Dave has been driving me insane. How does someone who reeks of being a loser get so ahead in life? When the episode starts, he’s being interviewed on television.
Heroes deserve to have a moment in the spotlight, but losers don’t. And as usual, Dave is the charming, cringeworthy loser he is. This man is truly confusing. But those are the upsides of being a conventionally attractive cisgender heterosexual white man. They tend to fail upwards.
But as things escalate and Dave gets celebrated for being a hero, I’m thinking “the bigger they are, the harder they fall.”
Smoke Season 1 Episode 7 feels like the season’s penultimate episode as it sets the stage for Dave’s eventual takedown. The chips are falling in place, but it’s not that easy.
I’m sorry, but what did mothers do to people? It feels like everyone in this show is angry and has a problem with their mother, none more than Michelle.
Still, I don’t get how Michelle’s mommy issues fit into the general story. We even get some screentime with her sister, and these issues are accentuated. It feels odd and out of place, but given that we still have two more episodes, here’s to hoping that it factors into the remaining part of the story.
But the episode is Dave’s opportunity to shine, and shine he does. He brings the charm to the TV interview and even manages to get himself back into the book game.
And then we meet a literary agent who proves that all characters in this show need therapy. How can there be so many awful people in one show? She is the kind of boss everyone wishes they never have.
The book is a pretty huge window into Dave and his crimes, so the investigators don’t want to give it up, and they loop her in. That felt odd because this is a serious investigation, and the suspect is dangerous.
It feels careless to expose this many people to risk, especially when they don’t need to be exposed.
Still, it gives rise to one of the best scenes of the episode, and Dawn joins Boswell for a covert operation. The plan: get Dave drunk, fluff him, and let him spill.
Seeing Dawn in her best disguise with the scarves was hilarious.
Our Two Arsonists Square Off
Dave might be a loser, but he’s an attentive loser. He’s trained his ear to the ground such that he’s able to detect rumbles of someone fishing, even when drunk. Maybe that’s how he’s been able to stay out of jail for all this time.
Freddy’s been caught, and there is nowhere to run to. He refuses to speak to anyone but Dave.
That interaction in the interrogation room was quite possibly the most confusing thing I’ve seen in a long, long time.
Here are two sides of the same coin, but one side is pretending to be a hundred dollar bill. But the coin knows what the pretender is.
Freddy is able to break Dave in a manner that many people have never been able to. I mean, it’s not hard to control him because of how reactionary he is, but it’s not easy to get him to betray himself.
This is what was confusing: how did Freddy know all these things about Dave from a single interaction? At some point, I was convinced that he was talking about himself because he and Dave share the same trauma and damage.
This scene is a masterclass in acting, and this is why Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine deserves recognition. He’s been serving us peculiar characters since The Chi, but Freddy is one of his best works.
The dedication to the mannerisms is applaudable, and it can’t be easy to wear those fucked up teeth.
But the Emmys would rather nominate the same five actors and shows.
I feel like a lot of what Freddy said that ended up connecting with Dave was just Freddy shooting in the dark. He was just rambling, but coincidentally, it all clicked. Or did he gather how damaged Dave was from that hardon he spotted after catching Freddy in action?
Dave’s Life Comes Crumbling
That hardon scene in Smoke Season 1 Episode 6 was pretty weird, but it’s on brand for Dave. Everything about him is a gooey mix of anger, misogyny, pain, trauma, sex, and multiple complexes.
Hearing Ash explain what she’d noticed was so revealing because we’ve seen it. He’s a promiscuous nymphomaniac who derives pleasure from women if he’s hurting them. He has a trumped-up image of himself in his mind, and when that’s challenged in the real world, he retreats and writes a different script.
Dave is confusing, man. On one side is a human dumpsterfire but on the other, he’s a charming son of a bitch who you could be friends with.
The house of cards he’s built starts to fall when the investigators make a mistake and interview one of his ex-wives, who was a huge fan of Dave, and probably still is. I also have a feeling Reba gets into some shenanigans herself.
I knew these idiots would make a mistake. I’m only surprised that it took this long. Reba informs Dave that he might be being targeted, and Dave spirals. However, I’m not sure this is how I wanted this to go down.
The downfall of Dave Gudsen should have been a much larger affair. I’m talking about keeping him in the dark until a solid case against him has been built and he’s confronted, possibly in a public setting, and he has nowhere to run to.
In my ideal situation, Emmett would be there because no one would take more pleasure in Dave’s downfall than Emmett and I.
Freddy’s story reaches a natural conclusion as he commits suicide in jail. As I’ve said before, I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do for Freddy, so this seems like the best outcome for everyone. Sad, yes, but still the best.
“Whitewashed” leaves Dave more than spooked. He’s almost certain he’s been discovered. Just like Freddy when he lost the position, I’m concerned about what Dave will do now that he has nothing to lose.
What did you think?
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Watch Smoke Online
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Smoke Season 1 Episode 7 Review: Whitewashed Tombs
The story accelerates in Smoke Season 1 Episode 7 as Dave experiences blinding whiplash and Freddy’s story reaches an end. Our review!
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Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine on Freddy’s Final Acts on Smoke Season 1 Episode 7: “I Had to Go to the Edge”
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine opens up about Freddy’s powerful final scene on Smoke Episode 7, how he prepared, and why it’s the performance of his life.
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Smoke Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Dave Hunts and Becomes the Hunted
Smoke Season 1 Episode 6 propels the investigations forward as Dave closes in on Freddy and Calderone closes in on Dave. Our review!
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