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.

I like the series, it has a good storyline about chasing 2 unknown arsonists. The actors are really good and the sound effects and visuals are good. Apple TV has starred again with another one of its great series.

This leaves you wanting more and can't wait to see the next episode. The other reviews that are downgrading this are rubbish with one of them stating the music is bad. However I think it's fitting. The actors are good quality, with a very intriguing storyline.

Well worth a watch and really describes some of the characters we have in this world today and what they are capable of.

Very good and well worth a watch.

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.

Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine delivers an EPIC, ICONIC, SURREAL PERFORMANCE that is, by itself, AN OUTSTANDING REASON TO WATCH.

I am from São Paulo, Brazil, love tv shows and had not seen him on screen before.

WHAT A PERFORMANCE. He turned a secondary character into a OUTLIER. His delivery is as solid as Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Bastards, less verbal of course...but its a league of its own. Accent, tone, non verbal, alternating tones of voice in a extremely disturbing performance.

Saw him this week on Dexter Ressurection. ANOTHER OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE, SO GOOD and DIFFERENT it seems like a completely different actor.

THANK YOU SIR.

Novelist, Dennis Lehane, creates an intelligent series that deals with the demented mind of pyromaniacs, all disguised as a mystery melodrama with edgy characters. Taron Egerton delivers an engaging - and sometimes uneasy performance - playing Dave Gudsen, an arson forensic for the fire department who draws you into the mystic power of the uncontrollable force of fire, a most powerful drug addiction to some. Jurnee Smollett matches it with a brutal portrayal as detective Calderone, forced to partner with Gudsen in order to track down the sick arsonists. The biggest surprise is Greg Kinnear as the fire chief, that brings the right balance to the yin and yang of the two main characters. A series well handled by the creative technical team that really gets into the psyche of the troubled minds who worship the power of the fire and its devastating effects.