You live in this world long enough and see how the loudest majority operates, you’re bound to grow a little cynical. It’s not that you don’t want to believe that people and their creations can be sensible and wise. It’s quite the opposite, actually. From the first episode itself, Smoke has been rather clear about what it thinks of Dave. Anything that’s looked or felt “cool” about him is meant to parody the kind of qualities that people have admired in their favorite morally questionable, self-destructive antiheroes. But even then, I wondered, or more accurately, dreaded the possibility that Smoke would go too soft on their psycho arsonist murderer just to appease the crowd that tend to have soft spots for self-proclaimed “heroes” like Dave. That’s why the 7th episode acts as the final reassurance that they absolutely know what they’re doing. It’s where they spell out what we’ve been thinking about Dave all along.
Spoiler Alert
What’s going to happen with Michelle’s mom?
Believe it or not, what transpired between an adolescent Michelle and her mother is still a fuzzy picture. We know there were drugs in the mix. And there’s that spiritually charged irony that, after surviving a fire that her mom started, adult Michelle is now trying to catch an arsonist herself. She doesn’t buy her mother’s born-again Christian narrative. As Michelle laid it out plain at her mom’s parole hearing, by not even saying so much as a sorry to the daughter she almost killed and traumatized for life, her mother has proven that she has not repented at all. But Michelle lives in the world that we know and hate. And in this world, people like her mother have friends and allies all around them. It’s always people who never get directly affected themselves who find it easy to forgive. But forgiveness isn’t for the priest to give. It’s not even God’s to give. The only person whose forgiveness counts is the one who was wronged. And no matter how much Benji gaslights her with the same old lectures about the unconditional nature of familial love, Michelle doesn’t forgive her mom for endangering her life and changing her brain chemistry. It’s a burden that Michelle will have to bear forever. So now that her mom’s release is drawing near she’s desperate for some support. Steven’s there to lend an understanding ear. He even makes a whole lot of sense when he talks about bad people and their selective moral blindness. But he’s not doing that entirely selflessly, no matter how much he may want to convince Michelle that he’s her “best friend.” Michelle knows him better than that. She knows that if she lets him, Steven will use this crisis to weasel his way back into her life. She doesn’t need that. If not for herself, she has to convince Benji and his wife to not let her mother move in with them for her niece’s sake. Like Michelle said, her mother eats souls. She can’t let that happen to little Sophie, even at the cost of her SIL getting defensive and lashing out at her. But Rose gets it. Even if she lacks the empathy to understand Michelle’s pain, she loves her daughter enough to want to protect her from any potential harm. And at the end of the day, Benji gets it too. He’s the worst brother in the world for dismissing Michelle’s trauma and practically bullying her on behalf of their criminal mother. But before anything else, he’s a dad. So it doesn’t look like Michelle’s mom is going to move in with Benji. And while that means that Sophie will be safe, I think it will mean even more trouble for Michelle. Benji would blame her in a heartbeat if their mother wants an explanation for not being allowed into his home. Do you think she’ll be too kind to Michelle after that? I doubt it.
What do they plan to do about Dave?
Whaddya know? Dave’s a hero. I don’t know what exactly he thought would be the reward for his heroic action of saving a woman and catching a serial arsonist, but I don’t think he expected to be invited for a TV interview. Dave Gudsen’s an Umberland hero, maybe even a future mayor or something of that sort. He’s a natural in front of the camera. And why wouldn’t he be over the moon? The news of his super cool achievement has blown up so big that Jason, the book agency employee who rejected Dave’s awful book, has his career on the line. Jason’s boss, Erica, is the kind of mercenary boss who doesn’t want to pass up on the opportunity to get exclusive with the new hero in town. But Dave’s new popularity has come at a really bad time for the group trying to nail him. They’re still grasping at straws here. The connection they’ve made between Dave’s firebug tendencies and the Old Sully’s fire is circumstantial at best. So for now, Michelle and Harvey still have to play along like they don’t know what Dave gets up to in his free time. Lucky for them, Erica and Harvey touch base about Dave’s new book. Erica wants to play by the rules. That’s what gets her to talk to the commander of the arson department. Steven’s got an idea, and he’s all bright eyed and bushy tailed as he takes over for Harvey on the call. Keeping Erica from representing an “author” who’s written a book about the fires he’s started is not their priority. Steven only wants Erica to wait before she meets with Dave because, well, this is their one chance to get him to spill some beans.
Wait, exactly how terrible is this guy?
We know how much Dave loves being loved. And no one loves Dave more than he does. So you bet he’s totally forgiven himself for the way he spoke to Ashley when she’d met him at the hospital. Hell, he’s crazy enough to actually show up and start whipping up breakfast in her kitchen when he knows very well that Ashley wants a divorce. Apparently, it was just a fight. But when Ashley freaks out and asks him to leave, that’s when you see for real that Dave’s not really able to keep his demon under the mask anymore. The way he grabs Ashley when she tries to leave is a sign that he would do much worse had she stayed with him. You wait long enough, violent men will show you just how far they’ll push the limits when they feel threatened or rejected. It almost feels redundant at this point to say that Dave’s not dealing with this well. Because when has he ever dealt with something like a well balanced adult? He’s thrilled to find out that Freddy’s asked for him in the interrogation room. That’ll give Dave the opportunity to act like a cop, all cool and suave. And if he gets Freddy to confess to the fires and the murders, that’ll just be the cherry on top. You gotta hand it to Michelle for being cool as a cucumber and even joining in on the applause that Dave gets from his colleagues when he walks into the arson department. She shrewdly brings up Ashley just to gauge Dave’s reaction. When a man’s as big a whack job as Dave, the spouse has got to know something, right? When Michelle talks about how happy Ashley must be about his recent fame as a hero arsonist, Dave’s awkward reaction is a big tell. That’s where Michelle gets the idea to talk to Ashley.
When Ashley goes to the gym, it’s not a coincidence that none of the other treadmills seems to be working except for the one next to Michelle. She’s unplugged them so Ashley would have to pick the one she wanted her to pick. The two have never met before. But to Michelle’s dismay, when she introduces herself as Dave’s partner, Ashley’s claws come out. Sure, she doesn’t want anything to do with her sad excuse of a husband anymore. But that doesn’t mean that she wasn’t shattered by the smut she read about Michelle in Dave’s book. She doesn’t know that that was all fiction. But when Michelle cringes at the idea of being perceived as someone who’d have an affair with Dave, Ashley believes her. She knows what her soon to be ex-husband is capable of. How easily she believes Michelle over her husband gives her the confidence to not beat around the bush anymore. She asks Ashley a straight, loaded question. Does she believe that her husband could be involved in crimes? Ashley’s answers paint a rather clear picture of Dave’s capacity for evil. She thinks he is capable of committing just about any crime in existence. As they continue talking from there on, it’s not just about the investigation anymore. It’s a genuinely tender moment of relatability and empathy that they carve out, a nice break from their otherwise brutal experiences in this world as women who have to deal with men like Dave. It’s a rather sweet example of the universal feminine bond. Something that irks the world so much that they have to cling to their stereotypes and prejudices any time they see women supporting women.
Michelle doesn’t think of Ashley as weak for not breaking up with Dave earlier. Leaving at all is a monumental feat when there’s the fear of abuse and attack. Ashley saw the signs. She saw the hate inside Dave no matter how much he tried to hide it under his weatherman smile. Dave might not have physically assaulted her yet, but it would’ve gotten there. Anytime Ashley consented to one of Dave’s disturbing sexual fantasies, he took it as an all-inclusive pass to do anything he wanted. But the fact that he pushed her limits only means that he was doing things that she didn’t want to. The fantasy, although disturbing, is rather obvious and predictable for a twisted, outrageously vile man like Dave. He wanted Ashley to pretend to be a woman he’d assault in a burning house. The human, and woman part of Michelle is sick to her stomach and sympathetic to Ashley’s pain. But the detective in her has picked up on the right clue. Dave wanted to film this roleplay scenario with Ashley. And who’s the king of racy roleplay videos? Ezra, of course. His guilt and fear of being seen as a freak have made him leave one explosive detail out. When they were working together, Ezra filmed Dave and Reba play out this very incriminating fantasy of Dave’s, more than once. But at the end of the day, I don’t see how that’s going to be admissible in court either.
Does Freddy Kill Himself?
Dave expected his life to be all golden after his daring act of catching the Milk Jug Arsonist. But other than the news story, the book deal, and the hugs he got from his buddies at work, not much changes about his life. I know what you’re thinking. Those don’t sound half bad. But Dave has always been a glass half empty kinda guy. If he doesn’t have everything he wants, he doesn’t have anything. Right now, the only thing he’s actually looking forward to is sitting in front of Freddy Fasano and showing him what a big, strong man he is. Michelle plays him just right to get a ride to Crawford police station. How could Dave pass up on an opportunity to mentor Michelle? But what happens when Dave enters the room and sits in front of Freddy is something none of them expected. Freddy didn’t want to see Dave because he wanted to confess to his crimes or hurt the man who caught him. He wanted to talk to Dave because he’s recognized the rot in him. I mean, come on. Are we forgetting that Freddy looked right at Dave’s “excitement” when he got an ego boost from apprehending him? As someone who’s lived with a hole in his soul, Freddy must’ve seen through Dave right away. Only a man with an all-consuming emptiness at the centre of his existence can get that big a kick out of making someone feel small and weak. So, yeah. To Dave’s overwhelming discomfort, Freddy’s absolutely spot on about what his soul must look like. A maggot infested dead bird. Paints quite a picture, doesn’t he? He’s also almost immediately figured out the root of the hate that drives Dave. His mother. And while he wonders if Dave has turned into this horrid creature because he wasn’t loved, he also entertains the possibility that maybe his mother couldn’t love him because she saw the darkness in him. You can imagine the state that all of this has put Dave in. Not only did he fail to get a confession out of the arsonist he caught, he got schooled on the gaping wound he wears on his sleeve instead. It’s like Freddy held a mirror to Dave, the kind of thing that Steven was talking about when he was comforting Michelle. It’s got to make Dave want to put a sheet over it.
Considering the circumstances, Dave’s in desperate need of some validation. So the timing’s pretty perfect for the plan Steven’s come up with. They have met with Erica Boswell and told her all about their operation to catch the celebrated arson investigator. They want her to humor him and try to get him to say things that they can use to build their case. That’s fine and all. But Erica will be risking her life over a case that doesn’t seem to have a leg to stand on. Luckily, Steve has the kind of offer for her that she can’t possibly reject. In return for her gig, she’d get the exclusive rights to the story of the arson investigator who is an arsonist, who’s just caught a serial arsonist, who’s also written a book about an arson investigator who’s pursuing an arsonist, where both the characters are based on him. Read that again.
Dave doesn’t know Dawn. So it makes sense for her to create an alias and join Erica’s meeting with Dave. The plan is simple, and frankly, not very good. They want to fill Dave up with champagne and get him to slip up as he talks about Donald, the arsonist in his book who’s basically him. But Dave’s not that dumb. He pulls back a little as soon as Erica mentions Donald, the Divide and Conquer arsonist in his book. But it could still be saved. When they ask Dave about Donald’s motives for lighting fires, he basically starts to give it away. He sees the arsonist in his book, who he’s based on himself, as the victim of society’s unfairness. On a side note, are we supposed to ignore the implication of the name that Dave has chosen for his arsonist character? All that talk about Donald being smarter than everyone else and how, despite being a White man, he doesn’t have much in the way of privileges—really makes you think. Erica should’ve stoked this fire. But instead, and understandably so, she’s way too frustrated by a whiny White man being blind to his privileges and blaming “outsiders” for having a shot at an opportunity that he thinks only he is owed. Faced with a man as insufferable as Dave, you can’t keep yourself from calling him out on this revolting, self victimizing, pathetic lore he’s created to justify his anger. But that’s also bound to make Dave retreat into his shell again. The plan’s a bust. And elsewhere, Michelle isn’t really pulling it off either. I’m not trying to kinkshame here, but considering Reba did consent to take part in Dave’s disturbing fantasy, Michelle should’ve been far more cautious with her. While talking to Reba and trying to get her to spill something about Dave, she is not really thinking clearly. She should’ve at least considered the possibility that Reba might not have a problem with Dave’s darker proclivities. Even after getting divorced, they’ve stayed in touch because they serve a specific purpose in each other’s lives, something they can’t get anywhere else.
There’s a little darkness in Reba as well. That’s something she can only reveal in front of Dave. And seeing as she’s okay with betraying her husband and risking her family for it, it’s not really a casual interest. Dave and Reba have this weird, very wrong understanding between them where they enable, and maybe even encourage each other’s hideous cravings. Ezra did say that Reba knows the real Dave. Maybe he was right. Maybe that’s why Dave gets a call from her at the gathering to celebrate his achievement. We don’t get to hear what they talk about. But reading the change in Dave’s face, I think Reba’s alerted him about Michelle’s movements. That’s why his eyes land on Michelle, Steven, and Harvey, the three people present at the gathering who are actively trying to catch him. It’s frustrating to watch Steven get triggered by Dave’s very obvious efforts to get a rise out of him. But what are you gonna do about it? Between these people, it’s always about being the “alpha” in the room. When Dave’s punched by Steven at his own party, and no one comes to his aid, he’s hardly in a state to hold back his wrath anymore. That’s why he lashes out at Harvey, pretty aggressively too. He tries to pretend that he doesn’t know that Harvey knows about him. But he doesn’t mask his pain over feeling betrayed too well. Umberland is lucky that Dave doesn’t end up mowing anyone down with his reckless drunk driving. But he does bump his car, and that removes the tracker that the cops put on it. You know what makes things even worse? As Dave gets to the end of his fury ride, slightly less angry than he was before, he sees Dawn and Ezra together. He now knows that Dawn was only pretending to work for the book agency. That not only puts Michelle and Steve’s entire team at risk, but Erica’s in danger of being attacked too. There’s really no telling what Dave will do now that he knows he is being investigated. He might even be crazy enough to believe that he should go scot free because he’s done his job and caught the Milk Jug Arsonist. Dave doesn’t think he’s anything like Freddy. And in a way, he’s right about that. Freddy was a victim before he lost his mind and started to hurt people. No doors were ever open for him the way they were for Dave. He’s actually suffered the kind of bias and rejection that Dave is convinced that he has always faced.
So in Smoke episode 7’s ending, Freddy ends the trail of tragedy that’s been his life. He was already planning to do it anyway. Freddy could’ve had a whole different life had people cut him any slack at all. But he doesn’t want to go out on a sad note. The snippets of the few happy moments he’s experienced in his entire life flash before his eyes like a carousel of comfort. It’s a scarring sight to watch him hang himself to death. But in the end, he isn’t in agony. The handful of moments anyone has ever shown him any care and affection lull him to eternal rest. It really goes to show how big an impact little acts of kindness can have on a person. For the most part, Freddy’s life has been spent in the lowest circle of Hell. But because someone gentle washed his hair once, someone kind took him to the amusement park, a kid gave him a candy, and a motherly woman showed him affection, Freddy gets to be happy in death.
