Men's Lifestyle October 13, 2025 0 Comments

Task Episode 6 Will Shatter Your Soul—Here’s Why You Can’t Afford to Miss This Emotional Rollercoaster

Philadelphia’s been slammed left and right this week — the Phillies have officially benched their playoff dreams for the fourth year running, the Eagles fumbled against one of the worst squads in football, and if that wasn’t enough, fans of the gripping HBO series Task got sucker-punched with the revelation that Anthony Grasso, aka DJ Grassonova, is the mole who led the Dark Hearts straight to Cliff. Ouch, right? It’s like watching your favorite team totally tank right before the buzzer. And episode 6? Well, it crushes the heart even more, throwing every character into a chaotic brawl in Delco’s woods and delivering blows that hit harder than dropping cherry-flavored ice all over your new kicks. If you thought things couldn’t get darker after last week’s loaded cliffhanger between Tom and Robbie, think again—the twist here isn’t just unexpected; it’s gut-wrenching. So, what’s next for the squad? Can any of them bounce back, or is this the endgame? Stick with me as we unpack the turmoil, the betrayals, and that painfully brilliant ending that still has me reeling. LEARN MORE

Philadelphia took a lot of hits this week. The Phillies are out of the MLB playoffs for fourth straight year. The Eagles lost to one of the worst teams in football. Task audiences found out that the Dark Hearts only got to Cliff (Raúl Castillo) because Anthony Grasso (Fabien Frankel) is a good-for-nothing mole. As I pled to my TV screen last week, “Not DJ Grassonova, say it isn’t so!” Sadly, it’s true. Not only that, but episode 6 drives the wedge in even deeper.

Every single character in Task converges in Delco’s woods for an all-out brawl that left me feeling like there couldn’t possibly be another episode next week. Two of our favorite characters don’t even make it out alive. Episode 6 feels worse than dropping all your red cherry-flavored water ice on your new white shoes, but that’s what happens when you jostle the cup around as much as Task has for the past five episodes. We saw the signs. It was inevitable—and Task is still damn good TV. But that doesn’t make it hurt any less.

Last week, Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo) gave Robbie (Tom Pelphrey) his last chance to walk away from all this mess. In an emotional and honest car ride to Bushkill, the two lead actors finally shared a scene together where they spoke about death, faith, and family. Although Robbie let Tom live, the FBI agent gathered his team quickly and doubled back to the woods to apprehend him. Episode 5 ended with the two actors pointing their guns at one another before the credits rolled. It was a chilling cliff-hanger, and one that spelled certain doom for either Tom or Robbie when we returned. We just weren’t thinking dark enough for creator Brad Ingelsby. We lose two characters this episode—and it’s not the two you’d think.

HBO

Episode 6 begins looking like curtains for Robbie.

Rumble in the Jungle

When the episode begins, Tom and Robbie continue their standoff for enough time to grab some snacks and a soda before Task really get moving. Jayson (Sam Keeley)—ever the reckless fool—randomly opens fire at Robbie’s feet and blows the Dark Hearts’ cover. Perry (Jamie McShane) yells at him, but he’s been as effectual as Tom’s been to Robbie in keeping these two boys off the devil’s path.

Then, Task provides the first glimmer of hope that Robbie and Tom will join forces against the Dark Hearts. Even though Tom is chasing Robbie, he saves Tom by shooting a random Dark Hearts member and helping Tom back to his feet. Hilariously, Robbie then informs Tom that he took all the bullets out of his gun last episode. “Why didn’t you stay at the lake like I told you?” Robbie asks. “You’re fucking everything up!”

As Jayson and Perry pull up to Billy’s old cabin, Tom hides and Robbie makes his escape. They’re separated again. So, the feeling sinks back in that the little glimmer Ingelsby just gave us is fading quickly.

Perry enters the cabin and engages in a hand-to-hand brawl with Tom. I know the Dark Hearts are very bad guys in this series, but it surprised me how willing he was to kill an FBI agent. Drug-running is certainly a hefty crime. Murdering a federal agent seems like another thing entirely. Either way, I guess he did just drown Eryn (Margarita Levieva) last episode. So, Perry and Tom go at it as Jayson chases Robbie. Tom survives, of course, but he leaves Perry knocked out on the ground instead of trying to handcuff him or bring him back to the police cars. He’s worried about Robbie. He’s scared for his team. I understand. But you let that man get away, Tom.

Further away, Aleah (Thuso Mbedu) is reminding everyone why Lizzie (Alison Oliver) nicknamed her “Bullseye.” She takes out two Dark Hearts randos and rescues Kathleen after Tom’s boss takes a hit to the shoulder. Grasso even shoots another biker to save Lizzie, even though he probably knew that guy. The Dark Hearts have placed him in a situation where he has to choose his cover over them, and that means making some hard choices. However, he fires his gun too close to Lizzie’s ears and the sound shatters her eardrums.

Back with Robbie, Jayson surprises him and slashes him with a pocketknife. It’s time for the fights to reach their tipping points, as a single, repetitive note from a piano gets louder and louder.

HBO

Ruffalo, fully ruffled.

The End of Task, Basically

Robbie deserves his revenge—more than most characters I’ve seen on TV who seek vengeance even though they’ll likely die trying to find it. When he strangles Jayson out in those woods, you even think he might achieve it. Unfortunately, Task isn’t that kind of show. The HBO drama has repeatedly warned us about the dangers of walking down the path of revenge, even as it acknowledges just how difficult it is to forgive.

So, as inspirational as the music might be while Robbie slugs Jayson with one brutal swing after another, Task still denies us Robbie’s victory. Jayson slides his pocketknife through Robbie’s stomach, and he succeeds in dealing a mortal blow to another Prendergrast brother.

Tom arrives and helps Robbie to a car, but it doesn’t seem like they can reach a hospital in time. He dies in the backseat nestled in Tom’s arms. Then, as Jayson and Perry book it off the scene in their truck, they hit Lizzie on the bridge. It’s already too late for her by the time Grasso runs over a minute later, just piling on the heartbreak in episode 6. Ingelsby knows it, too. He hits the viewer with the Task title card nearly 20 minutes into the episode, right as Robbie draws his last breath.

Truly, this is the worst I’ve ever felt watching a good TV show.

HBO

Poor Lizzie.

So… What Now?

Well, Tom and his task force are off the case. The drugs are still in the wind. Perry and Jayson now have two more names to add to their body count, and Tom never figured out who the mole was.

Speaking of the mole, Anthony is absolutely wrecked in the morning. He’s feeling responsible for Lizzie’s death, since he could’ve just triple-crossed the true villains of this series and thrown all the Dark Hearts in prison. As he tells an associate, “I had her in my arms, and I knew she was gone. I could feel it in her body, just this emptiness. It’s a horrible feeling.”

Meanwhile, Tom breaks the news of Robbie’s death to his niece Maeve (Emilia Jones). He also sneaks in a question about Cliff, even though he’s technically off the case. Maeve tells him that Robbie and Cliff were on their way to Wissahickon Park the last time she saw him, not Bailey Park—where Tom and his task force set up for the sting.

“We were in contact with Cliff through a confiscated cellphone, that belonged to an associate of his named Ray Lyman,” Tom says. “We arranged a meeting at Bailey Park, not Wissahickon.”

“Maybe it changed,” Maeve replies. “That’s just what Robbie told me.”

I don’t want to continue to pat myself on the back here, but I clocked that cellphone mix-up back in episode 4. I can’t believe how important it’s become to the plot.

When Maeve returns home, she finds that Ray’s wife actually sold the drugs that Robbie gave her. The bag he brought to the woods was full of his Canada fliers, and he must’ve told her to deliver the money to Maeve if he didn’t make it out alive.

Then, In another shocking, epilogue-esque move, Tom brings Sam home. “They were keeping him in a temporary shelter but the money fell through,” he tells his two daughters. He’s still a registered foster parent, so he takes him in temporarily. Still, something makes me believe that Sam’s found a new home.

HBO

He knows, Grasso.

Brandis vs. Grasso

In the last bit of episode 6, Kathleen informs Tom that her people found a complaint lodged against Grasso in their search for the mole. He was part of another task force in 2021 where an officer said he thought he was tipping off the Dark Hearts. No formal charge was ever made, so it didn’t appear in his file.

Tom drives to Anthony’s to confront him directly. In one of the best scenes that Task has offered fans yet, he interrogates Grasso about what happened that night of the sting. It’s crazy that Task is still going on so long after Robbie’s death—especially since there’s still one more episode left next week—and yet the series still delivers us more tense moments like this.

He tells Anthony that Lizzie would probably still be alive had they just taken Cliff at Bailey Park, but he heard from Maeve that he and Robbie were headed to Wissahickon instead. Curious, huh? Who could have mixed that up? The guy in charge of the confiscated cellphone?

Anthony picks up the vibes that Ruffalo is throwing down. “Is that rhetorical or are you asking me a question, Tom?” he asks. Then, he deflects the conversation. “Did you ever hear confession when you were a priest?” he starts. “You say your Hail Mary’s and your Our Father’s, and then what? All those sins, they just disappear like they never existed. ‘Cause I mean, God don’t seem like someone who forgets, right? You ever done something you’re sure you can’t be forgiven for Tom?”

He unknowingly sets Tom up for an absolute banger of a reply. You can also read our interview with Frankel about this scene here.

“My son’s been sitting in a prison for 14 months and I haven’t visited him once,” Tom says. “Confessions for humans. It’s a human practice to help us deal with the shame. Confession’s not for God’s sake. If you want to be forgiven, all you have to do is ask.”

Grasso isn’t ready to come clean just yet. Tom declares that he’s coming for him in next week’s finale. Grasso says, “So come.”