Apple TV+’s "Smoke," a gripping new procedural drama, currently ranks third on the platform for good reason. Stellar acting, sharp directing, and shocking twists hook viewers, making it a compelling watch. But, as with most Hollywood shows, it comes with a price. In this case, it’s tired anti-white male tropes.
Set in the fictional Pacific Northwest town of Umberland, "Smoke" draws from the 2021 true-crime podcast "Firebug" by Kary Antholis. The series stars Jurnee Smollett as Michelle Calderone, a newly appointed arson investigator partnered with Dave Gudsen (Taron Egerton).
Jurnee is sister to Jussie Smollett, the actor who was convicted of staging a hate crime (the Illinois State Supreme Court has since overturned the conviction on procedural grounds). Her performance in "Smoke" is phenomenal and blends perfectly with the talent displayed by the entire cast.
Calderone and Gudsen are hunting two arsonists: the “D&C” (Divide & Conquer) arsonist uses cigarette-triggered devices to ignite stores and divert resources, and the “Milk Jug” arsonist sets homes ablaze with oil-filled milk jugs.
In episode 5, “Size Matters,” Calderone questions Gudsen’s former partner Ezra (John Leguizamo), suspecting Gudsen of the D&C fires. (Gudsen was revealed to viewers as the culprit in episode 2, “Your Happy Makes Me Sad.”) Their bar conversation turns woke when Calderone criticizes “mediocre nothings” who feel entitled “because they’re born male and pale”:
Episode 1, “Pilot,” hints at similar sentiments. Firefighter Arch Stanton (David James Lewis), another white male and a D&C suspect, is portrayed as racist, mocking Calderone as an “affirmative action hire” during questioning about his absences during fires:
In Episode 2, Calderone illegally enters Stanton’s property, determined to prove he’s the arsonist. She discovers illegal weapons and a BDSM bedroom in his prepper-like underground bunker. When he surprises her with a gun, she shoots him in both legs.
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As she attempts to torture a confession out of him, it feels as if the show wants us to root for her as a fierce heroine who’s putting the evil white man in his place, reducing him to an emasculated pile of sobs and pathetic pleas. (Warning: Language and violence):
Interestingly, after realizing he isn’t the arsonist, there’s a moment of art imitating (alleged) life as she quickly stages a hoax to cover up her crimes and frame him, casting her as a hero while vilifying him:
Captain Steven Burke (Rafe Spall), Calderone’s former lover and superior, also fits the trope. After Calderone rejects him when he leaves his wife and children for her, he demotes her to the arson unit as punishment and continues to exert his power over her there, as well. With main character Gudsen as the D&C arsonist and Stanton a racist bigot, these three white male characters reinforce the “white man bad” propaganda.
And while Freddy (played by the extraordinarily talented and Emmy-worthy actor Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine), who is black, is revealed to be the Milk Jug arsonist, his arc of being driven by pain and isolation adds tremendous depth, but doesn’t erase the show’s focus on white male villains.
Despite these tropes, Mwine’s performance alone makes "Smoke" worth watching if you can get past the heavy-handed liberal clichés.
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