How Smile 2 connects to the original film

This article contains spoilers from Smile 2which is now in the cinema. Since suicide is also discussed, please be careful.

Smile 2 is a direct sequel to Smile (2022), but the trailers have left fans wondering how the new film connects to the original. Smile 2 follows pop star Skye Riley as she attempts to fend off the Smile Demon that is Dr. Rose Cotter plagued in the first film. The Smile creature, which clings to the hosts and drives them to suicide, is the main antagonist in both films, but Smile 2 brings with it an entirely new cast.

That’s not shocking. Finally, Rose, the protagonist of the original film, dies at the end. Rose kills herself in front of the original film’s protagonist, so fans expected a sequel that would follow Joel’s story. Since the second film drastically changed the main cast, some fans are wondering about the franchise’s timeline. Fortunately, Smile 2 explains the connection between Rose Cotter and Skye Riley.

Skye becomes the host of the Smile Demon two cycles after Joel

Fans first see the end of Joel’s story

As mentioned, Smile 2 follows the main protagonist Skye Riley. Skye is a famous pop star who has been in recovery for a year. Not only is she struggling to stay sober after years of drug abuse, she is also recovering from a car accident that killed her boyfriend and left her seriously injured. Skye is preparing for a comeback tour, but she’s still struggling with the trauma of her boyfriend’s death and the physical pain left by her injuries. Skye’s large audience makes her the highest stakes host the Smile Demon has ever possessed.

Fortunately, Smile 2 does a little legwork to connect the events of Smile (2022) and the sequel. Skye has no connection to Dr. Rose Cotter (Smile main protagonist) or the next host of the Smile Demon, Joel. Even though Skye doesn’t interact with them, the film still manages to set up a meaningful timeline.

What happened to Joel?

After Rose’s fiancé and her sister turn their backs on her, Rose goes to her ex-boyfriend Joel. Joel is a detective who manages to help Rose track down some of the Smile Demon’s victims before her. Joel does his best to help Rose, but unfortunately he watches Rose die at the end of the original Smile. Not only does he watch the love of his life die before his eyes; He also becomes the new host of the malicious entity.

Smile 2 does not focus on Joel as the main protagonist, but rather addresses what happened to him. The film begins with Joel driving through a small, quaint neighborhood. He looks stressed and anxious, suggesting that he has been suffering from the manipulation of the curse for almost a week and his time is running out. As he drives, he passes the image of a burning woman, likely one of the many tactics the Smile Demon uses to torment him.

Joel pulls up to a run-down house and watches as an expensive car pulls up into the driveway. Joel jumps at the man as he gets out of the car and holds a gun to the back of his head. Joel forces the stranger to take him inside, where they meet a second man sitting in a shabby living room. Joel calls them murderers who were never caught. Although he doesn’t elaborate on how he knows this, it’s safe to say he knew about the men thanks to his career in law enforcement.

Joel kills the man who let him into the house by stabbing him in the chest. The second man shoots Joel in the arm and Joel shoots back. Unfortunately, Joel lands a shot that kills the second man. Joel planned to kill himself in front of the dangerous drug dealer and hand over the Smile creature to him. After all, he is a bad person. At least Joel can make sure the next victim is someone deserving. Joel accidentally killing him ruined this plan.

After the confrontation, Joel realizes that he is not alone with the two men. A third person crept in, a young man named Lewis. Lewis was only there to buy drugs from the men. Joel apologizes to Lewis because he didn’t know anyone else would be there. He insisted that the demon was not meant for Lewis. Lewis doesn’t know what he means by that.

Joel’s death, explained

Shortly after Joel finds Lewis, a group of men storm the dilapidated house. Joel has to escape through a window to escape the men. He runs across the yard when one of his pursuers leans out of the window through which he escaped. To avoid being shot, Joel runs into the street. At that moment, a large SUV crashes into Joel and turns left. The car drags Joel’s body across the road, leaving a large blood stain in the shape of a smile.

The scene is horrific. The longer the camera lingers on Joel’s remains, the more detail the audience can see. The car accident not only killed him, it tore his body apart. Joel’s blood smear becomes the main symbol for Smile 2 Logo, indicating that his death was just the prologue to a much larger story. Lewis must have witnessed Joel’s death because the Smile creature’s curse passed on to him.

Skye Riley’s connection to Lewis, explained

The short answer: Lewis is her drug dealer

Lewis has the misfortune of meeting Joel because he is trying to replenish his drug supply. Lewis is a drug dealer who shares a past with Skye Riley. He’s probably the one who used to supply her with hardcore drugs. Skye has been sober for a year but still struggles with severe pain, especially in her back. She was seriously injured in the car accident. The intensive rehearsals for her upcoming tour are causing her great pain. In the middle of training, she doubles over in pain and reaches for her back. She does this several times throughout the film.

However, because Skye has a history of substance abuse, her doctors refuse to prescribe her strong painkillers. To relieve her pain, she relies on over-the-counter medications, but they are not strong enough. Desperate for some pain relief so she can move forward with tour preparation, she turns to Lewis for help. She doesn’t want hard substances like cocaine, she just wants Vicodin.

Skye visits Lewis’ apartment after her mother drops her off at her apartment complex. When Skye arrives, Lewis is manic and confused. He even attacks her when she gets there, clearly believing that she is a trick of the Smile Demon and not a real person. Lewis tries to get grounded long enough to give Skye the drugs she came for, but the Smile Demon sees his chance to adapt to a new host. Lewis ultimately kills himself in front of Skye and passes the curse on to her.

The final cycles of the Smile Demon

• Current cycle:
  Skye Riley (the events of
  Smile 2
  )
• Previous cycle:
  Lewis (passes the curse on to Skye)
• Joel, Rose’s ex (passes the curse on to Lewis)
• Dr. Rose Cotter (passes the curse on to Joel)
• Laura Weaver, Rose’s patient (passes the curse on to Rose)
• Professor Muñoz, Laura’s art history professor (passes the curse on to Laura)
• Unnamed woman (passes the curse on to Professor Muñoz)
• Morris’ unnamed brother (passes the curse on to the unnamed woman)
  • Morris contacts Skye Riley after Lewis transfers the curse to her
  • He tries to help her kill the curse, but fails to convince her in time to put his plan into action to stop the demon
  • Morris claims that he knows about the Smile Demon because his brother died from it eight cycles ago
  • Morris killed himself with a crowbar

The first film features several other victims of the curse. Rose and Joel even manage to hunt down a survivor, a prison inmate. He tells them that the only way to save Rose’s life is for Rose to kill someone else. However, cycles become harder to track the further back they go, so we’ll stick with the most recent cycles.

“Smile 2” creates a phenomenal connection between the two films

Despite having two completely different casts, the sequel works

Smile 2 is an ambitious film that reinforces the influence of the Smile Demon. If Skye Riley falls victim to the curse, she risks dooming thousands of fans to a terrible fate. The film opens up a lot of potential for future installments, but shifting the focus to an entirely new group of characters was a risk.

Luckily, the film does a phenomenal job of giving fans a resolution to the original film. Joel’s death is connected to Lewis’ death, and Lewis’ death is the catalyst for Skye’s fight against the Smile Demon’s manipulation. Everything it took Smile 2 to make sense was a well thought out prologue.