Sorry to answer for Bear but I have had the experience in my early days when the meat was too wet and smoke seemed to saturate into the liquid but with a quite sooty taste. I think it is the way the liquid reacts with the smoke.
How exactly would a lack of pellicle alter the flavor of the smoke? It's been my experience that the pellicle does aid somewhat in smoke absorption, but I can't honestly see how a lack of dried protein on the surface of the meat would make the smoke taste bad. I'm not being argumentative, I just don't understand.