The Prestige TV Podcast - ‘Task’ Episode 2: The Rat Theory

Episode Date: September 15, 2025

Bill, Jo, and Rob search for leads to recap the second episode of ‘Task.’ (0:00) Intro (2:07) What Brad Ingelsby excels at (6:08) Current plotlines (9:58) Favorite thing about the show (so far) (12:38) What happened to Robbie’s brother? (15:14) The rat theory (18:01) Will Sam make it out? (30:06) Nitpicks (38:30) Predictions Email us! [e-mail] Subscribe to the Ringer TV YouTube channel here for full episodes of ‘The Prestige TV Podcast’ and so much more! Hosts: Bill Simmons, Joanna Robinson, and Rob Mahoney Producers: Kai Grady and Donnie Beacham Jr. Additional Production Support: Justin Sayles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, welcome back to the Prestige TV podcast feed. I'm Jonah Robinson. I'm Rob Mahoney. We're here today with episode two of task. Very exciting. Very exciting. Bill, we'll be joining us once again to break that down here in the studio. We've also, we're continuing to do hooked episodes.

Those have been really, really fun. Just a good excuse to go back to and rediscover some great things about some of the greatest shows that have ever been made. A lot of opinions from our listeners about what we've gotten wrong and right. Mostly right. Okay. And then at the end of September. we're doing slow horses. It's a great time to be on the prestige feed. An incredible return to slow horses for us, one of our most cherished shows. I honestly can't wait for it.

All right. Well, let's get into episode two. This message is brought to you by Apple Pay. Forget your wallet. It's all good because with Apple Pay, you can pay with a simple tap of your iPhone, the wallet you never forget at millions of places worldwide, including websites, apps, and anywhere you see the contact with symbol. Security is built in with face ID so you don't have to worry about your cars getting lost or stolen. And the best part, you still earn card rewards, and cashback you love. So say goodbye to the buyfold, add your card to Apple Wallet, and start paying the Apple way.

Terms apply. The Prestige TV podcast, episode two, task. I'm here with Joanna Robinson. Yeah. DJ Bassanova. What's it? What was it? Grasso.

Look, I got a couple of rules. No freaking. No grinding. No straddling on this podcast. I think we can adhere to that. What about twerking, though? We'll see. Okay.

It's a long thought. I'm Bill Simmons, and I love this show. Wow. Yeah. We were worried that episode, too, would be just keep the chains moving, get a couple first downs. It was not. A bunch of stuff happened. I'm still in your football.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not going to stop any time. I'm going to start here. And there's so many things to get to with where the show's going, all the plots that are in play. The Ruffalo family table scene where they were like, here's the Emmy right here, take it. Just everything going on in that scene, that we have, like, a double-a-old. this functional, fucked up family drama with great acting on top of all the other stuff that was going. It was just such a great scene. And it's like the kind of stuff, if you're going to be a

really special show, you need scenes like that. And there's all these different things. Oh, what's going on here? What's going on there? It's harrowing. But that scene was great. I was listening to another Brad Engelsby interview where he was talking about how he feels like he's good at character, but not. He's like, I feel very confident about character, but not so much plot. And he's like, I think of plot as an excuse to spend time with these characters. So we get these scenes like the dinner table scene or I would say DJ Grasanova and Lizzie scene or like Robbie talking to Sam about making pancakes and all that sort of stuff and chicken, petting chickens and stuff. That stuff is what Bride Ingles Bee is so incredibly good at. It's why we loved

that sandwich sharing scene from the first episode. Like these just these character moments of like these two people or these group of people really revealing who. they are, the specificity of their life. And then there are these larger plot mechanics that just move them around to get us to those scenes. And that's what really hits. Yeah. For someone who's bad at plotting, self-adimidimidly, this is still really good plotting. I wouldn't say, I don't say he was bad at plotting, but he's like, that's secondary to me

wanting to just have these scenes where people talk to each other. Well, at the heart of this family confrontation, it's like you have basically these two sisters who have very different perspectives on how they should treat the, testimony towards their incarcerated brother. And it's like, Sarah, the older biological sister, is kind of a real piece of work and also 100% I think understandable, if not justified in her rage and her anger about like, I mean, Ruffalo kind of lays it out very plainly. Like, this is a man who like misses his wife and misses his son.

And they're all going through like their version of that sort of agony. And it's like you get that consolidated at one table with all these great performances. Everyone is delivering. And I feel like twisted up and gnarled just watching it. The playoffs are here. and you can predict the action all the way to the finals with Fandul predicts. Predict the spread, total points, and even the game winner.

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See terms at Fandul.com slash predict slash bonus dash offer dash terms. And both you and Matt are. Like, can I just go? You know what? This seems like a very personal moment. I take my Chulula and my pieces like and go. And you have the faith piece lingering over all of this, which is obviously the big picture kind of overhear theme for the show.

But he has that piece about, you know, I'm trying to figure out how to pray for this and nothing happens. So we got that answer. What happened to the family member? And we got that answer right through the eyeballs because, wow, shoved down the stairs, broken neck. Yeah. Pled guilty, third-degree murder.

It's unclear when it happened, but it feels like maybe like a year or two earlier or longer. I would say, like, within the last year would be my guess. I was trying to date, would this be the kind of thing for, again, Sarah, the biological sister, where, like, her mom wouldn't have even been able to meet her baby? Like, is that the kind of timing where it could be, like, especially painful and dicey because of something like that. Yeah. All right. So we have this plot.

But at the same time, we have this whole other, we have, we have the good guys, we have the bad guys. Who are the bad guys? The good guys are Ruffalo and those guys. And the medium guys are Robbie. They're the bad guys, but they're not because there's bad. There's the motorcycle club. We have the batter guys. Dark arts.

Is the motorcycle club that bad? Is this, well, is this my... Do you still belong to Dark Arts? Do you still have your jacket? Do you have the tattoo of the jacket on your back? So the tattoo was kind of a deal breaker for me. I'm trying to get in. I'm trying to see what their 401K match situation is.

It's all very complicated. I do love, though, with all of these motorcycle gangs, the adorable leadership positions. I think, like, there is a burly dude out there who's, like, a pure bruiser who's also the treasurer of the dark hearts. And if he can do that, why can't I take minutes? Why can't I help them admit to the rules of board? I would love to be the comptroller of the dark hearts. Is it dark hearts?

I thought they were saying dark arts. That's the delco accent. That's what they practiced. Yeah. What's better? Dark arts or dark hearts? I think dark arts is a better motorcycle name. But, like, the logo is, you know, the hearts.

So here's what I wrote down. for following plots and play. Yeah. Bad guys stealing from even better guys. How do we sell these drugs conundrum? Yes. A great twist. What do you do in that situation, Rob?

You just wait, you lay low for six months and then kind of quietly shop it. You flush them. Why do we have to sell these drugs? Let's not get too hasty. Facebook marketplace exists. Why do we have to sell these drugs? That's a lot of flushing. There's a lot of drugs.

Are you sure the pipes can handle it? I know. It's 12 kilos. That's me. I'm putting it in the woods. I'm driving like 10. Oh, just 10 miles into the woods and I'm just dumping it somewhere.

Yeah, exactly, because they don't have to sell it. They don't. Because there are criminal like undertakings where you do have to sell it because you owe that money to someone, you promise that money. But whoever they're beholden to is the motorcycle club leak.

And whoever that person is is in no position to demand money from them. I think they're beholden to whoever's leaking in the information as you're saying, Joe. They're also beholden, it seems, to like a sense of retribution or revenge. Like it's not all laid out in terms of the dots so far,

strongly hinted that Robbie's brother was a member of this gang and was basically beaten to death as a result of something that he did by Jason. So it's like, you don't need the money, but you need... Flushing the fentanyl hurts them as much. You did already inflict the pain.

I don't think they need to sell this fentanyl. That's a great call. I don't think they do. Great conversation. It's a social media breakout. Should they sell the fentanyl? But those are two other plots. Who is their league?

Yeah. Have we met that person yet? I have the strongest there. And then also what is the background of him having a grudge where he clearly wants to start stealing from these guys? We also have two different groups of people chasing the bad guys, which is a great little movie trip. The good guys chase him, but also the really bad guys. We have two people in demand. We have a missing kid kidnapping plot.

One of my favorites? Sam. A favorite of the Simmons family? We love kidnapping. Oh, do you? Just recreationally? As a story. As a family bonding experience?

Yeah, yeah. Is Sam, like, the cutest little cream puff of a kid? kid who's ever been on a show. He just loves animals. He just wants to pet the chicken and get a Batman toy because he completed reading club. Do chickens have dreams, Rob? I hope we get to the bottom of that. He's honestly, like, disconcertingly adorable.

I'm so worried for him. They cast one of the most adorable kids on the planet, as far as I'm concerned. They swaddle him in in an Eagles blanket. Which, with his name on it. Of the world, with his name on it. I was curious. I did some digging. Ben Lewis Doherty, the actor who plays young Sam.

self-avowed, buy his IMDB page. This is a direct quote, a rabid New York sports fan. How does he feel about being in the Eagles blanket? I would love to get his take on it. Tough. Here's one thing about Sam. Here's one thing that's always going to be true about Sam.

He's going to pop up where you don't want him to be. Back of Mave's car. Wherever you don't want Sam to be, that's where he'll be. I have a nitpick. I think this kid is way more fucked up in real life. When they give the background of what his seven years, We're growing up and he basically the foster police had to come multiple times

and they pulled him away. He was with his grandmother at dementia. I think this kid just developed some bad habits. We haven't seen the darkness in him yet, though. Well, maybe not. Maybe it's coming. What happens if you don't give him his Lego set? What is he willing to do?

What happens if he doesn't get to pet the chicken? He's pulling a pocket knife out. Gertie is going to show up dead one day. No. Protect Gertney. So we have the Miss Kid Kid Kidnapping Pud. I want to get in that. We have the heroin trapped in the middle of everything

who might end up taking the fall, potentially, Maeve? I'm loving Maeve. I don't know what her move is. We'll get to that. We have the dysfunctional family piece. We have a budding office romance because we need one. A couple of cigarettes.

Talked low, Gwen Stefani. You nailed this one so quickly. And then we have bike gang culture and we have solving a crime culture. Just a lot going on. So what's your favorite thing about this show? I think those little character moments that you talked about. I think watching Anthony Grasso and Lizzie talk about his DJing career over a cigarette that she grudgingly lets him borrow

because she has enough left in the pack. I think learning that Robbie knows how to make pancakes from scratch without a recipe. I think all these little specific character moments, like the motorcycle club plot, very sons of anarchy, like that's not why I'm going to tune into this show, but the authenticity of the characters

and how I care about so many of these characters who are at cross-purposes. So I want Robbie to be okay and I want Tom to get his guy. And those two things cannot be true. And so I'm on the edge of my seat as to how my heart's going to be broken. What's your favor, Rob? I think it's the Brandis family drama stuff for me and kind of how all this unfolds with the testimonies, with who, like, who wants to participate and who doesn't, how these people are treating each other. Like, those sisters, I mean, I would say the most lukewarm hug I've ever seen.

Frosty. Frosty. Maybe at least tepid, maybe downright Frosty. and the giant-ass glug of wine that Sarah took out of her glass when she was asked, have you visited your brother in prison? That Emily clocked.

Oh. Yeah. Who was the guy at the table? I couldn't figure that out. He's the lawyer. He's their attorney. But I think a family friend. Yeah.

Just like they were to kind of briefed them. Yeah. Give him a heads up. He seemed like he had a feel for the family in a non-commission. He was like, oh boy, here they go. What's the brandises? Here go the brandis.

Yeah, exactly. I think my favorite, I thought Maeve, our girl from Cota I thought she was great in this episode but I think I'm the most attached to like there's some decision she's too in deep now

like she's probably going to jail no matter how this plays out there's no way to dump the kid which she kind of tried to do sort of but it was a quasi good plan except the problem is Sam knows her name Maeve he knows Robbie's name you know he knows too many names

at this point whether or not he can lead them back to the house is is incidental. Here's the real issue. He would know like I was spent some time with this lady, May. Yeah, Mayve, exactly. Who happens to work next door

to the place I was dropped off at. Yeah, it'll take five minutes. Here's the real issue with Maeve is that Tom has seen her face now, right? And there's this other threat of the investigation because they mentioned Billy, they mentioned Billy's daughter,

and he's like, oh, I'll get Billy's last name for you. So Tom's going to go talk to Billy's daughter about what happened to Billy and then be like, oh, I know you. I saw you earlier. Right. You've got to be connected to this. The most important reveal we had in all of this.

Other than that, there's a source inside the gang, which we probably could have figured out in the first episode. But we didn't know what happened to her father. Who's what's his face is brother? Robbie's brother. Robbie's brother. Now we know. We know the biker gagging was involved.

And that's going to be easy to move those jigsaw puzzles pieces together as Ruffalo tries to figure out what happened here. I think when you were breaking down the components of the show, Joe, like the Sons of Anarchy type show that's happening in the background of the show, I love it in the background as sort of the mechanism that's building pressure for everybody else. It's like, that's a cool show, but as you said, we've seen it before. We know how that plays out. But what if it's just turning the screws on everybody else? What if that's like the element that's exacting violence? It's the element that's figuring out.

Honestly, the Biker Gang has a great intelligence network all its own, it seems like. They know about the task force. They know about Ruffalo. they know about everything happening already. This is why I think we have a rat animal. Do we have a snake? I don't know. I think we have, we've got someone inside, we definitely have someone inside the MC who's ratting on the MC to Robbie, right? But do we have someone inside either the task force or the police force at large? They're definitely mulling for the motorcycle club.

Molling? Yeah. They're moles. It's the depotted. Because I like it. I've never used it before. Well, here's my question. I'm trying it tonight somehow. Of the three people on the task force. Yeah.

Lizzie, DJ Grasanova, and Alea, Alea. Yeah. Who is most likely to be informing. The most obviously would be Grasso because he has, like, this is organized crime is his beat. He's the one to give the intel on the motorcycle club, blah, blah. But I. Motorcycle clubs need DJs. You would have the connections.

Exactly. They're not going to straddle and bend and grind by themselves. These guys love Kid Cutty. But Alia is so interesting because we know nothing about her. Yes. And that's an incredible actress. And I don't think you cast her to like just be. Oh, the old Joanna Robinson, you're overqualified for the seemingly meaningless role role.

I mean, we don't know anything about her. And, you know, she was like the lead of Underground Railroad and like in the woman king. Like, she's a great actress. So like I'm suspicious that we haven't learned anything about her. So who do you think she's actually working for? The motorcycle club. Informing for the motorcycle club. That's your big theory?

No, that's not my biggest theory. That's one of the theories. Because I've got the rat theory too. That's my mole theory. And we're going to hear that rat theory right after this. Snoring, gasping during sleep, feeling fatigued, ask your doctor about Zepbound, terseptite. The first and only FDA-approved prescription medicine for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea,

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Save at Whole Foods Market. All right. What's the rat theory? Jason, who's the head of this chapter of the Dark Hearts? president. Refer to him by his time. I have some respect. We serve it his pleasure.

His girlfriend, Aaron, or wife Aaron or whatever. I would say, here's my theory, that she was cheating on him with Billy. That's how Billy died. And as part of a

I will help you get vengeance plot, she's leaking information to Robbie. Oh. I like this. Honestly, my antenna were pointing to the guy who would... Ginger beard. Red herring.

Yes. Maybe he's too red. Maybe he's too ginger. Did her hair. Yeah. I mean, the combination of his sort of like outsized reaction and declaring that Sam was dead when they're first having the conversation. And then him kind of like skulking out of the bar during the biker wake later is like, there's obviously something happening with this guy, but maybe it is a red herring. Joe might just be like four beats ahead of this show.

Erin, her first question, because she's there when he gets the phone call. Her first question is, do they know who did it? And she's at the dinner. We get a shot of her when Perry rolls up. Also, again, that actress, she was in Daredevil and the Ackleight, like, I know her. And I'm just like, why are you here? Why are you here? And why would they make, they go out of their way to talk about how Jason is this really like,

disciplined by the book, present of this chapter. He doesn't abide, you know, them tasting the product. Like, he's got them all in line. But he lost his shit on Billy and beat him to death for hours. Yeah. For a mysterious infraction we don't know about. What's more mysterious than the human heart? than love.

How do you run for the president of the dark hearts? Is it every three years? Every four? I believe you get your mentor to beat the current president to death, which is what happened for Jason. That's one man.

It's a natural like a beat to death. But even then you've got to go to convention. You got to get the dark heart superdelegates. It's a very involved process. Got to go on some podcasts. Got to make the rounds. Yeah, yeah. All right.

So bad guys stealing from even badder guys. Engelby is. Inglesby is flip this. We're not rooting for people who are bad people. They've kidnapped a kid. Yes. They've just home invasion shot multiple people. They've committed murder.

And yet I feel bad for them and I'm rooting for them. I don't know how this happens over and over again. You want them to move that fentanyl. Well, I mean, number one. I'm cheering for the product to get moved. That's really what I'm rooting for. The number one thing they should have done already is dump the kid somewhere, not murder. Not take him home?

Yeah. Not take him home, but the kid's half asleep. He's like, oh, it's two guys with a beard. Like, he's not going to remember everything. Now you've got to get rid of him. Yeah. Now he knows, oh, they have two of their kids. There's some lady named Maeve.

Rob, are we headed toward a child murder in, like, episode five? Oh, my God. Because I'm just... Sam's got to make it. Are we sure? And would that be one of the dark moments in HBO history? I wouldn't put it past the show. We won't see it.

It's not like we're going to see him get a bullet in the head, but it'll be one of those. Am I allowed to spoil Mary of East Town? Spoilers from Marivistown. Yes. It came out like five years ago. I mean, like a kid did it in Marravees Town. So I guess Brad's not above like involving kids and dark crimes.

This is going to get to some bleak places. And even if it doesn't happen, they're going to talk about doing it for sure. It has to be discussed. Yes. I have a bill theory. Oh, I love a bill theory. Out of nowhere, a monologue about deer. Okay.

Yeah. Episode five, hey, let's go see this deer that's been flow. around the forest. We go in the back. The kids walking around. There he is. Oh. And then wide shot,

bullet, crow scattering. Yeah, yeah. I love the scattered. The crows scattered. Oh, yeah. Otherwise, you don't know.

How else would the, we know that they're dead. Yeah, exactly. And then it becomes like a godfather to Frado. Then we go back and it's, he's no longer standing looking at the deer. We just see the kid in the ground and we see the guy just. Is it Robbie who does it?

I think it has to be Robbie. I don't think the other guy has it. Cliff is freaking out already. He could barely cut hair five days a week because there's no way he's... But see, I feel like Cliff might be more capable of it, even though he seems like a relative sweetheart, relative to a biker gang himself. Like getting bullied into doing it?

Well, just that so far what we've seen, Robbie, not the brightest guy in the world. If anything, the way the show is being set up, Maeve seems like a little sharper in terms of at least coming up with some sort of plan to ditch Sam somewhere, to get out of this situation. She remembers the lost and found phone She's putting pieces together

Robbie's a guy who's just like reacting to stuff In over his head and like clearly has a bit of a bleeding heart And I think that's what's ultimately going to bump up against this issue Like what do we do with this kid? He just wants to be a dad and go to some Little League games Kind of be a dad I have a question Father daughter dance

That's on Thursday That he swears he's been looking forward to Yes Does he make it to the father daughter dance And he goes and it's like tender and beautiful and that makes it even sadder? Or does he not make it to the father? I think it's a tender and beautiful.

We have that event and we have the potential release slash hearing, sentencing thing. That's going to be like episode four. Yeah. So that's coming. And then Cliff just has to die within, I think, the first five or six episodes. He doesn't seem long for this world. Fing those odds for Cliff over in her episode. It's probably five and a half.

Peaches wasn't even on the board to make it past episode one. So he's gone. and his fiance, Kaylee, and really her dad, put in a very tough spot. I think Sam is the over-under would be six and a half. I think Sam was making it. I don't think. I'm going under.

Sam's not making it. That kid is so cute. You cannot kill that kid. I don't know if I'm prepared to come on here and have the cheery, jokey child murder podcast for episodes. I think Engelsby's going for it in this. I think he wants to get as dark as possible and really get into faith and how far can human beings go.

Yeah. It's the feeling. Here's what I'll say. I definitely think they'll talk about it. I think Robbie will struggle with this is the thing I should do. But ultimately, I don't think Robbie is that guy. I don't think Robbie is the guy who can kill the kid. I think DJ Grasinoma dies too.

I mean, one of the task force probably has to die. Definitely. Takes one in the neck where he's doing this thing and the bloods, he's holding. He's trying to hold it in. And Lizzie's like, no. When he did the thing about pizza on Fridays, I was like, this guy's dying. This is too big of a... Do you like that performance?

Yeah, Fabio Frankel. I actually thought he might really be from somewhere in the East Coast, and then I found out he's from England. Like anybody else. Rob's from England. Rob uses an accent. I hide it very well. Rob's from Newcastle.

He moved to America to learn how to talk about basketball in an American accent. Big Lou Aldenka. though, you know. Just a proud culture of British basketball. You're saying someone named Mahoney is from Newcastle. Yeah, that's probably, that's probably a reach. How do we feel about Maeve completely blowing the whole not locking the car door? Not completely blowing it because, I mean, yes, she slightly blew it.

Lock the car. But also, she escaped trunk search. That was quick thinking from Maeve. Slightening a pick. I'm not sure the kid's quiet for seven minutes. I mean, this is the most well-behaved kid on the planet. I'm not sure that kid doesn't do. just like show up like to the lineup of kids and he's like may he just at the end of the line

who are you for like that's not quite a set piece it is a woman in a car trying to get out of a parking lot it's tense i thought it was like as pulse pounding a thing that we've seen on tv all year basically uh which for episode two like we're getting the incredible b and e stuff in episode one we're getting these sorts of sequences in episode two i'm just like along for the dramatic ride of all of these again like very concentrated sequences it's a great show um that one part when he's talking about the guy getting beaten to death and brains going everywhere. And then they kind of seamlessly had it right in a mave to make it clear that it was Yeah, I was talking to her daughter.

They did that a couple times. They did that a couple times where he was like when Robbie was talking to Sam and he's like, my brother used to work with your dad before he were born and they cut to the motorcycle club while he's still talking. Very helpful for all of us. For sure. And the difference between just like a show with an ensemble where we jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, to one that feels a little bit more manicured

in the way it's transitioning with all this stuff. Remember I had my thing about how much do you look down at the iPad during a show? Yes. Is it like a 70% watching the show? Friends and neighbors was like a high percentage. Yeah, that was in like the 50s, 60s.

There's been some other ones in the 30s. This is like I put the iPod down. Nice. But you can't miss anything. Yeah. There's too much going on. He's putting too many Easter eggs all over the place and even like in the family scene,

I lost attention for one second. And then I was like, wait, is she saying she's the wife or the money? And I got, I was like, had to rewind. I'm like, all right, that's it. iPads down. We need a New York Times style needle of the Bill Simmons, like, focus meter, zero to 100 for every show. Like, why does that not exist? I want to give, were you thinking about our time with the staircase at all when she was talking about her mom going down the stairs?

Flashback? Totally. The titular staircase? Not just flashback to the staircase, but we'll be get, we're getting. getting the flashback episode. It's got to happen. I mean, again, you know, Casmarino's for a photograph. But so Phoebe Foxy, who plays Sarah, who I know from the great, another English actress. She's really great. She's not to, I mean, sorry, but yeah. She's really great on the great, and she's really great in this. But the sound she made when Emily's like, she's my mom too.

And she was like, I was like, that is cold as ice and really well. Yeah, yeah. My wife. Really tough. Really tough. Especially when you foreground it with, we get this sequence earlier in the episode of Emily in therapy. And she's talking about, like, the thing that she's most of, the thing that she's afraid of is that her brother's going to be in prison and not get help for the mental health problems he clearly has and has been struggling with for a long time. The thing that she's even more afraid of is that he's going to come back to their home in five years, which is like as soon as he could get out of prison.

Which is what Sarah lays out is like, can you imagine? So they're on the same page, but can't communicate that to each other. And also, the way in which Emily is, like, thirsty for family, like the way that she holds her nephew on her lap, like that baby, it's just like she wants to be connected to her family. I was really happy that Tom Wynn found her and was sober enough to find her and take her home, you know? As far as like little callbacks and grace notes go,

like her going to the dugout where her brother was after that previous blow up when they were kids, like just these little thing that sort of wrenches your heart. You know what I realized watching this episode? Mark Ruffalo is really good at playing these guys that their life is just kind of beating them down. They had that one, wide shot of him just mowing a sandwich

at his desk. I was like, that's just fucking perfect. The sandwich performance not even chewing, not even chewing like the first three bites before he's on to the fourth, having no napkin, so having to use the wrapper to like, he had someone his like sauce on his glasses. It was a whole thing. And weirdly, remember that in spotlight?

He's great in spotlight, but the pizza scene, yeah, when that guy comes by and he's just, he hasn't like decorated his apartment yet. And then the guy's like, I brought you a pizza. He's like, oh, thank you. He's just good at playing Like these kind of life beat me down losers. When he and Gras driving the conversation in the car about his previous life as a chaplain,

you know, when you go to these places, people want to know why God let it happen. I mean, was God the original he knew when he let it happen? Right. He's been there the whole time. Capital H. He knew. Crazy. Here's a really, I think, key piece of Tom Entel that we get in that car scene is that he sounds like he left the priesthood for his wife in 2003.

In part, at least. So it's like the fleeback. Sex season two, what if he made the other choice? But it's like, that's how important Susan was to him. Yeah. Is that he left his, like, vocation that he had studied for to marry her and she's dead. And, like, he's protective of Emily and he's frustrated with Sarah for her behavior at the dinner table. But he is also not making that family statement, not visiting his son in jail.

You know, so he is in between Emily and Sarah and. terms of like he's defensive of him. He says, I miss my son, but he won't go see him and he won't make a statement on his behalf and he's struggling with it. I thought that it's easy to talk about forgiveness when it's not your loss speech in that family meeting. Like that is heavyweight, heavyweight shit. And it's so funny, like all of these ways in which he is kind of a mess, he's also the person best positioned to sort of hold the family together by the nature of his role in it. We talked about, you can count on me last week. He's almost doing like the Laura Linney role where it's like he's falling apart

but he's trying to get his arms around this thing that you just cannot get your arms around. There's a slight whiff of Manchester by the sea in this show. For sure. For sure. Where he's Ruffalo in like episode six is just going to do that I can't beat it. We need to get him a hoodie. He can't do that in a buttoned down.

He has to do it in a hoodie. The back of the VHS being Heat meets Manchester by the sea for this show is accurate but crazy calculus and departed and sprinkled in. Yeah and like whatever, what biker gang movie. I guess Sons of Anarchy we're throwing there.

Yeah, so there's a lot of stuff on the table that I feel like there's only seven episodes. Like we're already two seventh of the way through here. Every time we're in the biker bar, I'm in. Oh, yeah, okay. Did you watch? Were you a Sons of Anarchy

fan? Did you watch that show? I never did. What did I miss out on? Should I have watched it? The first couple seasons were absolute. I love that you watch that, but not the Sopranos. I'll never figure out. It was on after the Sopranos. The Sopranos, I was in college. I was not watching TV.

I like the whole hierarchy. I like how they have their own little, their gimmicks. They're cute little matching vests. Like when they go see Peaches', I guess, X. Yeah. Kaley. Tough one. Which I had to rewatch.

It was the guy that was next to her. Yeah. Her dad, I assume. Because they didn't do a good job. They should have showed him opened in the door so you specifically knew it was her. But I guess you're trying to infer and figure it. Her dad, I guess. I'm confused about the timeline.

So she and her dad just moved there a couple weeks ago. I think she just moved there. Oh, and her dad's there. To be with Peaches. Okay. So she was in the home that she shares with Peaches. Yes. And her dad was like, I'm here to help you through this time.

But also, I fucking told you so. And I knew that guy was a piece of shit. It's hard because he's not 100% wrong. No, it's not. Like Peaches did not seem like the best most upstanding citizen. But also, this is a devastating situation for our girl, Kaylee. I don't think they're surviving this evening with Shane. Katie, maybe.

That has a bloodbath. Just nitpick. I thought that was a pretty bad actress. Caley. Bad acting performance. That was my soulmate. It was like, what are you doing? Everybody else is up here.

But like what kind of girl is going to be with a guy like peaches? That's a question you have to ask yourself. I need a little more. Might have got one more take. It's also tough being the one person in the lineup who's like everyone else is delivering on such a high level. If you're even just good, I did. Okay, I had one, I had a performance beat question. Yes.

Perry, who plays like, you know, he's on the board that sits above Jason. Founding member. Yeah. They got cute little patches and everything. Yeah. I just love it. The 12. That he, when he grabs Jason's face and he's like, it's a kid.

That felt a little overwrought to me, a little overwrought moment. Interesting. A little overacting? Never on a show like this. That being said, when he's talking to the bartender, loved that moment. She's like, who's asking you? I'm cleaning my toilet.

I have another nipic. I just think the whole police lineup with Maeve. Poorly handled. I would still look in the trunk of her car. I would have more questions. I'm like, wait a second. So why did you call us? What's going on with you?

I just feel this is the biggest story in the whole area. Well, I don't think that they know that she's the one who called. They don't. She was just saying, oh, I saw a kid that. looked lost. And then she's like, that's the kid that looked lost and they just assume bad move from the cops. But just assume that that's the same kid.

I'm pulling her aside for 15 more minutes. I agree. That would be good police work. I agree with you. They also know the call came from that store. No, they know it came from a cell phone. From a cell phone geo-located within a certain radius. Her co-worker, though,

is like what's going on. The girl with the red brids is like... That Zidi invitation has been rescinded. I thought everything about the plan was terrible. You thought those are bad? She brings the kid right to where she works. Like pick another shopping center. That is fair.

Because she knew that she could get to a phone that she wasn't linked to. Yes. Because how else are you getting to a phone that wouldn't be like on a surveillance camera? Because pay phones aren't a thing anymore. So what phone do you call? Yeah, I miss pay phones. Would you see a lot of burners? Some great times like that.

Burners, yeah. You know the drug dealers buy their burners on this show for sure, but Mave does not have one. How about buy a burner? But then you're on camera buying a burner. Is that enough? I don't know. I think that stores that sell burners should not have cameras. That's what I think.

Counterproductive to business at minimum. Would you think of the ending with she brings the kid back? What have you done to us? Yeah. Double a kid getting carried. Little. What have you done to us? I thought was good.

I mean, I think it's really interesting to know that May was brought up in the motorcycle club. Yes. Like, not just that Billy was connected, but like, she knew Joanne, she knew Derek. When Derek, when Robbie with his mask on is threatening Derek and Derek, the guy who got his brain blown out, and he's like, I know your voice. Why do I know you? So it's not just that like Maeve was brought up in the motorcycle club, but like they knew Robbie too.

Yeah, yeah. And how quickly Maeve puts together exactly who Sam is. Yeah. It's like 12 minutes, basically. Between the moment where Robbie is selling her this bill of goods, oh, this is my friend, uh, my friend's kid, his mom is sick, yada, yada, yada. and it's like, oh, no, we're not spending even an episode believing that. It is sorted and done, and we are trying to get this kid out of the house.

But I think that knowing that Maeve grew up in that culture and also knowing, you know, the title of the episode is Family Statements, which deals directly with Sarah and Emily and Tom in that table scene. But like, the way that the motorcycle club thinks of everyone in the club as family. So, Bily was, Maeve was family at a certain point. I think those ties are really interesting. We were wondering how closely connected is Maeve to all of this. Now she's just in the heart of this story. She's from the motorcycle club culture.

Can't escape it. Maeve over under six and a half episodes? I think she, I think Maeve lives. I really hope she makes it. Maeve and Sam and the chicken all live. That's how I feel. You would have said the same thing in Merivistown about corresponding characters and been very wrong.

Yeah, that's true. Look, Robbie, there's a deer. Chris. Bill, we need to get you on the record. I thought one of my favorite moments of this is when Robbie and Cliff are waiting at the restaurant for their source to show up. No shows.

And you get this like longing curl jam look with a woman at the bar. By the way, big deal for them to greenlight a song. They're famously stingy. Even like in the 30th, 30 last dance, like just getting them to use present tense for the ending. It took forever. Do you think they got final cut on this?

Well, there was one other Pearl Jam show where they used some of the music for. I think they have to like the creator or have some sort of relationship. But yeah, I was like, oh. That was looking nicely. Yeah, that was good. I loved it. Another clue for my theory that it's the girlfriend is the mole. They don't say he's not coming.

They say, not coming. Both Robbie and Cliff go not coming. He's not coming. We need the mole to clarify their pronouns is what you're saying. If they said she's not coming, we would know. So they just go, not coming, not coming.

So characters we haven't met yet. Have we met the Dominican drug lord? Just a photo of them. Freddie Friest, yeah. Yeah, so Freddie Friest, there's going to be a Freddie Friest scene. And then he's kind of has to work with the bike gang, even though they're a competition,

which I was enjoy. I like when the competition has to band together because somebody's breached. By the way, the guy who plays Perry was on a major character on Sands of Anarchy, so he knows how to do motorcycle club storyline. And then we have,

we're going to get a flash back with the lady from the killing. Yeah. For sure. Did I ever tell you how a buddy of mine from high school who moved out her to become an actor? No? In the 90s.

Might have bartended in a couple Melrose Place episodes. Oh, nice. To bat it. I've seen Melrose Place as well. Never really happened. Yeah. But his big break was Michelle Pfeiffer in what lies beneath us. What lies beneath us.

What lies beneath. He played her first husband before Harrison Ford. picture of them in a photo. That's good work if you can get it. This is amazing. This is as good as a good. There is. We were so excited.

So that was the peak. But he was married to Michelle Pfeiffer in a movie. I mean, not bad. You're telling your grandkids about that. Absolutely. The fact that you were cast at all. Yeah. So anyway, my point is usually it's people like

my old friend Scott in those pictures, not the lady who's the lead of the killing. So I think we're going backwards. They have questions about that. I also have questions about the task force. Are they living in this mold-infested house? I think they're working. working out of it.

But they were working late. Sleeping there? And it seemed like when Ruffalo leaves for the night to deal with his family situation, they're still there. They're just kind of hanging, having cigarettes, like monitoring calls. Like, are they just sleeping here? I hope not. They'd be knocking some boots pretty soon.

Well, he said take a bedroom as an office, not like pick a bedroom. Not like this is the real world house and first come first bedroom sort of thing. They should have seen like in the real world when they all run into the house. Yeah, yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah. I'm going to take that room with the mold. I very nearly wanted to pick Nitz on DJ Grosinova's.

Quick ID of Lizzie's, I would say, just horrendous Gwen Stefani rendition with the headphones on. There is no way a normal human being could have made that call. But then, but wait, there's an explanation for everything. I don't think they could clear the song. The Gwen Stefani song? It was weird that we couldn't hear the song. I thought it was really funny. I think she's great.

Lizzie. I'm a big Lizzie fan. No, thanks. I'm a big Lizzie fan, I got to say. She's been fun so far. We should also say I was heartbroken to not get the Snickerdoodle 223 at gmail.com email address for this show. We did, however, lockdown DJ Grasanova at gmail.com. If you have any questions there's about this show, email us.

I texted Rob last night. I was like, should we get this email? And he sent me proof that he already got it. I was locked. The second, the words came out of his mouth. So grass, uh, an OVA. That's correct. Yeah, Grassanova, two S's.

Yeah, two S's. DJ, Grass, A-N-O-V-A at Gmail.com. Or as always, prestige TV at Spotify.com. Great job by you. Predictions? What do we got? I guess I'm already given. Other than the ones you already made?

Yeah. What do you got, Rob? I'm so shaken up on the mole slash rat situation because I really did think it was ginger beard guy. But I think Joe's really onto something I think with the girlfriend plug. That makes a lot of sense to me. So your prediction is a prediction. I mean, what else do we got? What else do we have to predict?

It's the, it's the, it's the, it's the, it's the, it's the, it's the, mole. Like what's the source of intel from the police, from the task force to the motorcycle club? Well, the most important thing that's going to happen in episode three is this another double murder that we're now going to have with the people getting killed. So they're going to be, obviously they went and interviewed those people. So now they're going to be like, oh shit, this went to a whole other level. I'm actually going to say Lizzie is the mole who's leaking information to the motorcycle club. And Alia is so well positioned at this point by virtue of how little we know about her to be the person who catches the mole.

Like she's going to be the person who starts putting together the weird clues. Yes. Yeah, okay. Gotcha. By the way, that reminds me of another small nitpick. So we have a triple murder or a quadruple murder? Four bodies. Every time I drink this out of my stomach, it's growls, by the way.

That's an anti-endorsement for L. So we got a mother murder, third-degree murder by Ethan. Then we have the four dead bodies in the house and then the kidnapping. Right. But we have four dead bodies. of kidnapping and now two more murders. At one point are they like, maybe Mark Ruffalo's character isn't, maybe Tom Brandis isn't the guy. And Tom's like, guess what?

I agree. Take me off the case. Why am I here? Even the motorcycle gang agrees. Yeah. Well, they're underestimating him. Clearly. They don't know.

But are they? Superpower. I know. I think they're probably. Which is vodka. And God. Yeah. That is another good one when the bad guys in the movie are like, oh, that guy's

doing it. He sucks. Don't even worry about him. It's like, no, you're going to have to worry about him. Yeah, yeah. They're like, he just wants to eat his sandwich. It's like, no, he wants to eat his sandwich and solve crimes. Cannot blame him.

Both. I have a small prediction. I think we see the Dominican drug lord in episode three. I think there's a showdown scene that quickly. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And is it an actor we've heard of? Elvis Melosco.

What's our scattering report on Elvis? Yeah, yeah. I have seen him in some things, not a ton of things. But yeah, he's been around. So maybe it's a one-seener. Is he the drug dealer they have to go to with the fentanyl because they have so much weight? Or is that a different guy we have yet to see? No, that's the guy.

That's the guy. The Dominican drug dealer is the guy that now Robbie and Cliff need to go to to unload the family. According to the biker gang. The biker gang. And I think we get murderous, not on my med brother in jail. I think we get our first two-way glass scene. And I don't know who goes visit him. It's probably the adopted dog.

Family is the only one who will. We're probably due for that. They don't want a mystic up for you. They did physically describe him. Skinnier, his hair is shorter. It's going to surprise you will see him. Going through some stuff. Yeah.

Some solid points about what it's going to be. be like in five years when he's just back in the room upstairs making cereal. I'm saying we can let him out of jail and we don't have to invite him back into the family home. There's like a middle grass. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. Maybe a hotel, those hostile hotel rooms. Your forgiveness can have a ceiling to it.

It could be not in my backyard. You know what I mean? Wow. And more. Strong stance, too. Yeah, I'm nimbying on. My last prediction is murder. A third degree murder.

More animal talk with Sam. I think he's got some thoughts on rabbits. Yes. Oh, my God. Why does they want to talk to? deer especially he said especially instead of a specialty he's like especially that's when they know they got you when they threw in the especially that's a that's a writing a bald eagle scene yeah something a majestic animal encounter will be coming i don't maybe it's a deer

maybe not maybe some there's an interaction with the other two kids seen other one of them's older but there's another kid that's around his age yeah yeah who loves a fart joke yeah yeah who loves a chicken bed joke absolutely but i think mave has to make a move. And what her her move in this third episode, she's either

got to get out of this or she's in for good now. I'm worried that she's going to go to the motorcycle club at

some point. She's going to try to solve things herself. Yeah. Talk to someone she thinks is sympathetic

in the motorcycle the motorcycle the woman bartender, the woman that I think is the ratar Aaron.

They're just called bartenders, Joe. I just don't know the character's name. I didn't say female bartender.

I liked it. Also, we might have a dark card... D, he calls her D. I don't know what that's short for, okay? That's fair. We might have a dark arts primary. It might be primary season. It's October.

The show's running. I mean, that's what Perry's saying. Perry's like, Jason, you're... You're at risk. Yeah, you are at risk. You're going to be impeached if you keep this up. Who's going to replace him? Gingerbeard?

There's not a lot of good... There's no great lieuteness. You know what? It's a common problem we're finding out. The pipeline of supplanting political talent. I feel like Derek was well positioned and now he's gone. So, did sounds of anarchy have, like that hierarchy have, thing with a president and all that stuff?

Oh, yeah, yeah. I think I would like that show. Oh, you would. Ron Perlman, Charlie Hunnam. Yeah, it's great show. I got to messed out on that one. There's never too late. There's prospects.

I know a lot about motorcycle club I'm sure. I watched every single episode of that show. And now I know why it was for this moment. Because you were preparing. Yeah. All right. So, Tass through two episodes.

You're still A plus? Oh, yeah. Huge thumbs up. Just the kind of premier Sunday night entertainment we deserve. I'm going to pull a Molly Rubin and say I'm already sad that we only have five more episodes left at this show.

I'm already sad at whoever's going to die. And if it is a child, if Sam dies before he gets his Batman Lego set, I'm going to be very upset. Do I get enough credit for breaking Joe from watching

four episodes ahead of time? We need that. This is better, right? It's a better process for the pod. Although I think you nailed like five of the predictions. It's concerning. We'll see.

Inglisby is watching this going, God damn it, this Joanna Robinson. She was in the room with me. He had a mole. HBO can tell when I've watched screeners when I haven't. They know I'm telling the truth. I've only watched two episodes.

She hasn't seen it, but she has been skulking around in Brad Inglesby's house, watching the boards, seeing what's up there. Going through his track. You know? It's the only way to know for sure. Her version, I'm going to go a basketball nerd for a section. Her version of how Sam Presti likes length is figuring out with the IMDB who's overqualified for the seemingly meaning of this world.

That's her Sam Presti. Who's falling into the Roger Ebert economy of characters? You know, there's just too many people here are going to shake. Luce. Yeah. Why is that for this? Yeah, you've taught me that. All right. Prestige TV. Thanks, Justin.

Thanks, Kai. We'll be back probably on Zoom for episode three. But we'll have to reconvene for like the last two. I mean, Jesus. Yeah. We need you. The first six screeners and then. I need your sympathy for us when Sam does die.

And you can gloat and say you were right, but also I need, I need your sympathy. There'd be no gloating, more of a like, look, I'm a veteran in the process. The dear monologue Caught by, raised my hackles. This is the thing that I found podcasting with you is that you will say things. I'm like, there's no way that can happen.

And then it happens. So that's the bill effect on me. He's not making it. We're going dark all the way through. Okay. Well, protect Sam. Meanwhile, I'm just Anthony Grasso over here.

I'm just playing Cal, I'm just bumping Calvin Harris hoping that it does the job. Just having pepperoni pizza on Fridays. You're just doing some living your life. Absolutely. All right. Good to see you both.

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