'Smoke' Episode 5 Recap & Ending Explained: Is Dave Dead Or Alive?

You’ve seen punchable man-children like Dave all around you. Sometimes, and more often than you think, the qualities that make Smoke’s primary antagonist “likeable” have even worked on us in real life scenarios. For such a dopamine and charm-deprived species, even being a notch above the mundane gets mistaken for actual depth of character. If I had to find an analogy for how men like Dave even have anyone around them, I’d compare him to the countless reels on your screen that keep you hooked for a flicker. You know there’s nothing substantial in there, but they’re a momentary escape from the deafening silence–or worse yet, the noise in your head that you’re trying to drown. That’s how vapid, cringeworthy dirtbags like Dave keep the business running. But the biggest mistake you could make while reading a narcissistic loser like Dave is putting him in the same bracket as the rest of the egoistic, mommy-issued-laden babies masquerading as “charming guys.” Don’t beat yourself up over that. At least outwardly, serial arsonist Dave Gudsen doesn’t seem any worse than the kind of guys whose shallow, pathetic efforts at coming off original or interesting have stopped working on you. And he’s so good at hiding his real darkness that even Michelle, someone who deals with all kinds of insecure men in her line of work and has figured out how to play them and make them smaller threats than they mean to be, has wildly downplayed just how despicable her Arson Investigator partner really is. But here’s something that will help you sleep better at night. In the 5th episode of AppleTV’s Smoke, things fall into place in this mystical, almost spooky way to make Dave pay for what he’s done. And the good thing about that is, whether you believe in karma or not, you likely already know that it’s practically impossible for a nutcase like Dave to get away with punishing the world for his own insecurities.

Spoiler Alert

Does Michelle find Ezra Esposito?

All the assumptions based on the very resentful threats Steven made when he got dumped by Michelle aside, we don’t exactly know just how much his own neck is on the line about the unsolved arson cases. But now that he’s actually shown up at the Arson Department, I don’t think he sent Michelle down here just to mess with her. After his last “streaking” session with a woman who picked him up at the grocery store, Dave didn’t go home. It can’t be too nice for him to wake up from his recurring nightmare about the fire that almost killed him, especially when the first thing he sees is Steven’s face staring at him. But if you know Dave, you know that just about anything can make him feel powerless. Steven’s not here for a social visit. And the fact that a Metro city Police Captain has come down to get the fear of God into the Arson Commander can only mean one thing. He’s being pressurized by the higher ups to wrap up the Umberland arson cases. Steven didn’t burden Michelle with the tedious job of partnering with a thin-skinned Arson Investigator just to show her who’s boss. I mean, a part of him does get a kick out of her frustration. But that’s not the only thing driving Steven. From the immediate look of disdain he gets from Harvey, you can safely assume that there’s no love lost between them. Steven doesn’t have the time for niceties. So he cuts right to the chase and lets Harvey know what’s on the line if he doesn’t get results. The thing is, even Steven knows that Michelle would’ve gotten somewhere by now if it wasn’t for her useless partner. But Harvey’s a sensitive guy. And Dave has really pulled the wool over his eyes. So even though he’s not wrong to roll his eyes at Steven’s awful bully attitude, he’s kind of risking everything’s he’s worked so hard to build over a guy he’s attached to. It sounds like someone way up in the food chain really needs to give the public something to keep them calm. So it only makes sense that they’d want to show people that they’re taking the fires and the murders seriously.

The easiest way to cool people off now would be to kick the dead weight off the case. That happens to be Dave Gudsen; the potato chips-burning lunatic who’s responsible for half the fires. But Harvey cares about him too much to give him the boot just yet. Lucky for Michelle, Steven’s interest in the case has made him put a pin on their personal issues. He’s done her a solid and gotten her the address of the slot where Ezra Esposito receives his checks. The only reason Michelle wants to follow up on Ezra is because he might be the only one who ever saw through Dave’s lies. A very drunk Harvey told Michelle that Dave’s old cop partner Ezra was kind of an idiot, and that he thought that Dave was an arsonist. Michelle’s come by her suspicion of Dave honestly. But she doesn’t have anything solid against him yet. At the very least, finding Ezra can get her a lead that she can follow. Michelle’s been a marine and a cop for long enough to know that the department doesn’t really care if they break laws as long as they solve cases. And if her boss doesn’t mind taking devious avenues to get her the information that she needs, why should she take the burden of unreasonable “ethics” anyway? Steven could totally try to use this against her. But for now, she’s looking at a world of pain if she doesn’t figure out what her partner gets up to in his free time. Finding Ezra was easy, though it can’t be too pleasant for her to catch him watching a couple go at it in his trailer. Can this woman get a break from creeps? Who am I kidding. Most people she knows are cops. 

Who is Reba?

Could Dave be any more predictable? He’s the kind of guy who makes the most of out-of-town conferences, if you know what I mean. Being straight up rejected by Michelle hasn’t really put him off the idea of sleeping with someone while he’s away. So he’s moved right on from that and focused his creepy gaze on a woman at the bar. The woman, who gives him her real name in reciprocation, doesn’t seem to be looking for anything more than some cheap thrills on her weekend away from her husband. But knowing Dave, you’re really more scared for Reba than anything else. When Reba’s friend pulls her away, Dave’s not too disappointed. Basic guy like him doesn’t need too much in a room full of people who’d give him attention just to be nice. I mean, there’s no way his fellow firemen actually like him, right? He pulls out a musty joke about how relationship milestones are stressful for men to congratulate his buddy on his engagement. Even when he’s the only one who’s trying to get a toxic banter going, and the rest of the guys are not even laughing for real, he can’t seem to shut his trap. He probably really does love the sound of his own voice. That’s precisely what a woman calls him out on at the end, the flashy, grandstanding gimmick he wanted to pass off as a presentation. He’s done the same routine before.

Lighting random fires to shock the audience and feeling this lame sense of power as he puts it out. Who even falls for this? I think the woman speaks for more than half the audience when she stands up and points out how ironic it is for an arson investigator to turn off the smoke alarms and light fires in a closed room. The charm he wanted to cast on the audience with his gaudy chaos vs. control analogy fades even further when he has to justify the fires by explaining that they were in fact, very much in control. But isn’t that the very antithesis of the whole point of his presentation? He wanted to sensationalize the power fire as an agent of chaos. How can that ever be achieved by a meaningless metaphor that, at most, is only worth a gasp or two? That’s Dave Gudsen for you. He’s defined by his overwhelming need to be hailed as a freakishly handsome hero with mind blowing wit and smarts. But there’s not much going on upstairs. And from the looks of it, the downstairs situation isn’t too great either. Turns out, Dave was expecting Reba at the presentation. When they circle back and get to talk again, their vagueness betrays their knowledge of each other’s demons. The reason Dave can’t get into Reba’s head even though she’s also giving him the signals that she’s ready to eat out of his hand lies in their shared past. They were married for 5 years. I seriously question her judgement now that I know that she comes back for more even though she knows him too well. Anything he has to offer can’t be worth the tantrums he puts up over the smallest of things. So Reba’s got to be seriously unfulfilled in her life to want any connection with Dave at all. And it’s not a spur of the moment thing either. It’s a creepy version of the Modern Family Phil and Claire roleplay thing they’ve got going. But it looks like Dave’s not really feeling himself at the moment. When they’re in the room, and all of Reba’s efforts fail to get a rise out of him, she knows better than to blame herself for him. Remember when Ashley had mentioned “the pill” when they were about to do the deed? Yeah, she wasn’t joking.

Dave needs to feel powerful to perform in bed. And apparently, he could only feel that way when he was Reba. So you can imagine how hard it must be for Reba to not take it personally this time. But then again, she can see right through him and speak her mind now that they’re not actually together. Reba watched Dave get cut down to size by that woman and knew how emasculated that’d make him feel. That’s why she lied when he asked her if she watched him. As his ex-wife of five years, she knows how fast Dave crumbles whenever a woman takes him down a peg. His firebug tendencies aside, Dave’s a very unremarkable guy. He hates women because his mother abandoned him. Even the way he lashes out at Reba for being called insecure is laughably ironic. I don’t know what she sees in this guy, but I hope this was the last straw for her. 

What did Dave do to Ezra?

Dave’s personality may be off putting, but he’s not the type you’d be scared of when you meet him for the first time. Ezra is a whole other story. He’s a drunkard and a loose cannon who’s got nothing to lose, and he lives like that. Michelle has plenty of reasons to be wary of him when he approaches her head on. Even the badge doesn’t scare him off. Add the possibility of him being a pervert who’s got a revenge porn business, and you’ve got a dude you’d want to steer clear of. But once Michelle actually gets to know Ezra, he seems absolutely harmless. That’s the limitation of appearances and first impressions. Your average Joe can be a serial killer. And a scruffy drunk who makes what he calls are “tasteful” videos of people who want spicy presents for their partners can be a total softy.

The fact that Michelle’s out there without a warrant does give him a feeling of safety. She won’t arrest him. So the only remaining conclusion for him is the obvious one. Michelle’s the new Ezra. But even though he gets that Michelle coming to find him must mean that she’s on to something, he doesn’t fully open up about Dave right away. He does tell her the freaky instances of working cases that convinced him that Dave was the one who set the fires–how else would a not-too-smart dude find tiny incendiary devices out in the goddamn wild 17 freaking times? But he holds his cards close to his chest and lets Michelle tell him what she thinks about her new partner instead. By the time they go to a bar, they’re practically buddies. Dave didn’t need to give Michelle a whole lot of reasons for her to start wondering if he’s who he claims to be, a very talented arson investigator who also teaches classes. So her instincts get all the credit on this one. But the same wasn’t the case for Ezra. He was never as level-headed as Michelle. So it took a lot for him to finally see Dave for the monster that he really is. Michelle’s not that far along on the crazy arsonist masquerading as an arson investigator track. So as of now, Dave doesn’t seem anything beyond a whiny, bratty little boy who feels small and sets potato chips on fire.

But the horrifying thing is, Dave’s much worse than that. He has sides he’s only ever revealed to Ezra, perhaps in an attempt to pull him to the dark side so that he can have a buddy. The man Michelle thinks is a basic manchild holds much more filth inside him than he lets on. He’s a complete psychopath, no less than our Milk Jug Killer. I don’t think it’d be unfair to assume that Ezra’s always been a bit of a “partyhead.” So couldn’t have been too difficult a job for Dave to get him up to crazy stuff. But here’s the thing about Dave. His idea of celebrating the first anniversary of their arsonist-cop partnership wasn’t just fun and games. It was something that traumatized Ezra enough to push him into the terrible state he’s in. Dave got a clearly tipsy Ezra to play with fire. But to all of our collective horror, the container he thought was empty had puppies inside. That’s who Dave is. Someone who’s sick enough to feel powerful burning puppies to death. 

Does Freddy target Brenda?

Freddy doesn’t show himself too much in the 5th episode of Smoke. That’s what he wanted, right? He wanted to be invisible. There’s a lot there that breaks your heart, really. His loneliness speaks louder than he ever manages to. He’s been so subdued by the world that’s he’s kind of made his invisibility his armor. Things might’ve turned out better for Freddy had the world been kinder when he started to lose himself. But by the time we got to know him, Freddy was already too far gone. If he could even get himself to have faith in people anymore, he would’ve made friends with the colleague who, despite being a pain sometimes, seems to have a decent head on his shoulders. He could’ve also handled it way better with Brenda. Sure, she can be a bit pushy. You can’t pick and choose your wins in a world full of losses. And Freddy really didn’t reciprocate the kindness that she showed him. But like I said. At this stage, kindness probably can’t save him anymore. He’s gotten too sick of not going anywhere. So even though he was told that the manager position would be a pipe dream for someone like him, he took a chance on the impossible, because he had nothing to lose. But that’s not really the case though, is it? It wasn’t a casual goal for Freddy. It’s almost like he sets unrealistic goals to justify the rage that burns him from within. So yeah, that’s not the kind of guy Brenda could’ve saved. He’s the now-insane victim of the kind of world where a minimum wage job gets to reprimand you for your unseemly appearance. What else would he feel but a nauseating blend of pain and anger as he stares at the fryer oil?

Brenda saw the darkness in him when he went over with the strange request. Brenda cleaned him up for the interview. And when he didn’t get the job, he wanted to be invisible again. When she’s at Coop’s to pick up food, Brenda’s demeanor says everything about how terrified she is of him. Does she suspect that he could be the Milk Jug Killer? It’s possible. But Brenda has reasons to be scared of the guy who’s only acted weird ever since she’s tried to be nice to him. She maybe even gets that that kind of life can drive someone absolutely nuts. Her paranoia is absolutely fair. But as of now, Smoke has only given us a taste of her fear to keep us in a state of total confusion. The fact that Freddy saw the recruiter’s face in the vat of oil was the first sign that he’d go after him. So far, he’s only burned happy people to crisp. Brenda doesn’t really fit the bill. The six jugs full of gasoline in Freddy’s closet was meant for the recruiter. He’d seen the picture of the guy’s happy family on the desk. If there’s one thing Freddy feels the most attacked by, it’s happiness. He feels like happy people are shoving their privilege and success in his face. Brenda’s far from happy. So for now, I think she’s safe. The same can’t be said about the sweet couple whose house Freddy’s now targeted. The recruiter lives in a different town. So Freddy actually had to haul 6 full milk jugs all the way in his feeble state. He probably would’ve gotten away with it. Considering he already had the jugs in his home, I don’t think the bags had the bird tags. But on the way, one of the jugs crack open.

The Arson Department gets a really lucky break when Freddy’s forced to buy a new milk jug from the stores where the bags are tagged and numbered. This is what’s going to get him caught. It’s absolutely tragic that Michelle had to wait for Freddy to burn one more house with people in it to close in on him. So once again, happiness dies in the fire set by sheer pain. Roger Tillman didn’t reject Freddy, the world did. But since Roger’s face is what he now associates with the excruciating stagnancy of his life, Freddy wants to take everything from him. The kids only survive because they were away. Roger and his wife got ready for bed with smiles on their faces after a much needed date night. That’s the last good memory they get to have before Freddy’s fire claims their lives.

Is Dave alive or dead?

I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t expect Smoke to call on the spiritual forces of the universe to drive a very heavy point home. And such a shift in tone and themes have a big impact when you absolutely love a show. Oh, did I not tell you? I think Smoke’s one of the best things to come out of AppleTV. So while it was a surprise, once they were introduced, I expected Smoke to integrate the themes of karmic cycle and the scale of the universe into its story seamlessly. It’s reassuring really. If you are the kind of person who’s often weirded out by the freakiest of coincidences, you know that something out there has a sense of humor. It can sometimes feel like people like Dave can’t be stopped. They do go on hurting everyone around them for long enough to instill this depressing cynicism into you. But pain can almost be this sentient thing if you look at it from a spiritual angle. It boomerangs back to the source and the origin no matter how long it takes to do so. If you’re allergic to that kind of hocus pocus, you can read the ending of the 5th episode of Smoke as a very simple pattern coming together. It’s actions and consequences. It’s as simple and as confusing as that. 

When Dave was driving back to Umberland, blasting pretty good music, I’ll give him that, he has no reason to feel good about himself. The huge fire he drives past puts a smile on his face, and that can only mean one thing. At the conference, Dave’s friends mentioned some peculiar fires that had broken out around the area where their last conference had been held. People wondered if one of them were responsible for setting those fires, but with time, the speculations fizzed. Dave played it really cool when his friends were suspecting someone else. Jumping on the bandwagon would’ve only made me wonder if Dave was being too eager for some disturbing reason. But we know Dave. We know he set those fires for fun. And even during the Leighton conference, he’s managed to slip out and start a fire in a building. It’s put him in a good mood after he failed at basically everything else he’d set out to do. There really is only one thing Dave Gudsen is good at. And that is setting things on fire. Without additional context that were very strategically strewn around throughout the episode, you would have seen the car crash Dave gets into as a random accident. 

But you’ve seen Joy before. She’s the drunk driver who rams her car into Dave’s in the ending of Smoke episode 5 and loses her life in the crash. Earlier in the episode, a visibly hungover Joy got into her car, downed a few more drinks from those little bottles, looked at the little dog figurine on her dashboard, and drove to work. Her car crashing into Dave’s could’ve been a simple karmic coincidence, but there are symbols at play here. 

Smoke’s loud with its anguish of loneliness and bold with its appreciation of help and support. We met two alcoholics in the 5th episode, not too randomly connected by symbols of dogs. Joy could’ve had a different fate had she found the kind of hope and support that she needed. But if she wasn’t a drunk driver, Dave wouldn’t have ended up in a crash that absolutely wrecked him. This is probably how he pays for messing up Ezra and taking everything from him. Ezra was headed to a similar fate as Joy. He drank from the same little bottles, and there’s also the symbolism of dogs mixed up into his devastating circumstances. But what differentiates Ezra and Joy? This is where Smoke is the most vocal about the necessity for help. Michelle could’ve taken what she came to find and left. But she stayed and took care of Ezra when he was passed out. That sort of kindness can be just the thing that people on the verge of complete personal destruction can hold on to for hope. Ezra recognizes the knight in Michelle, the indomitable fighter who refuses to abandon people in need. That’s what convinces him that if there’s someone who can balance the scales, it is Michelle. The universe has helped them out a little bit by orchestrating that accident. I don’t think Dave’s dead. You heard the song say how he’s going to be back on his feet again. So Michelle is really going to have to watch her back. Dave’s paid a fraction of the price for killing dogs and destroying lives. In a way, he really isn’t all that different from Freddy. When Dave was talking to Reba, he said that dogs are always happy. So there you go. Umberland has two arsonists going after happiness. The town’s really lucky to have Michelle working on the cases. Now that Emmett has given her Dave’s book, she can get into his head without alerting him of any of her moves. Judging by the fact that she replays the part where Dave’s protagonist solves the Sandersons fire, I think she’s already on to something. I wouldn’t put it past Dave to have started that fire and blamed it on faulty wiring. 

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