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- [00:00]
Bill
This episode is brought to you by Universal Pictures. One of cinema's most terrifying masked killers is back just in time for Halloween. Black Phone 2 hits theaters October 17th. Ethan Hawke returns as the Grabber and Mason Thames as Finney. And this time, vengeance isn't going to let death stand in its way. Spine chilling and heart pounding, Scott Derrickson's anticipated sequel asks, do you know what happens when you die? Universal Pictures Black Phone 2 only in theaters October 17th.
- [00:28]
Joe
This episode is brought to you by the Home Depot. The holidays have arrived at the Home Depot, and they're ready to transform your house into a holiday home, no matter your style or budget. They've got so many types of string lights to choose from. You can create everything from a soft glow to a colorful display of holiday cheer. And I love this innovation. Their warm white LED lights come with steady light technology, so your lights stay glowing even if one bulb fails. Find everything you need to get your holidays started with the home decorations Depot. The Prestige TV podcast. I'm sad. Task is over.
- [01:14]
Joanna
Task's over.
- [01:16]
Joe
Seventh episode. Joanna Robinson is here. Rob Mahoney. This is his flu game. He's been sick.
- [01:21]
Joanna
He's.
- [01:21]
Joe
He's been under the weather. He was, he was lying in the back of Grasso's car covered in blood, holding a gun.
- [01:27]
Bill
Actually, someone left me in the quarry a little too long. I'm, you know, it's just a little damp. A little gamey at this point.
- [01:32]
Joanna
A little bloated.
- [01:33]
Bill
Yeah, yeah.
- [01:34]
Joe
You have Cory drowning color, so Rob might cough a couple times. He's just going to violently turn away and cough. So we just wanted to prepare you ahead of time. All right, Task. I'll go big. Big picture to start. So we've seen all the episodes now. Did this make it? Did it make it to the first ballot? Hall of Fame, HBO? Do we have to wait 10 years and keep talking about it? Where was it for you, Joanna?
- [02:00]
Joanna
I don't think it's quite, quite there in this first season, but all news out of HBO seems pretty like we're going to get another season of task. And so as a solid first season leading into a potentially incredible second season, I think this is. And it was a great show, but I don't know if I would put it up there with the first season of succession or some of the other ones that became so huge.
- [02:25]
Bill
I think it got pretty close in the end, though. I think the 5, 6, 7 run turned out to be pretty exceptional. And there's just some stuff in the middle and we're gonna Talk about the family dynamics at the Brandis house. And I think they landed that plane in a really significant way and justified the plotline. But I'm not going to say, like, every scene along the way was sterling. And so there are those little blemishes throughout the season. They're just like little, little bits and pieces that didn't work to perfection, but still really high level stuff. I really enjoyed basically every other bit of this season.
- [02:57]
Joe
I loved it. I think from a Hall of Fame candidacy, there was one piece that seems to be slightly missing where when it's like a truly great show, there's just like a water cooler buzz about it and people just kind of being in awe of how awesome it was. And I don't think that got there from that point, but I think what's going to stand out and endure, and I think it's a little better than Mare of Eastown for me. I have it slightly higher. I thought the performances, especially by Ruffalo in this last episode, by Pelfrey, the whole time, the supporting characters, I thought the character of Maeve, I was so attached to her by the end. I think the acting is going to be the legacy of this show. Just how, how well constructed all the performances were.
- [03:43]
Joanna
I think if, even though, you know, Tom Pelfrey has been working for a long while now and Fabian Frankel is on a Game of Thrones show, like the two of them and Emilia Jones coming out of the show, I think people will look back on this as sort of like a big launching point for a couple performers. Absolutely.
- [04:02]
Joe
No question.
- [04:03]
Bill
I think that's the closest we got to the water cooler buzz was the Pelfrey stuff. Specifically, it was. If you are missing this, you're missing something really special. But as an overall show, I agree. I. I don't know that it ever, like, frothed up the kind of, like, widespread interest that some of the buzzier HBO properties do.
- [04:20]
Joe
I think part of the. And it's not a fault because it was the way they did it and I like how they did it, but I think the first episode had a couple pretty wonky scenes in it. And it was slow. People. Some people thought it was slow. Anecdotally, people were telling me, I don't know, it's slow. I'm like, are you fucking serious? Like, do you like, people are wrong?
- [04:36]
Bill
Yeah, yeah.
- [04:37]
Joe
Like, just.
- [04:37]
Bill
That was not my feeling coming out of one.
- [04:39]
Joe
Yeah, what are you doing? But, you know, there was that really crazy scene with him and the priest, and I just wonder if People just kind of got their hackles up a little bit. But I thought this show was really great.
- [04:50]
Joanna
I was sort of hoping that the volume out of six would be a bit higher than it was. Cause six was so good. And I think six is my favorite out of five and six. I like the finale, but I think it sort of peaked at 5 and 6 for me. And so I was hoping like a bunch of people would want to catch up before the finale. And I haven't really anecdotally seen that happen though, you know, it still might. We're recording this a couple days before Sunday, but. And people love a binge. But I. Yeah, it's just not quite. It's not even where Mayor was necessarily. Just that really caught fire in. In the culture and stuff like that.
- [05:28]
Joe
So.
- [05:29]
Joanna
But. But I think it deserves it. And I think people who have been dialed in to the show. We talked about this a bit last week, Bill, but I think people who have been dialed into the. Dialed into the show will just tell everyone they really miss something if they miss task, you know, it also is.
- [05:41]
Bill
Very bingeable because of the length and because the natural plot is so propulsive. Shout out to a show that is exactly as long as it needed to be. Frankly, they didn't try to skim it, they didn't try to stretch it to 10. It felt like pretty much everything we were getting into in terms of the weight of the ideas and the themes was deserved again, on an execution level. Maybe this scene or that one didn't work for you or this plot line or that one. But overall this felt like it moved really, really well.
- [06:08]
Joanna
Yeah.
- [06:09]
Joe
And when you're comparing it to the Alzheimer's like, as you guys know, I've been watching Succession in the sauna for 25 minute stretches.
- [06:16]
Joanna
You're almost done with Succession. What are you going to do next?
- [06:20]
Joe
I honestly don't know what happened. I might just start watching Succession again.
- [06:23]
Bill
I mean, it is the most sauna show that's ever been created. So congratulations for finding it.
- [06:28]
Joe
You're just on the edge of your seat with every line but that 7, 8, 9, 10 run in succession. And especially the last two episodes. And how that show, it's just like to me, if you're gonna go first ballot, hall of fame, it's gotta be on that level. And I do feel like this was right below. But I will say, and I'm with you, Joanne. I like the 5th and 6th episodes slightly more than the 7th just cause I thought the 7th kind of peaked too early. Ruffalo's courtroom scene was just awesome.
- [06:56]
Bill
Yeah.
- [06:57]
Joe
I mean, that was some. You know, that's among the best acting in his career. And I've been with him for now 25 years as a season ticket hold, as you guys have, too. But I just thought he was just so good in that scene. And it's one of those scenes where the guy could have. Could have tried to turn the waterworks on to really go for the Emmy clip or tried to dial it up a couple spots, but I just thought it was just perfect acting. I really was like, I thought it was incredible.
- [07:27]
Joanna
I don't know, you know how sometimes you just watch an episode and you're just in the wrong mood or whatever. The first time I watched it, it didn't really hit me. But then I was talking to crazy, and he was talking about how much he loved it, and I was like, well, then I feel like I really need to rewatch it and I miss something. And then on the second time through, I did really appreciate how restrained it was, and that made it sort of all the more powerful. And there's just, like, one moment, like, when he's talking about the art teacher, like, that moment where he, like, almost kind of breaks, and it makes the rest, you know, but he's not, like, screaming like, look at me, son. Look at me. Which, like, you know, that's a choice someone could have made. But, yeah, that restraint was really admirable. And I found all the Sammy stuff incredibly emotional in the finale. That was something that, like, we were a little worried about, like, is he just gonna get a replacement son? And the fact that the show is, like, we are also worried about that was really gratifying.
- [08:17]
Bill
I think in the end, literally every character is concerned that you are trying to replace one son with the other.
- [08:23]
Joanna
Right.
- [08:23]
Bill
Honestly, like, the fact that this finale could make me care the way I did about Tom and Ethan's relationship, a relationship that, like, by plot purposes, has been absent. Right. These characters have not interacted for over a year.
- [08:36]
Joanna
Right.
- [08:36]
Bill
And yet, like, I. I'm. I am living and dying with every line of that speech. In the lead up to it, I was feeling the legitimate tension of, like, what is he going to say in this hearing? What is the meaning of what he's telling Emily about, you know, basically trying to keep her safe and make sure that she feels safe in their home. What does that mean as far as what he's going to say about Ethan? Like, there's a little bit of magic in that, in the idea that after all of this. You can basically not quite introduce a new character in Ethan, but the most screen time he's had all season, even though he's just sitting idly in a courtroom. And it's like, I feel for that character because Mark Ruffalo is making me feel for that character. And that's. That is an impressive thing to pull off.
- [09:16]
Joe
You know what else that scene had? One of my favorites, when the cut to the character who's not crying yet, and they cut back, still not crying. Like, come on, give me this. Give me the tears rolling down. I know you have it in you. And then it finally hit the daughter, and there they were, the tears just ripping down the cheeks. I was like, yeah, we got her. It's funny when you unfortunately, like to get behind the hood of this stuff that we. We all know about. Like, they're filming that scene from, you know, five, six, seven times, right? He's doing it again. They just have the closeup just of the daughter, and that's like, they'll do that take, then they go the second. The wide shot of both daughters. Then they do the Ruffalo close, then the wide shot. So he's probably given that speech, I don't know, six, seven times.
- [09:59]
Joanna
And I'm sure there's versions. You know, again, we're recording this on Sunday. I'm sure there'll be some, like, postmortem interviews where people find out, but I'm sure there are versions he gave a bit more emotion to. And they went with this one, which was maybe one of the more. Perhaps, I'm guessing, one of the more restrained takes. And I just think it was a really smart choice. The directing in this episode, I thought was really, really good. Jeremiah Zagar or whatever. The. Like, Perry's death scene, the way that was shot, like, all of the nature around him I thought was really, really good. Or, like, the Sammy montage, like, showing how. Like, really quickly showing how entrenched Sammy's, like, Monogram backpack. Like, how much he's in this household and how hard it's gonna be to, like, sort of uproot him. Again, like, all that was done really efficiently in some of these, like, images that they put together inside of this episode.
- [10:49]
Bill
Like, the back part of this episode is so quiet and so still. And I think to the extent that we're even having, like, the first hall of Fame conversation. Look, it's not a slight to say that you don't quite get to that level, but the reason that conversation is worth having is because of all of the quiet and still stuff. Like, if this was just a heat pastiche, that's a fun show. But the fact that you're chasing all that with Robbie's triumphant moment at the end of episode six in silence, and you're getting all of kind of the quiet family stuff here in the finale, I think that's what elevates it. I think that's what changes the show into something that restrained and I'm with you, Joe. I'm sure there's a wide range of Ruffalo performances, but there's also no doubt what register Brad Inglesby likes to work in. And it is this kind of like a little bit held back, a little bit emotionally stunted. Sometimes you have to really dig into it. But we want to leave things unturned in terms of these characters.
- [11:45]
Joe
Yeah. Look, the whole reason we're watching a TV show, it's not about the plot. It's about, do I care about the character or not?
- [11:51]
Bill
Yeah.
- [11:52]
Joe
When they're in danger, do I care? When they don't, they lost somebody, do I care? Do I want them to be reunited with somebody? Do I want them get along better with somebody? This show checked all those boxes for all the main characters.
- [12:03]
Joanna
My favorite scene of this episode actually was. I mean, barring Ruffalo's speech, I would say is the Grasso and his sister scene in the kitchen. It was like a great character, Frankie Grasso, that I really actually wish we had gotten earlier in the season. Like, it's kind of wild that she just shows up in the finale here. Lily Kay, who Rob and I had some questions about her character in Stick a little bit earlier this year, but was so good in this scene. And it's just exactly the kind of scene, again, that Brad likes to like. Immediately he walks in this house, and I get his connections with those boys. I get the connection with his sister. She's talking about hooking him up with someone from the gym. He's like, remember the cat lady? Like, all this sort of stuff. Like, all of that. That immediate intimacy that you immediately buy into.
- [12:50]
Bill
And.
- [12:50]
Joanna
And it helps us care about Grasso's character. Like, not just the whole, like, I did it to help my mom, to help my sister. Obvious stuff, but just sort of like, this is a guy who is important to his nephews, who's important to his sister. You know, so when we see him, like, gray slumped over the steering wheel or whatever, like, we're engaged because of those incredible Brad special scenes that he writes.
- [13:17]
Bill
Joe, everything you said is 100% true. I also love that scene. It is at the same time an extremely tough look that even Grasso's sister knows that he's DJ Grassano pussy. Like, to get that from your own family is tough.
- [13:31]
Joanna
How did you feel about DJ Grasanova, like, putting out a track in order to distract Michael Dorsey, his boss, when he comes in the house?
- [13:38]
Joe
It was the only way. The mixtape was it. Which mixtape did he grab from? Well, we were joking last week. Sadly, Rob wasn't on, but we were talking about DJ Grasanova. I was really mad at him. The last podcast, that was like, an evil.
- [13:51]
Bill
You had some strong words, Bill.
- [13:53]
Joe
I was upset. And we said heading into episode seven, like, they better make us feel better about Grasso and some of the choices he made, or else I'm gonna think he's a really bad person. And in two minutes, I'm like, oh, yeah, his mom was sick. She needed a better view. Like, yeah, he's fine. Dark hearts. Why? His mom needed a bigger bedroom. I totally got it. I was back in. I'm back in on Grasso.
- [14:19]
Joanna
They're all in on Grasso if they do a TAS season two. We had joked last week about Grasso as a fugitive, but if we. If they did Task season two, like, Grasso needs to pay for what he's done. He should not be a law enforcement officer anymore. But, like, is he a character that you would like to see in a season two of Task, or do you feel like that character should be done?
- [14:39]
Bill
I would love to. I think the question is, like, functionally, if the show is going to continue to be about another task force, how would he be roped into it if he's not a police officer anymore? And so that's where you get into dangerous territory of, like, oh, a character that we have this attachment to and we've seen kind of grow and evolve and really kind of step into his guilt and his shame over the course of this season. But I don't want to shoehorn him into a thing where he doesn't belong just because we like him. And like Fabian Frankl.
- [15:04]
Joe
Right.
- [15:05]
Bill
Like, I would be a little apprehensive. Even though Grasso lives. This is an important development.
- [15:11]
Joe
Well, Homeland, which is very often the North Star for conversations like this, Brody should have just died at the end of episode of season one, right?
- [15:19]
Joanna
Absolutely, he should have.
- [15:21]
Joe
They shoehorn him back into season two, and it's a disaster. I'm glad you brought this up. I thought, we're gonna do it later. I'm happy to do it now. Task season two, which is happening, it could go one of three ways. It's either just a completely new show, and it's a different task force somewhere else, maybe Pennsylvania, wherever else. And nobody from this season is on. I don't think they'll do that. But it's on the table. The second one would be built around Ruffalo, like, starting a new task force, and we just dive into it. Maybe there's some Dark hearts DNA left. There's some. Freddy Frias is still sitting there as a real character. Like, we have some pieces that. Who takes over the dark Hearts? Is there police corruption? Like, now that we have that guy who's dead in Grasso's office from Risky Business. Our guy?
- [16:07]
Joanna
Yeah.
- [16:08]
Joe
Is there, like a whole unwinding of that? Whole police corruption? And so you go that way. The most fun, and I don't know if they'll do this, is Grasso somehow gets out of whatever sentence is waiting for him. Maybe the lawyer screws it up. Maybe he's escapes. Maybe he gets out. Maybe it becomes the fugitive. Maybe it's built around they have to find Grasso. But I think those are. Is there any other option beyond those three?
- [16:37]
Joanna
Well, okay. There is a tantalizing option that I've heard a couple people mention, and I'll get to that in a second. I will say, I think we might have cut it out of Brad's interview last week because he said a few things that I felt like, tipped the finale.
- [16:54]
Joe
Tipped it off.
- [16:54]
Joanna
Too much finale a little bit. So I cut them out. But I think he's interested in Ruffalo's character. I think he's interested in Tom's home life, which is something that we felt was a little weak actually this season. But he's like, ethan's coming home. How is that gonna go? And I was like, well, let's cut that. That's finale spoiler. But, like, how is he gonna deal with. You know, we see him paint the room, but, like, that's just step one. Like, how is the reality of that? So he's interested in Tom and Ruffalo's character. Something I've had a couple people mention to me is the idea of a mayor of Easttown task crossover event for season two.
- [17:29]
Joe
Oh, my Lord. I mean, is that on the table?
- [17:32]
Joanna
I don't know. What's Kate doing?
- [17:33]
Bill
Is she willing to. What if Grasso gets set up on a blind date with Mare? Is that something we're interested in or.
- [17:38]
Joe
He's DJ he's now a DJ. He's DJing her second wedding and interested.
- [17:43]
Joanna
In Grasso dating Merrimace Town. Honestly, to be honest with you. Yeah.
- [17:47]
Joe
So we're all in on Grasso sticking around in some way.
- [17:51]
Bill
I would like it, but you just have to justify it.
- [17:54]
Joanna
Here's. Here's the idea. If. If they're still. If. If Ruffalo's like, we're not done squashing the Dark Hearts, there's more dark hearts to be squashed. Rosso knows a bunch about their organization and so he could be like a consult. Not like back on the. You know, but like from prison.
- [18:09]
Joe
Disgraced cop. I don't think he goes to prison. I think they let him out. Okay, time served. He becomes a consultant now to help them try to solve this. Underworld doesn't.
- [18:19]
Bill
Yeah, or double agent. Can we double agent back to the dark car?
- [18:24]
Joanna
Donnie. Donnie Brascoe.
- [18:25]
Bill
Look, I'm just saying, we're just, you know, it's the writers room. No bad ideas. We're just throwing stuff at the wall. Right?
- [18:30]
Joe
Hold on, wait a second. This is good. Who knows that Grasso turned.
- [18:37]
Joanna
Well, he. Dorsey's dead and he shot the guy who walked into the house.
- [18:42]
Joe
All the witnesses are gone.
- [18:44]
Joanna
Unless, like, he.
- [18:45]
Joe
His one source. Who is this. One conduit got shot in the head and the other guy who knew about his conduit, he killed.
- [18:53]
Joanna
Yeah.
- [18:53]
Joe
So those guys don't know.
- [18:54]
Joanna
As long as the guy didn't talk to anyone else in. In like the Dark Hearts upper echelon, the Mother Council or whatever it's called, then maybe we could. We could sort of put Anthony back in. That would be interesting. I would love that.
- [19:07]
Bill
I like that idea.
- [19:08]
Joe
That's good. We need that. And more stress eating from Martha Plimpton, I think are the two things that.
- [19:13]
Joanna
We'Ll have to come back who's just looking at the memes on his lunch break with his tie sort of flung over his shoulder so he doesn't get any mustard on it. Pretty amazing.
- [19:22]
Bill
While we're talking first ballot hall of Fame. I thought Plimpton submitted herself. First ballot on the Heavy Poor hall of fame this episode, like really, really going to town on the wine and pills combo. And who's to blame her, you know, she's just been shot. I'm not begrudging the woman. I'm just saying her credentials speak for themselves at this point.
- [19:39]
Joe
I think she realized she saw the script for episode seven and was, I'm only in two scenes. I'm fucking really going for it. Then this is a full fledged Dial up. We didn't talk. The two big scenes, the Ruffalo, the big testimony. And then the second one was the shootout which we're going to talk about right after this.
- [19:59]
Joanna
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- [20:17]
Eva Longoria
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- [20:20]
Joanna
A hard working moisturizer. Revitalift triple power moisturizer by l' Oreal Paris. Grab it today in fragrance free or with SPF 30. Available at your local Walmart.
- [20:30]
Bill
So good, so good, so good.
- [20:32]
Eva Longoria
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- [20:42]
Joanna
Check out these boots.
- [20:43]
Bill
They've got the best gifts. My holiday shopping hack.
- [20:46]
Joanna
Join the Nordic club.
- [20:47]
Eva Longoria
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- [21:29]
Joe
All right, the big shootout. We had one last action sequence. So by my count, Ruffalo was in three pretty major action scenes in this show in seven episodes.
- [21:39]
Joanna
Another like surprising moment for Tom when he's like telling spotting the gun before Aaliyah spots the gun. And I was like, this was the question we had when he went toe to toe with Perry where we were like, could he like, what's, what is the truth of Tom? Is he the like shambling, fumbling, broken down alcoholic, you know, whatever, or is he like spotting guns before Aaliyah who.
- [22:02]
Joe
Is a legendary, let's be honest, he's like fucking Jack Reacher in these last couple episodes. Like he's just killing everybody.
- [22:07]
Bill
I thought him taking on Perry was like, you know, when a mother sees that their child's in danger and will like lift up A car like that was basically the equivalent for him versus Perry. This one I have no explanation for. All of a sudden, he's very sharp. He's very. Honestly, him and Alia sweeping the house in the first place felt like a mirror of the first episode with Robbie and Cliff so methodically moving through the stash houses. It felt like it was their moment to do some good, quality, clean policing.
- [22:36]
Joe
Is it possible because he was not drinking, like, he definitely stopped drinking for a few weeks.
- [22:43]
Joanna
The Phillies cup feeder now, you know.
- [22:45]
Joe
Maybe got like his shit back together a little bit.
- [22:48]
Bill
Wow.
- [22:48]
Joe
And there's more. The athleticism came back. Like, he's just. He's just back.
- [22:53]
Joanna
Here's Action Cop.
- [22:55]
Joe
Action Cop. Ruffalo.
- [22:56]
Joanna
Here's a knit I have to pick and then a non official endorsement I have to give. On the way to the shootout. I will say the character of Breaker, someone we don't really know inside of the Dark heart, standing outside of Donna's window saying, where'd you find the bag? What do you mean, nothing's in it? What's it? Maeve's house like? Not my favorite writing.
- [23:18]
Bill
You don't do phone exposition, Joe. You don't just, like, shout it out to anyone who's in earshot.
- [23:24]
Joe
Better off seeing, like an email or a text or something.
- [23:26]
Joanna
Exactly. On that front, in terms of communication and what can be tracked. This is not an official ad for Snapchat, but knowing that Snapchat won't narc on you, but Sirius XM Radio will, is just something to think about as we go forward in our criminal enterprises.
- [23:45]
Bill
Tool of criminals everywhere. The disappearing chat. Very important.
- [23:48]
Joanna
Yeah.
- [23:50]
Joe
So Grasso ends up saving the day, goes to Maeve's house, ends up shooting Jason, who I think out of all the performances, I think Jason was probably my least favorite. Kind of had the one move of just pulling super close to the other character and locking eyes and then spit would fly. And that was kind of all he was doing.
- [24:13]
Joanna
I still think we needed just a couple more Perry Jason scenes for me to understand, like, what a tough choice this was for Jason or why it was that Perri couldn't kill him or whatever.
- [24:26]
Joe
How close were they?
- [24:28]
Joanna
There needed to be something more establishing that connection.
- [24:30]
Joe
They did that with the brothers. The Pendergrass brothers, in three minutes.
- [24:35]
Joanna
Yeah, exactly.
- [24:36]
Joe
In the quarry.
- [24:37]
Joanna
Allman brothers. And then we would have understood.
- [24:39]
Bill
That's all it is.
- [24:39]
Joe
Or Leonard Skynyrd or Lynyrd Skynyrd with the Allman brothers.
- [24:42]
Bill
It felt like, you know, Joe, you talked with Brad last Week about kind of all the fathers and surrogate fathers that are in the air with this show that felt like the most yada, yada, yada. It's like, oh, this guy's older than that guy. They clearly have relationship fatherhood.
- [24:56]
Joanna
Right, Right.
- [24:57]
Bill
Uh, but, yeah, like, his hesitation to not kill Jason did not mean anything to me in the end. But shout out to Perry, you know, going out doing what he loved. Skinny dipping in a creek. Is that part of the quarry? I don't know. A body of water that is. But it's a way to go, that's for sure.
- [25:13]
Joe
The bacteria in that place must be. I can't even imagine.
- [25:18]
Joanna
Bill, how do you feel about Perry clearly not using, like, a single quarry rock to. To weigh Aaron's body down?
- [25:26]
Joe
I mean, I said this in the episode six pod. I just expected more from Perry. It was a really poorly thought out murder. I, I, I just disagreed with all of it. There was multiple witnesses up in the hill. He didn't get rid of the body. Like, what are we doing?
- [25:41]
Bill
He left one of the hunting chain behind.
- [25:43]
Joanna
Yeah.
- [25:46]
Joe
It's really one of the worst murders of all time. I also grow nitpicks. I really did like the final shootout, and I thought it was a good one with Grasso getting his finally having his moment. Aaliyah fending off the. The Dark arts guy who has her from behind in a chokehold. And maybe I've watched too much ufc, but you're basically not getting out of that unless the round's over. You're not getting out of it with the just, I don't know, moving forward and then kicking the person's knee like it's over.
- [26:15]
Bill
You.
- [26:15]
Joe
The position he had and the size differential, there's no way she's getting out of that. So that was my one nitpick.
- [26:22]
Joanna
My bigger nit to pick is that on Aaliyah's character in general. Like, that's just someone that I feel like, you know, we gave her some connection to Lizzie so we could understand why she was, like, a bit motivated here at the end. But I would have loved, like, a little bit more information on her, given how she is.
- [26:37]
Bill
Yeah.
- [26:38]
Joanna
Season two, bring her to the front.
- [26:39]
Bill
One of the only surviving characters, at least of the task force who's currently employed. So you would think that she's going to be a prominent member would be nice. Not quite a nit to pick, but as far as this kind of death story, when Jason and Perry go, I thought Jason confirmed with his getaway, like, there is no cool Way to run through a stream. Like you just look like a toddler's kicking up a puddle. No matter what you try to do, you know you gotta do it. You gotta go through the paces. But it wasn't the most elegant exit.
- [27:07]
Joe
It's not Ben Kingsley and sneakers. It's very close.
- [27:11]
Bill
It was close. It was close.
- [27:12]
Joe
I wanna go through some of the arcs of the characters, the final arcs. Eh, let's start with Perry, just for fun.
- [27:18]
Joanna
You don't want to start with Gertie, who will never know peace, I guess, because there's always shit going down in the chicken coop.
- [27:23]
Bill
Well, there's always money in the chicken coop.
- [27:25]
Joe
Yeah, we do that later. Gertie. Perry's final arc order to kill Jason. The guy's. I don't know how many people he's murdered, but it's been a lot. He was told it's you or him. This isn't done. You'll be dead tomorrow. Still can't do it. Maybe he had weakness inside. Just maybe. Not that good of a murderer. Maybe he just wanted to run a biker club and not have to murder people. Gets ratted out by his bartender girlfriend, Donna. You know the lesson. As always, Rob, don't slam a bathroom door against a love interest because it'll come back to haunt you at the end.
- [28:04]
Bill
I endorse this.
- [28:05]
Joanna
Ask for coffee nicely.
- [28:06]
Joe
Yeah, yeah. Just ask for coffee nicely. No slam doors. And then takes a naked swim the next morning as Jason's finding out about Aaron and the chain and ends up killing him. So I have three lessons here. One, we've learned this multiple times. The Pennsylvania water. Not your friend. Not a sanctity place for a swim.
- [28:27]
Bill
Don't do it.
- [28:28]
Joe
It's not a healing place. Bad things. You can get drowned. Bad news can happen. Stay away.
- [28:33]
Joanna
Very important that Tom wants to take Sammy swimming at the Y. Not in bacteria written quarries, but at the chlorine.
- [28:40]
Bill
Only for young Sammy.
- [28:42]
Joe
Lesson number two, get your chain back after you drown somebody.
- [28:45]
Bill
Which I naturally.
- [28:46]
Joe
We knew that, but I just want to reiterate. And then lesson number three, A little more style. Don't date a bartender. Oh, yeah.
- [28:52]
Bill
You're just. You're xing out the whole community.
- [28:54]
Joe
I was a former bartender. Yeah. Just don't. Just be careful. Be careful. Those bartenders, they're always networking. She's just part of. She just parlayed him. She's like, ah. I mean, maybe I'll throw my lot with this. Part of the dark arts. And that's it. Perry gets out.
- [29:08]
Joanna
I feel like the lesson is supposed to be that Donna is like, she cares about Maeve, and so she's like, well, they're going after Maeve, so fuck him. You know, like, that seemed to be all right.
- [29:16]
Joe
If that's true, what was the scene when Donna and Maeve had a huge bonding situation? Because I don't remember it. Did we have one?
- [29:22]
Joanna
Well, I think just this idea that, like, Maeve was part of the biker family, which they tried to make a point earlier in the season to be like, once you're in the biker family, you're in the biker family. So, like, even though we didn't get a scene between them, it makes sense to me that Donna is like, maeve doesn't deserve to die. I don't think I needed that underlined for me the way that I needed, like, the Perry and Jason thing sort of better fleshed out for me.
- [29:43]
Joe
Do you know any additional thoughts, Rep?
- [29:47]
Bill
I have nothing against the bartender community. I think it's fine to date bartenders.
- [29:50]
Joe
I thought it was a joke.
- [29:52]
Bill
I thought she was very gracious in lending them her mom's, like, lake house or whatever to begin with. She did her part in helping them escape.
- [30:00]
Joanna
Everyone has waterfront cabin somewhere in this story.
- [30:04]
Bill
Are we missing out? Should we be in Delco? Are we missing out?
- [30:07]
Joe
I don't know. It's like frigging Martha's Vineyard out there, just all over the place. So anyway, Perry maybe a B as a character. I don't know what else I wanted from him, but it felt like he was missing something. And I don't even know if I could put my finger on it.
- [30:23]
Joanna
I mean, I really loved that sequence in episode five when he goes to Maeve's house. You know what I mean? Or six, whenever it was when he's, like, in Maeve's house, I thought that stuff was really good. I think there have been some great moments with and when it was like, Detective Perry and he's, like, putting all the pieces together.
- [30:36]
Joe
Yeah, menacing detective Perry.
- [30:38]
Joanna
Yeah, that stuff was good. But, like, missing that final sort of, like, Jason deeper connection really made the end of his character tough.
- [30:44]
Bill
I mean, good as a heavy. Not so great as a human being who is in this story, at least one that we're supposed to like more fully understand.
- [30:52]
Joe
Tom's final arc saves Maeve, fends out the dark hearts, solves the investigation, stops drinking, reconciles with his son, gives a really heartfelt emotional speech, refuses to give penance to Grasso, which I can't wait to talk about, officially stops adopting kids I think he's done. He's finally had it. The priest just made him rethink the whole thing.
- [31:16]
Bill
He had a problem.
- [31:16]
Joanna
I mean, maybe Jason's kids are now orphans. So I'm just saying, if there's more.
- [31:23]
Joe
Compulsive adoption, all the kids. Yeah. Stops drinking and just about just ready to throw himself into the Philly season. Rob, I don't know. What else did we learn about Tom?
- [31:34]
Bill
I like that we end this season with him. Even after all of these adopted kids and attempted adopted kids learning how to be a father, he's still kind of fumbling through all this and trying to figure out how to best show up for these kids who he is either the biological father of or has taken under his wing. And I thought one of the exchanges in this episode that I really loved was the one with him and Father Daniel about, like, whether he should be adopting Sam in the first place. And this idea of, like, being unselfish with your love was something that really landed for me in the sense of, like, me too. You're doing this for kind of a good reason, but also you're doing it to fix yourself. And that in itself is not justifiable and is not fair to Sam. And the fact that all of that is kind of dovetailed with everything happening with him and Ethan, I found it to be really powerful. And I thought it just really landed the emotional arc for that character in an interesting way.
- [32:29]
Joe
Save you. Stop saving everyone else. That was basically the theme for Tom, which he ends up in the happiest place ever. Just an empty guest bedroom with no people around.
- [32:43]
Joanna
The title of the episode, still Small Voice, is a Bible verse. And it's about this idea that the story of Elijah. Forgive me, I'm an atheist, so I'm gonna do my best. But, like, the story of Elijah and this idea that, like, you know, looking for God in these big, obvious ways and then finding God in this, like, very quiet, small way. And so this idea that, like, you know, we meet Tom and he's so divorced from his faith, and he's so bitter about what happened with his son and with his wife and all this sort of stuff like that. And so watching him again a la Mel Gibson and signs, coming back into his faith and reconnecting with that and finding this, like, inner. We saw it do it in a previous episode with trying to get Maeve out of any legal ramifications, but deciding, like, she should keep the money and we should just look the other way on the money, because my internal moral compass Says that kind of feels it's wrong, but it feels right to me. I like that character finding those beats of just sort of like what feels right, even though it's not the sort of big letter of the law, you know, correct. But it feels like the right thing to do.
- [33:51]
Bill
Not shocking that a show that is so gray area as this would be incredibly interested in what is wrong, but kind of feels right. And you see it in the execution of the case too. Right. Martha Plimpton going to overdress Conor with his burrito and his memes and being like, yeah, this is against the law, but you're gonna do it because we need to do it to crack this case. And then all of that juxtaposed with everything happening with Grasso, who was doing things he knew was wrong, but for maybe kind of right reasons or at least justifying them with the right reasons. It's like there's a lot of messy police work and police oriented life happening around these characters and they're trying to find ways to justify it to themselves. And I think the way that that ties into the conversation about Faith Joe is not just like, does Tom believe in God? But I think the conversations he has with Grasso over these last couple episodes about what confession means and to whom, that it's like, this is not something we do for. For the big guy in the clouds. This is something that we are doing for each other and doing for ourselves to try to just like get through the day. And their willingness to do that and participate in that and who is interested in being forgiven for what it is that they've done, I am fascinated by in these episodes.
- [35:01]
Joe
I never gave anyone penance. People beat themselves up enough on their own. This is last words to Grasso. It was interesting.
- [35:07]
Bill
I mean, it's like a show if I've ever heard one.
- [35:10]
Joe
I was expecting this awesome showdown scene in the hospital or some sort of something. And it's like that was kind of.
- [35:18]
Joanna
He.
- [35:18]
Joe
He kind of just swatted him away Mutumbo style. So with Tom, if Maeve gives him one stack. Oh, you want to take this?
- [35:33]
Bill
Yeah.
- [35:34]
Joe
Tom takes it. Do you feel differently about him?
- [35:36]
Bill
Yes. Okay, absolutely.
- [35:39]
Joanna
Does he?
- [35:39]
Joe
What if he grabs, like, you can keep this, but takes one thing and just shoves it in the back of his pants?
- [35:45]
Joanna
Does he use it to buy Sammy monogrammed backpacks and I don't know, triple the vegetable output of his garden? Like, how many beets are we going to have?
- [35:54]
Joe
It goes right to the garden. To more animals.
- [35:57]
Joanna
Yeah. More fertilizer first of all, where do.
- [35:59]
Bill
You think all those posters came from? Exactly. They've already been subsidized.
- [36:03]
Joanna
It's the DQ budget for the household.
- [36:04]
Bill
Oh, my God.
- [36:05]
Joe
I love that he'd letter keep the knapsack.
- [36:07]
Bill
DQ right now.
- [36:08]
Joe
Yeah, the DQ is great. I love that he'd let her keep the knapsack.
- [36:11]
Joanna
Me too. I absolutely love that.
- [36:12]
Bill
It's a good touch.
- [36:15]
Joe
Grasso's final arc. I wrote Redemption with four exclamation points. Even though he's not totally redeemed, but at least we feel better about him. But got to meet his sister, get the whole background with the sick moment. Great job sniffing out Risky Business guys. Stage suicide move. He just. He just read. Was like. He was reading a corner blitz. He's like, oh my God, I see this coming. I thought there was one interesting moment in that when he's talking to the guy and the guy said, he's basically like, how did you do this all these years?
- [36:50]
Joanna
Yeah, right.
- [36:51]
Joe
He's like, I've only been doing this for two. I feel like I've been. Been doing it for 20. And the guy was basically like, now you get used to it. Like. But I was like, this is. I could do 10 more minutes on this. Like, how do you live with this and the fear of being caught? And you know, and I liked.
- [37:07]
Joanna
Yeah. And when Michael again, Michael Dorsey, I think really a great. With apologies to any Michael Dorsey's who might be listening. Like a great corrupt cop name. But like, I think him saying, you know, I put my sons through college. And he's like, I know you did. And like, obviously he's saying that to try to be like, you can't kill me. I've got three sons. You know, like, I'm a person with connections to the world and stuff like that. But Grasso being like, yeah, you had your reasons and so did I. And that doesn't make it better, what we did here. You know what I mean? Like, I thought. Yeah. And I thought Grasso. I went. I had to go back and look because Grasso's chunky gold crucifix that he's wearing in, you know, very obvious over his sweatshirt in the scene where he goes to, like, see his nephews and see his sister. And I was like, has he been wearing that all season? And like, we definitely saw it in like the bedroom scene with Lizzie. Like, we've seen it before, but it's usually sort of tucked under. Unless he's like, you know, not having sex with Lizzie in her haunted marital Bed. But the way it was just sort of, like, out and, like, hanging heavy almost on him in those scenes, I thought was really interesting.
- [38:14]
Bill
I mean, it's the fundamental difference between those two characters. Right. It's like one is continuing to try to justify what they've done, and the other one. And I think this is another great element of Grasso's scene with his sister, too, where it's like. Like he's the one saying, like, I have to come clean about this. Like, I have to turn myself in. And she's the one who's trying to say, wait, wait, wait. Can't you just, like, hesitate for a minute and see what happens before you make any rash decisions? But, like, it's very clear that that character, like, cannot deal with this kind of deception anymore. And that is. That's an interesting place to find him at the end of this story. And maybe it took Lizzie's death to push him over that particular cliff, but he got to the place he needed to get to in the end.
- [38:51]
Joanna
I think that moment where he talked to. To his boss, Michael Dorsey, about. In last week's episode about, like, holding Lizzie's body and she's already gone.
- [39:01]
Bill
Yeah.
- [39:01]
Joanna
And so this idea, like, hammering home from this idea of, like, a soul, like, what it means for your soul to leave your body, and then that. That reigniting these questions he's been having all seasons about. About faith. I thought was. Yeah, really good stuff. Good shit.
- [39:15]
Joe
Well, we learned a lesson from him. The lesson is let your sick mom stay in a slightly worse room.
- [39:25]
Bill
If your sister's in an abusive relationship, don't bail her and her kids out. They don't need a safe place to stay.
- [39:31]
Joe
Just. Just keep, keep, keep the course. No, I. I end up feeling bad for him. I was not expecting that. Maeve's final arc tries to escape with the kids. Once she gets the word, forgets the car keys. Come on, Maeve.
- [39:48]
Joanna
Tough.
- [39:49]
Joe
I argue with my wife about this all the time. Just put the car keys in the same place every time. That's it.
- [39:55]
Bill
The number of places that she's looking in the house is preposterous. Like, it's not in that drawer. There's no chance it's in the drawer.
- [40:02]
Joe
This is, like. This would be the one advice I would give to everyone in life. Come in the house and put the car keys in one spot. Then you'll know they're in the spot.
- [40:11]
Joanna
Is it like a bowl? Is it a hook? Like, does it matter where the place is?
- [40:15]
Joe
It could be whatever you want. Okay, Just routine. Just put it there. She gets attacked by Jason, survives missed opportunity with Jason. I felt like there was some. There was some tension with them in a good way. Like, missed opportunity for Jason and Maeve to start dating in season two and combine their families. Can't happen. He's dead.
- [40:36]
Bill
Yeah, I don't think so.
- [40:37]
Joe
We think she's going to get killed in the shootout. Great red herring from Inglesby with the little girl climbing through the window and like, oh, no. Oh, please, no, no, God, no. They don't do that. And then Tom lets her leave with the money anyway, so where does she go, Joanna? Canada.
- [40:53]
Joanna
Where are we going? I don't know. She knows a guy. I hope she comes out to California. California? Maeve, she deserves it. Or like, New York City Maeve? I don't know.
- [41:01]
Bill
Oh, yeah, she could do well there.
- [41:02]
Joanna
Yeah. I have some questions about Harper in this shootout thing. She goes into the house and she's like, I'm just gonna let the cops know Maeve's in trouble. So she opens a window, but do you think they could not hear her screaming her head off until Harper is that Wasn't that, like. Harper's move was to open the window so the cops could hear that Maeve was in trouble?
- [41:22]
Bill
Like, look, child logic is what it is, Joe.
- [41:24]
Joanna
Yeah, okay. Also, I just love that Harper used the same move Maeve did, which is like, crawl through this into the trunk, small boy. So you will be. This is like a family move. Yes, Right. But I really loved that final scene between them. It reminded me a lot of my favorite series finale, Six Feet under. And, like, the Lauren Ambrose, like, you know, you can't take a photo of this. It's already gone sort of moment that just makes me cry every time that I see it. And so I loved that scene with her and the camera and Harper outside of the home. Wyatt gets one more butthole joke in there for the road. And yeah, yeah, they're really callback, too.
- [42:04]
Joe
To the end of season episode one, the wide shot of the house. Wide shot of the house.
- [42:09]
Bill
I thought with Wyatt really hammering home, there are two kinds of kids, you know, there's Sam, who is living damaged and sensitively and trying to cope with the loss of his parents. And then there's Wyatt, who's complaining about the length of the road trip and making chicken butthole jokes. Like, those are. That's really the only two genres.
- [42:26]
Joanna
All right. She says it's four hours. So wherever they're going is only four hours from where they are.
- [42:32]
Bill
So Within Pennsylvania. That could be anywhere.
- [42:34]
Joanna
Okay.
- [42:34]
Joe
We didn't mention Maeve as a season two possibility person.
- [42:38]
Joanna
I kind of want her out of danger.
- [42:40]
Bill
Please, somebody say Maeve needs to save herself.
- [42:43]
Joe
That's why she's a season two possibility. Where the dark hearts realize she money.
- [42:47]
Joanna
Oh, God.
- [42:48]
Joe
We've got to find her. Where is she?
- [42:50]
Bill
That sounds more like a season three or four plot line. When they've run out of steam and they're like, what do we have left? Oh, Wade, Maeve's still alive. Let's just, you know, take her, have someone kidnap her.
- [43:00]
Joe
Sam's final arc. So he briefly ends up in Tom's house with an awesome bedroom with a lot of posters that he picked.
- [43:09]
Bill
Yeah.
- [43:10]
Joe
With two great sisters who seem like they really like them and a hands on dad. He gets. Rob will get this. He gets rebuilt as a trade asset. Rob traded to a different foster family for two unprotected first round picks. He is a child. He's just out. They get. They dump him. He had a room. They decorated his room.
- [43:28]
Bill
Yeah, dump him.
- [43:29]
Joe
I was mad they didn't keep him. I don't know. We don't know about this new family.
- [43:32]
Bill
Tom cannot handle Sam in his life right now.
- [43:36]
Joe
The sister's right there. The older sister who just got divorced. She's right there.
- [43:42]
Joanna
She has a lot to. She has a new baby. Like, she has a lot going on. I did. I mean, I will say Sarah and Emily and Sammy was like my favorite. Sarah and Emily we got all season talking about. Talking about, like, Sarah saying something nice about like a nice memory about Ethan. While Emily is sort of like poised for Sarah to be nasty about it. And then she's like, remember when the dog went missing and Ethan did this thing? Like, that was so good. The DQ conversation, you know, talking to Tom about, you know, going to Target or, you know, and the scenes with Emily saying like, where do you want to keep your socks? Like, when Sammy first gets there and he's like so scared and downtrodden, she's like, where do you want to keep his socks? He's like, I don't know. But then like the scene later of her getting. Helping him get dressed to meet the new family, it was just like, really beautiful. I also like when. When I saw.
- [44:30]
Joe
Yeah, but did you want him to change his mind when the family was walking to the door or do you want him to let him do it.
- [44:35]
Joanna
After his friend was like, be unselfish with your love. I was like, he's got to give the kid away.
- [44:39]
Bill
This was the healthy choice, I think for everybody.
- [44:41]
Joanna
Like when they were gardening, I was like, this is so charming.
- [44:45]
Joe
I was really in on Sam and Tom. Sam was back. He was completely rejuvenated.
- [44:49]
Joanna
I know. So. But he's. He's got a. The family seemed very nice. There seemed to be like an older brother involved. So I don't know. We barely see them. But I hope it's okay. And I feel like he's going to know Tom his whole life provided that family is like somewhere nearby. I feel like Tom will want to like stay in that kid's life as like, you know, I can see that for sure.
- [45:10]
Bill
I also think as far as like a ghost wife watch goes, I see. I. This one did work on me, I am ashamed to admit.
- [45:17]
Joe
Oh, postwife worked.
- [45:18]
Bill
Ghost Susan putting the flowers into the va. Like putting out the flowers while waiting. Like, obviously a mirror of the whole Emily and Ethan adoption. Like all of that. This one kind of worked. And I think it was because it was so small.
- [45:30]
Joanna
I didn't hate it at all. I just can't believe that Maria Enos shows up to do that. All that. She's just infrequently seen Ghost Wife and Wife in photography all season. This is one case where like, my. This actor is too big to just show up to be ghost Wife, like completely failed me.
- [45:49]
Bill
You're not wrong.
- [45:51]
Joanna
I wonder if stuff was cut like that's just such a for. I don't know if people are listening. They're like, I don't know who the hell she is. And I'm like, well, watch big love and watch the killing and then come and talk about it.
- [45:59]
Joe
She's a real actress.
- [45:59]
Joanna
She's great.
- [46:00]
Joe
And the two red herrings were the reading shootout, which we thought we were getting a flashback whatever from never did we. And then the wife did we think. I thought we were. I thought we were getting the whole.
- [46:14]
Joanna
Redding did get a message in this episode. And I thought for a second Bill might get his wish of a Redding centric storyline.
- [46:20]
Bill
But if season two is just the flashback Redding season, they're just. They're really clear in the decks. Just really making sure we have all the real estate we need to cover it from every angle. It's going to be a full like Rashomon, like every character.
- [46:33]
Joe
There's so much to learn from the fights.
- [46:35]
Joanna
I hope that Brad. Well, I know that Brad's not listening because he says he doesn't listen to this. This stuff, but I wouldn't.
- [46:41]
Joe
If I wrote a TV show, I wouldn't listen to a podcast like this.
- [46:45]
Joanna
If anyone at HBO is listening, we can brainstorm 10 seasons of task for you. I think we've already got you up to, like, four seasons.
- [46:51]
Joe
We're available. Martha Prim's final arc. Arm sling. Probably a little stress eating, especially with the pills that she's now addicted to, but at least she was in the Mole. Big win.
- [47:02]
Joanna
Is that season five of Task, or.
- [47:05]
Joe
Was she the mole the whole time now? She definitely was in the mall.
- [47:08]
Bill
It's a long arc.
- [47:10]
Miu Miu Ad Voice
Yeah.
- [47:10]
Joe
I don't think she was the mom.
- [47:11]
Joanna
It's interesting her, like, her, like, potential looming painkiller addiction plot line in a show about fentanyl. Well, it was interesting to me that there was that pandemic shortage of medication sort of moment. Kind of just sniped in from nowhere here at the end of this. That is just sort of like a great villain of this is the US Healthcare system or whatever you want to call it, which is, like, always, always topical. But I was like, oh, oh, oh, that's in here. Okay.
- [47:40]
Joe
I was, listen, these are not real character. These are not real people. I feel like we can make jokes about TV characters. I was thinking in the back of my head, season two, Ethan comes home and he's sharing a room with Sam. But then there's another medication shortage would be like, the most terrifying hour of tv.
- [47:57]
Joanna
What? That kid died.
- [47:58]
Joe
Leave Sam alone. I just did think these are all fake. Not real people. But they did plant that seed for Ethan. Great guy, but you just gotta make sure that medication doesn't run out.
- [48:12]
Joanna
Yeah, true.
- [48:12]
Joe
And that could. Maybe that's part of season two.
- [48:14]
Bill
I don't know.
- [48:15]
Joanna
I know this maybe says more about my relationship with my dad than anything else, but I was really impressed that Tom knew the name. Do you know the name of all of your son's friends, Bill? Like, do you know their names?
- [48:25]
Bill
Good question.
- [48:25]
Joe
Is that a. I actually do, yeah.
- [48:28]
Joanna
And I know because, like, you're involved. Like, I don't know. I'm just always impressed when dads know the name of their dads are on it. Yeah. I was like, he knows. He knows some names. That's crazy.
- [48:37]
Bill
He's locked in. Did he know the name? Slash, do we know the name of magic guy? Does that guy. Does that character have a name?
- [48:44]
Joanna
He does.
- [48:44]
Joe
What happened on the date? Talk about another unfinished plot.
- [48:48]
Joanna
Again, save something for season two. It's close up magic.
- [48:53]
Bill
Also, was there a faster babysitting job acceptance than him? In between dates one and two, when Emily comes to him and is like, hey, we need you to look after Sam. We go to this hearing.
- [49:04]
Joe
I do have one big picture question. Now that we've seen all the episodes, is this show better if we know Grasso is the mole almost the whole time and we have more background with him versus like kind of cramming into the last episode. Like if we found out like episode 2, 3 range that he's actually the mole and we don't have to do that. Oh, could it be Martha punting? Could be this person. But we know and then we get more and he. And we can really see how conflicted he is leading up to when Lizzie gets shot. Is this a better show? It's interesting. I don't know that I think it's interesting.
- [49:37]
Joanna
I think the idea of watching him and Lizzie sort of like fall for each other while we know for sure that he is operating on the other side would be interesting. I would happily welcome more scenes with his sister and his nephews like that. You know, that's why I brought it.
- [49:51]
Joe
Up because I thought that was such an interesting scene in the kitchen. I was like, ah, I could have used like four more of these.
- [49:57]
Joanna
The scene with his sister and also just like that moment with his nephew when he's asking his older nephew, like, are you staying out of trouble? You know, this idea of like, I see some of my younger self in you or I won't be around to help make sure you grow up on the straight and narrow because I'm about to go to prison. All of that stuff I thought was really strong.
- [50:16]
Bill
I'd be fascinated to see a version of the show where that's the case. My only hesitation is if you make it structurally that way. Is it a three legged stool versus a two person collision course a little too much? Are you putting too much on Grasso as a character to hold up that much of the story if we know everything about him right up front? Because like in this construction, he's almost like the Waingro of the heat, right? He's like the last bit of unfinished business that one guy can't let go of. And so Tom keeps going after him. But if you make it equally reliant on him as it is, Robbie and Tom, I'm not sure, I'm not sure if that character is quite up for that.
- [50:54]
Joanna
But I do have to wonder if, you know, because something that Brad said in the interview last week was like, you know, once he saw what Tom was doing, he got really nervous. Tom Pelfrey was doing. He got really Nervous about what the show was after Robbie was gone. And so, like, us caring about Maeve, us getting invested in Grasso, like, all that sort of stuff was very key for us to be sort of dialed into the end of the show here. But if Grasso is just like bumped up a little bit for the rest of the season, then, you know, maybe that moment of, like, oh, Robbie's gone. What is the show anymore without Robbie would have been less of a moment, I don't know. But it's not like I really. I mean, I miss Robbie, I miss Tom Pelfrey, but, like, the Grasso and Maeve in danger and all that sort of stuff was really strong. So.
- [51:41]
Bill
But what does that mean for season two? Like, if Maeve and maybe Grasso are kind of off the board, Robbie is obviously not going to be a part of season two.
- [51:50]
Joanna
Is.
- [51:50]
Bill
Is a Tom and his home life driven show with a new grasshopper. You think he has to.
- [51:55]
Joe
I would bet anything.
- [51:56]
Bill
Yeah.
- [51:57]
Joe
I would bet anything. He's involved. He has to be. And they left. You know, I didn't even do an Aaliyah's season arc because I don't know what the arc was exactly. They she was the kind of unfinished character slash plot that I think if you did it over again, you'd probably have more stuff with her and probably take some of the daughter stuff out. I mean, because it didn't go anywhere.
- [52:18]
Joanna
I agree. I love that you say Robbie's definitely not in season two when we got so much like, we got a ghost wife here this season, you think we get ghosts on the board? Ghost Robbie is on the board.
- [52:30]
Joe
It's just haunting the quarry.
- [52:31]
Joanna
It's a horror movie.
- [52:32]
Joe
Yeah, it's like one of those Mike Flanagan shows.
- [52:36]
Joanna
I would love that.
- [52:36]
Joe
The quarry's gone evil.
- [52:38]
Joanna
Yeah, the quarry's gone evil. And he's just grabbing the ankles of any dark hearts that walk by and.
- [52:42]
Bill
Just like pulling them on there.
- [52:43]
Joe
God.
- [52:43]
Joanna
Oh, my.
- [52:44]
Joe
We could also go fast forward eight years and. And Sam is now a teenager and getting into the dark hearts and.
- [52:53]
Bill
Oh, no.
- [52:54]
Joe
And we just go that it's a flash forward. Ruffalo's out. He's retired. He's like, wait, what happened to Sam?
- [53:00]
Bill
Duty.
- [53:01]
Joanna
Yeah. What? What? How? Did the same thing.
- [53:05]
Joe
I love it because every time Joe Wade is horrified. So now I just got to keep going back. Sam's fine. He'll be good. He'll be fine.
- [53:13]
Bill
Season three, Sam's crippling addiction. Like, we're just gonna steer into the skin, I guess.
- [53:17]
Joe
Listen, The Dark Hearts recruits him young, like, clearly. No, I think there's way more stuff with the dark arts. I think there's way more stuff with Freddy Frius, especially because they have a good actor for that part, I think.
- [53:28]
Joanna
Yeah. Sam patching in for vengeance.
- [53:33]
Joe
Oh, to get older Sam.
- [53:36]
Joanna
Older SAM patching information.
- [53:37]
Joe
20 year old SAM finds out what happened to his parents.
- [53:40]
Joanna
Season 20, you guys.
- [53:42]
Bill
But the people who killed his parents are already dead. Rob.
- [53:46]
Joe
So he's got to get their relatives. He's got to get him back. Rob, watching Grasso in the car, almost delirious with bled out but still able to shoot Jason. And you today in this podcast, the two most inspiring things I've seen this week. Joanna. I'm gonna miss the show. I'm gonna miss breaking it down. I think we did a good job. I think. I think Joanna was the big winner of the podcast. She predicted like nine of these things that happen.
- [54:11]
Bill
Yes.
- [54:11]
Joe
HBO probably doesn't like you.
- [54:14]
Joanna
HBO likes me fine.
- [54:16]
Joe
There'll be like a spoiler alert. Johannes, this content is too true, too fortune teller.
- [54:23]
Joanna
Do you want to try that 76ers joke again in front of Rob? Do you think it'll.
- [54:27]
Bill
I did hear it. I did hear it on my recording. I laughed.
- [54:29]
Joe
For what it's worth, it was my best joke of the whole season. It was fine. I feel like part of you got it. Tiny bit.
- [54:36]
Joanna
I always kind of get it. I always kind of get it when you guys make sports references.
- [54:41]
Joe
I pretended I got your Six Feet under reference before.
- [54:43]
Bill
You've never seen Six Feet Under?
- [54:45]
Joe
Well, you've never seen the Sopranos.
- [54:47]
Joanna
I've seen some Sopranos. You've never seen any of the episode?
- [54:50]
Joe
No, I never watched it.
- [54:51]
Joanna
Okay. Okay.
- [54:52]
Bill
I mean, that finale in particular.
- [54:54]
Joanna
That finale.
- [54:55]
Bill
Real heartbreaker, to say the least.
- [54:57]
Joanna
Well, thanks for pretending, Bill. I appreciate it.
- [54:58]
Joe
Oh, all right. Well, I'm sad now we don't have a show. What are we going to do till the next one? That's it. You guys are going to have to carry the Prestige TV podcast from here. Who do we have to thank? Tell us who we have to thank, Joanna. Other than sales.
- [55:10]
Bill
Yes.
- [55:11]
Joe
Kai Grady. Anybody else?
- [55:13]
Bill
The goats right there. Tom Pelfrey, Mark Ruffalo for not putting.
- [55:17]
Joanna
A hit out on me.
- [55:19]
Bill
Gertie and Lego Gertie by association. Yeah.
- [55:22]
Joanna
Shout out to Dairy Queen. Shout out to Snapchat. A real one, you know.
- [55:26]
Joe
Oh, shout out to Dairy Queen. Um, I do want to shout out HBO for actually posting the last episode so that we could do this podcast. Ahead of time. Yeah, because some. Some people don't always do that. But I. I admired that they trusted us, that we would be able to take that.
- [55:42]
Joanna
So someone was yelling at us in the comments last week because they were like, how could you not know that they were going after Maeve or whatever it was in the preview for the next time on. I'm like, pals, we do not see the preview for the next time on when we record these podcasts. So.
- [55:53]
Joe
But I'm glad I didn't. I'm glad I didn't know that was coming. That's. I've hit the point in my life where I avoid everything. Like, I didn't know one thing about one battle after another. When I went to it, the only thing I knew was the one commercial I saw. But I think that's a better way to live.
- [56:08]
Bill
I'm like, once you're in, you're in.
- [56:09]
Joanna
Okay.
- [56:10]
Joe
Yeah, I'm just in an empty guest room, gazing out the window with no trailers, no information. Hey, great to do this with both of you.
- [56:18]
Joanna
It's great to see you.
- [56:19]
Bill
Thanks, Bill.
- [56:33]
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Joanna
Ethan.
- [57:12]
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