Task Episode 5 recap: Walls close in on Robbie

Task's fifth episode finally delivered on the moment the show was building towards for nearly a month: the first meeting of Tom and Robbie. Their interaction happens in the second act, and it is the heart of the episode. Plus, several other moments in this episode that are building towards Tom and Robbie's first scene together in this series.

However, this episode has several other twists that some had already theorized for a while. Thus, this hour-long episode makes up for last week's episode, which was a bit of a step down. The synopsis for Task Episode 5, Vagrants, reads:

"As Perry attempts to tie up loose ends, Maeve makes good on her word, and Tom follows a lead down a dangerous path."

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Task Episode 5 recap:

Here are some of the major events that happen in the fifth episode of HBO's Task:

• Perry and Eryn's confrontation ends tragically

In the first act of the episode, Perry places a tracker inside Eryn's car as he suspects her. Then, the scene shifts to Robbie visiting Ray's house, where he learns from Shelley that Ray was arrested by the police, and he realizes that the FBI had laid a trap for Cliff. Then, he meets Eryn near the lake, where he learns about Cliff's death.

Perry, meanwhile, visits Maeve's home for a chat and comes across a photo of Robbie and Cliff, and realizes who has been robbing the Dark Hearts drug houses. Later, he follows Eryn's car to the lake, and as he does so, he sees Robbie in his car leaving the lake. Perry confronts Eryn, and as they are about to leave together for interrogation, she tries to run and begins swimming.

However, Perry catches up to Eryn, and as she begins to scream for help, the former drowns her. Perry instantly regrets it, and then he begins to drag her body, and that's probably the last we see of Eryn in the series. Perry actor Jamie McShane addressed this moment in a variety interview published after the release of Task Episode 5, when the interview stated that it did not look like Perry wanted to kill Eryn:

"Perry had no intention of killing Eryn. He tells her that he gave her a clean way out of her situation, and now they have to handle it differently. When he tells her to go, he’s telling her that he’s taking her back to confess to Jayson, who will find his own way to deal with her. When she runs away, he’s trying to get her until he realizes that those kids are up [on the cliff] partying and playing, and Eryn is just screaming bloody murder. He tries to get her to be quiet while he’s looking up at the kids, and he’s just not fully realizing what he’s doing. When it hits him, he’s horrified, but then within that moment, the gangster mentality clicks inside."

• The Dark Hearts mole inside the FBI Task Force is revealed

Perhaps it was personal bias because of Fabien Frankel's previous role as Ser Criston Cole in House of the Dragon, but a lot of viewers were suspecting Anthony Grasso of being the mole inside Tom Brandis' team. Turns out they were right, as the second act reveals that Grasso handed over Ray's phone, which the FBI confiscated, to Jayson.

According to Jayson actor Sam Keeley, his character and Grasso could have been childhood friends, and the latter could have known other members of the Dark Hearts, as well. Frankel echoed Keeley's sentiments and even stated that, according to him, Grasso has grown to care for his fellow task force members and tries to keep Jayson from attacking Robbie to save Tom Brandis' life (who ends up being Robbie's hostage in this episode).

• Maeve takes Sam to the FBI

Maeve meets her friend and asks her to take care of Harper and Wyatt, Robbie's kids, for some time. After that, she takes Sam to the FBI's HQ and is questioned by Tom's boss, Kathleen McGinty. But the questioning is interrupted by Aleah, who has Robbie's sketch.

• Tom becomes Robbie's captive

The heart of this Task episode lies in the interaction between Robbie and Tom. Tom arrives at Maeve's house to question her, but finds Robbie instead. Robbie initially suspects him and entertains him for a while, but ultimately takes him hostage. Robbie forces Tom to drive him to the cabin where he is supposed to meet Freddy Frias, who informs Jayson about it.

He instructs Tom to stop the car in the middle of a forest, and we initially believe that he is going to pull the trigger on Tom. But instead, Robbie tells Tom that Maeve had nothing to do with his, Cliff, and Peaches' robbery. Then, he instructs Tom on how to get away. He finds himself on the edge of a lake with some people who are enjoying a vacation.

He asks for their phone and immediately calls Sara and Emily, who were worried because the FBI informed them about Tom's abduction. Then, he calls the members of his task force to inform them of his location, where they pick him up. They then head to Robbie's location as Tom had played a radio in the former's car earlier in the episode, which tracked to his current location.

Tom then finds Robbie, and they are on a stand-off as the two point guns at each other, as several Dark Hearts members are also nearby. However, the episode ends with Robbie pointing his gun probably at Tom.

• Emily and Sara share a tender moment

One of the more touching moments in this Task episode happens in the latter half of the episode as Sara and Emily wait for any news about Tom. Sara informs Emily about being separated from her husband, as he cheated on her. Then, she asks Emily when she felt like all she was made to feel gratitude. To this, Emily responds that she felt that since the day she and Ethan became a part of their family.

To this, Sara says that she doesn't want Emily to feel like that anymore, hinting that the sisters are working on repairing the relationship.

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Consisting of seven episodes, five episodes of Task are available via streaming on HBO Max. Catch them as soon as you can on the OTT platform before the sixth episode airs on Sunday, October 12, 2025.