{"id":2056566,"date":"2025-09-29T02:03:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T02:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2056566"},"modified":"2025-09-29T02:03:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T02:03:15","slug":"task-episode-4-is-this-the-mole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/task-episode-4-is-this-the-mole\/","title":{"rendered":"Task Episode 4: Is This the Mole?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Last week, it felt like Task<\/a> <\/em>was trying to break me. Tom Pelphrey<\/a> went for the Emmy when Robbie revealed that he\u2019s been robbing the Dark Hearts because Jayson (Sam Keeley) killed his brother. Aleah (Thuso Mbedu) detailed her horrific past of domestic abuse, and Tom (Mark Ruffalo) learned that there\u2019s a mole in his task force. I blamed the devastating episode<\/a> on the Eagles\u2019s past failures and questioned how Task <\/em>creator and Pennsylvania native Brad Ingelsby sleeps at night knowing that he\u2019s playing with my emotions week after week. Well, after episode 4, you\u2019ll need a broom, a bucket, and some superglue if you want to put me back together.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s episode kicks off with Tom’s new game plan: arrest Cliff (Ra\u00fal Castillo<\/a>) for kidnapping Sam (Ben Doherty) as he attempts to move the drugs. He\u2019s scheduled to meet with Ray\u2019s (Peter Patrikios) contact in Bailey Park. At the end of last week\u2019s episode, Tom and his task force arrested Ray and commandeered his cellphone. Since then, they have been texting Cliff as<\/em> Ray to continue the drop and secretly set up a sting. On the other side, a mole inside the task force has been leaking information to the Dark Hearts. When Tom asks his boss Kathleen (Martha Plimpton) about it, she turns around and makes the classic call (though I suspect it’s just a red herring). \u201cIt\u2019s me, I think we have a problem,” she says. Of course, neither side realizes that the whole night is already off to a terrible start. <\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n
Peter Kramer\/HBO<\/span>\/\/<\/span>HBO<\/span><\/figcaption>

How do you join a. rough biker gang that also has “Mother Club” meetings?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Papa Dark Heart Is Done<\/h2>\n

One of the Dark Hearts\u2019s top brass\u2014who I\u2019ll just call Papa Dark Heart\u2014threatens Perry (Jamie McShane) and tells him that he\u2019s had enough of these garbage collectors ruining their drug business. So, a select group of Dark Hearts leaders called the \u201cMother Club\u201d (lame name) met and decided that it\u2019s time for Jayson to go. \u201cI\u2019m done letting you protect this motherfucker,\u201d Papa Dark Heart warns. \u201cThe call\u2019s been made. It\u2019s happening Friday, and knowing how you feel about him, I wouldn\u2019t stick around to watch it go down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perry also learns that Jayson killed Robbie\u2019s brother Billy because he was \u201crunning around\u201d with Eryn (Margarita Levieva). He thought they took out Billy because he was skimming from the top, but that was just another lie from Jayson. So, Perry finally begins to put the pieces together. No one would mess with their business like this unless it was personal. <\/p>\n

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Storming into the bar, Perry lays a punch on his unsuspecting friend with a fist wrapped in metal chains. He screams at Jayson and spits all over face as their heads lock like two rams. Jayson tries to make it up to him by stating that their informant came through. They know about Cliff\u2019s drop-off at the park tonight, and they plan to intercept it. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Perry,\u201d Jayson says before he leaves. \u201cShe was gonna take the kids.\u201d Troubled fathers\u2014they\u2019re everywhere in Task<\/em>. <\/p>\n

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\"task<\/p>\n
Peter Kramer<\/span>\/\/<\/span>HBO<\/span><\/figcaption>

This is the most color I\u2019ve seen from a shot in Task <\/em>yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Robbie\u2019s Last Chance<\/h2>\n

In a flashback, Billy tells Robbie that he should just let his wife leave is she wants out of their relationship so badly. Something is off, and she\u2019s not happy with Robbie anymore. Maybe it\u2019s his family\u2019s connection to the Dark Hearts. Maybe it\u2019s just something else entirely. Either way, Billy offers his brother some advice: just learn to let some things go. I can see what Ingelsby is putting down on paper here. Robbie needs to let this personal vendetta go and look for a way out. By now, though, he\u2019s just too far in. <\/p>\n

When we cut back to the idyllic lake from the flashback to see Robbie and his family there in present day, all the color is gone. We\u2019re back to Task<\/em>\u2019s grays and dark greens and browns, as Cliff sits in the water hugging his own legs\u2014knees to his chest. <\/p>\n

The duo leaves to meet with a truck driver who says that he can take them and their families up to Canada after the drop-off. But after a bizarre turn of events, Sam is discovered by a good-natured stranger just trying to help him find his family. Robbie punches the living daylights out of him, and they flee the scene. <\/p>\n

Later, Maeve tells Robbie that his plan is ridiculous. \u201cI don\u2019t see a school anywhere around here, or a grocery store, or a doctor\u2019s office,\u201d she says. \u201cIn a lifetime of stupid ideas, this one takes the case.\u201d If Robbie can\u2019t live without his children, then he should have thought about that before he started robbing houses. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to ruin their lives just because you ruined yours,\u201d she tells him. \u201cYou have until tomorrow morning. If you don\u2019t turn Sam in then by then, I will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robbie tries to lift his own spirits by practicing for the father-daughter dance with his daughter, but she tells him that she\u2019s scared. She suspects that something is wrong\u2014\u201cjust like when mom left.\u201d Hell, she didn\u2019t even buy them tickets to the father-daughter dance. \u201cGuess we better make the most of this one, huh?\u201d Robbie says. I\u2019m sure the school would let them both go to the dance anyway, but it\u2019s not a good omen.
<\/p>\n

Poor Brandis<\/h2>\n

Tom Brandis is one of the saddest characters I\u2019ve ever seen on TV. In this episode, he tells Anthony (Fabien Frankel) that he originally joined the priesthood because he thought there was a higher power in this world, so he wanted to be closer to it. \u201cThe longer I stayed, the further away I felt,\u201d he continues. Ouch. Ruffalo plays Brandis\u2019s depression like he’s actually lived it, which is so funny because the actor genuinely seems like such a happy, easygoing guy in real life. <\/p>\n

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\"hbo<\/p>\n
Peter Kramer\/HBO<\/span>\/\/<\/span>HBO<\/span><\/figcaption>

Rats! <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

The Sting<\/h2>\n

Now, this whole situation is about to go topsy-turvy. So, let\u2019s reestablish the facts. Robbie and Cliff believe that they\u2019re about to meet Ray\u2019s contact in the park and exchange the fentanyl for cash. Cliff is heading out alone first to show them a sample and demand to see proof of the money before they deliver the rest. That\u2019s when Robbie will drive over in a separate car and finish the exchange. Meanwhile, Tom\u2019s task force is waiting in the park to ambush Cliff and find out the whereabouts of the missing kid. None of that is about to happen.<\/p>\n

A white car that looks like Cliff\u2019s pulls into the park and doesn\u2019t stop, so Anthony sends Cliff a text from Ray\u2019s phone. \u201cIs this you?\u201d he writes. There\u2019s no response. So, cops surround the car and find a couple just searching for their lost dog. False alarm. <\/p>\n

When we cut back to Cliff, he\u2019s driving on a road somewhere else when he looks at his phone. There\u2019s no text message from Ray that reads \u201cIs this you?\u201d Instead, we only see a text that Cliff sent: \u201cHere.\u201d <\/p>\n

Jayson has Ray\u2019s phone somehow\u2014which we can tell from the Flyers background\u2014and he reads Cliff\u2019s text before driving his car off the road. When Robbie drives to the drop-off location, he\u2019s nowhere to be found. <\/p>\n

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\"task<\/p>\n
Peter Kramer<\/span>\/\/<\/span>HBO<\/span><\/figcaption>

Never take Grasso to the marriage bed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Grasso and Lizzie\u2019s Weird Night<\/h2>\n

The two task members go out for drinks after the sting failure… and end up rolling into bed. They\u2019ve been flirting heavily over the past four episodes, so it was about time that Task <\/em>upped the stakes here for their side-character romance. And yet, something incredibly strange happens. Anthony pauses and asks Lizzie if they’re having sex \u201cin the marriage bed.\u201d <\/p>\n

Lizzie is divorced, and she refers to her ex-husband as \u201clike the worst decision\u201d she ever made. But Anthony is fixated. It\u2019s a sacred place to him, and he won\u2019t have sex there. So, he leaves. \u201cI want to, obviously,\u201d he says, \u201cjust somewhere else.\u201d <\/p>\n

I have no idea what to make of this scene. Lizzie\u2019s face makes it seem like she\u2019s endeared by this gesture, though she also thinks it\u2019s a bit silly. Let me just say this. Ladies, do not think that you need to get a whole new bed every time you sleep with someone new. And men? Maybe relax a little. <\/p>\n

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\n
\"task<\/p>\n
Peter Kramer<\/span>\/\/<\/span>HBO<\/span><\/figcaption>

\u201cIt was almost like being at your own funeral,\u201d Castillo tells Esquire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

R.I.P. Cliff<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s possible that Ingelsby just figured we needed a bit of levity in this crazy plot before we find out what happened to Cliff, because Jayson and the Dark Hearts have beaten his face into a bloody mess. His cheeks are swollen, his eyelid is shut, and his nose looks broken in multiple places. He\u2019s like a crushed tomato. Cliff\u2019s strong, though, and he refuses to sell Robbie out. So, Jayson wraps Cliff\u2019s head in cellophane and suffocates him. It\u2019s horrifying to watch. <\/p>\n

When I talked to the actor who plays Cliff, Ra\u00fal Castillo, he told me that the vibe on set that day was haunting. \u201cIt was almost like being at your own funeral,\u201d said Castillo. \u201cPeople spoke quietly. They couldn\u2019t even look at me\u2014they were just turning away. It\u2019s a gruesome effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll say! You can read my interview with Castillo here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

After Cliff’s harrowing death, both sides get to work. Perry magically finds that Cliff’s gun looks the same as one of Billy’s guns from an old scrapbook. Meanwhile, Aleah alerts Tom to a tip from the guy Robbie beat up in the parking lot. It\u2019s a photo from the guy\u2019s cell phone that shows Sam is alive. Perry stares at a photo of Maeve while Tom does to same to the sliver of Robbie\u2019s face poking out from in between his fingers. It\u2019s not looking good, folks.<\/p>\n

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\"task<\/p>\n
Peter Kramer<\/span>\/\/<\/span>HBO<\/span><\/figcaption>

I think I figured it out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

The Phone<\/h2>\n

Before I leave you this week, there\u2019s just one scene that really got under my skin. I swear, I watched it back over a dozen times, and I left this episode damn near certain that Anthony is the mole. <\/p>\n

For starters, we watched him text someone \u201cIs this you?\u201d when that dog-searching couple entered the park. Cliff never received that text. Not only that, but Jayson had Ray\u2019s phone. I know this is true, because it had the Flyers background that Ray revealed last episode. Plus, Jayson received Cliff’s “here” text. <\/p>\n

Technically, anyone from Task <\/em>could have handed Ray\u2019s phone over to Jayson. Aleah could have snatched it from the evidence locker. So could Lizzie\u2014or even the suddenly shifty Katherine. But wouldn\u2019t Anthony know that he was holding the wrong phone? Did this random new phone Anthony have on him also happen to have someone named Cliff in its contacts? I mean, who did Anthony think he was texting? Did he just send a fake message?<\/p>\n

This is all mighty suspicious behavior, if you ask me! Either Task<\/em> didn\u2019t think the audience would catch it, or I just figured it out. Your move, Ingelsby,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.esquire.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, it felt like Task was trying to break me. Tom Pelphrey went for the Emmy when Robbie revealed that he\u2019s been robbing the Dark Hearts because Jayson (Sam Keeley) killed his brother. Aleah (Thuso Mbedu) detailed her horrific past of domestic abuse, and Tom (Mark Ruffalo) learned that there\u2019s a mole in his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2056567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[274717,382711,285977,285684,382710],"class_list":["post-2056566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-e5da44c6-6db0-46e1-b7f3-99d0560476d2","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-locale-us","tag-shorttitle-did-task-episode-4-just-reveal-the-mole"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Task-Episode-4-Is-This-the-Mole.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2056566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2056566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2056566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2056567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2056566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2056566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2056566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}