Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Task Episode 4.As Brad Ingelsby’s new HBO crime drama Task continues, tensions are only escalating on a number of fronts. While FBI agent Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo) and his team have discovered a critical lead in identifying Cliff Broward (Raúl Castillo), they still have to track him down — but that means they’re only one degree away from Robbie Prendergrast (Tom Pelphrey), the orchestrator of this string of local robberies. Now that murder has been added to the list of running charges, the FBI isn’t the only party trying to uncover who’s ultimately responsible. The Dark Hearts motorcycle gang, whose drug houses Robbie has been targeting personally in his mission of vengeance, is also closing in. What adds another wrinkle to both sides’ manhunt is the fact that neither of them is immune to betrayal; we know Eryn (Margarita Levieva) has her own bone to pick with the Dark Hearts for killing Robbie’s brother Billy (Jack Kesy), whom she was secretly involved with, but now it seems like there may be someone inside the FBI task force who’s feeding information to the Dark Hearts, and Tom is going to need to find out who — and fast. This week’s episode, “All Roads,” written by Ingelsby and directed by Salli Richardson Whitfield, ratchets up the danger for everyone, especially when no character quite knows who they can really trust.
‘Task’ Episode 4 Puts Eryn in Perry’s Crosshairs

Margarita Levieva and Jamie McShane in Task Episode 4Image via HBO

On the Dark Hearts’ side of things, Perry (Jamie McShane) is combing his memory for any worthwhile clues that could point to who’s got the gang in their crosshairs — starting with flipping through old photo albums at his on-again, off-again flame Donna’s (Stephanie Kurtzuba) place. But any suspicions that the Dark Hearts have someone on the inside of the FBI passing them details are confirmed when Perry has a meeting with one of the gang’s national leaders, Vincent Hawkes (Brian Goodman), and brandishes the photo of Cliff he’s been holding onto. After Tom and Grasso (Fabien Frankel) paid the gang a personal visit, Perry’s also been trying to find out which member’s gun matches the Bureau’s ballistics report — which explains looking through all those old pictures. As far as Perry’s concerned, something about these robberies feels personal, but Vincent has a more important bombshell to drop: the Dark Hearts’ mother club wants Jayson (Sam Keeley) gone by Friday, and despite Perry’s protests, Vincent isn’t willing to hear any kind of appeal. “Knowing how you feel about him,” Vincent says, “I wouldn’t stick around to see it go down.” After that, it doesn’t take long for Perry to find out the truth behind Billy Prendergrast’s death — and the circumstances leading up to it are even worse than he could have imagined. He’s incensed that Jayson lied to him about the reason for beating Billy to death, but while he rolls his eyes at the sentiment that the murder has been haunting the Dark Hearts like a curse ever since, maybe there’s some merit to it. Episode 4 does flash back to happier times for the Prendergrasts, too, with Billy and Robbie swimming and relaxing at the quarry with their families, though there’s a different shadow hanging over that memory, with Robbie’s wife sitting off on her own and staring into space. As much as Billy tries to encourage Robbie towards a clean break, he can’t follow his own advice, and Robbie isn’t thrilled when Eryn pulls up to the quarry and leaps into his brother’s arms, but there’s no denying these two were truly in love. Back in the present, it’s a much gloomier swim at the quarry for Robbie, Cliff, and Sam, the latter of whom successfully catches a fish before having second thoughts about cooking it for dinner. While Robbie meets with a trucker friend about smuggling him and Cliff into Canada, at least until the heat around them dies down, Sam sneaks out of the car to set the fish free in the nearby river, where he’s noticed by a random trucker. Robbie’s suspicious behavior when he tracks Sam down has the man reaching for his cellphone, which earns him several punches to the face as the boy looks on. Although Robbie, Cliff, and Sam manage to flee the scene, this is clearly an incident that could make it up the chain to the task force, especially while Cliff is already on their radar. Robbie’s plan also hits a snag when he finally tells Maeve (Emilia Jones), one of the few people in this house who seems to have any common sense, about it. “I can’t live without my kids,” Robbie insists. “Well, maybe you should’ve thought of that before you started robbing those houses,” Maeve retorts. “You’re not gonna ruin their lives just ’cause you ruined yours.” She issues an ultimatum: if he hasn’t handed Sam over to the police by tomorrow morning, she’ll be the one to do it. Meanwhile, Perry pays a visit to Eryn’s under the guise of bringing her kids some ice cream sundaes, but it’s clear he’s there for an interrogation of his own. He doesn’t necessarily care that Eryn and Billy were seeing each other, but if Eryn was planning to take the kids and leave Jayson, that could mean she’s been helping the crew who’s been robbing the Dark Hearts, too. The moment turns physical, with Perry grabbing Eryn by the neck and forcing her to stay seated until she gives him a straight answer. Turns out Eryn is a pretty good liar, but it also helps that the kids give her an out from Perry’s piercing stare by asking for the Disney+ password from the other room.
‘Task’ Episode 4 Ends With a Failed Sting Operation and a Tragic Death

Fabien Frankel, Alison Oliver, and Thuso Mbedu in Task Episode 4Image via HBO

On the heels of last week’s arrest, the task force has used its leverage over Ray (Patrick Patrikios) to set up a fake meeting with Cliff, but apprehending a criminal wanted for robbery and kidnapping means bringing in more manpower. Liaising with Delaware County PD gets Tom face-to-face with Grasso’s supervisor, Chief Dorsey (Raphael Sbarge), while the detective’s coworkers are delighted to subject him to a little friendly ribbing now that he’s become part of this fancy task force. When it’s time to take things seriously, everyone shuts up and pays attention. Cliff thinks he’ll be meeting Ray at Bailey Park around 11 PM for a rendezvous about the fentanyl, but once he’s there, the FBI will close in instead. The objective is to take Cliff into custody, as well as his unknown accomplice — and if they happen to have young Sam Nance (Ben Doherty) with them, even better. But Tom is also concerned enough about a potential leak inside the task force that he has a sit-down with his boss, Kathleen McGinty (Martha Plimpton), to confide in her about it. Unfortunately, the bureau chief isn’t convinced by little more than speculation, especially since a leak could come from anywhere, not just within task. Proceed with the sting as planned, Kathleen says, before promising to keep digging on her side — but could the phone call she makes to an unknown source be a sign that she’s actually involved with this betrayal? It might be no coincidence that when Perry rolls up to the billiards hall and punches Jayson square in the jaw for lying to him about Billy’s death, Jayson has news of his own about the Bailey Park meet, courtesy of their FBI source — which gives the Dark Hearts the opportunity to intervene. The sequence that results is one of Task’s best so far, as the FBI hide in wait at the park while Robbie and Cliff split up for the meet. Their plan is for Cliff to show off a small sample of the fentanyl to the buyer, then request to see the money before Robbie follows with the remainder of the supply. When a car pulls into the park, no one can visually confirm who’s inside, but with pressure mounting from Kathleen and Chief Dorsey, not to mention encouragement from Grasso via radio, Tom orders Delco PD to swarm the vehicle. When the windows roll down, it’s not Cliff — it’s a couple looking for their runaway dog. Cliff is nowhere near the park, as it happens. He’s on a remote road, and he hasn’t been texting with the FBI; he’s been texting with the Dark Hearts. Perry and Jayson ram Cliff’s car while Robbie is still on the phone with him, and in the ensuing chase, run him off the road. When Robbie arrives at the rendezvous point, Cliff is nowhere to be found. As for the FBI, Tom’s more convinced than ever that there’s a traitor among them, searching the faces of his agents for any sign of deception. Unfortunately, Cliff’s fate isn’t left up in the air for us this week. He’s being subjected to a particularly torturous beating, courtesy of the Dark Hearts, especially after they only find a sample of the fentanyl and a gun that Perry seems to recognize, even if he doesn’t admit it to the others. Despite the hell he’s already been put through, Cliff refuses to give up Robbie’s name to the gang, spitting blood in Jayson’s face instead, so the chapter president takes a roll of plastic wrap and uses it to suffocate Cliff to death. A teary Robbie returns home alone, already seeming to sense that something terrible has happened to his friend. Later that night, Tom’s sent a cellphone snap of Sam Nance at a truck depot behind a man attempting to cover his face (turns out the guy Robbie punched out managed to recover his phone after all), while Perry returns to combing through those old albums, where he finds that gun in a photo of Billy Prendergrast — standing with his daughter, Maeve.

Release Date

2025 – 2025-00-00

Network

HBO

Directors

Jeremiah Zagar

Pros & Cons

The FBI’s failed park sting is one of the show’s tensest sequences yet.
Now, more than ever, it’s clear that the task force has a traitor in their midst.
Jamie McShane delivers a particularly unnerving performance this week.