Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for the Task finale.
After last week’s episode of Task, which had the audacity (complimentary) to deliver its most action-packed sequence to date before the show’s title card even appeared onscreen, Brad Ingelsby‘s HBO crime drama could’ve picked the easier route of upping the ante even further. Yet it would have felt unnecessary for a show that has already delivered some of its best punches (and broken some of television’s most longstanding rules) to try to raise the bar higher. This week’s episode, “A Still Small Voice,” written by Ingelsby and directed by Jeremiah Zagar, is more about tying up every remaining thread before the end, a quieter epilogue that leaves almost no stone unturned while providing a bittersweet resolution to a story that began with bloody vengeance. Robbie Prendergrast (Tom Pelphrey) may have met his end in the woods, but his death has had subtly impactful ripple effects on a number of characters — none more so than FBI agent Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo), the man who was tasked with hunting him down in the first place.
Jayson Finally Learns the Truth in the ‘Task’ Finale
As for Perry (Jamie McShane), the walls have been closing in on him ever since he murdered Eryn (Margarita Levieva), but now the pressure is coming from more than one front. Not only is the truth about what happened eating him up inside the longer he refuses to tell Jayson (Sam Keeley), but the higher-ups inside the Dark Hearts view what happened in the woods with Robbie and the FBI as the final straw for his young protégé. Their orders are explicit: Jayson has to be next on the chopping block unless Perry wants his head to end up there instead. But, when confronted with the opportunity to stab Jayson with a kitchen knife, Perry freezes up, granting the lieutenant a stay of execution — at least for now. It turns out, however, that the biggest piece of evidence linking Perry to Eryn’s death wasn’t properly disposed of, because police divers soon make the grim discovery of her body left in the lake, her fingers still tangled around a metal pants chain with the initials “PD” inscribed on it.
Perry still seems convinced that if he can find the missing drugs — or at least the million earned from selling them — he can work his way back into the gang’s good graces. All signs are pointing to Maeve (Emilia Jones) as the most likely beneficiary, but, on the advice of a friend, she’s decided to hide the bag of cash in the chicken coop in case anyone comes looking for it. If the cops stumble on it, she can simply claim Robbie was the one who hid it there without her knowledge; if six months go by and no one shows up, it’s an opportunity to take the kids and start over. Meanwhile, Perry’s on-again, off-again flame Donna (Stephanie Kurtzuba), concerned for Maeve’s safety, reaches out to the Dark Hearts so they can intervene with whatever Perry and Jayson might be planning for the young woman. They won’t get there in time to stop Jayson before he learns the truth about Eryn’s death — or before he stabs a frantic Perry coming out of the river. “I know what you did,” he whispers in Perry’s ear, before leaving his body to float downstream with the current.
Grasso’s Betrayal Catches Up With Him in the ‘Task’ Finale
After confronting Grasso (Fabien Frankel) at home, Tom knows he needs to unearth more ammunition if he wants to nail his mole once and for all. After reviewing the file on Grasso’s previous misdeeds, Aleah (Thuso Mbedu) is more convinced of his guilt now than ever, but with only a complaint and no real evidence to point to, she suggests they retrace their steps to see if there’s anything that might have been missed. The sudden appearance of young Sam Nance (Ben Doherty) on the stairs earns a raised eyebrow, but Tom meekly insists this new fostering arrangement is only temporary. They’ll reconvene in the morning when they can look at everything with some fresh eyes, but under cover of that same night, the Dark Hearts are meeting with Grasso’s superior, Chief Dorsey (Raphael Sbarge). With Lizzie (Alison Oliver) dead, anyone who can connect the gang to an incident involving a fed needs to be removed from the equation — and swiftly. Dorsey’s been publicly leaving breadcrumbs about Grasso’s erratic behavior ever since that day on the bridge, so “when it happens, it won’t be a surprise.” Even word from the Chief’s sources about where those missing drugs might have been moved to doesn’t seem like much of a concern; the Dark Hearts are willing to eat that loss because cleaning house is the bigger priority.
Whether Grasso knows the end for him is nigh or has been doing some personal reevaluation in light of Lizzie’s death is unclear, but something drives him to confess to his own family. He tips off his sister, Frankie (Lilli Kay), about the possibility that some less-than-flattering information might be coming to light, but also reveals that he was the one who’s been covering most of the family’s biggest expenses these last few years — with money he earned doing things for people he shouldn’t have been in business with. Maybe all that Catholic guilt has been suffocating him in the wake of his conversation with a former priest. Meanwhile, Aleah and Tom’s backtracking ultimately leads them to the wreckage of the car that Cliff (Raúl Castillo) was driving when the Dark Hearts ran him off the road before torturing him to death. A little help from Kathleen (Martha Plimpton), who has to put on real pants to go into the office and deal with her analyst Connor (Will Turner), much to her own chagrin, cuts through some pesky red tape to reveal a satellite ping from the phone that texted Cliff the night of their thwarted sting operation — two blocks away from Grasso’s house. It’s not a smoking gun, but it’s pretty damn close.
As Aleah and Tom converge on Grasso’s, despite Kathleen’s warnings, Dorsey is already there on clean-up duty. When the police chief enters, gun drawn, Grasso uses a blasting radio to disorient and disarm his superior. Two years of secretly working for the Dark Hearts has caught up with him on a multitude of levels, and he’s planning to turn himself in tomorrow. Right as Dorsey reveals that the gang is descending on Maeve’s place to recover the money from the stolen drugs, he earns a bullet to the head; it looks like when the Dark Hearts were talking about cleaning up loose ends, they meant everyone. Although Grasso takes out the gang member himself, he doesn’t emerge unscathed, but there’s no time for him to deal with his new gut wound when he’s got to warn Maeve about what’s coming. Somehow, he gets to Maeve’s ahead of anyone else, believing he’s giving her enough of a heads-up to take the kids and flee — but when she has to double-back to find her car keys, she runs right into Jayson.
Aleah and Tom, who have been tracking Grasso’s phone this entire time, arrive on the scene, and an ashen Grasso warns them that the wayward Dark Hearts lieutenant is inside the house with Maeve. Tom calls for backup, and he and Aleah perform a sweep, but Jayson’s got Maeve held at gunpoint inside the chicken coop after ordering her to lead him to where the money’s been hidden, and uses her as a human shield to make it to his own getaway vehicle. Even Aleah, the sharpshooter of the bunch, isn’t sure whether she can take him out without hitting Maeve, but what all of them seem to forget about is Grasso, who, in the chaos, has snuck into the backseat of Jayson’s car, pulling the trigger once he has the other man in his sights. Maeve’s shaken, but OK, and the real question is what’s going to happen to the money. Turns out Tom’s not talking, and since no one else has been able to find it, Robbie’s last act for his family in giving them a fresh start will be honored after all. Grasso, who was saved before he could bleed out, wonders if he’s going to receive any penance from the former priest, but Tom’s response is telling: “I never gave anyone penance. People beat themselves up enough on their own.”
Tom Gives the Family Statement at Ethan’s Sentencing in the ‘Task’ Finale
The Brandis family situation has been playing out in the background of Task ever since Tom’s pursuit of Robbie intensified, but there are signs, heading into the finale, that they’re much more of a unified front than they were before. For one, Emily (Silvia Dionicio) and Sara (Phoebe Fox), despite their initial stark divide, have been quietly opening up to each other, their emotional walls progressively lowering to put them in a better position to lean on each other while their dad has been out in the field. It’s also more than fair for Sara to ask her father about whether his decision to foster Sam has anything to do with trying to amend for the sins of the past with Ethan (Andrew Russel). Tom readily denies it, but the question still hangs over everything as Sara and Emily help personalize Sam’s room at the house, take him on a spontaneous Dairy Queen run, and generally take care of him while their father is dealing with the aftermath of Grasso and the Dark Hearts.
Tom likely never expected his previously-at-odds daughters to team up against him, especially when it comes to chiding him about his drinking problem or putting himself in increasingly dangerous situations, but even while the sisters’ storyline hasn’t been the strongest of the show, it’s been an important component of bringing all of these characters to this point in the season: the day of Ethan’s sentencing for his role in their mother Susan’s (Mireille Enos) death. There’s always been a possibility of Emily giving the family’s statement in court, but Tom has come to the sobering realization that he hasn’t been enough of a protector, so when the time comes, it’s the father who steps up on behalf of his children.
Since we first met him in this story, Tom has been holding on to a lot of negative emotion regarding his adopted son. Whether the investigation itself or simply crossing paths with Robbie, a man who would stop at nothing to ensure his family’s better future, has had an impact, it’s also clear that Tom recognizes the futility in holding onto any lingering resentment or anger. Where Robbie chose to lash out in retaliation for the death of his brother (Jack Kesy), Tom makes the decision to reach for forgiveness instead. He acknowledges the fault in himself, and the pandemic leading to a shortage in his son’s medicine, but he also recognizes that Susan’s tireless efforts in trying to help Ethan, and all of their happiest memories together, shouldn’t be overshadowed by a mistake that can never be taken back.
“Ethan, I don’t want you to live with this shame anymore,” Tom says, before imploring his son to look at him. “I forgive you. I love you.” He may not be able to sway the judge on any sentence, but he promises that Ethan will have a home waiting for him when he’s ultimately released. Back at the Brandises, Tom’s old friend from the priesthood, Daniel (Isaach De Bankolé), asks him to recognize that what’s best for Sam is letting him go live with another family — while at the Prendergrast house, Maeve and Harper (Kennedy Moyer) take one last look at the place, snapping photo for their memories, before leaving for that new beginning, like Robbie always wanted.
- Release Date
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2025 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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Jeremiah Zagar
- The episode is more of a quiet epilogue, wrapping up every storyline in satisfying, emotional fashion.
- Tom’s family statement on Ethan’s behalf, and his forgiveness, is a full-circle moment for his emotional arc.
- Grasso somewhat redeems himself while the show leaves his ultimate fate unknown.
- Martha Plimpton’s Kathleen McGinty is a gift in every scene she earns.
