‘Task’ Episode 3: Who’s the Mole?

Summary

The Prestige TV Podcast—‘Task’ Episode 3: Who’s the Mole?

Date: September 22, 2025
Hosts: Joanna Robinson, Rob Mahoney, Bill Simmons

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Episode Overview

In this detailed breakdown of ‘Task’ Episode 3, the panel—Joanna Robinson, Rob Mahoney, and Bill Simmons—analyzes the increasingly tangled web of secrets, mole hunts, and character motivations propelling the series forward. This week’s discussion covers the inner workings of biker gang revenge, double moles, flashback clues, and the ever-deepening fates of the show’s central families. Listeners will find deep dives, hot takes, and plenty of clever banter as the hosts debate the show's best performances, questionable decisions, and looming predictions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Robbie’s Motivations and Biker Gang Politics

[02:01-09:39]

• The opening focus is on Robbie’s vengeful crusade against the biker gang after his brother’s death.
• Robbie’s methodical—but flawed—approach is highlighted, with Rob noting:

  “It’s pretty clear he doesn’t quite know what he’s doing. I think he’s more careful than some other characters… but he’s not well-versed in this world.” (Rob Mahoney, 06:05)

• Debate about how “dumb” or oblivious the biker gang is for not considering Robbie the main suspect.
• Introduction of Aaron (Robbie’s brother's lover and Jason’s partner), played by Margarita Levieva, sparks predictions about her narrative importance:

  “I just don’t…find it hard to believe she’s just popping in and out for one scene… I feel like there’s more to come from her.” (Bill Simmons, 10:26)

2. Double Moles, Classic Predecessors, and Task Force Dynamics

[10:32-13:23]

• Dissection of the "double mole" maneuver within the narrative:

  “The task force is the group that's still trying to get up to speed… the dual rat, dual mole situation happening actually leads everybody to be pretty well informed.” (Rob Mahoney, 10:32)

• References made to The Departed and Infernal Affairs as genre templates.

3. Freddy’s Introduction and The Art of the TV Monologue

[11:20-14:18]

• Freddy Frius enters the picture—a complex fence with a memorable speech about anti-biker trauma.
• Both the writing and acting of monologues are debated as slightly over-the-top yet effective, with Joanna noting:

  “You always want a little bit more for [Elvis Nolasco]… I would not ditch the teeth monologue though. It was incredibly good.” (Joanna Robinson, 12:10)

4. Robbie’s Dilemma: Escape or Escalation?

[15:39-20:01]

• Robbie’s decision to move the drugs rather than escape is questioned:

  “I would take the kids and Maeve and go and never look back. I would not try to move a bunch of drugs while the cops are looking for me and the bikers are looking for me at the same time.” (Joanna Robinson, 16:34)

• The classic downfall in crime fiction is discussed: characters compulsively chasing the “big score” even when it isn’t rational.

5. The Mole Hunt—Who’s Leaking?

[22:23-27:03]

• The hosts analyze clues and red herrings around the identity of the supposed task force mole, scrutinizing Grasso, Lizzie, and Aaliyah.
• Key speculation:

  “My pushback on that is that of the three, [Aaliyah’s] the one we least suspect… Lizzie is such a fuck up that she can't then also be the… mole.” (Joanna Robinson, 26:36)

• Bill proposes a misdirection theory that even the informant alleging a mole might himself be the leak.

6. Character Depth, Cop Bar Politics, and Task Force Banter

[27:34-32:24]

• Lizzie’s checkered past (“Lizzie Stovetop”), the weaponized “freeze” under pressure motif, and bar interactions are broken down for hidden meaning and future setups.
• Rob speculates the “Stovetop” nickname is related more to her desk duty funk:

  “She froze in some capacity, got benched as an on-duty officer and then… the desk, and stovetop sits on the counter.” (Rob Mahoney, 29:24)

7. Family Flashbacks and Emotional Stakes

[34:07-36:17, 41:17-44:50]

• The debate about legacy—Robbie vs. iconic TV antiheroes—is connected back to Breaking Bad and The Sopranos.
• The Ruffalo family flashbacks, their tragic resonance, and possible future implications are mulled over, including Sarah’s wine-pouring coping mechanism.

8. Chase Sequence and “Scooby-Doo” Reveal

[38:28-41:20]

• A home invasion gone sideways provides suspense, a “Scooby Doo” mask-off, and reveals about Cliff’s life.

  “After we had this two chains… we pull the mask and it’s her. I was surprised.” (Bill Simmons, 38:42)

9. Accents, Athleticism, and Details That Matter

[52:49-53:46]

• The hosts appraise the show’s commitment to regional accents:

  “A lot of ‘daughter’ in this episode… I’m enjoying the full range of accent emotion.” (Rob Mahoney, 52:55)

• Special praise for Lizzie and Maeve’s performances by non-American actors.

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Memorable Quotes and Standout Moments

• Joanna (on Robbie):

  “They’ve gone so hard on making us like Robbie…so that’s the thing that I’m worried about: can his humanity survive the pressures that he’s going to feel from all sides?” (37:17)

• Bill (on drinking and realism):

  “That last wine pour he had wasn’t even a pour. It was like a glug. It was like pouring out something after a party…” (56:52)

• Rob (on monologue excess):

  “I thought this one was easily like the most TV thing in this show that has happened all season. It felt like a pause, clear out, let the actor cook…a little showy.” (13:23)

• Joanna (on heavy-handed reiteration):

  “Do you think this moment where there’s like, ‘well, here they are. It’s Aaliyah, Lizzie, Anthony. This is what they look like. Just so you know…’? Like, I thought that was a really weird moment.” (48:09)

• Maeve’s Yearbook Wisdom:

  “When you get older, you get to choose what you take from your parents and what you leave behind.” (Maeve, 54:12, quoted by Bill)

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Key Timestamps by Segment

• Discussing Robbie’s Motivation / Biker Gang Revenge: 02:01–09:39
• Examining the Double Mole and Crime Drama History: 10:32–13:23
• Freddy's Entrance & “Teeth” Monologue Debate: 11:20–14:18
• Robbie’s Escape Choices Analyzed: 15:39–20:01
• Intensive Mole Hunt Theories: 22:23–27:03
• Bar Scene, “Lizzie Stovetop” & Task Force Chemistry: 27:34–32:24
• Flashbacks and Legacy Discussion: 34:07–36:17, 41:17–44:50
• Chase Scene & “Scooby-Doo” Reveal: 38:28–41:20
• Accents, Athleticism, and Easter Eggs: 52:49–53:46
• Maeve’s Advice to Sam: 54:12
• Predictions and Odds for Sam’s Survival: 54:47–55:44

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Predictions and Theories

• Will Sam survive? Under 6.5 episodes seems favored (Bill), but Joanna’s still optimistic.
• The Mole's Identity: Suspicion leans toward a non-obvious suspect (possibly the informant or Plimpton), with Lizzie framed as a potential red herring.
• Upcoming Deaths: Expect one of the task force (likely Lizzie) and a biker gang member to die soon.
• Robbie’s Fate: Hosts agree he likely won’t make it to Canada—anticipate tragic consequences and questions of whether he retains his core (‘human’) decency.
• Bartender and Ginger Beard: Bartender predicted to protect Aaron, while Ginger Beard is top of the “death rankings.”

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Closing Thoughts

The episode features sharp, affectionate critiques of Task's storytelling, acting, and genre conventions. While some monologues and flashbacks are flagged as formulaic, the hosts praise nuanced performances and the show’s careful layering of clues. The podcast closes with lively speculation about deaths, betrayals, and the likelihood of Emmy-reel monologues incoming.

Notable Outro:
Joanna’s potential “Heavy Pour” podcast for TV wine moments and predictions of courtroom scenes in episode 4 provide a lighthearted finish to a substantive, energetic recap.

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For more insights, follow the Prestige TV Podcast on Spotify and The Ringer’s platforms. Keep watching—and keep guessing who’s the mole!

Transcript

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[Joanna Robinson]

Hello. Welcome back to the Prestige TV podcast feed. I'm Joanna Robinson.

[Rob Mahoney]

I'm Rob Mahoney.

[Joanna Robinson]

We're here today with Bill Simmons. Talk to you about episode three of Task.

[Rob Mahoney]

Still a phenomenal show. Joe Just keeps rolling on.

[Joanna Robinson]

I think that people need to stay tuned for some spicy predictions.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yep.

[Joanna Robinson]

And Rob's hot takes on peach rings with Tajin. I think those are two of the most flavorful things that we can possibly offer you in this episode.

[Rob Mahoney]

We're dropping knowledge about chickens, about drug distribution. Really everything you need to know to be a working professional. You can learn from this podcast, so stay tuned.

[Apple Pay Announcer]

This message is brought to you by Apple Pay. Forget your wallet. It's all good because with Apple Pay, you can pay with a simple tap of your iPhone, the wallet you never forget at millions of places worldwide, including websites, apps, and anywhere you see the contactless symbol. Security is built in with face ID so you don't have to worry about your cars getting lost or stolen. And the best part, you still earn card rewards, points, and cash back you love. So say Goodbye to the BFold, add your card to Apple Wallet and start paying the Apple Way terms apply.

[Bill Simmons]

The Prestige TV podcast, episode three, Task. An awesome show. Joanna Robinson is here. Rob Mahoney is here. Sadly, we're not doing this in person. We're doing it on. On Zoom. Rob, where do you want to start? What'd you think?

[Rob Mahoney]

It's only fair if we're going to properly heat this thing. Like, you got to give Pelfrey some time to cook. You got to give him some time to scream and pound his chest. I thought we finally got some of that. This is sort of like a handoff episode, in my opinion. Giving his end of the plotline a lot more shrift this week.

[Joanna Robinson]

Joanna, biggest revelation, other than Freddy Frius and his teeth. Oh, I think. I mean, other than the confirmation of some of the things that we were talking about last week, I think the thing that has me most concerned, Bill, is we found out that this adorable child cannot swim. And all I could think about was your theory about that kid. And I got very nervous.

[Bill Simmons]

So, yeah, Loves animals. He's clearly going to maybe die in the forest in a. In a body of water. And they're just laying breadcrumbs left and right.

[Rob Mahoney]

The magnetism between Sam and the quarry has never been stronger. Like, he will be chasing a deer, an animal of some kind, and just fall straight off. Just straight off a cliff.

[Joanna Robinson]

Oh, God.

[Rob Mahoney]

But will he survive? Will he survive because of everything that Maeve has taught him.

[Joanna Robinson]

That's how to float.

[Rob Mahoney]

Tune in to find out.

[Joanna Robinson]

Interesting. I mean, they had that child feeding watermelon to a chicken. They're just like, this is the cutest child ever. Be prepared to cry. I'm worried about. I'm very worried.

[Rob Mahoney]

I did get sent down a Google rabbit hole. Can chicken eat watermelon?

[Joanna Robinson]

Can I eat watermelon?

[Rob Mahoney]

I've got great news, guys. Not, you know, no free ads, but shout out to the chicken coop company that has an extensive listicle on this subject. We support journalism, apparently. It's a good way to keep chickens cool and hydrated in the summer. It's a delightful summer treat for the chickens. They also love it. Which means, look, poor Gertie has been getting hounded by Sam all of these weeks. Apparently now refusing the watermelon. She's so bothered by him.

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay, all right.

[Bill Simmons]

Wow. I've already learned so much. And we're only three minutes in. Chickens eat watermelons. Sam can't swim. I wrote down a bunch of things we found out.

[Rob Mahoney]

Okay.

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay, what do you got?

[Bill Simmons]

And I'm going to take them in order because the first thing we found out, Robbie is getting revenge on the biker gang because they killed his brother. And not only did not apologize for it, went to the funeral, shook his hand, looked him in the eye, let that motherfucker come and shake my hand.

[Rob Mahoney]

I was waiting for it.

[Bill Simmons]

Pelfrey was just. Was on one in here. I'm fucking tired of that life. He was just. This was one of his Emmy scenes. But we guessed a lot of this, and they basically told us this. But he finally came out and said it like, I am robbing these houses because they killed my brother. And they looked me in the eye and it was no big deal to them. So now I'm getting my revenge. I guess that my nitpick with this rob, wouldn't he be the number one suspect?

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

If these drug houses were getting robbed, wouldn't they be like, I wonder who has Something against us. Maybe it's the guy whose brother we killed.

[Rob Mahoney]

Especially when they're like. In the entire history of biker gang culture, only one time has there ever been infighting that led to a death of a Dark Hearts member. It's like, yeah, maybe this is the one thing we should look at. Especially now that they know that Cliff is involved. Like, how is it not a neon sign pointing right back to Robbie?

[Bill Simmons]

What'd you think, Joe?

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah, that's a great question. I can only guess it's like hubris that they don't. They're underestimating Robbie and how he feels like that they. I don't know. That they know that Cliff is. How do. How well do people know that Cliff is connected to Robbie? That's the next connected step that, you know. If only Shelly and Ray paid Cliff closer attention when Cliff introduced Robbie and got his name right, maybe we'd be closer. But Tom and the task schemer are zeroing in on, like, through Billy. The through Billy route, you know, and then they've got like the Cliff thread. And those are going to converge on Robbie later in the season, I would guess.

[Bill Simmons]

So what do we think Robbie's last 10 years looked like before they started robbing these houses? Just like an odd jobs guy, family man, kind of stayed out of the business. Do you think he dabbled in it? That. That they. They've given some clues, but I don't know. Rob, what do you think? Just stayed out of it. What is he?

[Rob Mahoney]

It's. I mean, it seems like he was an honest to goodness, actual garbage man based on the description. Right? Like he's just been working like whatever blue collar job he can get. I'm guessing he's been trying to stay out of it. I'm guessing maybe he even tried to talk his brother out of it, of being involved in this kind of life in the first place. And now, you know, now he's coming gun like. Like full swing, trying to get revenge. But it's pretty clear he doesn't quite know what he's doing. I think he's more careful than some other characters, which suits him and keeps him out of trouble in some cases. But he's not well versed in this world.

[Bill Simmons]

Well, we also met Robbie's dead brother's goomar mistress. Affair, partner, whatever you want to say. She was the. The girlfriend or wife of. Of Jason, one of the lead biker guys.

[Joanna Robinson]

Girlfriend? Yeah.

[Rob Mahoney]

Wait, I thought. I thought it was wife or. Well, look like. Who's to say what their circumstances are?

[Joanna Robinson]

His old lady Biker. Yeah, yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

I'm going to say bad career move, maybe having an affair with Jason's wife. I'm going to recommend no on that. From a survival standpoint in a. In a fucking biker gang, I'm going to say that's a stay away.

[Rob Mahoney]

It's against the bylaws for sure. Like, Dark hearts. HR definitely had to step in. There was a whole thing. It's a lot.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah. There's a whole disclosure to go through. Yeah, it's a lot.

[Bill Simmons]

But she says I, you know, when they have this scene with Robbie and Cliff and her, she says, like, I loved him. So this was I. Joanna, did your flashback radar get on? Are we. Are we going backwards with these, with this threesome?

[Joanna Robinson]

Maybe. I don't know that we care enough about Aaron. Like, I'll be. I'll be curious to see if we care enough about her to get that flashback. We did get a flashback in this episode, of course, to Tom's life. We've been seeing a lot of billion photos, so it feels like it's going to be really important that we. Billy looks like. And whether that has anything to do with the. The footage of the shootout in Reading or something like that, I don't know. But they really, really want us to know what Billy looks like. So maybe we will need that information for a flashback.

[Rob Mahoney]

Here's my question. When they do meet with Aaron, Cliff says that, you know, she has kind of gotten what she wanted and she's sort of walking away from the situation, at least their conversation. What is it that she wanted? Just for the Dark hearts to get hit? For them to suffer some financial loss? Was that it?

[Joanna Robinson]

She says Jason's. They're going to yank Jason.

[Rob Mahoney]

She's in for the politics.

[Joanna Robinson]

She's like, perry's here. They're going to take Jason out. Whether that just means demoting him or if you get iced. If you're like, no longer the. The head of your biker gang, I don't know. But she wants, like, retribution, it seems.

[Bill Simmons]

Like, to me, and possibly some money for. For the kids, for Billy. Well, here's. Here's a red flag. I've learned. I've been schooled in the Joanna Robinson School of IMDb sle. The girlfriend, whatever you want to call her, is played by Margarita Levieva Laviva. I've been a longtime fan. She had a dramatic second season episode arc and how to make it in America.

[Rob Mahoney]

That's the one.

[Bill Simmons]

A great show that they just could never really land the plane on. But I watched every episode. Dave Jacoby was his favorite show of all time. I wish it had been on for five years, but she was really good in that. And then. And she's bounced around and been. She's definitely been in a bunch of stuff, but she was really good in Deuce, or the Deuce, whatever that David Simon show was. I've always liked her, and I think she's a good actress. And I just don't. I find it hard to believe she's just popping in and out for one scene by Elise.

[Joanna Robinson]

Oh, yeah. I mean, she has things to do. Right. She's got her eye on Perry talking to the bartender. Like, she's still in the mix, but I don't know if we care enough about her internal life to get the sort of flashback narrative. But, yeah, definitely. We've had quite a year with her on House of R because she was an acolyte and Daredevil, like, you know, in fairly short succession. And so to see her again, I was like, she's haunting me. Absolutely. But I thought she was.

[Bill Simmons]

Are those TV shows?

[Joanna Robinson]

They are. They're shows covered by a podcast on your network.

[Bill Simmons]

Acolyte and Daredevil. Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

Real shows that exist.

[Bill Simmons]

You could have made up a third one on that one, and I would have been like, oh, she's on that, too.

[Rob Mahoney]

That's the new parlor game.

[Joanna Robinson]

Pumas. You don't know about the Pumas?

[Rob Mahoney]

Oh, my God, the Pumas. She's great in that.

[Joanna Robinson]

She's killer. Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

I like her, though. I think she's good. So I. I feel like there's more to come from her. Rob. I feel like we get a flashback with her.

[Rob Mahoney]

I mean, she at least is going to be keeping tabs on things. And the way Joe described, like, she's important to the plot. Like, one of the things that I'm really appreciating about this season so far is there's a version of this show where Robbie and Cliff are just either dumber or operating with less information. And from the second you hear Freddy Fr Name kind of like being dropped into the mix, like, oh, my God, they're just going to walk straight into this trap. But they're ahead of the game in the same way that the Dark Hearts are ahead of the game. Like, the task force is the group that's still trying to get up to speed on what the hell is happening between any of these people. But the dual rat, dual mole situation happening actually leads everybody to be pretty well informed.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, the Double Mole. I can't remember that many shows or movies pulling this off.

[Joanna Robinson]

We talked about this a bit. The Departed is like, yeah, that's the one.

[Rob Mahoney]

And Infernal Affairs, I guess, by association.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah, infernal affairs, of course. Yeah. Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

Oh, that's good. I like that. Well, you mentioned Freddie. This another thing we learned. We were predicting we would get Freddie in episode three or episode four. We got him almost right away in the third episode. I think a lot of our predictions from the second podcast we did were pretty dead on. Freddie comes in, hates bikers, works with the biker gang, but hates bikers, tells this long, really well written monologue about when he moved to this country and he got his teeth kicked in by a couple bikers and they peed on him. And clearly dealing with these guys, but also kind of hates their guts, this actor. So Elvis Nolasco. And he's been in a bunch of stuff. Most of the stuff I don't really watch. Where was he on the radar for you, Joe? Because I thought he was fantastic in that scene.

[Joanna Robinson]

I thought he was really good, too. I have seen him in a few things as well. He's one of those guys where he shows up, he's always gonna be good, but you always want a little bit more for him, and this feels like a good role in that. Reg Love. I will say this episode, of the three we've watched, this is maybe my least favorite. Perhaps because we got less Robbie than we had before. And I just think Todd Pelfrey is so good. And also, I'd say maybe one too many monologues. You know, we get, like, Aaliyah's story. We get Maeve talking about learning how to swim. We get the teeth monologue. You know, there's just, like, a maybe one too many in this episode. I would not ditch the teeth monologue, though. It was incredibly good. And what I really loved was how Freddy and Jason and Perry, the bikers, are exchanging pleasantries, right? It's like, oh, your daughter's getting married. Oh, do you like the guy? Like, there's like, I love this in a mob story or a crime story or whatever, when, like, two, you know, competing families or groups or whatever meet up, there's the initial pleasantry, and then we just devolve into, like, Freddy's like. Or I could piss on you. What do you. What do you think of my terms? Like, that's where we start and where we end, I thought was really, really good.

[Rob Mahoney]

I think one flows seamlessly into the other, you know, arrangements into potentially peeing on each other. Like, the line is straight. I did think Monologue wise, you guys are right. Like, this is incredible. It's well written, it's well performed. I thought this one was easily like the most TV thing in this show that has happened all season. It felt like a pause, clear out, let the actor cook kind of monologue in a way that felt a little showy. Not that I'm opposed to that, but did kind of stick out a little bit within a show that otherwise, like, very polished.

[Joanna Robinson]

Part of it to me was the way he was framed. It was like a direct. Just sort of like, here's this guy centered in the frame, perfectly going to talk directly at the camera about this thing that happened to him. Whereas, you know, like Maeve or Aaliyah. That's a slightly different setup where it just seems a little bit more natural. This is like, here's my audition monologue kind of moment. My. My self tape for this role kind of set up. So, yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

Rob, would you have accepted the 50% or would you have kept negotiating?

[Rob Mahoney]

I mean, I don't want to get peed on. Are those the terms?

[Bill Simmons]

I think they thought he was just going to like, say, fine for 20.

[Rob Mahoney]

I mean, @ this point, it's all found money, right? Like, I. I think 50%, given their circumstances and most importantly for them, finding the dudes who did this, that should be as valuable as anything. Including kind of the score. What was it? It was 12 kilos, 12 birds that we're looking for.

[Joanna Robinson]

12 pure.

[Bill Simmons]

We learned something very important in the. In this whole exchange, that there's some Ecuadorians from Boston. I have a home team now to root for the Ecuadorians to get the fentanyl. Who knew? Who knew they had a big drug scene that might be coming into Pennsylvania. 50% or I pull out my cock and piss all over your bearded faces. I think this is what. I think this is what Rob Pelinka said. I have to. So Rob Polinka said to Nico. Rob, basketball joke. Sorry, Joe, I have a question.

[Joanna Robinson]

I have a question.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

On a scale of one to like piss in the beard, that makes it worse. Way worse than anything else, right?

[Rob Mahoney]

Especially those are lush beards, you know, those are beards that are catching soup on a regular basis. And now, now you're trying to pee into this beard. It's a mess.

[Bill Simmons]

Tough one. Well, he has a new set of teeth and he wants 50%.

[Joanna Robinson]

I was glad to get an explanation from Robbie as to why he felt like he needed to move the drugs, why he couldn't just bury the drugs in the woods, which is what him to do. And he's like, I need this money, so I guess I can go to Canada on a trucking route. You know, we had a whole, like, zuat neo sort of conversation about, like, where we might go, which, of course, we're never going to make it there. But. But that's why he needs the money for that. And, And. And to a certain degree, you could ask yourself, can you do it without these millions of dollars? But there's that sunk cost fallacy of, like, I'm in it. I've got to go all the way. But at least he's justifying to himself, if not entirely to me. Why he need. He' running right now. That's what I would do. I would take the kids and Maeve and go and. And. And never look back. I would not try to move a bunch of drugs while the cops are looking for me and the bikers are looking for me at the same time.

[Rob Mahoney]

Joe, you still have that entrepreneurial spirit, you know?

[Joanna Robinson]

It's true. It's true.

[Bill Simmons]

Well, I. I was gonna say the move is to just wait a year. Right. But this is when the. When the show dips into its heat. DNA. The bank is worth the risk. The bank wasn't worth the risk. And he should have walked away. They'd done enough a job. The heat was on them. Maybe chill for a little while. You already made some money. There's no reason to rob the bank when the police is just waiting for you to do the next thing. But this is why we love these shows and movies. They have to do the thing you. You deep down don't want them to do. They just have to.

[Joanna Robinson]

Could you. Because you have to. You have the kid. And that's a problem? Yes. Could you take the kid? Not drown the kid, but take the kid, Take the two boys and the girl, pack them in the car with the drugs, go literally anywhere else. And I feel like as soon as you're in a different state, you know, you don't. You might not even have to wait a year. You could go out to, like, go out, come out to the coast, have a few laughs. We love fentanyl out here. Come on.

[Bill Simmons]

Come on. Lots of great places for fentanyl.

[Joanna Robinson]

Exactly.

[Rob Mahoney]

I'm not going across state lines with 12 kilos of fentanyl. That sounds like we're escalating my sentencing at that point.

[Bill Simmons]

And a kidnapped boy.

[Joanna Robinson]

Now who doesn't have the entrepreneurial spirit?

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, that's fair. That's a really tough one. I would have hung low. The problem is when we get to later in the episode when the police are at Cliff's house now, they know there's been some dots connected. And so you have on top. On top of you have these drugs, you can't move. The police are putting two and two together. And I don't know what you do at this point, but you probably just let the kid kind of resurface in a mall or something and just hope that because he's young enough, he's not going to be able to really describe what he remembers or do the classic action movie move where you're like, if you tell anybody one thing about this, we're killing you, we're killing your family. Like, do some sort of threat that he would be afraid.

[Joanna Robinson]

Good luck.

[Bill Simmons]

I think that's your only move with the kid.

[Joanna Robinson]

Good luck. I feel like Sam's like, well, they've got five chickens. This is their name. This is how much they prefer watermelon. Sam knows way too much at this. Oh, if they dump Sam and leave, that's another option. Dump Sam and the drugs and leave.

[Rob Mahoney]

Dump his body. No, Joe, what are you doing?

[Joanna Robinson]

Just leave him and then go to Canada. Leave Sam you behind. I would take it with me.

[Rob Mahoney]

On the scale of criminal desperation, where is on like a 0 to 10. I'm going to smuggle myself to Canada. Like, we're not really heating up yet because we're not talking about like non extradition countries, I feel like. But yeah, at least, at least a four or five.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah. This is in the five to six range. I also. It's a, it's a. It's a thing I really like. And t, like, escape from Dannemora is the best. If we can just get through upstate New York and Canada is like this finish line at the end. We just get there. Like, it's going to be so much easier in Canada. Is it? Canada and Mexico are the two.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

I'd be more Mexico. I'd probably be more of a Canada guy if I'm trying to escape.

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay, well, from there it's a. It's a Geographic game. Right. If you're. If you're trying to escape from here or if you're Thelma and. Or Louise from Pennsylvania, you're trying to get to Mexico. But if you're up there in Pennsylvania, aren't you trying to get to Canada?

[Bill Simmons]

Yes.

[Rob Mahoney]

And as far north as you can.

[Bill Simmons]

That's where they're expecting you to go, though. So you might want to zag and try to do Mexico or Cuba or somewhere weird.

[Joanna Robinson]

Oh my God. I love the idea of Tom and the kids going to Cuba.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah.

[Rob Mahoney]

Season two look out for it.

[Bill Simmons]

Feels like the late 80s in Cuba. We'll take a break and then we'll do the rest of the things we learned.

[Joanna Robinson]

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[Bill Simmons]

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[Bill Simmons]

I think Joe was lukewarm on this episode. I don't think she wants to really come out and say it. Lukewarmness from you.

[Joanna Robinson]

I wasn't down on it. I was just sort of. I was really high in the first two and I'm like medium high on this one, I guess well, they had.

[Bill Simmons]

To answer some of the things they laid out in the first two, and now I feel like we are unencumbered the rest of the way.

[Joanna Robinson]

Maybe I. You know, the. The mole hunt is interesting to me because we talked about this a little bit last week. Like, is there a mole in the task team and who might it be now that we're in episode three, and it's a big, like, who is the mole question. Now I'm wondering if there is no mole, because a way in which the bikers could have found out about Cliff is we saw them go into Peaches, like, fiance's house, and we don't know what the outcome of that was. We don't know why the bikers are there. And so the fact that Tom is now suspicious of Lizzie and Alia and Degrasso, like, makes me think that they're all innocent. That's where I am by episode three. You know, it's too early.

[Rob Mahoney]

They're also fainting pretty hard on the Grasso stuff right now. Maybe it's just because we've been talking about it and kind of circling him as a candidate here, but his, like, conspicuous. Oh, I have a mysterious meeting at 11:30 at night with somebody I'm not gonna tell you about, but I need to leave. Is like, oh, I'm just gonna show up late with the coffee, but I'm gonna blame it on Wawa. There's like, a couple too many disappearances for him relative to the rest of the task force. That feels pointed, feels in a way, that's calling attention to itself.

[Joanna Robinson]

What did you think then? If you have your eye on him, what did you think of the scene where he goes in with Tom to meet Jason and Perry? Like, in scrutinizing those interactions, did you see anything there that was a red flag for you?

[Rob Mahoney]

This is the thing is it seems like either he and Jason are both very good actors, the best actors pretending like they don't actually know each other. Or I think there's door number three as well, which is whoever his contact is, it's not Jason. Maybe he could always be liaisoning with some, you know, lower level dark heart, and then the information is going upstream. But I agree with you, Joe. Based on the timing, based on how hard they're leaning into the Grasso stuff right now, I do think whatever information they think is leaking is actually leaking out from somebody somewhere else or just, like a different channel.

[Bill Simmons]

Can I zag a little bit here, please?

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

What's the name of the guy at the tail End of the episode. Who's telling Ruffalo? Given the informant guy, whoever that guy is.

[Joanna Robinson]

I can't remember his name.

[Bill Simmons]

Who's basically like, you have a mole in the task force. Yeah, maybe he's the mole.

[Rob Mahoney]

You think he's the mole?

[Bill Simmons]

What if he. What if this is the. The old Swerverooni episode 5 or 6? This is the guy who's actually pulling the strings here.

[Joanna Robinson]

Can I zig to your zag?

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

Plimpton.

[Bill Simmons]

Another possibility.

[Rob Mahoney]

She has one concern in this episode, and it's not looking like a smacked ass.

[Joanna Robinson]

What is Martha Plimpton up to? She's here in a flashback. She's. She's closer to Tom than anyone else. She's got a bone to pick with a department. I don't know, Plimpton.

[Bill Simmons]

That I think would be the most disappointing swerve. Where it's like, I've been in this force for 28 years. I made jack shit. It was time for me to get mine. We have one of those monologues like, all right, this is really how we're ending. I'm just a little suspicious of all the information of that Middleman guy for sure. Why is he getting all of it? What is he getting out of it? And if you're him and you're actually the person who's double dipping, wouldn't you make it sound like you got them all on your task force? Do you? I don't know. These four people are pretty randomly mismatched.

[Rob Mahoney]

They are randomly mismatched. They're also kind of pulled into this through such different means. Right. Like we have characters like Lizzie who are sort of kicked over to the task force because they fucked up their other job. And then we have this sort of, like, handed off to Ruffalo. It's like, it would be hard to worm your way in here on purpose, I think.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, I agree.

[Rob Mahoney]

That said, the only character from the moment they find out about Cliff, the task force finds out about Cliff. The only character we see texting or calling anybody is Lizzie, who is ostensibly texting the address to Grasso. So could Lizzie also text it, Drop it in the Dark Arts group chat? I think that's possible. Could. Could Grasso copy paste it into the Dark Hearts group chat? Also possible, but I'm still leaning towards it's not any of the three of them.

[Joanna Robinson]

So you're saying Aaliyah Innocent. There's no. There's no way.

[Rob Mahoney]

I just don't see it. I don't see. I don't see how you Give Aaliyah the big domestic violence speech and plotline and then make her the informant to the dark hearts. I don't see that.

[Joanna Robinson]

My pushback on that is that of the three, she's the one we least suspect. Right?

[Rob Mahoney]

Sure.

[Joanna Robinson]

And Lizzie. My counter to that is Lizzie is such a fuck up in every way that she can't then also be the. Like, she's the mole and she fucks up at everything.

[Rob Mahoney]

She'd be too bad of a mole.

[Joanna Robinson]

She's really, really clumsy at it.

[Bill Simmons]

Or that's why she's the mole, because she fucked up in some way and owes people something.

[Joanna Robinson]

And certainly I think Tom will. She'll be Tom's number one suspect because he'll be like, why did she let them push me down the stairs straight up?

[Rob Mahoney]

Just watched it happen.

[Joanna Robinson]

But I think Lizzie's. I freeze. I freeze. I don't know what to do. I freeze. Has to pay off either in a. She freezes and she dies. Because that's in a different show, I would say she talks about how much she freezes. So of course she has to have a moment where she actually will pull the trigger on Grasso or something like that. She won't freeze up. Up. Or she freezes and she dies. Because that's, you know, the kind of sick that Brad and Obi can be.

[Bill Simmons]

So, yeah, just a little zag on this one. So her that we have that scene in the bar after. After the big, you know, arrest, whatever you want to call it. And then she's hanging out with our guy with the dj. They're having cigarettes and beers. And then we see some. I don't know, where were those guys from that were calling her Lizzie Stovetop?

[Rob Mahoney]

They were stadies.

[Bill Simmons]

Right?

[Joanna Robinson]

Stadies. Yeah. Delco Stadies.

[Bill Simmons]

So there's some sort of. I couldn't really read what was going on. There was some sort of baggage with her that she was embarrassed by. And we don't know what it is yet. So, Joanna, what do you think it was?

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay, so our screeners that we're watching do not have closed captions on them, right? I. Right.

[Rob Mahoney]

Correct.

[Joanna Robinson]

So I turned on the Spanish subtitles and then translated. And then translated.

[Bill Simmons]

Look at this.

[Joanna Robinson]

Because the Stadie said something that I was like, what exactly did you say here? And he said, the barracks won't miss you. And I don't know if he means like, because she sleeps around in the barracks. Because just. That's a way to say we won't miss you. Like, what. What a word choice. The barracks won't miss you. I was just like, what is the cause? At first I was like, did he say your parents? Is she a depot baby?

[Bill Simmons]

Are her parents criminals? They called her Lizzie. Lizzie Stovetop. Well, her last name is Stover, I think.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

Well, so Stovetop feels derogatory, Rob.

[Joanna Robinson]

Oh, for sure.

[Rob Mahoney]

My interpretation of all that was she also alludes to the fact that she has frozen before and that's why she got sent to the task force. She froze and up in some capacity, got benched as an on duty officer and then was in the. Like basically had to stay home and hold down the fort back at the office. I think that's where the Lizzie Stovetop comes from. Like she was right.

[Joanna Robinson]

The desk and stove top sits on the counter.

[Rob Mahoney]

Exactly. Okay, that's my interpretation. We'll see. I mean maybe, maybe the fuck ups are even more extent, like extenuous than that.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, I mean there was a piece of me wondering if there was some sort of sexual thing where there was like she maybe a couple people in the barracks or got the reputation and that's Stovetop.

[Joanna Robinson]

I don't know that if my shitty ex husband slept with my best friend, I might want to just be like, fudge it and. And you know, do whatever I want to do.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

I'm Lizzie.

[Bill Simmons]

And I'll tell you, all bets are off with Lizzie Stove. Lizzie Stovetop. I don't know what it means and it clearly means something and there's some baggage we're gonna find out about.

[Rob Mahoney]

Maybe there's sexual stuff there, maybe there's not. There's definitely some sexual stuff between her and DJ Grossanova. Like she is. She is already trying to get after it and we have no. Look, I respect it. I respect the hustle. I respect everything that she's after here.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, but he. Something, something happened. He didn't like something about the interaction. He was immediately out. His baggage alert went off and was. Was wrapping it up in five seconds. The way he was kind of, kind of studying her and studying the back and forth and he was like, oh, my baggage alert's off. I'm out.

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay, so on the like, is he a mole? Is he turned off by this whatever front? Can we take a moment to understand his like toast that he gives?

[Rob Mahoney]

Yes.

[Joanna Robinson]

Where he toasts her and he. And he calls out the stadies who came in and were. And were shitty to her. And then he has a weird like kind of softball acab moment inside of that speech too. Like it was a really weird. I was like, what is. What is the tenor of the bar? He's like, it's hard to be a cop. And then a bunch of people boo him. But I was like, but aren't you in a cop bar? Like, I don't. I didn't really understand what exactly.

[Bill Simmons]

She appreciated it, though. He did.

[Joanna Robinson]

Definitely.

[Bill Simmons]

He kind of. He. You know, he kind of. He. He jumped ship on whatever was happening on the table and then maybe felt bad and was like, I gotta.

[Joanna Robinson]

I will say Alison Oliver, who's playing Lizzie, I think she's really good. And like, that. That look she gives him of like, oh, my God, someone stood up for me.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

I thought was really, really good. And it's gonna make it all the sad. Sadder when they have to draw guns on each other at some point.

[Rob Mahoney]

It really is. I. I will say this. If I was in a bar, cop bar or otherwise, and someone got up and made a speech about the one good cop and wanting me to toast them, like, how is that not a this guy kind of moment? Like, I would resent the person being toasted even more than if they had never mentioned it.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah. I think he just put. He paints a bigger target on her back completely. So. Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

Well, going backwards, we learn Ruffalo's team. I'm just calling him Ruffalo. I know his name's Tom, but I just. I. I can't help it. Is connecting Jason's gang with the murder. So they go to the bar and they do the you got it leak. You know it, we know it. I'm just saying, if anyone says that on any show, but near the end, the biker gang says, we got better ways to find Sam that don't involve either of you. What does that mean?

[Rob Mahoney]

Rob be Peaches fiance's dad to death or near death and extract some information. Like, why bother with the legal red tape? Why bother with the task force, with the baby feds? You know, like these. These are professionals in their own right, and clearly they're very plugged in on a lot of different stuff. Why. Why couldn't they get to the bottom.

[Bill Simmons]

Of all this little vigilante justice?

[Rob Mahoney]

Absolutely.

[Bill Simmons]

Okay. What'd you think of that scene, Joe?

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah, the biker code. I think it's interesting. I want to spend more time with Jason as a person. Yeah, right. Like I need a Jason monologue. What's Jason's deal? I need to know more.

[Rob Mahoney]

He's a middle manager, I guess.

[Joanna Robinson]

So I would. I would. I would love to know more about, like, how he really feels about Aaron. What drove him to beat a man to death who was ostensibly a friend of his. I mean, I know why he did it, but I need to, like, understand who he is like that he's that kind of guy.

[Bill Simmons]

Obviously couldn't make the. Couldn't make the wife's toes curl like Billy.

[Joanna Robinson]

Like Billy could.

[Rob Mahoney]

Well, look, Billy can cook. We've all said that about.

[Joanna Robinson]

Billy will throw you into the deep end in every way possible if he can.

[Rob Mahoney]

So I think I. I did enjoy from the sequence, the Perry and Tom kind of st, you know, glower down.

[Bill Simmons]

It was good.

[Rob Mahoney]

I'm in. I'm in for it. You know, obviously we haven't gotten the big, like, Tom and Robbie meet at the diner equivalent of a diner moment yet. And I'm sure we will in some form or fashion. But in the meantime, Tom and Perry also pretty good foils for each other.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, this is. That's a good prediction. We are definitely getting the Jason Robbie one on one something at some point.

[Joanna Robinson]

Oh, Jason Robbie.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, yeah. We're getting the two of them something with the brother. There will be a show, a monologue showdown. English probably worked on in his. In his log cabin in Colorado or wherever he is.

[Joanna Robinson]

Can I. Bill, Bill, can I ask you a Sopranos question?

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

When Tom's. When Robbie is talking about his legacy, right? Maeve's like, your legacy is going to be, you know, you're a kidnapper, blah, blah, your kids. And he's like, no, that's not my legacy. That's not my legacy. This is something like we've seen across tons of crime shows. You know, this is something that Walter White thinks about all the time. This is like such a crime staple of like, what is my legacy? Or, you know, I don't know if you've heard of the show, but there's a show called Game of Thrones where, where people talk about why we do things for our legacy. Is this a big concern for Tony Soprano as well? Is this just like a hallmark of that era of prestige television?

[Bill Simmons]

No. Ironically, Tony never talked about legacy stuff like that. Yeah, no, he. He was in deep denial about everything about his life. You know, he positioned himself as man, I'm doing this all for my family. And it was really a cold blooded murderer.

[Joanna Robinson]

But I think that's what Robbie means by legacy, right? This is for, I gotta do this for my kids. But similar to Walter White in Breaking Bad. And I don't know about Tony Soprano, but like, that Walt is like, I'm doing it for my family. I'm doing it for my family. I'm doing it for my family. And then spoilers for vague, spoilers for Breaking Bad at the end. Walt has to be like, actually, I did it because I liked it and I did it for myself. So is that the kind of person.

[Bill Simmons]

It'S usually the revelation. Yeah, Well, I mean, Heat does this too. When De Niro's Macaulay character is at the restaurant with everybody and everybody's got somebody except him, and he's watching all the couples interact and then realizes, like, ah, the librarian, maybe that could be my person. But he really is just addicted to the action. So when the moment comes when he can get away with her, he's still like, I gotta kill Wingro. I think what happens with all these shows is the guy eventually is addicted more to the action. Then the family and the friendships, all that stuff. They really just care about the action. They could deny it all they want, but that's who they are.

[Rob Mahoney]

They don't want the regular type life. Like, they don't want the beer in the ball games, you know. But I think what's a tribute to this show is. And really a tribute to Pelfrey. Like, I. I do believe part of it. I do believe at least that he believes it. And he. He certainly does seem to be doing a lot for the sake of his kids and certainly for the sake of this kid he has just kind of stumbled upon and now taken custodianship of through kidnapping.

[Joanna Robinson]

Here's the thing that's most compelling to me inside of an episode that I was not my favorite of the three, but still good like that what's going to happen? We're not that. That interested in at the end of the day, because we know what's going to happen, right? He's not making it to Canada. Like, we know things are going bad for Robbie. So then thinking a lot about what Bill said about this poor kid Sammy who can't swim, I'm like, is the question then, like. Like, can Robbie get out of this at least with his, like, humanity intact? Like, even if he doesn't survive, they've gone. They've gone so hard on making us like Robbie. Like, even in that interaction that he has with Rey and Shelley, when. When Rey is talking about, like, his son having his head up his girlfriend's shirt and he's like, save some for your old man. And Robbie, like, wants to vomit, you know, Robbie's like the criminal, the. The Robin Hood, the criminal with a heart of gold sort of thing. So, like. But will he be cornered enough and desperate enough that he hurts a kid. We've watched him gently stroke the faces of his children, like, in so many montages in this show. So that's the thing that I'm worried about is like, can Robbie, even if he can't survive this, can he. Can his humanity survive the pressures that he's going to feel from all sides?

[Bill Simmons]

You know, I think Joe's a harsh grader on this episode. The expectations were too high. I don't know.

[Rob Mahoney]

Well, 1 and 2 did set a high bar.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah. I mean, because I thought there was a lot of good stuff in this episode. And we didn't even talk yet about. About the chase scene and the house. And I guess we got to go backwards, though, because we meet Cliff's drug Buddy Ray, who's O.J. cross with Danny Crawford. Like, I guess he's a basketball ref, but he's also a domestic abuser and one of the scariest looking face slash character people we've ever had on one of these shows.

[Joanna Robinson]

Great face.

[Bill Simmons]

Clearly not anybody who could be anything than a bad guy and a criminal.

[Rob Mahoney]

Just a walking per walk. Like, I don't. I feel bad for him, but, like, look, he's evocative for exactly that reason. Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

Can't. He tells them they can't move it to free us because there's going to be too much heat on it. They've got to come up with another direction. But really, you know, his frazzled wife is listening in the kitchen.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

And it's a good zag by the show because you're thinking, oh, she's listening. Maybe she's going to go to the cops. She hates this guy. No, they're just going to rob Cliff's house that night. And they have the Scooby Doo reveal. Rob.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yes.

[Bill Simmons]

After we had this two chains. Like, who are these two? And then we pull the mask and it's her. I was surprised. Yeah, maybe I'm slipping.

[Rob Mahoney]

I don't know what I said. When I saw the second. The second perp take off, I was like, this is rec league ref stamina, you know, like this. This looks like a guy who's been running up and down the court just ready to whistle baseline to baseline. But. But I was like, who else could it be? You know, it would either be like nameless, faceless bikers who we've kind of met, or these two. Like, it did seem like this is something they would do. Turn around and try to rob Cliff and steal the drugs.

[Bill Simmons]

At least.

[Rob Mahoney]

Maybe not Shelly, but at least Ray as.

[Joanna Robinson]

As Two basketball aficionados on this podcast. Can I ask you, how would you rate Aaliyah's jump skills?

[Rob Mahoney]

Oh, yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

Versus Anthony. They both do a jump tackle. Now, I know jump tackle is a football thing and not a basketball thing, but still, you'd be surprised. Air is part of the thing. So how. How did. How these two leaps rate for you between these two cops?

[Bill Simmons]

I thought DJ Grassanova seemed very athletic.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, I was impressed by him. And Aaliyah, like, had had that lady turned around and handcuffed in five seconds, so I thought she was good. Lizzie seems like uncoordinated, frazzled. Can. Can freezes in the moment of action. Like, not somebody you want to be going into a scary place with as your partner.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah, absolutely not. I do think Grossanova that. That almost was more of, like, a free safety blindside kind of hit.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, that was a football move.

[Rob Mahoney]

He really kind of, you know, took the back alley, came around the whole thing. Caught him by surprises. It was an impressive maneuver, though, I have to say.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, well, this was. This scene had my least favorite part of the episode. Ruffalo goes tumbling down the stairs. Was like, oh, boy. Just like the wife. And then. And is obviously a little concussed. And then I'm like, don't do the thing where he sees his wife, and it's like, oh, they did it. That was the one thing I really didn't like in this episode. I just thought it was corny. Yeah. Joe agrees.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

I mean, Joe gave this episode a D minus.

[Joanna Robinson]

Absolutely not true.

[Bill Simmons]

Really down on it.

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay, so ghost wife on the stairs. Not your fave. How do you feel about flashback wife?

[Bill Simmons]

Well, we knew it was coming because we. Because IMDb sleuth Joe called it early the overqualified flashback actress. So we know we're getting it. That was another thing we learned. By the way. We got to go backwards. Even though Ruffalo looks exactly the same as he does eight years, 10 years later, whatever it is, minus the beard.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

When we have these domestic flashbacks, I just hope that if something terrible happens to me, my wife has the same fuzzy memories of just us in the kitchen, laughing and just being in complete love. I just hope that's how I just. That's how I hope. How it's remembered. Just being around the kitchen, making some scrambled eggs, just being in love. That'd be great.

[Rob Mahoney]

It's all any of us can hope for. Just, again, a very fuzzy, warmly tinted flashback of either that or, like, running on a beach with, like, somehow sheets or capes dangling around us. You know, the full. Dead dog wife.

[Joanna Robinson]

Dead, dead dog wife.

[Bill Simmons]

We never have. Where they're like, where's the remote? I thought you had it. And just people yelling at each other for no reason.

[Rob Mahoney]

Well, if the Phillies cup is any indication, that may also be coming.

[Bill Simmons]

You know, this is.

[Rob Mahoney]

This has been a real mixed bag for Ruffalo over the years.

[Bill Simmons]

So, anyway, I didn't. I didn't love the visage of the wife, but I. I didn't mind the flashback scene. We knew it was coming. I have more questions.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah, like what?

[Bill Simmons]

Well, so that seemed like eight, 10 years earlier. Seven. Like, how old do you think those kids were that they showed? The two adopted kids in the moment, they seem like, like teenagers, 10 to 13 range.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yes. Ethan. Older, right. Than Emily.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah.

[Rob Mahoney]

And he's being tried as an adult. So he's at least. He at least has to be 18.

[Bill Simmons]

She's still seven, eight years ago.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

So he's adopting the kids. The priest is coming in. He's clearly out of whatever he was doing religiously at that point, and he's somewhere in. But. But still seemed a little, like, beaten down. But I think Ruffalo maybe could shake who he is now in the. But I just. I was just curious by it.

[Joanna Robinson]

About the timeline. Yeah, we should do some. We should do some math.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

Something that I want to flag also about Sarah, his other daughter, is that we get the text messages with good old Andy back in Chicago.

[Rob Mahoney]

Andy read the room, and Andy's like.

[Joanna Robinson]

When can we talk about us? And Sarah's like, 12. Never. Please.

[Rob Mahoney]

Your wife just went home to deal with the sentencing of her mother's killer, who's also her brother, and you're like, can you pay some attention to me, please?

[Joanna Robinson]

Not that Sarah needed more motivation to be as frustrated as she was in last week's episode, but if she's dealing with all of this, with her new kid, with the. All this blah, blah, and a fractured marriage waiting for her back in Chicago on top of it, this is just a lot for Sarah to juggle. So, no. No wonder she's doing a heavy pour.

[Rob Mahoney]

Totally on the.

[Joanna Robinson]

On the cabernet sauvignon.

[Bill Simmons]

Oh, I was going to say you. You left out. She's dealing with holding the biggest wine glass of red I've ever seen. I was trying to think, did anyone in Big Little Lies have more wine in a glass?

[Rob Mahoney]

Oh.

[Bill Simmons]

Because that was always the gold standard of just.

[Joanna Robinson]

No, I think it's.

[Bill Simmons]

It's like a double pour. Like you would In a restaurant, you pay twice.

[Rob Mahoney]

The Tammy Taylor pour.

[Joanna Robinson]

Tammy Taylor. The Tammy Taylor Chardonnay, you know.

[Bill Simmons]

Oh, that's a good one.

[Rob Mahoney]

Or the Cersei Lannister pour. You know, it's like there's really a long lineage of the heavy wine pour up to the brim. But I love what. I loved what they did with Sarah last week in terms of her lashing out at the dinner table. I also love her feeling terrible about it and not quite walking it back, but explaining a little bit more about what she had seen with her mom and the ways that their lives had sort of, even before anything violent happened, devolved and changed shape as a result of everything that Ethan was going through. And it's like, of course Emily has to walk up at the exact wrong time to hear, like, the one message she dreads hearing. But I thought all of the stuff between Sarah and Tom was. Was really.

[Bill Simmons]

Lights out, Joe. Maybe that's a spin off pod for us because you guys created that hook show about, like, when the right episode to watch to get sucked into a show. Wine pours, heavy pour. Like do like episode three, the mom from the OC near the end of episode, near the end of season one, when all of a sudden the Chardonnay was like a trip.

[Joanna Robinson]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

And you're like, oh, boy, here comes the alcohol pot. I've always enjoyed those, though.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

When all. There'll be some mom or some. Some friend. And once. Once the wine is over, like two thirds filled with the giant cabernet. I like when they put the white in the giant Cabernet glass, which is a. No, no. But it's like they just want to get as much wine as possible on the screen.

[Rob Mahoney]

Just a delivery.

[Bill Simmons]

Shrinking red. Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

I really. I. I feel you. Yes. The fact that Sarah is pounding that much red wine is. Is a expert level as far as I'm concerned. And what I just heard was a pitch for next summer when prestige TV goes into a lull, we're going to do the heavy pore podcast, Heavy Pore Bracket.

[Rob Mahoney]

Coming soon to the Ringer Network.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

My two passions are wine pores in a show and terrible sports scenes when it's like, like the worst possible high school girls soccer scene. I would watch footage of that all the time. Speaking of this family, we predicted this too. We had a lot of good predictions. In episode two, we predicted we would meet the murdering adopted son who's in jail. And we did. The other sister went. I thought this was kind of a blossom. I Don't really know what to take from it. Did you take away anything, Rob?

[Joanna Robinson]

Sounds like Bill's kind of lukewarm on this scene.

[Rob Mahoney]

I don't know.

[Bill Simmons]

That was my other scene I didn't like. What'd you think, Rob?

[Rob Mahoney]

I thought it was fine. I thought. I thought Emily. Serviceable, sir. You know, we needed to see him at some point. We see Emily trying her damnedest to. To be positive in this interaction. Basically asking him if he's made any friends, as if this is where the first week of kindergarten.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah.

[Rob Mahoney]

I don't know what else you can get out of here other than if it were just, like, a really standout performance. But I'm guessing Ethan's moments will be later to the extent that we get them. Like, he will have some fireworks at some point, but this is just. Just introducing us to that character.

[Bill Simmons]

It was fine. He's no basketball ref.

[Rob Mahoney]

No, no, no.

[Bill Simmons]

Ray, do you think the basketball.

[Joanna Robinson]

15 minutes to get there, and that's if traffic's good. Come on.

[Bill Simmons]

That guy is a basketball ref. Clearly scrapping with the players after a call, I would think.

[Rob Mahoney]

Threatening to fight everybody.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah. No way. He's like you. You think that was the royal call?

[Joanna Robinson]

Justice for Shelly and her two teenage sons. I hope they're doing okay.

[Rob Mahoney]

Well, one of them is doing okay in the basement, in some sense of that word.

[Joanna Robinson]

Absolutely.

[Bill Simmons]

And then the last thing we learned, the ending when the informant says, brandon Simons of the Dark Arts was casing Cliff's house later that night post arrest. Which means the Dark Hearts had information coming from Ruffalo's side. How tight is your circle on this? And then he goes, my advice. Suspect everyone. Yeah. Including you, fuckface. You're also a suspect.

[Joanna Robinson]

I thought that was such an interesting, like, flash to all. Like, he's telling. He's going through the members of the task force, then flashing to all of them. I'm like, are we in? This is my concern.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

My concern is that we are in the state. And I've heard this from people who make television, that the note they get from the network all the time is that you have to reiterate and reiterate things in case people are looking at their phones or looking at their iPads or whatever while your show is on. So do you think this moment where there's like, well, here they are. It's Aaliyah, Lizzie, Anthony. This is what they look like. Just so you know, these are our suspects. Like, I thought that was a really weird moment. Inside of this episode, there are three.

[Rob Mahoney]

People like, we can handle it. I promise.

[Joanna Robinson]

We could do it.

[Bill Simmons]

Well, they. I think you made the right call, though. If it is Aaliyah, they're trying to throw us off the scent with the domestic violence little monologue about her history and be like, oh, man, I like this lady. And now they're gonna start.

[Joanna Robinson]

That was a really good scene. I thought her deliver. That was. That was a really good moment.

[Rob Mahoney]

Definitely.

[Joanna Robinson]

I thought that was really good.

[Rob Mahoney]

This is a question worth asking for a show like this. If you're one of these supporting characters who is maybe more like fifth, sixth, seventh on the bill, how many character traits will a show give you? Are they willing to give you two or even, God forbid, three. Three different character traits? And if so, then you might be the mole.

[Bill Simmons]

Are you willing to have a whole DJ background from college?

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay.

[Bill Simmons]

With a. With a moniker?

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay. So. Well, actually, I think Lizzie wins. Right. Because it's DJ is suspiciously absent sometimes.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yep.

[Joanna Robinson]

With Aaliyah, it's the domestic violence background and is better at her job than anyone else on the task force.

[Bill Simmons]

Well, and also IMDb sleuth Joanna was suspicious of her just because it was an overqualified actress for the part.

[Joanna Robinson]

She's very good. They're all. All three of them are good, though.

[Rob Mahoney]

They're good.

[Joanna Robinson]

Lizzie has the cheating ex husband. All the stuff with the Stadies and the Ifreeze, you know, sort of stuff. So, like, that's a lot. That's a lot on her plate.

[Rob Mahoney]

I do think if. If it does end up being grosso, it does seem like Lizzy will be the one to confront him at that point, based on everything we have set up with her freezing in those moments and not. I think, not only will she shoot him if it comes to that, it will be because of some advice he gave her. Coming full circle. Like it, I think.

[Joanna Robinson]

I feel like that's a different show.

[Rob Mahoney]

Maybe it is a different show.

[Joanna Robinson]

Right. Like, that's a classic move. But I feel like. Like, what mayor of Easttown taught me was, don't think Evan Peters will be okay, because he won't.

[Rob Mahoney]

He will not be. Well, again, I think the kids may not be all be all right, but somebody's gonna have to get a win somewhere.

[Bill Simmons]

Well, we had three awesome scenes in this. The first scene with Pelfrey and Maeve.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yes.

[Bill Simmons]

The. The whole chase, not knowing and thinking somebody might get shot. I enjoyed that. And then them basically eking out the confession from our basketball ref and his embattled wife. I liked how they went back and forth on that. And then the best part, obviously, was that he had an incredible Flyers iPhone protector. Huge sports fan, this guy.

[Rob Mahoney]

Completely.

[Bill Simmons]

But I thought that whole. The way they kind of played them against off of each other, I thought was really good. And then Ruffalo screws him over at the end, and it's like, no, no, you're actually still going to jail. Fuck you, dude.

[Joanna Robinson]

I have a. I have a question for Rob, who is, I think, of the three of us, the biggest foodie on this podcast. Is it a red flag or a green flag that Lizzie likes the peach rings with the Tahin? Like, how do you feel about that?

[Rob Mahoney]

This is the greenish flag thing she's done on the show.

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah. Everything else she does worries me about just the state of her life.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Rob Mahoney]

Peach rings a plus. Peach rings with Tahin. Come on, that sounds incredible. I honestly never had one with Tahin. But now I would love, love. I would love the shipment to arrive at my door.

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay.

[Bill Simmons]

The other thing we learned, I forgot to mention this was Ruffalo's character made the decision. I don't want my son to live here.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

And sadly, his really screwed up younger daughter heard this because she was parking her bike. But so we've gone from episode two to episode three of like, he's like, I finally arrived at this point. I don't want this guy in my house. He killed my wife.

[Joanna Robinson]

Here's. Here's my note. If you're a spiraling shit show alcoholic but want to be a good dad, if you have a covered porch, I would say don't have key conversations there.

[Bill Simmons]

It's a great.

[Joanna Robinson]

Don't snooze your booze off there. Like, just. I would use some closed doors for any of these things.

[Rob Mahoney]

Our guy is not only a total mess, he has just suffered a major concussion and done the one thing that they said do not do, which is, look, look, the Phillies cup does refill itself. He's just gonna guzzle it down. It's the way it's gonna go. But he's not in the clearest state of mind at this particular moment.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah. This instance, I could maybe forgive him, but like all the other booze naps he's taken on that porch while he's bird watching that his daughter has to witness. I don't know.

[Rob Mahoney]

I also think, look, as far as the accents on the show go, oh, I had this.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah. Let's see.

[Rob Mahoney]

There's a lot of stuff happening. Some I appreciate, some I don't. I think warder ice obviously gets a lot of play anytime. Anytime. The Philly and the Delco accents are coming in. I just want to give a little bit of a salute. A lot of daughter in this episode. A lot of. For the. Of a daughter. And I. I'm enjoying it all. I'm enjoying the full range of accent emotion.

[Joanna Robinson]

Who do you think is the best accent of anyone on the show right now? Just one pick.

[Rob Mahoney]

I mean, Ruffalo's isn't precise, and so it's hard to say that his is, like, nailing it because the degree of difficulty just isn't as high. I actually like Lizzie's.

[Joanna Robinson]

I like Lizzie's, too.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, I was gonna say Lizzie.

[Joanna Robinson]

I think it's Lizzie or Maeve. I think Maeve is really good.

[Rob Mahoney]

Maeve is really good.

[Bill Simmons]

Both Pennsylvania do that. Instead of home, you go him like you Lizzie. That kind of drag vows out.

[Joanna Robinson]

That actress is Irish and the actress who plays Maeve is. Is English. So I think this is all.

[Bill Simmons]

Don't ruin this for us, Joe. Jesus.

[Joanna Robinson]

No, no, no. I just think it's interesting.

[Bill Simmons]

I think they're doing it for. You already know. We have no American actors. You've made the point. We're. We have no American actors under 40. Except Chalamet. He's our only one.

[Joanna Robinson]

Buffalo Pelfrey out here holding it down.

[Bill Simmons]

And Austin Butler, he's from America, right?

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah, he is from America. Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

That's awesome. I'm glad he's from here.

[Rob Mahoney]

He's from somewhere, you know. Is it America today? It is. We'll see. A couple weeks.

[Bill Simmons]

And Margaret Qualley, I'm pretty sure she's from here.

[Rob Mahoney]

We love Margaret.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah. Thank God. Quote of the episode, Maeve saying to Sam, when you get older, you get to choose what you take from your parents and what you leave behind. Really would be like a searing high school yearbook quote.

[Joanna Robinson]

It's better than, like, have a good.

[Bill Simmons]

Direct repudiation of your parents if that's your yearbook quote.

[Joanna Robinson]

I really liked that scene with Maeve.

[Bill Simmons]

Me too.

[Joanna Robinson]

And Sam in the water. I was again perturbed by the beautiful image of her hand holding him up and wondering if later we're going to see a hand holding him down.

[Bill Simmons]

What do we have for the odds of Sam making it? I said it was over under six and a half episodes. And Joe recoiled in horror. Rob kind of enjoyed it.

[Rob Mahoney]

Okay.

[Bill Simmons]

I think the. I think the under is moved up to, like, almost 2 to 1. 2 to 1 favorite. I don't think he makes it to the end of the season.

[Joanna Robinson]

I'm hoping I. I'm protecting Sam. Sam has to make it.

[Rob Mahoney]

Someone has to protect him.

[Joanna Robinson]

But I feel like someone's gonna try.

[Rob Mahoney]

See, I. I'm less worried about, is someone gonna hold him under the water, Joe. And more. Are we gonna see someone pulling his body out of the quarry in a similar sort of lifting fashion? It's looking more and more dangerous for. I mean, for him, obviously, for most of these characters who are in Robbie's orbit. I'm perpetually worried for Maeve, the character who I. I want, as a watcher of a TV show to help Robbie and to be, like, involved in this family, but so clearly needs to get the fuck out of there to Canada or literally anywhere else, but just won't do it.

[Joanna Robinson]

In terms of survival, though, isn't Cliff the person who has the, like, loudest ticking clock on him right now?

[Rob Mahoney]

Is it Cliff or is it. Is it diff mowered? You know, he can go undercover at any moment.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah. Forgoing who's going to die rankings. Cliff is. Cliff is probably the favorite, I think, Sam. But it probably comes later in this season. We're going to lose somebody from the biker gang in the next two episodes. And then I think one of the three in the task force underneath. Ruffalo.

[Joanna Robinson]

Oh, yeah. I think I would not be surprised.

[Bill Simmons]

One of those three is dying, and it's probably Lizzie from a freeze. And if I had to make a prediction, which I'm happy to do right now, I think there's going to be some breadcrumbs pointing to her. We're going to think it's her, but it turns out she's just really fucked up, has some skeleton. And then even as everyone's doubting at her, doubting her, maybe she gets killed. And then it turns out she actually was a good person all along. It's one of those. Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

And then Tom is like, I feel so guilty for having suspected her. I'm now going to become even more of an alcohol. Like, how far. How much further down go for Tom?

[Bill Simmons]

I don't know. That last wine pour he had wasn't even a pour. It was like a glug. Yeah. It was like pouring out something after a party where you're just like, I want to pour this in the sink. But it was going into a glass.

[Joanna Robinson]

It was a sink pour.

[Rob Mahoney]

Trash can punch, but straight into the Phillies cup.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

All right, it's time. Time predictions. Rob, what do you got? Biggest predictions.

[Rob Mahoney]

Already made, like, four predictions, though.

[Bill Simmons]

Is there any left?

[Rob Mahoney]

Who else have we not talked about I feel like we've covered predictions for almost every major character.

[Joanna Robinson]

I have a question about bartender, whose name I did note and then forgotten.

[Bill Simmons]

Bartender.

[Rob Mahoney]

Sorry. It's Lady Bartender, Joe.

[Joanna Robinson]

Lady. She. She. Bartender.

[Bill Simmons]

Lady Bartender did seem like she had some insole and some concealing things about her. Bartend her.

[Joanna Robinson]

I think she knows that it's Aaron or suspects that it's Aaron.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

And deflected guilt over onto Ginger Beard, Rob's favorite red herring. Ginger. Oh, yeah, right. She's like, you need info? That guy's. His wife says he's been acting funky, and she's gonna protect Aaron as long as she can. That's what I think.

[Bill Simmons]

What.

[Rob Mahoney]

What did Ginger Beard do to deserve this?

[Joanna Robinson]

Be a ginger, I guess.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah, he's. He's a little jittery, you know, it's okay. Doesn't mean a guy's, like, betraying your whole gang and way of life, but that dude's gonna get killed. Or at least that dude.

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay, you know what? My death rankings are number one. Gingerbeard. Done. Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

Do you have a prediction that we haven't done yet, Joe?

[Joanna Robinson]

Other than that bartender thing? I don't think so.

[Rob Mahoney]

How about this for predictions? What do we think Emily will do? Like, do we ultimately think she will stand up for her brother? Do we think that there's any other way for her to go in terms of her testimony at the upcoming hearing.

[Bill Simmons]

Which could be episode four, by the way, presumably. Yeah, that could be our fourth. Is that whole thing.

[Joanna Robinson]

Do you think there's a way that she doesn't do it, but Ruffalo does do it? Like, Ruffalo has a change of heart, and he does it because he figures out a way to.

[Bill Simmons]

Are we in monologue watch?

[Rob Mahoney]

Big time monologue watch. I would say, especially post flashback, where we get the conversation with him and his wife about, like, everything you do is, like, based on a feeling, right? It's like, based on vibes. In this moment, something is going to happen. Even if it's like vibes, even if it's just a little sun steepling through some. Some tall grass in the fort, you know, like a little moment for Ruffalo out in the world where he's like, you know what? I am feeling the connectedness of the universe. I am feeling this empathy for my son in a way that I haven't before. I'm queued up for them for the Emmy model block.

[Bill Simmons]

So that's courtroom. I wasn't going to be here today. I didn't want to be here today.

[Rob Mahoney]

Maybe Half drunk, honestly.

[Bill Simmons]

Right. And then he just. And we get the wide, wide shot of everyone in the courtroom with the crane coming down.

[Joanna Robinson]

Can you.

[Bill Simmons]

Verdict style.

[Joanna Robinson]

Can you bring your Phillies cup up to the stand with you? If you're in the courtroom, is that allowed?

[Rob Mahoney]

I'll allow it.

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay, thanks. Thanks, Judge. Judge Mahoney, thank you.

[Bill Simmons]

This is a part prediction and a part nitpick for me. Not enough sports yet on this show. We've really only had the Phillies cover. No, but I think we. What I really want. What time of year do we think this is?

[Joanna Robinson]

Well, we can swim in the quarry.

[Rob Mahoney]

I think it's summer.

[Bill Simmons]

You think it's like late August or spring maybe?

[Rob Mahoney]

It could be spring into summer.

[Bill Simmons]

Spring. So the Sixers are out of the playoffs by then we might have the Flyers.

[Rob Mahoney]

They've already. They've already shut down. Max.

[Joanna Robinson]

Everyone is a lot stickier than they, you know.

[Bill Simmons]

So August. I just feel like the. I feel like the Phillies would just be on all the time and wherever we are, I just think it would be a constant of just a din of Phillies broadcasts.

[Joanna Robinson]

Prestige [e-mail] if you can identify what season we're in based on the birds that Tom is watching. If you're a birder and you're listening and you know what season we're in, let us know.

[Rob Mahoney]

Also, we should say, alternatively, you can email [e-mail] not to be confused with DJ, say grassanopussymail.com that is not a long term. It's a very competitive market for that one.

[Bill Simmons]

Still bummed out about that. So. But the other two kids for Robbie, we're not taking them to and from school, which makes me think maybe summer.

[Joanna Robinson]

No, they are because there's the father daughter dance.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

And they came home from school. Yeah. So they're in school.

[Bill Simmons]

Oh, you're right. So. So we're September, October range. Which means the Eagles need to be involved in the show. Right. Rob, this is. That whole area. The of Pennsylvania is just Eagles, Eagles, Eagles. Maybe there's a couple Steelers fans, too. It's a little, you know, he roots for the Steelers even though we're in Eagles country. Like, I just think, give me a little sports.

[Rob Mahoney]

What if that was the actual reason for like the Dominican Rift with the bikers? Is this like, that's Eagles country out there. You guys are walking around with your Eagle starter jackets like they get you in a way that they don't get me.

[Bill Simmons]

So my prediction for this episode, for fourth episode, would be the. I Think we get the courtroom, and I think Ruffalo actually shows up, has a change of heart, and I think. Think. I think this would be one of his Emmys. Any Emmys monologues we're going to be getting?

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay. I think definitely we're getting an Emmy monologue. Whether or not it happens in court, I don't know. I feel like we need a few. We're only on episode three of seven. I think we need a couple more episodes for him to change his mind about.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

I could see whether or not he would say something.

[Bill Simmons]

You don't think they're just gonna bang out this courtroom, the whole thing? They're not gonna get rid of it.

[Joanna Robinson]

I don't know.

[Bill Simmons]

Feels like a classic middle of the season thing.

[Rob Mahoney]

Thing. It. It could be the kind of thing where it's like, it's coming soon, but the whole season takes place over. Like, it's only been 72 hours since Sam disappeared. Like, the season could be a week.

[Joanna Robinson]

The father daughter dance on Thursday.

[Rob Mahoney]

Sorry, it's the father daughter dance.

[Bill Simmons]

Does the kid come home and he's in the house and nobody really wants him there, but then ends up being the savior in episode seven.

[Rob Mahoney]

Wow.

[Bill Simmons]

Throws biker Jason down the stairs.

[Joanna Robinson]

Wow.

[Bill Simmons]

Finally murders the right person with a stair power.

[Joanna Robinson]

Okay.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah. He finally got this right.

[Rob Mahoney]

Prediction. We're gonna get four deaths by. By stair this season.

[Bill Simmons]

You know, a lot of stairs showed the stairs were all right. I think that that's all I have. Unless. Unless the two of you have anything else.

[Rob Mahoney]

I have one last question. How do we feel we get an official name coining for Robbie and Company. The Halloween gang or Halloween Crew.

[Bill Simmons]

Right.

[Rob Mahoney]

How do. How do we feel about that? I mean, obviously fits the masks, but is that. Is that cool?

[Bill Simmons]

I didn't love it, and I think.

[Joanna Robinson]

It'S kind of cool.

[Rob Mahoney]

I thought it was.

[Joanna Robinson]

I think it's kind of cool only because they're mask. Masks are good. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's this spooky Halloween crew.

[Rob Mahoney]

Maybe they can get rebranded to the spooky Halloween crew.

[Bill Simmons]

Forgot to mention the video of that huge fight from 2017 in Reading.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

Seemed pretty elaborate. And it feels like that's a possible flashback scene. There's 30 people fighting incredibly high defense.

[Joanna Robinson]

High def camera in Redding.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah. So I wonder if we're going backwards with that, too, to take a look at what actually happened there. And maybe.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Rob Mahoney]

I mean, we better.

[Joanna Robinson]

He was there.

[Rob Mahoney]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

Billy. We recognize him from all the photos that we've been looking at.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

I Got not confused, but is obviously reading Pennsylvania, but there's a reading up here in Northern California that, like, could easily have a biker bar shootout as well. So I was, like, reading California. Oh, reading Pennsylvania. Okay.

[Rob Mahoney]

One other thing I like about where we are right now is we didn't even get any mention this week of, like, the maybe connection that would tie her and Robbie together. And then the following up on that from the task force based on her suddenly appearing last week around the. Around Sam's supposed reappearance. Like, there are so many different threads the task force is supposed to be chasing. And we get that line this week that there's been, like, all these tip calls they're trying to sift through. It's like they have more information than they know what to do with yet. And so they have kind of all the answers. They just don't know how they connect to each other at all.

[Joanna Robinson]

Mr. Policeman, we gave you all the clues. No, but I. They did get a Maeve thread this week. The guy who Bill thinks is the mole comes by and is, like, the name of the guy who got beat up was Billy. And they're like, okay, let's chase the Billy line down. Then Ruffalo's gonna see Maeve, and he's gonna be like, wait a second. I saw you before at the Chuck.

[Rob Mahoney]

E. Cheese or whatever.

[Joanna Robinson]

Through my vodka haze, I seem to recall seeing you before.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, I don't know if he's the mole. I'm just suspicious.

[Rob Mahoney]

He's weird. There's no question he's the guy. Forget, like, ginger beard guy. This is the most jittery, unpredictable force on this show. That guy. I don't. I really don't trust anything he says.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah. What's, like, his job?

[Rob Mahoney]

A professional mole.

[Bill Simmons]

Does he have an office? Does he have, like, an assistant?

[Rob Mahoney]

Maybe he's Internal Affairs. Maybe. I don't know what he is. No, but he's talking about everything involved in the gang. He must just be, like, a detective of some kind.

[Joanna Robinson]

They. Yeah, I think he, like, works with Anthony. I. They talked about in an earlier episode. I just didn't write it all down. And so I don't have the answers for you right now. But, like, I also think that actor is interesting in terms of, like, he's not. He almost seems, like, not a professional actor. Like, they got a.

[Rob Mahoney]

A guy.

[Joanna Robinson]

A guy, but interesting.

[Bill Simmons]

All right, this is produced by a. Kai Grady, Justin Sales, Prestige tv. You can watch this as a video podcast on Spotify, or you can watch it on our Ringer TV YouTube channel where you can find a whole bunch of stuff that we've done from the last few years. Joan Rob, great to see you. Episode 4 We'll see you in a week.

[Joanna Robinson]

Bye.

[Bill Simmons]

This episode is brought to you by Whole Foods Market. You know what fall means, right? Game Day parties are back. Whole Foods Market has everything you need. Kick off with impressive appetizers like Heat n Eat boneless chicken bits or a shrimp cocktail platter. Then score big with big flavors for big appetites. Feed your team with made in house marinated chicken wings and Teton waters, ranch hot dogs and sausages and an oven ready 16 inch pizza that will satisfy even the extra large players. Host Game Day with help from Whole Foods Market both in store and online. This episode is brought to you by FXX and Hulu. All new season of Futurama is back. Blending heartfelt moments with razor sharp humor while accidentally saving the day, the Planet Express crew is back to find gravity and common sense. From the creator of The Simpsons comes 10 new episodes where the romance is hotter, the threats are bigger, and the action hits harder. Don't miss the all new season of Futurama. Watch it Mondays on FXX or stream it on Hulu.