Humo

Dennis Lehane and Taron Egerton's follow-up to Black Bird is ambitious, uneven television that succeeds as psychological thriller whilst failing as conventional crime drama.

The Good: Egerton delivers a masterfully unnerving performance once Dave's true nature emerges. His portrayal of wounded masculinity and narcissistic delusion is genuinely compelling. The supporting cast - particularly Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine's tragic Freddy and John Leguizamo's bitter ex-partner - provides excellent dramatic weight.

Ep 6-7 represent television at its finest, with psychological warfare that's properly riveting.

The Bad: Severe pacing issues plague the series. Ep 1 feels generic, Ep 4 descends into ridiculous territory, and Ep 8 tests patience as obvious setup. The finale prioritises character revelation over narrative closure, leaving frustrating loose ends. The series suffers from identity crisis: never quite deciding whether it's procedural or character study.

The Verdict: When "Smoke" embraces its psychological complexity, it's genuinely brilliant. Unfortunately, structural flaws and tonal inconsistency undermine its overall impact. The series works best as an actor's showcase for Egerton, whose performance alone justifies the journey.

Bottom Line: Compelling but flawed... worth watching for the psychological depth and exceptional performances, but temper expectations regarding satisfying resolutions.

Ambitious television that doesn't quite achieve its considerable potential.

After 2 episodes I'm in. This is easily one of my favorites shows of the year so far, unless the rest of the season goes off the rails. The characters are interesting, the dialog realistic (I'm no expert on the subject but it all feels legit), and the story has me completely hooked.

I don't understand the poor reviews especially after only 2 episodes. Cliche'? Maybe to some, but I haven't seen any other shows executed with this level of style and edginess in a while. The characters are just beginning to develop and boy are they a puzzle. After the plot twist at the end of episode 2, I can't wait to see where this goes.

I must admit that my brother and I watch a lot of tv so a show has to stick out for me to write a review. Smoke is absolutely worth the time to write a review. While it could have probably been an episode of two shorter it's still a really good show. Smoke is about an arson investigator (Taron Egerton) who unwilling teams up with a police detective (Jurnee Smollett) to investigate and stop two arsonists. What follows is plenty of secrets being revealed and twists and turns that will keep you engaged and entertained. Egerton and Smollett lead a great ensemble cast that all give great performances here. The show feels fresh and original enough that it will keep you wanting to watch more as soon as possible.

I've watched the first two episodes of Smoke on Apple TV+ and so far, I'm enjoying it. The atmosphere is dark, tense, and moody, with the Pacific Northwest setting really adding to the overall tone. The story is slowly building tension, and the performances by Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett are strong and believable. The pacing is slow but feels deliberate, like it's setting up for bigger twists to come. The characters seem layered and complex, and the mystery around the fires is keeping me hooked. I'm definitely curious to see where the story goes next. Right now, I'd rate it a 7/10.😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

This series was on its way to near excellence. Then the final episode pretty much ruined it. I don't know what happened, what had been a strong mystery/thriller turned into a fantasy where physics doesn't exist. The last episode was so bad that it seemed like the writing was sourced to some random person on the street. Performance laurels go the characters of Dave, Freddy and Ezra. Episodes 1,2 fine. 3 to 8 superior. 9 a disappointing mess.