‘Task’ episode 5 recap: sorry Kathleen
Our sincerest apologies to the show's emotional eater, Kathleen, who is not the mole after all. Here, we recap this week's episode of 'Task'
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DO YOU IDENTIFY as a ‘vagrant’? A lost soul who’s ventured too far from your path with no way back home? The title of the fifth episode of Task, Robbie and Tom finally meet in a tense yet endearing encounter where the former priest gives his abductor the chance to return from his fate. We also learn who the real Bureau mole was; my sincerest apologies to Kathleen. (We identify with her as an emotional eater.) Meanwhile Maeve seems to be the only one acting with any sense around town, as she turns herself in with Sammy.
Below, we recap this week’s episode of Task.
Spoilers abound! read our recap of last week’s episode here.
Don’t make my heart explode
As someone who is not from a small town, I’m gathering secluded lakes are a place of refuge. The episode starts with a flashback chock full of details that will come back later, like the two hands clutching Prendergast tattoo on Robbie’s shoulder blade. There’s a voice-over from the present-day Robbie talking about how he and his brother would go cliff-diving, even on the coldest of days. To stop their hearts from exploding from the cold water shock (can a doctor please verify this), they get their bodies used to the temperature by pouring the cold water on their backs. Sure, it’s an analogy for acclimatising your bodily senses to what you’re about to do.
When we come back to the present, it’s the morning after Cliff has been killed by the Dark Hearts. Robbie heads to Ray’s house, suspecting he might have some answers, only for Shelley to open the door. She tells him that the plan was a dud from the start: Lee Whitehead was taken in by the FBI, and Ray is in custody, so it couldn’t have been him texting. But Shelley says that she can help Robbie move the dope, not because she’s particularly trustworthy in his eyes, but because she wants a slice to make Ray’s bail.
Who is the mole in Task?
Kathleen, I am so sorry! Last episode, the setup and editing suggested that it was Tom’s superior who was the Bureau mole. A testament to Bob Ingelsby, then, to flip the script in one episode: the mole is Grasso! (Also, last episode, Kathleen brushed off the fact that it could be one of the young task force members because she was holding out hope that it wasn’t one of them.) This accusation is rectified when “summer casual” Connor turns up at her office with what he’s dug up on the kiddos.
Meanwhile, the actual mole, Grasso, is still playing at it. He and Tom have brought in a sketch artist to meet with the car park witness who took a photo of Robbie and Sammy. Grasso and Lizzie are absolutely smitten. Aleah is actually doing her job, making progress after getting a DNA print identified at Maeve Prendergast’s, whose file detailed her father, Billy, as a lieutenant in the Dark Hearts.
Maeve turns herself in
The only person acting with enough sense is Maeve. This episode, she decides that she’s had enough of her uncle, while resenting her past for bringing her into this predicament. So she decides to turn herself and Sammy in for police protection. That’s after Perry pays her a visit when he’s really looking for Robbie. “Maevey-wavey” is all grown-up, he says – that annoying cliché of adults. He tells her that he and the Club are heading up to Stroudsburd for the annual gathering, which we will perhaps see sometime in the last two episodes. Thankfully, Maeve let Sammy out to play in the chicken pen as all of this was unfolding (he wanted to pet Gertie one last time). Not finding what he needs, Perry leaves, imparting that Marve shouldn’t be a stranger and that she’s still family. Okay, it’s giving Fast & Furious.
We need more of Aleah’s backstory in Task
If not done correctly in a limited series, we start to not care for a lot of the ensemble cast. That’s what’s happening right now by episode five of Task (I suppose a solution is that they killed a second major character, more on that soon). One storyline I want to hear more about is Aleah’s backstory. We learn that she lost her sense of smell after her abusive husband left that scar on her face. She tells this to Lizzie by the vending machine, and that she also calls her abuser’s parole officer every now and again to check in that he isn’t doing unto other women what he did to her. If Task is going to be about exploring men, the women they hurt is certainly a part of that portrayal. More of this.
RIP Eryn
Earlier in the episode, Perry and Jayson head back to the latter’s place after killing Cliff. Jayson walked through the door covered in blood, all the while looking at his girlfriend in dismay. Outside, Perry attached a tracker underneath her car. Perry knew she was going to meet with Robbie eventually, who was still looking for Cliff, and he was right. She tells Robbie that Cliff is dead. He looks up to a soaring bird (more on that soon, again) for some kind of hope.
Perry waits for him to leave before confronting her about why she’s protecting Robbie’s whereabouts. She can already smell the danger, Perry’s intent to kill. As she jumps into the lake, she screams for the group of teenagers’ attention, who are smoking up on the hill. He grabs her and holds her underwater. After the bubbles run out, even he’s shocked about what he’s done.
He goes back to Donna’s and accidentally slams the door in her face as she enquires about his injuries. Jayson gives him a call about Robbie, but also if Donna has heard anything from Eryn after the kids discovered she wasn’t there after school. Perry’s in double trouble.
Tom and Robbie finally meet
Our two main guys meet for the first time this episode. Tom heads in alone without waiting for Grasso, who has been Jayson’s informant all along. (Jayson was supposed to be on route too, before Grasso told him to hold off.) Tom arrives while Robbie is packing up his car for the drop-off, playing as a buffoon with a technological advancement spiel about AI, yadah, yadah, yadah, and that he’s looking for Maeve. Robbie is being hospitable as Tom asks to use the toilet, or plop plop plop a can of Pepsi down the bowl. As Tom gets the sketch artist’s impression from the car park witness, Robbie is quick to pull a gun on Tom and orders him to drive him Bushkill.
This entire encounter only gets more bizarre in a really well-executed way when the two men start chatting about their families. We learn that Tom and Susan first met at a hospital back when he was a priest and reading patients’ Last Rites; Susan, an atheist, was a patients’ rights advocate. With this revealed to Robbie, Tom is still able to garner truth from withholding individuals. Tom compares him to the red bird we saw early on in the series. He says the sighting was unusual for that time of year: a ‘vagrant’ bird who strayed away from the path and will most likely not survive. Robbie, Tom says, is not a vagrant if he lets it.
How over is it for Robbie?
If nothing else, Tom’s priestly skills endear him to Robbie, who eventually lets him go in the middle of the woods. (Robbie, still pointing the gun at Tom’s back, was also taking a real piss in the bushes.) Tom gets hold of Emily and Sara at home, the sisters having aired things out. Kathleen and the team are en route to pick up Tom as they tracked Robbie’s car via his satellite radio. Perry, Jayson and his posse are also descending upon the locatiom, walking through the woods stealthily until they hear Tom call out Robbie’s name. Crouching down by the river, Robbie does his water over the shoulder ritual demonstrated at the start of the episode. The episode ends with a stand-off between the two men.
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