Task: Will Lizzie’s death push Grasso to turn against the Dark Hearts? Speculations explored

In the HBO series Task, Lizzie’s death occurs in Episode 6, the penultimate episode of the first season.

The FBI task force and the Dark Hearts biker gang engage in a violent fight in the woods of Pennsylvania. Anthony Grasso (portrayed by Fabien Frankel) shoots his gun right next to Lizzie (played by Alison Oliver), causing a ruptured eardrum that will eventually make her mute for a while.

While she is trying to get some help, unfortunately, she is hit and killed by a pickup truck of Dark Hearts members, Perry and Jayson. Lizzie passes away on the bridge just as the backup is arriving. This incident has become a crucial turning point in the narrative.

Grasso has, throughout the series, been mixed up with his mole character, trying to stay undercover while at the same time giving the Dark Hearts secret help. Meanwhile, Lizzie, a state trooper and one of his few true connections, gets caught in the crossfire of this hazardous double life.

The shot Grasso fires near Lizzie’s ear causes her eardrum to burst, resulting in her being unable to hear the approaching danger that eventually takes her life. This heartbreaking incident is not only a personal loss but also a tragic end to Grasso’s fantasy of control over the situation.

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Will Lizzie’s death push Grasso to turn against the Dark Hearts?

The death of Lizzie is depicted as the unavoidable turning point of Grasso’s conflicting loyalties. Fabien Frankel, the actor who plays Grasso, states that the character has always been accompanied by the feeling of guilt concerning his unfaithfulness and the risky game he plays with the Dark Hearts.

Frankel mentioned that although Grasso is the traitor, he sincerely loves Lizzie and did not intend for her life to end. Nevertheless, his behavior unavoidably results in her being silenced and ultimately dying since she is in the crossfire and unable to defend herself because of his gunshot next to her ear.

Speaking with Variety, Frankel said:

“He always has had a tinge of regret about getting involved with the Dark Hearts. There’s the Catholic guilt complex, which is what he has, like “I’ve done wrong and I must repent,” but obviously at no point during the first three episodes is there any awareness that it’s going to escalate where it does. Lizzie’s death is ultimately the overshadowing moment where all his worst nightmares are realized.”

The shooting scene is thus a very emotional moment that signifies the fall of Grasso’s control over the situation and his moral balance: even though he did not want it, he turned out to be the architect of the loss and ruin that prevailed around him.

There are references in the critics' reviews and in the recaps of the episode that Lizzie's death implies a serious guilt for Grasso that will influence his decisions in the future. According to the showrunner Brad Ingelsby, the disaster is such that Grasso is left with both feelings of guilt and sorrow, and he is ready for the finale, where all the things that Grasso has tried to keep in equilibrium will eventually fall apart.

Ingelsby tells Entertainment Weekly:

“The impact Lizzie leaves on the group is a profound one. What her death does is it adds a tremendous amount of guilt, in terms of Grasso's storyline. He thought he was able to manage all these things, he had this house of cards he constantly tended to, and now the house of cards has fallen down, and he's left with the guilt and shame.”

Grasso's decision to tell his men to flee during the firing, the act that led Lizzie to be knocked down by a truck driven by the Dark Hearts gang, sealed the enormous impact of his divided loyalties.

However, the guilt is not short-lived; instead, it provides a psychological backdrop for Grasso's actions in the series finale. The situation has become even more complicated with Tom and Aleah, the task force members, being suspicious of Grasso and monitoring his meetings with the Dark Hearts, and so the question arises whether Grasso will continue keeping quiet in front of the authorities or if Lizzie's death will finally be the reason for him to betray the gang and come out an entirely new man.

In light of such events, the discourse among fans and critics points to the interpretation of Lizzie's death as the catalyst for Grasso to change his allegiance from the Dark Hearts as the emotional and moral struggles inside him reach their peak.

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What is Task about?

The story of Task revolves around the hazardous chase between the FBI task force, the illegal Dark Hearts motorcycle gang, and characters like Anthony Grasso and Robbie Prendergrast. The conflict is largely driven by Robbie's grudge against the Dark Hearts.

A robbery that turns out to be a fiasco and occurs at the very beginning of the series accelerates the tension, which then leads to chaos when Robbie, along with his allies, robs the gang's drug empire, thus inviting the cops into the whole drama.

In this scenario full of tension, Grasso, acting as a traitor, is the one who keeps the audience hooked with his mixed-up character. He works with the cops but secretly supports the Dark Hearts, a betrayal due to intricate personal motives and possibly acts of coercion that are slowly exposed throughout the season.

The viewers witness Grasso's mental suffering as he strives to control both his worlds without getting burnt, yet the stakes get higher with inevitable consequences.

The penultimate episode (Episode 6) of Task intensely escalates the conflict among the characters. The gunfight between the cops and the Dark Hearts gang results in several characters getting killed or badly hurt, including Lizzie and Robbie, both of whom are very much loved by the audience, and their demise indicates a change in the narrative tempo and stakes.

Robbie's receiving a knife blow from Jayson Wilkes, a key guy in the Dark Hearts, ends his storyline, while Lizzie's unintentional death pulls Grasso into the abyss.

The intertwining motivations of law enforcement and criminal factions further complicate the plot, where loyalty, betrayal, and revenge all come together in one big mess. Grasso's mole status and growing regret reveal the task force's fragile balance, which causes its impending collapse and hints at a possible break in his alignment with the Dark Hearts.

The final episode of Task, titled A Still Small Voice, will be aired on Sunday, October 19, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on HBO, and at the same time, it will be available for streaming on HBO Max.

The expectations for the Task finale are extremely high since it will be the last chance to wrap up some major storylines after the unanticipated deaths in Episode 6. The task force has been disbanded, and an internal investigation is going on. Tom Brandis, portrayed by Mark Ruffalo, is on a crucial mission to prove Anthony Grasso is the mole.

The final hour is presumed to be dominated by themes of forgiveness, justice, and the personal costs of survival. The Task finale will also deal with questions of character reckonings, including whether Grasso will betray the Dark Hearts, or if he will seek redemption, and there may also be confrontations with remaining threats like Jayson Wilkes and Perry Dorazo.

Some plots may be left unresolved, depicting the show's realistic approach to moral complexity and the impact of unresolved situations.

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Also Read: Task Episode 7 (finale): Release date news, time, streaming details, cast, and more