Here is some of what I liked best about the finale, and the season in general:
[Spoilers ahead ... ]
1. Taron Egerton's performance as Gudson is mind-blowing and Emmy-worthy. He manages to be genuinely frightening just by talking, even when he's not setting fires or committing other violence. In the finale, this is heightened by make-up or whatever the producers did to his face. The less-handsome Gudson with a slightly bloated face that we see is telling us, what? That the better-looking arson investigator/arsonist was how Gudson thought of himself, thought that he looked, and what we see at the end is the way he really looks? Probably. But whatever the message, it was truly unnerving.
2. Jurnee Smollett's performance as Calderone is also top-notch and memorable. What we learn about Calderone in the finale and the episodes that led up to it is that she, in her own way, is just as violent, even more so, than Gudson, if not as chilling and terrifying. But she's willing to break the rules when necessary, including standing by and letting her boss and ex-lover Burke die after she hits him in the neck to repel his sexual advance and he's the on the floor choking. She's also happy to frame Gudson for the arsons he committed when he seems to have successfully evaded being brought to justice.
So, Gudson and Calderone are indeed a partnership from hell, both a mixture of good and evil in themselves, and even more so when they're operating together. This compelling and frightening partnership. eminently deserves more screen time!
See also Shocker at the End of Smoke's Second Episode ... Smoke 1.6: A Perfect Narrative Structure
