Smoke Episode 6 recap: Dave gets his heroic moment

Smoke Episode 6 has a lot of twists and turns and is still able to manage the tightrope between humor and thrilling adventure. Created by Dennis Lehane, the crime drama miniseries is inspired by a podcast that details about the crimes of the arsonist John Leonard Orr. The show premiered on Apple TV+ on June 27, 2025, and has an inventive premise.

While other crime dramas and investigative fictions focus on drug mafias and serial murderers, Smoke focuses on serial arsonists. The series mainly revolves around Dave (Taron Egerton), who is an arson investigator and former firefighter, and Michelle (Jurnee Smollett), who is a detective at the Columbia police department and must assist Dave in investigating the arsons in Umberland.

The show is raw, gritty, and has well-developed characters with their own past trauma and secrets. The show’s sixth and final episode of the first season focuses on Dave’s independent search for the Milk Jug arsonist, even though his team blames him. Here is the Smoke Episode 6 recap.

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Smoke Episode 6 recap: Dave and Michelle research about the arsons

Smoke Episode 6 begins with Dave at the hospital, and his wife Ashley, states that Dave’s past mistakes have caught up with him and she wants a divorce. After the two have an altercation, Dave has a hallucination and imagines himself as an old man. While Dave imagines that he is returning to the investigation, in actuality, he is discharged from the hospital. Dave decides to go back to the case.

On the other hand, Chief Harvey informs Michelle about the Milk Jug Arsonist’s spree and that the victim was a doctor, and the suspect is a patient who is in a lawsuit with her. Michelle, therefore, believes that this is the work of a copycat killer with a personal agenda. However, Dave has a different idea. He learns that the doctor’s husband, who died, was a manager at Coop’s, and Dave had always suspected that the arsonist worked at a job where he could see people come and go. On the other hand, Freddy is not found at Coop’s, and when his friend Lee calls him, Freddy invites him to a park in Smoke Episode 6.

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Smoke Episode 6 recap: Harvey finds out the truth

Smoke Episode 6 also focuses on Ezra telling Harvey that Dave is the arsonist all along. Ezra says that Dave’s return was marked by a string of arsons on the highway, but they stopped when Dave got into an accident. Harvey is reluctant to accept this theory, but when Michelle also supports Ezra, his faith is shaken. Even Michelle believes that Dave is the culprit because she found out about Dave’s book. She urges Harvey not to alert Dave.

On the other hand, Dave once again fantasizes about dominating an evidence supervisor. However, the reality is that he has to pay a bribe. He soon finds a black polythene with a bird tag he had installed. Elsewhere, Michelle, Ezra, and Harvey, set up a bullpen and are joined by Steven Burke and Dawn Hudsen. Just then, Dave rings up Harvey, and Harvey has to act normal. However, Dave gets suspicious and decides to hold back his information from the team.

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Smoke Episode 6 recap: Dave continues his independent investigation

In Smoke Episode 6, Dave traces the bird tag to the Halal Grocery Mart, where CCTV footage gives him a glimpse of the Milk Jug Arsonist. During Michelle’s investigation, the group discusses how every lead can only be used as circumstantial evidence. Burke says that the cigarette device that Michelle found in the woods can point to Dave’s involvement. Therefore, Dawn calls in the forensics. The team also decides to contact the Leighton police for footage of the fire accidents on the road.

On the other hand, Freddy creates a pyre to destroy all his important belongings, and he feels joyful as he is liberated of his previous identity. Dave also closes in on his culprit and learns the name Freddy from Coop’s main office. Elsewhere, Michelle’s team manages to track down Dave at all the arsons and Harvey is still unsure about Dave’s involvement.

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Smoke Episode 6 recap: Freddy’s past

When Lee arrives at the park, Freddy tells him about his childhood and how he hated Coop’s. When Lee says that the new manager is annoying, Freddy tells him to kill the manager. Lee, who is aware of Tillman’s death, connects the dots and realizes Freddy’s involvement, but he is scared. On the other hand, Michelle’s samples turn out to be inconclusive.

This leads to Harvey becoming angry and lashing out at Michelle and Ezra for blaming anyone they could find. However, he finds a strange detail in Dave’s audiobook, and he hears Dave’s account of the fire at Old Sully’s and how a child called Pistachio will soon have a cruel fate. Harvey gets scared and explains that he only heard of the nickname during an interview with the grandfather, and Dave should not have known about the child’s name. Therefore, Dave was at Sully’s when the fire began.

At the park, Freddy begins to demand his friend’s phone and car keys, and while he throws the phone, he keeps the car keys and tells Lee the way to escape the compound. Dave also tracks Freddy’s foster history and learns that he has always been in and out of the foster homes and set the last one on fire. That night, Harvey also begins to suspect Dave’s involvement.

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Smoke Episode 6 recap: Freddy’s terror comes to an end

In Smoke Episode 6, Dave sneaks his way into Freddy’s house and finds a close full of milk jugs. On the other hand, Benji tells Michelle that their mother is coming back home, and Michelle cries as she is traumatized by her past. On the other hand, Freddy reaches Brenda’s house and quickly douses the entire house with gasoline and threatens Brenda, referring to her as his last foster parent. He confesses that he was tired of the constant abandonment.

Soon, Freddy decides to self-immolate himself as well, and as Brenda begs for her life, he says that both of them will meet God. Just then, Dave finally gets his hero moment and quickly distracts Freddy with his gun and grabs a fire extinguisher. The disaster is avoided as Dave uses it on Freddy. Dave then turns to Brenda and assures her that the trouble is over and she is safe.

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Smoke is available on Apple TV+.