Episode 8 of Smoke Season 1 gave audiences an insane twist that took a key player off the board and painted a new light on a character everyone's been rooting for.
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for Smoke Episode 8.
At the end of Smoke Episode 8, a tense, heated exchange between Jurnee Smollett's Michelle and Rafe Spall's Steven got deadly when, in retaliation for being grabbed, Michelle crushes Steven's windpipe. Despite Steven begging her to try and help save his life, she watches as he chokes to death.
The Direct sat down with Jurnee Smollett, Rafe Spall, and Smoke creator Dennis Lehane (who we previously had spoiler-free discussions with), where they all helped break down the shocking ending.
Smollett explained to The Direct that "a number of things led [Michelle] there," and "it wasn't just that one moment." According to the actress, Michelle is "stuck in this trap, and she blames [Steven]." She further labels how Steven acts in his final moments as nothing short of "a betrayal."
In those final moments, Smollett confirms that Michelle is in "a bit of a panic" and "freezes," as she's also thinking about how "it would be so easy if he just was gone." At the end of the day, Michelle is "just trying to survive."
Smoke creator Dennis Lehane explained that they have been "trying to set up from the very beginning that Michelle is fundamentally a really damaged human being."
As for Rafe Spall, the actor told The Direct that Steven "[didn't think] that she would be able to kill him."
The first eight episodes of Smoke are streaming on Apple TV+. While Smoke has not yet been renewed for a second season, showrunner Dennis Lehane has a clear three-season plan for the story he hopes to tell.
Jurnee Smollett Explains Why Michelle Killed Steven
"She's Stuck In This Trap, and She Blames Him For It."
- The Direct: That ending just completely shocked me. I was like, wait, what?! You know, when Michelle let Steven just choke to death, what was going through her head in that moment? Why did she let that happen?
Jurnee Smollett: I think a number of things led her there, it wasn't just that one moment. She is stuck in this trap, and she blames him for it. She's stuck investigating something that's not even her passion. She was on the road to her passion. He demoted her, and in that moment, you know, he says a lot of things and reveals a lot about his intentions, he really rips the rug from under her, this friendship she thought she had with him, and he says, 'No, just trying to get pretty girl in bed.' I mean, it's a betrayal. And so I think she's struggling with that, of [how] it would be so easy if he just was gone, you know, and I think it's a bit of a panic, it's a bit of a freeze, she goes into a little bit of a shell shock. But also is trying to survive. Man, she's just trying to survive.
- The Direct: "Does she regret it?"
Jurnee Smollett: Absolutely. I think she will live with that guilt, but she will do like she always does, stuff it down. She's gotta survive.
Rafe Spall Reveals if Steven Ever Thought Michelle Might Kill Him
Michelle's Murderous Inaction Was a Surprise To Everyone
The Direct spoke with Rafe Spall, the actor behind Steven Burk, to see what he thought about the tragic and shocking twist that Episode 8 offered to audiences.
- The Direct: "Did Steven ever think that Michelle was going to do what she did? What is he thinking in those moments as he's staring up at her and life is slipping away?"
Rafe Spall: No, I don't think he did think that he [thought] that she would be able to kill him, but it's interesting because it was an instinctive act that she punches him in the neck, but the murderous aspect of it comes when she fails to help him. So, it's two for one. And that's interesting thematically.
And so, I think that from my character's point of view, you punch me in the neck, but like you, here's a pen. Please do this tracheotomy on me real quick, and I'll be okay. And perhaps we get a laugh off about this one day, to I'm looking in the eyes of a cold blooded murderer.
Now it's one thing from my point of view. I think from the audience's point of view is terrific, because this is a character that you rooted for, and then you've just seen this guy be kind of an asshole to her... It takes the audience on a real journey, it's skillful writing.
Smoke Showrunner Dennis Lehane on That Shocking Episode 8 Twist
Michelle Is "An Extremely Dangerous and Unhinged Human Being."
- The Direct: "That shocking moment when Michelle let Steven die in the house, you know what was just the decision to make that happen, and like, what was she thinking in that moment?"
Dennis Lehane: Well, we actually have a moment in the third episode where her brother grabs her by the arm, and her reaction is very much outsized. So, there's a history with Michelle, and we're trying to suggest that she is, besides somewhat heroic in some ways, also an extremely dangerous and unhinged human being.
And Steven grabs her in the wrong place. He grabs at the wrong place at the wrong time. And she turns around, she reacts, and that was—I do remember the day I came in and I pitched that. That was a great day. Man, people erupted in the room that day. I said, she's gonna pop him right in the throat. Just end it, man. And everybody was like, what?...
But we were trying to set up from the very beginning that Michelle is fundamentally a really damaged human being. She's not as noticeable on the surface as Dave, but as the series progresses, you go, 'Wow.' It would seem as if she's done some pretty wild things, certainly by the end of the season, it becomes a pattern.
What starts off as mistakenly shooting Arch Stanton gets just busier, more crazy as the show goes on, for sure.
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine on Freddy's Capture
Freddy's Days of Destruction Have Come to an End
While Michelle murdering Steven was the big finish for the episode, two episodes earlier had a big finish as well: Taron Egerton's Dave Gudsen finally found Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine's Freddy, who has been terrorizing the town since the series started by lighting milk cartons filled with gasoline.
- The Direct: "You are caught by Dave Gudsen. And I wanted to just ask, How does Freddy see himself compared to Dave, and what is he thinking in those moments when you know Freddy's grand plan is being effectively put out?"
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine: I think what's so great about that scene with Freddy and Dave is that we're seeing into a very twisted, Dark Mirror, a reflection of the same person in sort of an alternate universe, one who was an authority figure masquerading as an authority figure on the side, was really a creative destructing, destroying everything in his means.
And the other was this person on the fringe, trying to live a day-to-day of just surviving the basic survival, and in the process of not being able to make humble connections, simple, aspirational connections, goes to the extreme and destroys. So, I think that's this twisted mirror right there... I think that was fun to watch about that scene.
The full spoiler interviews can be seen below:
John Leguizamo & Anna Chlumsky Break Down Their Characters
Both Ezra & Dawn Are Driven to Catch Dave for Different Reasons.
The Direct also interviewed Smoke stars John Leguizamo (Ezra Esposito) and Anna Chlumsky (Dawn Hudson) about their characters on the show.
John Leguizamo, Gudsen's former partner and best friend, shared that he connected to "how depressing that can be when it turns your world upside down when your best friend turns on you:"
John Leguizamo: It's interesting, because my character was best friends with Dave, and got too close and understood that he was the arsonist, and then he destroys my career to get rid of me, and I fall apart, you know, I go to drugs and pills. I became a porn director. I think my life is over. My wife divorces me... and then he gets a chance to come back and try to take down his nemesis, which is now his best friend.
And I felt like I could relate to that, because that's happened to me in my life, the—not the becoming a porn star, but having friends betray you, and how disorienting that is, and how depressing that can be when it turns your world upside down when your best friend turns on you. So that's what I used to work on this character.
Anna Chlumsky's Dawn doesn't have any personal connection to Dave Gudsen, but she is determined to solve the case, and the actress explains that she "[identifies] herself as a leader:"
Anna Chlumsky: Another thing our show is about is identity, right? It's like, so many of our characters are talking about how much they identify with their job... When there's a concept or identity as, like, this person, partner. This is how this is. And now it's all gone... What do you have to stand on? What's your foundation underneath all of that... Because I think that Dawn also really, really, really dives into work. I think she identified herself as a leader, as a good leader, as somebody who can deliver. I think she's very into the deliverable, as they say...
