‘Task’ Finale Explained: Emilia Jones, Sam Keeley & More Break Down Shocking Shootout

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Task, Season 1 Episode 7, “A Still Small Voice.”]

Task has reached the end of the road at HBO as Brad Ingelsby‘s drama wraps its seven-episode run with the satisfying installment, “A Still Small Voice.”

While the episode wraps up loose ends, it also carves a hopeful path for FBI agent Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo), who began the series in a pit of deep grief. Before Tom’s hopeful ending is reached, though, he and task team member Aleah (Thuso Mbedu) further investigate the leak within their ranks after he realizes that Anthony Grasso (Fabien Frankel) is crooked.

Ultimately, they find evidence when they locate the car used by Cliff (Raúl Castillo) to meet up with an associate, only to have been run off the road by the Dark Hearts. Using their sway with head Kathleen (Martha Plimpton), they begin to track Grasso, to see if his actions will lead them to the Dark Hearts. But as Grasso’s involvement is seen as a loose string, his commanding officer is sent over to kill him, but they are both surprised when a Dark Hearts member enters Grasso’s home and begins shooting.

Peter Kramer / HBO

Luckily for Grasso, he’s quick enough to pull his trigger, shooting his captain and the Dark Hearts gang member to death, incurring his own shooting injury, before taking off to warn Maeve (Emilia Jones) that the Dark Hearts are going to target her for the money her uncle Robbie (Tom Pelphrey) left behind. By the time she is warned, though, Jayson (Sam Keeley) is there with a pal, fresh off killing Perry (Jamie McShane) after learning he’d drowned his wife Erin (Margarita Levieva).

“He’s lost everything at that point in his life, and he doesn’t care anymore,” Keeley tells TV Insider about Jayson’s motivation. “He’s not going to gain anything. What’s he going to do? Get the money and run off into the sunset? It’s never going to happen for him, but he does it anyway, and I think that’s the type of character that he was,” Keeley adds.

Just as Jayson has taken hold of Maeve to grab the cash, Tom and Aleah enter the home, heeding a bleeding Grasso’s warning that Jayson is there. While Aleah is attacked by Jayson’s fellow Dark Heart member, she manages to get the upper hand, and she and Tom track Jayson’s movements as he drags Maeve to the front of the house.

Peter Kramer / HBO

It’s Maeve’s cousin, Robbie’s daughter, who thinks quickly to warn Grasso that Jayson has Maeve, allowing him to drag himself to his car’s backseat, giving him a hidden advantage as the criminal backs down the driveway. While Tom and Aleah don’t have a clean shot to get Jayson, Grasso does, shooting the man point-blank.

“To work with Mark, to work with Fab, to work with everybody, choreographing that was just the fun, and Emelia, my god, she’s stunning,” Keeley gushes about putting the intense action scene together. ”

Jones echoes his sentiments, adding, “I’m very lucky that I’m one of the few characters in the show that does cross over with everybody, and so it was really fun to play off Sam.  We had these big stunt sequences, and we actually did all of our own stunts, so it was really fun,” Jones gushes.

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As fun as it was, Jones adds, “It was really intense and my adrenaline was super high and she’s just felt so much unresolved anger, and so it’s nice in where the show ends for Maeve that she’s got what Robbie wanted and got what she wanted.” Jones refers to the fact that Tom didn’t have Maeve’s money stash apprehended, allowing her to move on with her life in the manner Robbie envisioned.

“All along she’s been trying to create structure for these children’s lives, and so I think now she’s been given the foundation to actually do that for them,” Jones clarifies. “I feel like it’s resolved for Maeve, and she didn’t have any of that at the beginning of the show, so it’s a nice full circle.”

Similarly, there’s a full-circle moment for Tom, who takes on Sam (Ben Doherty) as a foster child. While he grows to care for the boy, he is convinced to let him go when a full-time family comes knocking. While it may be bittersweet, it allows him to focus on the future, especially after he publicly forgives his son Ethan (Andrew Russel) for killing Brandis’ matriarch, Susan (Mireille Enos).

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He tells his son in court that when he is eventually released, he’ll be waiting for him at home with open arms, and that he forgives him for his actions. “In my mind, the journey was for Tom to forgive his son, and then he has to welcome him home, right?” series creator and showrunner Brad Ingelsby says. “And so for me, Sam wasn’t a replacement. He’s a cute, sweet kid. The audience, of course, wants him, but is that what’s right for Sam?”

Ultimately, Tom realizes it isn’t right, and he helps send Sam off to a permanent home with the support of his daughters. And for anyone uncertain of where Tom’s story would go next, Ingelsby confirms, “I think it is a hopeful ending. It’s not like a ‘Wow, everything’s perfect,’ ending because Tom’s acutely aware of the challenges of Ethan coming home, but I think he’s ready for it.”

What did you think of Tom’s ending and Task‘s finale? Let us know in the comments section, and relive every heartstopping moment on HBO Max anytime.

Task, Season 1, Streaming now, HBO Max 

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