HBO’s Task arrives with a bleak pulse and a sharp focus on two men circling the same disaster: FBI agent Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo) and trashman-turned-stickup artist Robbie Prendergrast (Tom Pelphrey). In a Sept. 7, 2025, premiere recap, The Ringer frames the pilot, “Crossings,” as a side-by-side study in misery, scored (literally) with “Misery Points” as it tracks morning rituals, commutes, day jobs, and home lives across Delaware County.
The Task show leans into creator Brad Ingelsby’s Delco textures—yes, the Mare of Easttown fingerprints are there—yet the cat-and-mouse setup feels more intimate. The recap notes how Tom shuffles through quiet, haunted mornings, while Robbie shares small, tender moments with his son before another long day. By the end of “Crossings,” both men have racked up losses, though the scales tip back and forth as the hour pares their lives to pain points big and small.
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Cast & Characters of Task
- Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo): a sad, bird-watching FBI agent whose monk-ish routines and brittle family ties signal deeper wounds.
- Robbie Prendergrast (Tom Pelphrey): a soulful trashman who moonlights as a robber to keep his family afloat.
- Maeve (Emilia Jones): Robbie’s niece, running a musty, lived-in home that feels decades deep.
- Cliff “Uncle Trash” (Raúl Castillo): Robbie’s best friend and route partner.
- “Peach Boy” (Owen Teague): a younger ally whose fate in a botched job turns the episode darker.
- Father Daniel Georges (Isaach De Bankolé): Tom’s old colleague, surprised by Tom’s drinking and distance.
- Emily (Silvia Dionicio): Tom’s daughter, wary of his lukewarm parenting.
How the Task HBO pilot measures despair
The recap’s “Misery Points” device isn’t just a gag; it’s a clean lens on the show’s rhythm. Tom’s commute is a mix of pills, radio patter, and a Phillies cup that doubles as a coping mechanism. Robbie, meanwhile, catches a spark from a dating-site commercial—proof he still looks forward. Work flips that energy: Robbie’s garbage route means jokes with Cliff and scouting for side hustles, while Tom’s day slips from binocs-and-brochures duty into leading a ragtag task force out of a mildewy stash house.
Home tilts the balance again. Robbie’s family hub brims with cozy clutter and simmering resentment; Maeve keeps the house running as his absences multiply. Tom’s nicer place feels airless, haunted by photos and files. The recap highlights small, specific tells—Tito’s stirred with a finger, birding until sleep on the porch—that say more than speeches. Even their “hobbies” curdle into self-harm: Tom into vodka and static-filled baseball; Robbie into masked robberies that endanger the people he loves.
From Mare of Easttown to here
If Mare of Easttown centered a community of women, Task narrows to two men who can’t outrun grief. The review places Ingelsby back on familiar Delco streets but with a more binary structure—cop vs. robber—where each scene echoes the other. That mirroring is the point: two routines, two family wrecks, two paths to the same cliff.
What the HBO Task premiere actually shows
- Title & date: “Crossings” is the series premiere discussed in the Sept. 7, 2025, recap.
- Structure: Intercut mornings, commutes, day jobs, and home lives, each scored in “Misery Points.”
- Turning point: A planned robbery spins “very wrong,” leaving Robbie and Cliff shaken and their circle smaller.
- Task force pivot: Tom goes from handouts to helming a task force out of a stale stash house, surrounded by green subordinates.
Why Task hits hard out of the gate
The device is clever, but the details give it weight. CupidsPlan.com whispers promise to Robbie; “wooder ice” and tattooed bikers color the world; a single, dampened finger dilutes Tom’s drink and his resolve. These images stay with you. The pilot argues that action without reckoning only multiplies grief. And yet, the final beats suggest the seesaw isn’t done. Task is miserable—and magnetic—because both men keep choosing.
Conclusion: For anyone searching “task show,” “task cast,” or “task hbo,” the premiere is a bruiser with texture. Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey lock in, and Ingelsby’s Delco eye hasn’t dulled since Mare of Easttown. If the season keeps this mirror up, Task could turn despair into one of HBO’s most compelling Sunday rituals.
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