Page 121 - Metropolis Megazine No.120 International

WHEN FIRE IS JUST THE BEGINNING
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investigates, and keeps her distan- Gudsen (Hannah Emily Anderson), seep into gestures, frames, and si-
ce. But she brings her baggage with Harvey Englehart (Greg Kinnear), lences. Here, burning is a way of re-
her, and perhaps that is why she and Ezra Esposito (John Leguiza- membering or trying to forget.
gradually grows closer to Dave. The mo) embody a community on the
tension between the two is made brink of collapse, each with their «Smoke» may not be sufficient to
up of everything that is left unsaid, loss and secrets. They all carry the redefine the genre, but it is adept
of restrained gestures, pauses, and impact of the fire, even if they are at its craft. It moves slowly, with
avoided questions. There is no re- not at the centre of the flames. intention, preferring tension to
demption or promises here. They shock and restraint to explicit-
are simply two individuals attemp- The fires drive the narrative, but the ness. Not all of the subplots have
ting to comprehend the emotions series is not limited to that. More the same impact, and at times the
that are roiling within and around than a literal threat, they are also a narrative hesitates between per-
them. metaphor. For Dave, they represent sonal portraiture and more classic
everything he has lost; for Michel- detective story tropes. But the tone
«Smoke» knows that trauma is not le, they are a memory that refuses remains steady, with an inner war-
exclusive to the protagonists. It to fade away. For Umberland, they mth that never explodes but also
spreads, infiltrating the city, trans- are an old wound that has never never dies out. At its centre is a
forming Umberland into a kind of healed. Physical combustion, with question that no one asks directly.
vulnerable organism. It is more houses in ashes, charred trees, and And perhaps it is this absence, this
than just a setting. It is a charac- scarred bodies, is only the surface. blind spot that everyone carries,
ter. Characters such as Steven Burk What really burns is what cannot be that makes «Smoke» a series less
(Rafe Spall), Freddy Fasano (Nta- named, and the series refuses easy about fire and more about what it
re Guma Mbaho Mwine), Ashley answers. It lets the heat linger and leaves behind after it passes.

METROPOLIS JULY 2025 121