The Prestige TV Podcast

'Task' Episode 5: The Best Episode Yet?

Date: October 6, 2025
Hosts: Joanna Robinson, Rob Mahoney, Bill Simmons
Show Discussed: Task Episode 5 – “Vagrant”

Episode Overview

In this episode, Bill Simmons, Joanna Robinson, and Rob Mahoney dive into episode 5 of HBO’s Task, widely agreed to be the most compelling and dramatic installment yet. The trio unpacks major plot developments—including the reveal of DJ Grasanova as the mole, the highly anticipated Tom and Robbie confrontation, and shifting allegiances across the show's tangled web. The conversation covers standout scenes, motifs of redemption and ineptitude, fan theories, and predictions for the closing episodes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. DJ Grasanova Revealed as the Mole

• Major Reveal: DJ Grasanova is confirmed as the task force’s mole, drastically reframing audience perceptions of the character and injecting tension for the season’s final episodes.
• Comparison: Grasanova’s duplicity draws comparisons to Matt Damon’s character in The Departed.
• Open Questions: The hosts speculate whether Grasanova is the only mole and whether Martha Plimpton’s character could be another.
• [16:02] Bill: “It was a little Matt Damon in the Departed where he's on the phone trying… to alert his biker gang buddies, but couldn't. And he's just all of a sudden very shifty.”
• [17:31] Rob: “I think all we know at this point is that he is one of the moles… the door is open for Martha Plimpton’s character to be mole number two.”

2. Tom & Robbie’s Electric Car Ride

• Contrast with Heat: The prolonged not-quite-a-standoff car ride between Tom and Robbie is directly compared to the famous diner scene in Heat, but with a more vulnerable, less adversarial spin.
• Character Depth: Robbie, portrayed by Tom Pelfrey, is depicted as a criminal who’s deeply out of his depth—"a bird who's lost his way" rather than a career criminal.
• Critical Quote:
• [01:19] Joanna: “Tom and Robbie finally meet...not like the diner scene from Heat...but the car ride was sort of looking in the rearview mirror into the backseat, which I thought was electric and very good. I really, really liked it.”
• [04:43] Bill: “It's basically two guys who are slightly above average at their jobs. Right. Robbie's smart enough to realize the P didn't sound right. Tom's probably there looking for him. He circles around the back, puts the gun to his head… he's not Neil McCauley.”

3. Robbie’s Humanity and Ineptitude

• Hosts debate whether Robbie’s repeated mistakes frustrate or humanize him, ultimately concluding his desperation and semi-ineptitude make him relatable.
• His actions, like failing to kill Tom and letting him go, are emblematic of a man out of his criminal depth.
• [05:46] Joanna: “…he's a really compelling character. And his bid for Maeve's safety there at the end, him letting Tom go… that really impacted me. I thought that was just stunning part of this episode.”

4. God, Guilt, and Existential Motifs

• The episode explores big-picture themes such as faith, meaning, and futility.
• [07:41] Bill: “We get God involved. Because, of course, that's a stealth theme of this show. Robbie says, ‘I never once felt God in my life. I think people want to believe there's more than this because if there's… If this is all there is, it's too fucking depressing…’"
• The group appreciates how this existential undercurrent adds stakes to character decisions and relationships.

5. Quarry Symbolism, Death, and Predictions

• The quarry is analyzed as a site of death, peace, and pivotal action in Task, compared to its narrative function in other films and series.
• The quarry, birds (the summer tanager), and vagrant metaphors become tools for discussing characters’ dislocation and vulnerability.
• [13:45] Rob: “This kind of backdoors into one of the potential predictions…what is the thing that Aliyah will not be able to smell? That will become a critical plot device and is the answer...she goes for a dip in, like, the foul, toxic part of the quarry.”

6. Secondary Plots: Task Force Dynamics, Maeve’s Fate, Perry and Jason

• Analysis of task force composition and decision-making, especially in the woods standoff setup.
• Maeve’s arc: Now that she’s brought Sam to the police, her fate is uncertain—she may be legally in peril but likely physically safe.
• Perry’s spiral: He kills Aaron in a moment that’s both emotional and impulsive. The podcasters debate the underrendered nature of Perry and Jason’s connection.
• [32:08] Joanna: “What I would love to know more about…is the Perry Jason connection. Like, why is Perry so protective of, tender towards Jason? Because… he has now killed the mother of Jason's children…”

7. Humor and Lightness

• Recurring jokes about favorite southern rock bands (“Tuesday’s Gone” and Lynyrd Skynyrd vs. Allman Brothers).
• Playful theorizing about possible sequels (Task season 2: "DJ Grasanova as Matt Damon in The Departed").
• [38:00] Bill: “What would the Allman Brothers—I still like the Tuesday's Gone. I think that's the call.”

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the Tom/Robbie dynamic:
  • [04:04] Rob: “He just needs to be like, a little better than dumb. And I think he clears it...him being in that zone of sometimes kind of inept, but really ultimately quite desperate, I think is what makes him such a good foil for Tom…”
• On the existential bent:
  • [07:41] Bill: “We get God involved. Because, of course, that's a stealth theme of this show...if this is all there is, it's too fucking depressing…”
• On D.J. Grasanova as the mole:
  • [16:02] Bill: “It was a little Matt Damon in the Departed...very shifty…”
• On predictions:
  • [45:16] Joanna: “I thought Pelfrey's…play of emotion on his face with Aaron…and similarly at the end when Tom draws on him...what do I do here before he drops on…”
  • [46:33] Rob: “I'm gonna flip and say [Robbie] survives. I'm talking myself into this in real time. That Robbie will get out of this show alive.”

Important Timestamps

• 00:00–03:06 – Recap & exclamation point texts, Tom and Robbie finally meet
• 03:06–06:21 – Deconstructing Robbie’s competence, Heat car ride parallels
• 06:38–07:03 – Emotional beats & the pacing of the episode
• 16:02–18:04 – D.J. Grasanova’s reveal as mole, “The Departed” analogy
• 19:32–21:14 – DJ’s history with the biker gang and flashback speculation
• 32:08–33:40 – Perry’s mindset post-murder and the missing Jason connection
• 43:13–44:55 – Discussion about “good people” in the show—who’s left?
• 46:33–48:13 – Prediction corner: Does Robbie survive? Gunfight scenario speculation
• 51:00–53:13 – Theorizing about possible Season 2, structure, and cast
• 54:08–54:47 – Closing basketball humor ("pickup scouting reports" for Tom and Robbie)

Predictions & Listener Theories

• Will there be a Season 2? The hosts debate a possible second season, speculating that D.J. Grasanova—or Lizzie’s fate—could be the pivot point.
• Who survives? Major tension surrounds Robbie’s likely demise, Grasanova’s arc in the finale, Lizzie’s fate (paralyzed by indecision or finally making a move?), and the fates of Maeve and Sam.
• Quarry as climactic setting: All believe the quarry (or “the bridge”) will serve as the scene for at least one pivotal confrontation.
• Rob: “Wouldn’t [Robbie] getting away be the most subversive thing that the show could do?”
• Bill: Predicts a Tarantino-esque multi-way shootout in the woods; theorizes about characters’ post-show futures (“Maeve drives away with ‘Tuesday’s Gone’ playing”).

Audience Response

• The hosts reference a strong flow of listener emails, especially regarding timeline theories (“It’s September, not summer!”), quarry/lake distinctions, and vagrant bird metaphors.
• [28:55] Joanna: “We had so many emails…tracking Phillies games, tracking when the water ice places open… I think it is September.”

Tone & Style

The discussion is lively, warm, and deeply engaged, combining granular plot analysis with big-picture speculation, character affection, pop culture analogies, and runner jokes. Bill’s enthusiasm is punctuated—literally—by his famous text exclamation points, while Joanna and Rob tackle the show’s moral ambiguities, narrative structures, and themes with both seriousness and playful banter.

Summary: Why This Is the Best Episode Yet

• Confirms major fan theories while keeping new mysteries alive.
• Shines in character depth, pacing, and motif development (guilt, faith, ineptitude vs. competence).
• Achieves an emotional and thematic high point for the series—raising the stakes for the season’s closing episodes.

Closing Note: The hosts look ahead to episode 6, predicting fireworks and potentially one of the biggest TV moments of the year as the narrative threads converge in the woods near the quarry. The plan is to reconvene in person for the finale, signaling major anticipation for Task’s endgame.