Taron Egerton Breaks Down That Major Smoke Episode 2 Reveal: ‘Only Gets Worse from Here’

Warning: this story contains spoilers from episode 2 of Apple TV+’s Smoke.

Taron Egerton is lighting up the screen in Smoke.

The new Apple TV+ series reunites the actor, 35, with Black Bird creator Dennis Lehane, as he plays an arson investigator pursuing two serial arsonists with the help of a detective.

Smoke also stars Jurnee Smollett, Rafe Spall, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Anna Chlumsky, Greg Kinnear and John Leguizamo. 

Episode 2 of the drama series, which premiered its first two episodes on June 27, offered a big twist for Egerton’s Dave Gudsen, who was revealed to be closer to the fires than previously expected.

Towards the end of the episode, titled “Your Happy Makes Me Sad,” Dave got in an explosive argument with his wife Ashley (Hannah Emily Anderson) and her son Emmett (Luke Roessler), which led to him leaving their house to blow off some steam.

Meanwhile, Detective Michelle Calderone (Smollett) opened up to her past fling and colleague about having framed a person of interest for the fires. She explained that once the alleged evidence is properly examined, everyone will know he is not the right guy. 

Cut to the next arson. A person in a green jacket was shown entering a grocery store with a limp, similarly to how the arsonist was previously observed on security cameras at past crime scenes. Jaunty rock music played while the man was followed from behind.

He then started a fire in the chip aisle and quickly fled the scene, covering his face with his hood and a pair of sunglasses. 

The final moments revealed the arsonist to be Dave, who exited the store with a grin on his face. 

Edgerton said the storyline proved to be a thrill as an actor, but teased that it only “gets worse from here” for his character Dave.

“It’s such a relief to show my true self,” Egerton joked about the twist at a panel at the Tribeca Festival premiere of the show, hosted by PEOPLE’s Breanne Heldman. “It is great fun. To Dennis [Lehane’s] credit, I think he saw in me the potential to do something I hadn’t done before.”

The actor said he “relished” the reveal and teased that “it only gets worse from here,” with the next seven episodes further exploring his character.

The final scene subverted what was previously known about Dave, a man established to be a passionate investigator and aspiring writer trapped in a complicated relationship. 

“I loved being able to play with that darker side of myself,” Egerton noted in regards to his character. 

The Emmy nominee continued to explain that the fire was “the dramatic relief in the episode” following the argument at the family’s house. 

“It’s the scene before, for me, that is the more horrifying moment, when [Dave] turns to Emmett and really shows his fangs. When I was watching it my heart was going because it’s really an ugly moment,” Egerton said, adding that the episode challenges how his character is perceived.

“Dennis [Lehane], incredibly smartly, has the episode constructed in a way where Dave is in full doofus mode for all of it. He’s writing the book. And at the end of the episode, we subvert that and twist it, and I think it works to great effect,” the actor explained.

As for the complexities of his character, Egerton said, “He’s fascinating because our typical idea of a villain is that they’re Machiavellian and plotting and cerebral, and they’re 10 steps ahead. What I grew to realize about Dave is that his particular brand of toxicity is very immediate. It’s very lizard-like really.”

Elsewhere in the panel, Egerton spoke about reuniting with Lehane to play the character specifically for him.

“I pinch myself every day. I feel like every job is my last,” he said. “When I was asked to play Jimmy Keene in Black Bird, I felt like a competition winner. So to be asked, before we’d even finished, to do a second project with him, it felt like a dream come true.”

Talking about their creative partnership, he added, “To be honest, he could have said anything and I’d have said yes. But it made it much easier that it sounded like it had the potential to be a truly extraordinary role. It just exceeded expectations on every level. It’s such an incredible opportunity for an actor. So I am certainly grateful to him.”

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New episodes of Smoke premiere Fridays on Apple TV through Aug. 15.