Task “Family Statements”

This show…this show is good.  Yeah, the crime story works, but it works in part because the focus is as much on the characters as the story because much of the story is driven by the characters.  You know, like really good stories should be.

Task is a show where two cops can take a break from an investigation to talk about embarrassing email addresses and one of their former careers as a DJ working the Catholic school dance circuit.  Tom’s drinking problem?  And how his son is in prison?  Well, it turns out that those two things may be related, that his adopted son, a young man with mental illness, accidentally killed Tom’s wife, and while Tom loves his children and misses his wife, his biological daughter Sara can be really harsh when talking to her adopted sister (and biological sibling to the unintentional killer) Emily.  Tom’s drinking is problematic.  Sara’s comment to Emily is downright evil at a time when the family needs to support each other.

And none of that has anything to do with the crime story.

That, in and of itself, brings in the Dark Hearts, a biker gang that was the target of Robbie and his crew.  These guys are violent and dangerous, but they’re also genuinely upset that their friends are dead and their friends’ son is missing.  They also aren’t stupid and know Tom is involved.  Robbie, meanwhile, took the boy home, then told his niece Maeve a lie about where the child came from, and she tries to return him but can’t without getting caught.  Robbie’s lie has enough truth to pass a basic test–he’s watching Sam for his parents while the boy’s mother recovers from an illness–but Maeve is either too smart or too unwilling to trust her uncle to let it pass.  She’s involved now.  She will not be happy about that.

That said, the biker gang sure looks like it was responsible for her father’s death, perhaps giving Robbie his motivation to rob these particular drug dealers.

Essentially, the series thus far has decided to treat the characters as people and not just good guys or bad guys.  The bikers are concerned about the missing child.  Sara has a baby boy that she loves, and she even initially gets along with Emily, only snapping that Emily isn’t really a member of the family when they disagree over what to do about the missing brother.  I can see why this one got renewed.

Oh, and the corker for the episode may have come in the opening minutes when Robbie and his guilt-ridden partner Cliff learn they stole fentanyl instead of cash.

By the by, I did watch the “making of” bit at the end, and kudos to the accent coach given the high number of English and Irish actors in the cast speaking in very good Philadelphia-area accents.