Task

I’m six episodes into Task and I’m honestly blown away. What a piece of filmmaking! Brilliantly written and acted — everything just clicks, everything’s exactly where it should be. There’s one episode left, and I have no idea how HBO plans to wrap it up, but this is an absolute knockout. One of the best shows of the year. Maybe the best?It’s created by the showrunners of Mare of Easttown. The cast is top-tier: Mark Ruffalo, Tom Pelphrey, plus some lesser-known faces who are just as outstanding. The music hits perfectly, too.Highly recommended. Best to go in without reading too much — just let the creators tell their story. It’s not only the plot that delivers here. For me, it’s a show about violence — about the whole cycle of it, and how much harm it causes to everyone around. Totally worth watching.

Mark Ruffalo heads this strong cast as an FBI agent working in the Philadelphia suburbs. When a string of violent robberies results in murders and a big heist, he assembles the task force to find the culprits. This was created by Brad Ingelsby, who’s “Mare of Easttown” is a similar dramatic series with the focus on character. While the criminal case drives the plot, it’s the stories behind the people that become the most intriguing aspect. In addition to Ruffalo’s expectedly fine performance, he’s joined by a complex and moving Tom Pelphrey, as the main crook and Emilia Jones, who’s equally compelling as the daughter caught in the middle. Toss in Martha Plimpton, as the FBI boss, who adds some fun with her gruff, messy portrayal. The story takes time to develop and it’s only about halfway thru the series that things become more involving. The plot itself doesn’t have any real surprises (the mole is a standard trope), but it’s strong enough and sufficiently grim to keep the show mildly involving. (7 one-hour eps

The series is good but falls flat on its face in the last episode. Almost every scene is badly written, badly directed & badly acted.

A pretty shameless attempt at repeating the minor success of Mare of Easttown. Essentially a copy-paste of the plot dressed up in new sprites. Ruffalo plays a predictably troubled former priest turned FBI agent who lost his faith and drinks too much (remind you of someone). The hacky Philly accents are back in full force but this time they aren't charming at all. The villain, who they spend way too much time with, is nothing but boring.

I have no idea how this show got a rating. Hardly any of the dialogue fits the character. Not funny, not insightful, just embarrassing. What viewer finds it entertaining when one of the characters mistakes the cheese on the casserole for marshmallows? Throw the cheese in his face! Give him real marshmallows! Tell him to leave! Tell him the only thing cute is me! Do something! But no, nothing happens! Just banal filler with no substance. The first 25 minutes could be cut, and the show would benefit. The first 25 minutes have to be explosive to make viewers want to watch eight episodes, and then another 16. Pace! Jokes! Suspense! Mystery! And here... a marshmallow on a casserole...