As the investigation heats up on “Task,” the latest Brad Ingelsby HBO show set in the Philly region, both the cops and criminals learn they may have a leak.
Episode 3 of the crime series reveals some, but not all, of the moles playing both sides of the scheme. Small-time thieves Robbie (Tom Pelphrey) and Cliff meet with their source within the Dark Hearts biker gang to hash out what went wrong with their latest job. Eryn, the wife of regional Dark Hearts leader Jayson, has been feeding them intel to avenge the death of Robbie’s brother Billy, whom she was secretly seeing before Jayson killed him. Her cover might not be safe for long, though; after a visit from the FBI, the gang is extremely aware that someone is telling Robbie and Cliff which houses to hit — and Jayson’s mentor Perry is actively sniffing out the source.
Special agent Tom Brandis’s (Mark Ruffalo) task force is also closing in on Cliff and Robbie. Working off a tip from an associate of the duo’s late friend Peaches, the team assembles outside Cliff’s place to hopefully find Sam, the missing kid that Robbie took from their botched robbery in the season premiere. The boy isn’t there and neither is Cliff, but someone else is.
Earlier in the episode, Robbie and Cliff had visited their friend Ray, freshly home from prison, about moving drugs for them. While Ray indicates he can, he and his wife Shelley later go to Cliff’s house to steal the fentanyl for themselves. In an incredible bit of bad timing, they run into Tom and his crew mid-home invasion.
The couple is initially uncooperative, but detective Aleah Clinton gets the truth out of Shelley by revealing a surprising, painful bit of her backstory: Like her suspect, Aleah is a survivor of domestic violence. Tom then manipulates Ray into corroborating Shelley’s claims, and uses the man’s phone to set up a meeting with Cliff. The results of that sting have yet to unfold.
Also yet to unfold? A budding romance between detective Anthony Grasso and state trooper Lizzie Stover. At her suggestion, the pair grabs a drink at a local bar, where they bump into Lizzie’s mocking coworkers from the barracks. Grasso stands up for her by toasting her as “one of the good ones” in front of the entire bar.
The cute moment is undercut by a glimpse into Tom’s tough situation at home. In a flashback/dream, he remembers the day he and his wife adopted their kids Emily and Ethan (whom, you’ll recall, is awaiting sentencing for his mother’s death). When he awakes, he learns that he likely has a mole inside his task force, too.
Philly mentioned
Just a few minutes into the episode, Jayson and Perry visit Freddy Frias, a Dominican drug lord in Philadelphia. The trio meet in a kitchen and then exit through the back into an adjacent home to continue their conversation.
The set for this scene is Ralph’s Italian Restaurant and the owners’ property behind it. “Task” filmed along S. 9th Street last March, taking over part of the 700 block and driving curious pedestrians to nearby restaurants to gawk. It’s a brief cameo with no obvious signage, but the narrow house frames give the Philly setting away.
Tom and Grasso also use Ray’s phone — covered in Flyers’ wallpaper — to set up a meeting with Cliff at Bailey Park. Keep an eye out for the Havertown basketball court and playground in the next episode.
Finally, Grasso and Lizzie have a sort of date at Barnaby’s, the Delco bar that Ingelsby frequents himself. It gets a direct name check when Lizzie asks if she can make a confession.
“What happens on Barnaby’s back deck, stays on Barnaby’s back deck,” Grasso says.
What song is playing through their conversation? Only “Out in the Streets” by Jersey hero Bruce Springsteen.
Behind the scene bits
Fabien Frankel and Alison Oliver, who play Grasso and Lizzie, have some theories on what draws them together.
“I always had this theory that Lizzie reminds Grasso of his mother,” Frankel said, before laughing and clarifying. “I imagine she feels so familiar as soon as she comes in.”
Oliver believes her character’s past, implied through an explosive call with her ex-husband in Episode 1, is a major factor.
“I feel like she’s been messed around by a lot of men and I feel like she probably has had quite bad luck in relationships. … His kindness or encouragement I think is rare for her to receive from men. And so I think he feels unique to her.”
Has Mare shown up?
Still no sign of the Delco detective, but viewers are picking up thematic similarities between “Mare of Easttown” and “Task.”
In a discussion of Episode 2, Redditors drew comparisons between Tom’s family tragedy and Mare’s, noting the mental health struggles at the core of them. Both shows, user F00dbAby wrote, “really explore grief and grief in a family and how messy it is so well.”
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