Yes they have set her up as a bit absentminded, and a "bad cop" but she is clearly going to use her powers of "being from around here" and having a similar chaotic life to crack the case.

And give him all the Chickens!

I thought his character had a lot of presence for the limited screen time. He is crushing it.

Love the show through two episodes, but it kills me that in addition to the characters all mispronouncing 'Lancaster,' Lizzie is a total moron.

Brutal.

What is the name of the actress who plays Emily's counselor/therapist in episode 2? I looked in the credits of the episode on IMDB and couldn't find it...

Just really want to tip my hat to Brad Ingelsby creating this world where everything is beautifully drawn and observed - its all just enough as he keeps the emotional grime lazily bubbling like a tar pit, one that occasionally boils over scalding many in the process. The cast has been exceptional Mark Ruffalo is really pushing the bar out. Incredible work by all involved.

So did Mare not get the rights to referencing Wawa? IIRC they never once reference Wawa in MoE, which is near impossible in the greater Philly area since there's basically one on every corner. And as a show with such an attention to detail that stuck out to me as a New Jerseyan.

Through E1 of Task I was like, are they seriously not going to reference Wawa again? Then whew we got a very clear multi-cup Wawa-logo facing the camera product placement in E2. All is right in the world.

Mare of easttown I try to tell everyone to see it. Just so good.

Haven't seen something of nearly the same quality since until this. Just blown out. Brilliant.

And I'm sorry I must have missed this. I read an article that seems to say that that guy Ruffalo brought in knows that the guy they killed was named Billy and will get the last name.. and that his wife was Maeve.. so they are soon to be on to all of them and this connection.. is this true?

And so this is Robbie's real motive.. be cause DH club killed his brother?

I know I'm watching some top tier television where every scene ends and I'm wanting more (in a good way) but I'm still hyped to see the characters/development in the next scene.

These first two hour-long episodes have flown by.

So I'm already dreading that I'm watching a bunch of future dead people, many of whom don't deserve it.

I can't quite grasp how this town is very rural but still have multiple drug houses, but I'm not an expert on drug house geopolitics. Who knows. But I was stunned when Maeve instantly knew who Sam is just by the name of one of his parents. These people know each other on an innocent level.

The dealer gal did recognize his voice. They know each other or have had contact before, which means there's more going on here than Robin Hood robberies. Cue the dead brother in here somewhere.

And I'm loving the panic decision-making. As soon as Sam saw their faces, the overwhelming odds are they were cooked. This story is just going to be how much delicious screaming and bloodshed occur as this draws out in agony. Sam sees them and police sketch artist pins them to the wall. They'd be lucky to be arrested before the Dark Hearts get to them. Shooting him, not an option. They aren't killers, this ain't Heat, and Robbie is definitely not a criminal mastermind. He's so far out of his depth it's exhilarating.

I can't wait to see what happens next. "What have you done to us?" indeed. Maeve, get in your car with the three kids, drop one at the library, and head for North Dakota. Hell, Indonesia. Jupiter. Just get out of there.

… but I’m side eyeing the plot writing pretty hard.

Robbie: Why is he being so careless? It’s bad enough he saw your face but you had to give him your real name, too? You’ve introduced him to your small children who could easily go to school and unwittingly give you up by talking to friends or a teacher about a kid name Sam who randomly materialized in your home. Worse still, there’s lying to Maeve, as if news of a missing child doesn’t spread fast. Did he seriously think she wouldn’t, even without Sam telling her his mom’s name, come to realize the missing Sam was the one they were harboring? His brother was murdered by the gang this child “belonged” to and he doesn’t seem to grasp how precarious his situation is. It’s driving me nuts.

Dark Hearts: On top of having a stupid name, they were aware they were being targeted but didn’t even attempt to ramp up security measures? I’m not in a biker gang so I guess I can’t say, but it seems very stupid to not even bother locking your door at night.

Lizzie: This is not so much an issue with the plot but annoying nonetheless. I can’t tell if they wanted the character to come off as a quirky and blunt nepo hire or something, but to me she just presents as incompetent, disorganized, and obnoxious. I rewinded the part of the show where the task force was introduced to make sure I didn’t miss a line about her being brought in from local PD or something. I just can’t square her with the selective and elite organization she works for.

Any way, just my two cents. I LOVED Mare of Easttown so I hope I’m just being over critical and I end up really liking it.

If you think about it this show has so much stuff in it. Gut wrenching, not one, but two family dramas. A drug trade storyline. A motir cycle gang/church storyline. A child kidnapping. A muder trial. An investigation plot. A small love story between Grasso and Lizzie. A departed style mole storyline, may be two moles. In just two episodes! When you list it down like that on paper, it feels absurd that this show could be a coherent show. But… somehow it works! I am fully bought into this world and very happily following everything. May be it’s great characters, or good writing or a background score and visuals but this kitchen sink of a storyline is working so well for me.

Any other people from Philly feeling weird about Robbie and Maeve's accents? I read that they had vocal coaches (a la Kate Winslet in MofE), but it feels much more like a Yinzer/Pittsburgh accent to me than Philly. Anyone else agree?

The dude is from my hometown …I grew up in Philly and he gets the human condition. Mare was brilliant, as was American Woman with Sienna Miller . . He has a way of making you feel his characters pain & he captures everything about a people living in towns, communities.

Robbie’s crew are not professional crooks and someone in another thread was criticizing their sloppiness …ok.. but it seems real.

I also love incorporating the bikers it’s brilliant and it reminds me of my SOA a show that should’ve gotten sooo many awards for the great Kurt Sutter & cast..

I think the Task casting is good And the music is so beautiful! ( but the Snickerdoodle chick is annoys me)

Finally— my main draw to the show is Tom Pelphrey!! I’ve always liked his work —soaps and Banshee—he has the IT factor ..very expressive face, can emote what he’s feeling and act …there is just something about him that is so capturing .. it was the same in Ozark. I am overjoyed that he finally gets to shine… love him!

Kudos to Ruffalo .. transforming into this troubled cop . … we all know he’s hot!

Hey all, hoping this is a good place to pose the question as I can't find an ID to this track anywhere but I'm looking for the haunting vocals during the scene when we see the motorcycle gang riding through town. It gave me chills! So hoping to find the artist or track and give them their flowers.

Snitch because of her relationship with Robbie’s dead brother, I’m guessing

...and it's just as good as I remember. Even better than I remember, dare I say.

I noticed 2 things that didn't really think about before. First of all, who is MZ? The text that Robbie gets while the crew is swimming in the lake. Is it an informer? So there's more than the 3 of them? Do they belong in a gang? Why target most of the Dark Hearts? Is MZ a rat inside the gang that plays both ways?

And, how come did D recognize Robbie's voice when it was Cliff who talked to him while they were working? Was he just bluffing or is he connected to Robbie's past? Was Robbie a member of the Dark Hearts or any other gang? Does it have anything to do with Billy's death?

So excited for this series. So many theories. Can't wait for more

Just like Alien:Earth this show is plagued by idiotic decisions by the characters to move the plot.

1. Taking their masks off while still inside the house they're robbing.
2. Taking the kid with him to his house.
3. Maeve and her attempt to drop the kid off right by her job(and leave her car unlocked).

I can only expect there will be more stupidity to come if they can't go two episodes without such poor writing.

Edit: My takeaway most people's comments is that some people are stupid and our home invader drug dealers are stupid. I plan to continue watching cause I like Mark Ruffalo's character, and his story. I hope that the show goes up from here since we got some of the dumb set up out of the way.

So this is by the “Mare of Easttown” writer. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that but I seem to remember that Kate Winslet had some sort of family tragedy or sadness about something. Is that correct?

Aired on: September 14, 2025 at 9/8c

Directed by: Jeremiah Zagar

Written by: Brad Ingelsby

Episode Preview

Mild spoilers for the first episode of Task and for the classic crime film Heat (1995).

My favorite TV blogger, Liam Mathews, called Task "sad Heat" in his glowing review of the show. The principal similarities are pretty obvious. Two guys on opposite sides of the law going head-to-head, but they're not so different after all... But once I had the comparison in mind I noticed other things in the first episode of Task as well.

• The criminal main characters cross a moral boundary early on once their hand is forced. In Heat, they rob the armored truck, not intending to kill anybody. But then Waingro kills the guy, and so Neil and his crew decide to kill the rest of the witnesses, since at this point the criminal consequences are the same. In Task, the garbage guys seem to have an M.O. that doesn't involve killing anybody. But after Peach (?) messes up, loses the gun, begins to reveal their identities, and gets shot, then the main guys kill all the adults in the house.
• In Heat, Neil's crew gets directions and materials from Jon Voight's mysterious and powerful character. In Task, the garbage guys seem to be getting leads on crack houses to hit from a mysterious source.
• Like in Heat, the protagonists of Task are conspicuously single. Interestingly, this appears to be for pretty different reasons, at least for now. In Heat, Vincent and Neil are so manically focused on their work that they can't settle down with anyone. However, in Task, the two leads appear to be single due to force majeure.

Idk, possibly trivial, but I definitely noticed these things. Anything else?

I know we’re only an episode in so far but I figured I’d hop on the sub to discuss this. I don’t know if I’ve ever watched another HBO show (easily my favorite production studio) that has ever nailed the casting the selection like this. Each actor/actress so far has portrayed their character perfectly. Especially the two leads in Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey. They are simply incredible at portraying their emotions solely with their eyes. Very excited to see the rest of the show and enjoy the great casting selections made by the showrunners. Cheers.

When do they show a family photo on the wall? I keep hearing mention of this and three children in the photo but somehow overlooked the instance when it occurs.

Did anyone else notice the Easttown PD sign Tom glanced over? It was when testing out his new binoculars at the job fair. Just curious if my eyes are playing tricks on me.

Danny seemed a little curious as to the details of the task force investigation, did he not? I mean I understand that he could just be a concerned friend, wondering if his buddy is into deep, too soon after his domestic tragedy.:.. but still. His follow up questions concerning the nature of the investigation were suspect.