“Vagrant,” the fifth episode of HBO’s Task, which we are recapping for TMAYF nation, is overflowing with more moles than a dermatologist’s office. And don’t get us started on the animal references in general in this episode alone: at least four different kinds of birds, a baby giraffe, the dead deer from Sam’s nightmares, Gwen Stefani’s spiderweb, and a dragonfly (which tattoos tell us is a sign of transformation). But that’s not all! We also have more hangry sandwich eating, this time by Kathleen McGinty (Martha Plimpton), who has never once been in a good mood in her entire life. There’s a plug for Sirius radio, but curiously missing from this episode, compared to the ones before it, is even a single ‘80-’90’s-era ballad belted by a hoarse man (née horseman) about how he can never be tamed or even lassoed because he’s a wild stallion. That’s okay, though, because we have birdsong as a backdrop for Eryn’s screams as Perry somehow doesn’t realize that if you choke someone underwater and hold them under, that they can drown.
Jayson and Grasso have been friends since childhood, which is intel you will only receive if you’re the type to spend your one wild and precious life watching seven minutes of HBO’s supplemental “Inside the Episode” interviews featuring the Welsh, Irish, and British actors who impress us with their DelCo accent work, and then opine about the secret motivations of their characters, like us. (What doesn’t make sense is how Catholic Grasso can justify protecting Jayson’s murderous ass.)
Also, TMAYF co-host Erin is now convinced that Aleah actually knows more than she’s saying to Lizzie, if not Tom, because she literally watched this ep while under the spell of legally administered fentanyl after a medical procedure. Oh, the irony! Is she on to something, or is that the F talking?
Still, this was the ep we’ve been waiting for, because those ubiquitous HBO poster images of Robbie and Tom rushing toward each other with guns drawn in the forest finally make sense, as these two dads try to reconcile the impending threat of death for both, and the inevitable pain their losses will have on their myriad children. At least Maeve made sure Sam was safe, along with Robbie’s kids Harper and Wyatt (remember them?), and all we can do is wait until Sunday to see Lizzie finally (well, 10 days after meeting Grasso) get a clue.
Until next week,
Erin, Elizabeth & Matt
With Gratitude
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