‘Task’ Episode 2: The Rat Theory

8:41Bill Simmons:animals.

8:42Joanna Robinson:He just wants to pet the chicken and get a Batman toy because he completed reading club.

8:46Bill Simmons:Do chickens have dreams, Rob? I hope we get to the bottom of that. He's honestly like disconcertingly adorable.

8:54Joanna Robinson:I'm so worried. They cast one of the most adorable kids on the planet as far as I'm concerned. They swaddle him in in an eagle's blanket. 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 by 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 Maeve's car.

9:27Joanna Robinson:Just wherever you don't want Sam to be, that's where he'll be.

9:30Bill Simmons: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 were growing up, and he basically, the foster people, foster police had to come multiple times, and they pulled him away. His grandmother had dementia. I think this kid has 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?

9:55Joanna Robinson:He doesn't get to pet the chicken. He's pulling a pocket knife out.

9:58Bill Simmons:Gertie is going to show up dead one day.

10:00Joanna Robinson:No, protect Gertie.

10:01Bill Simmons:So we have the Miss Kid kidnapping plot. I want to get into that. We have the heroine 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. Talk a little Gwen Stefani. You nailed this one so quickly. I did. 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?

10:29Joanna Robinson:I think those little character moments that you talked about. I think watching Anthony Grosso 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 like all these little specific character moments as 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.

11:14And so I'm on the edge of my seat

11:16Joanna Robinson:as to how my heart's gonna be broken. What's your favorite, Rob? I think it's the Brandeis family drama stuff for me and kind of how all this unfolds with the testimonies, with who wants to participate and who doesn't, how these people are treating each other. They're like, those sisters, I mean, I would say the most lukewarm hug I've ever seen. Frosty. Maybe, at least tepid, maybe downright frosty. 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.

11:46Bill Simmons:Who was the guy at the table? I couldn't figure that out. He's the lawyer. Yeah, he's the attorney. He's their attorney.

11:50Joanna Robinson:But I think a family friend, too. Family friend. Yeah. Give him a heads up.

11:54Bill Simmons:He seemed like he had a feel for the family in a non-convention. Yeah. He's like, oh boy, here they go. What's the Brandeses? Here go the Brandeses. Yeah, exactly. I think my favorite, I thought Maeve, our girl from Coda, I thought she was great in this episode, but I think I'm the most attached to like, there's some, 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.

12:22Joanna Robinson: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 incidental. Here's the real issue.

12:37Bill Simmons:Well, he would know, like, I would spend some time with this lady, Maeve. Yeah, Maeve, exactly. Who happens to work next door to the place I was dropped off at. Yeah, it would take five minutes.

12:44Joanna Robinson: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. You've got to be connected to this.

13:08Bill Simmons: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's brother.

13:22Joanna Robinson:Robbie's brother. Robbie's brother. Yeah.

13:24Bill Simmons:Now we know. We know the biker gag was involved. And that's going to be easy to move those jigsaw puzzle pieces together as Ruffalo tries to figure out what happened here. I think in turn, 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?

13:54It'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.

14:04Joanna Robinson:This is why I think we have a rat animal situation. 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 yes for the mosaic club mulling yeah they're moles it's the depotent it's mulling a verb because I like it I've never used it before well here's my question

14:32Bill Simmons:try it tonight somehow

14:33Joanna Robinson:of the three people on the task force yeah Lizzie DJ Grasanova oh no 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. Motorcycle clubs need DJs. You would have the connections. They're not going to straddle and bend and grind by themselves. These guys love Kid Cudi. But Aaliyah 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 -

15:09Bill Simmons:Oh, the old Joanna Robinson. You're overqualified for the seemingly meaningless role role.

15:13Joanna Robinson: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.

15:24Bill Simmons:So who do you think she's actually working for?

15:26Joanna Robinson:The Motorcycle Club. Informing for the Motorcycle Club. That's your big theory?

15:31Bill Simmons:No, that's not my biggest theory. That's one of the theories.

15:33Joanna Robinson:Because I've got the rat theory too. That's my mole theory.

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17:04Bill Simmons:All right, what's the rat theory?

17:06Joanna Robinson:Jason who's the head of this chapter of the Dark Hearts the president have some respect we serve it his pleasure his girlfriend Erin or wife Erin or whatever I would say here's my theory that she was cheating on him with Billy that's how Billy died and is part of a I will help you get vengeance plot she's leaking information to Robbie I like this honestly my antenna were pointing to the guy who... Ginger beard. Ginger beard. Red herring. Yes. Maybe he's too red. Maybe he's too ginger. Ginger herring. 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.

17:57Joan might just be like four beats ahead of this show. Erin, her first

18:02Joanna Robinson:question, because she's there when he gets the phone call, her first question is, do they know who did it and we're 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 accolade 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 president 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.

18:36Joanna Robinson:Why? For a mysterious infraction we don't know about. What's more mysterious than the human heart than love?

18:41Bill Simmons:How do you run for the president of the Dark Hearts? I mean, it's... Is it every three years? Is it every four? Like our presidency?

18:48Joanna Robinson:I believe you get your mentor to beat the current president to death, which is what happened for Jason. That's one mentor. Is that what it is? Is it actually like a beat to death? But even then, you got to go to convention, you got to get the Dark Hearts superdelegate. It's a very involved process. Got to go on some podcasts.

19:02Bill Simmons:you gotta make the rounds yeah yeah yeah alright so bad guys stealing from even badder guys Inglesby has flipped 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

19:26Joanna Robinson:that fentanyl well I mean number one

19:31Bill Simmons: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 there's two guys with a beard. Like he's not gonna remember everything. Now you gotta get rid of him. Yeah. Now he knows, oh they have two other kids. There's some lady named Maeve. Rob, are we headed toward a child murder in like episode five? Oh my god. No.

19:58Joanna Robinson:Sam's gotta make it.

20:00Bill Simmons: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.

20:11Joanna Robinson:Am I allowed to spoil Mare of Easttown? Spoilers from Mare of Easttown?

20:14Bill Simmons:Yes. It came out like five years ago.

20:16Joanna Robinson:I mean, like a kid did it in Mare of Easttown. So I guess Brad's not above like involving kids in 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. Can I give you my theory?

20:28Bill Simmons:Yes. I have a bill theory.

20:29Joanna Robinson:Oh, I love a bill theory.

20:30Bill Simmons:out of nowhere a monologue about deer okay episode 5 hey let's go see this deer that's been floating around the forest we go in the back the kid's walking around there he is oh and then wide shot bullet crow scattering

20:49Joanna Robinson:I love the scattered crow otherwise you don't know we know that they're dead

20:55Bill Simmons:and then it becomes like a godfather to Fredo. 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.

21:10Joanna Robinson:Cliff is freaking out already.

21:12Bill Simmons:He could barely cut hair five days a week. I feel like Cliff might be more capable of it, even though he seems like a relative sweetheart relative to a biker gang himself. Getting bullied into doing it? 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.

21:38Joanna Robinson:She remembers the lost and found film. Yes. 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 of like, what do we do with this kid?

21:52Bill Simmons:He just wants to be a dad and go to some Little League games. Kind of be a dad. I have a question. Kind of be a dad.

21:57Joanna Robinson: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? Yeah. Or does he not make it to the father-daughter dance?

22:10Bill Simmons: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 Fandle's odds for Cliff over under episodes probably five and a half Peaches wasn't even on the board to make it past episode one so he's gone understand and his fiancee Kaylee and really her dad had a very tough spot I think Sam is the over under would be six and a half

22:45Joanna Robinson:I think Sam I think Sam was making it I don't think

22:48Bill Simmons:I'm going under Sam's not making it

22:50Joanna Robinson: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.

22:58Bill Simmons:I think Inglesby'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. It's the feeling I'm getting.

23:08Joanna Robinson: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.

23:19Bill Simmons:I think DJ Grasinoma dies too. I mean, one of the task force probably has to die.

23:25Joanna Robinson:Definitely.

23:25Bill Simmons:Takes one in the neck where he's doing this thing and the blood's holding. And Lizzie's like, no! When he did the thing about pizza on Fridays, I was like, this guy's dying.

23:41Joanna Robinson:This is too big of a line for you.

23:43Bill Simmons: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. Well, it's from Westeros. Rob's from England. Rob uses an accent. I hide it very well. Rob's from Newcastle. Right, right. He moved to America to learn how to talk about basketball in an American accent. Big Lewald Deng guy, though. You know, just a proud culture of British basketball.

24:04Joanna Robinson:You're saying someone named Mahoney is from Newcastle?

24:07Bill Simmons:Yeah, that's probably a reach. How do we feel about Maeve completely blowing the whole not locking the car door?

24:16Joanna Robinson:Not completely blowing it because, I mean, yes, she slightly blew it.

24:19Bill Simmons:Lock the car.

24:19Joanna Robinson:But also, she escaped trunk search. That was quick thinking from Maeve.

24:25Bill Simmons:That nipick. I'm not sure the kid's quiet for seven minutes. I mean, this is the most well-behaved kid on the planet.

24:30Joanna Robinson:I'm not sure that kid doesn't just show up to the lineup of kids. And he's like, Maeve? He's at the end of the line. Who are you? 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 as pulse-pounding a thing that we've seen on TV all year, basically. which for episode two, like we're getting the incredible B &E stuff in episode one and 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.

24:58Bill Simmons:It's a great show. That one part when he's talking about the guy getting beaten to death and brains going everywhere and then they kind of seamlessly edit right into Maeve to make it clear that it was,

25:10Joanna Robinson:hey, I was talking to her daughter. Hey, here's the connection with these two. They did that a couple times. Oh, okay.

25:14Bill Simmons:They did that a couple times where he's like,

25:16Joanna Robinson:Where he was like, when Robbie was talking to Sam and he's like, my brother used to work with your dad before you were born. And they cut to the motorcycle club while he's still talking. Very helpful for all of us at home. 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?

25:41Bill Simmons:Yes. Is it like a 70 % watching the show?

25:45Joanna Robinson:neighbors was like a high percentage yeah that was in like the 50s 60s there's been some other

25:50Bill Simmons:ones in the 30s this is like i put the ipod down nice 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 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 like and i got i was like had to rewind i'm like all right that's it ipad's down we need a new york time style needle of the Bill Simmons like focus meter zero to 100 for every show like why does that not exist? This isn't 100.

26:18Joanna Robinson:I want to give were you thinking about the our time with the staircase at all when she was talking about her mom going down the stairs?

26:25Bill Simmons:Flashback?

26:26Joanna Robinson:Totally. The titular staircase?

26:28Bill Simmons:Not just flashback to the staircase but we'll be get we're getting the flashback episode. It's gotta happen.

26:32Joanna Robinson:I mean again you know Cass Marinos for a photograph but so Phoebe Fox 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 grade and she's really great in this but the sound she made when emily's like she's my mom too yeah and she was like is she i was like that is cold as ice and really well yeah yeah my wife really tough really engaged really tough especially when you foreground it with we get the sequence earlier in the episode of emily and 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.

27:12The 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.

27:19Joanna Robinson: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 went and found her and was sober enough to find her and take her home. As far as 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, just these little things that sort of wrenches your heart.

27:51Bill Simmons:You know what I realized watching this episode? Mark Ruffalo's really good at playing these guys that their life has just kind of beaten 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.

28:05Joanna Robinson:The sandwich performance. There's no gluten-free anything in this life. Not even chewing the first three bites before he's on to the fourth. Having no napkins, so having to use the wrapper. He had some on his sauce on his glasses. It was a whole thing. Remember in Spotlight?

28:18Bill Simmons:He's great in Spotlight. But the pizza scene? Yeah. When that guy comes by and he hasn't 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 these kind of life beat me down losers. When he and Grasse are having 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.

28:48Joanna Robinson:Here's a really, I think, key piece of Tom Intel that we get in that car scene is that it sounds like he left the priesthood for his wife in 2003. In part, at least. So it's like the Fleabag 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 vocation that he had studied for to marry her and she's dead. And 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. So he is in between Emily and Sarah in terms of like he's defensive of him.

29:32Joanna Robinson: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.

30:04Bill Simmons:There's a slight whiff of Manchester by the sea in this show.

30:08Joanna Robinson:Oh, yeah, for sure, for sure.

30:09Bill Simmons:Where he's ruffling in like episode six. He's just going to do the, I can't beat it. I can't beat it. We need to get him a hoodie.

30:17Joanna Robinson:He can't do that in a button 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. With little signs and departed and sprinkled in.

30:27Bill Simmons:Yeah, and like whatever, what biker gang movie are we, I guess Sons of Anarchy. We're doing Sons of Anarchy. 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. We're already two sevens of the way through here. Every time we're in the biker bar, I'm in.

30:43Joanna Robinson:Oh, yeah? Okay. Were you a Sons of Anarchy fan? Did you watch that show? I never did.

30:48Bill Simmons:What did I miss out on? Should I have watched it?

30:50Joanna Robinson:The first couple seasons were absolute crushing. I love that you watched that, but not The Sopranos.

30:54Bill Simmons:I'll never figure it out.

30:56Joanna Robinson:It was on after The Sopranos. The Sopranos, I was in college. I was not watching TV.

31:01Bill Simmons:I like the whole I like the whole hierarchy I like how they have their own little their gimmicks their cute little matching vests like when they go see Peaches'

31:13Joanna Robinson:I guess

31:14Bill Simmons:ex yeah

31:15Joanna Robinson:Kaylee

31:15Bill Simmons:tough one which I had to rewatch it was the it was the guy that was next to her yeah her dad because they didn't do a good job they should have showed him opening the door so you specifically knew it was her but I guess you're trying to infer it was her dad I guess

31:29Joanna Robinson: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. Yes. 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, he'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. Kaylee, maybe.

31:57Joanna Robinson:It's chain-wrapped fist. That is a bloodbath.

32:03Bill Simmons:Just nitpick. I thought that was a pretty bad actress. Or a bad acting performance.

32:08Joanna Robinson:That was my soulmate! It was like, what are you doing? Everybody else is up here. What kind of girl is going to be with a guy like Peaches? That's a question you have to ask yourself.

32:17Bill Simmons: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, you're going to get blown.

32:28Joanna Robinson: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, love that moment. She's like, who's asking you? I'm cleaning my toilet. Great interaction. I have another nitpick.

33:06Bill Simmons:I just think the whole police lineup with Maeve. Poorly handled.

33:12Joanna Robinson:I would still look in the trunk of her car. I would have more questions.

33:15Bill Simmons:I'm like, wait a second. So why'd you call us? What's going on with you? I just feel they've been looking. This is the biggest story in the whole area.

33:23Joanna Robinson:Well, I don't think that they know that she's the one who called.

33:26Bill Simmons:They don't.

33:26Joanna Robinson:she was just saying oh i saw a kid that looks lost and then she's like that's the kid that looked lost and they just assume bad bad move from the cops but just assume that that's the same

33:36Bill Simmons:kid i'm pulling her aside for 15 more minutes i agree that would be good police work i agree they also know the call came from that store no they know it came from a cell phone from a cell phone geolocated within a certain radius her her co-worker though is like what's going on the girl with the red braids is like that ziti invitation has been rescinded i thought everything about the plan was terrible she you thought that was a bad i thought she brings the kid right to where she works like pick another shopping center that is 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 pay phones aren't a thing not a thing so what phone do you call i I miss paid phones.

34:20Would you see a lot of burners? Some great times. Burners, yeah. You know the drug dealers buy their burners on this show for sure, but Maeve does not have one. Yeah, how about buy a burner? But then you're on camera buying a burner. Is that enough? I don't know. Oh my God.

34:32Joanna Robinson:I think that stores that sell burners should not have cameras. That's what I think. Counterproductive to business at minimum.

34:39Bill Simmons:Would you think of the ending with she brings the kid back?

34:42Joanna Robinson:What have you done to us? Yeah.

34:44Bill Simmons:Double a kid getting carried. Little. what have you done to us I thought was good

34:50Joanna Robinson:I mean I think it's really interesting to know that Maeve 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 like brains 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 she knows these people 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.

35:22Oh, this is my friend. 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. Great Googling.

35:35Joanna Robinson: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 and that table scene, but like the way that the motorcycle club thinks of everyone in the club as family. So Billy was, Maeve was family at a certain point. I think those ties are really interesting. We were wondering like 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.

36:08Bill Simmons:Maeve over under six and a half episodes. I think she, I think Maeve lives. I really hope she makes it.

36:13Joanna Robinson:Sam and the chicken all live. That's how I feel. You would have said the same thing in Mare of Easttown about corresponding characters and been very wrong. Yeah, that's true. Look, Robbie, there's a deer. Carl!

36:30Bill, 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 Pearl Jam look with a woman at the bar.

36:42Joanna Robinson:by the way

36:43Bill Simmons:big deal for them to green light a song they never do that they're famously stingy yeah even like in the 30 for 30 last dance like just getting them to use press and 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 some sort of relationship but yeah I was I was like oh that was working nicely yeah that was good another I loved it

37:08Joanna Robinson: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.

37:28Bill Simmons:So characters we haven't met yet, have we met the Dominican drug lord?

37:32Joanna Robinson:Just a photo of them. Freddie Frias, yeah.

37:35Bill Simmons:Yeah, so Freddie Frias, there's going to be a Freddie Frias scene. And then he kind of has to work with the bike gang, even though they're a competition, which I always enjoy. I like when the competition has to band together because somebody's breached. The guy,

37:46Joanna Robinson:by the way, the guy who plays Perry was on a major character on Sons of Anarchy. So he knows how to do Motorcycle Club storyline.

37:53Bill Simmons:And then we have, we're going to get a flashback with the lady from The Killing.

37:57Joanna Robinson:Yeah. For sure.

37:59Bill Simmons:Did I ever tell you how a buddy of mine from high school who moved out here to become an actor

38:03Joanna Robinson:in the 90s

38:06Bill Simmons:might have bartended in a couple Melrose Place episodes. Oh, nice. the bad I've seen Melrose Place as well

38:13Joanna Robinson:but not the Sucranos never really happened yeah

38:14Bill Simmons:but his big break was Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath Us

38:20Joanna Robinson:What Lies Beneath yeah

38:21Bill Simmons:What Lies Beneath he played her first husband before Harrison Ford picture

38:26Joanna Robinson:in a photo

38:27Bill Simmons:of them in a photo that's good work if you can get it this is amazing this is as good as it gets there he 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 not bad at all 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. Big questions about that. I also have questions about the task force. Are they living in this mold infested house?

38:55Joanna Robinson:I think they're 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. Are they just sleeping here? I hope not. They'll be knocking some boots pretty soon. Well, he said take a bedroom as an office, not like pick a bedroom. Not as a bedroom. Not like this is the real world house and first come first bedroom sort of thing.

39:18Bill Simmons:This should have seemed like in the real world when they all run into the house. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dibs. I'm going to take that room with the mold. I very nearly wanted to pick nits on DJ Grasanova'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.

39:47Joanna Robinson:I thought it was really funny.

39:48Bill Simmons:I think that was a nod. I think she's great.

39:49Joanna Robinson:Lizzie, I'm a big Lizzie fan, I gotta say. She's been fun so far. We should also say I was heartbroken to not get the snickerdoodle223 at gmail.com email address for the show. We did, however, lock down djgrasanova at gmail.com. If you have any questions about the 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 lying.

40:12Bill Simmons:The second the words came out of his mouth. You guys are just top of your game. So grass, N-O-V-A. That's correct. Yeah, grass and O-V-A, two S's. Two S's. D-J, grass, A-N-O-V-A, at gmail.com. Or as always, prestigetv at spotify.com. Great job, IU. Predictions? What do we got? I guess I've already given money. Other than 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 Joe already made.

40:46I mean, what else do we got? What else do we have to predict?

40:52Joanna Robinson:It's the mole. Like, what's the source of intel from the police, from the task force to the motorcycle club?

40:59Bill Simmons: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 Aaliyah 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

41:25Joanna Robinson:who starts putting together the weird clues. Yeah, okay, gotcha.

41:29Bill Simmons: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 growls, by the way.

41:40Joanna Robinson:That's an anti-endorsement for LaCroix. So we've got a mother murder, third degree murder by Ethan. Then we have the four dead bodies in the house and then the kidnapping.

41:52Bill Simmons:Right, but we have four dead bodies, a kidnapping, and now two more murders. At what point are they like, maybe Mark Ruffalo's character isn't, maybe Tom Brandes isn't the guy.

42:00Joanna Robinson:And Tom's like, guess what? I agree. Take me off the case.

42:04Bill Simmons:Why am I here? Even the motorcycle gang agrees. Some people are bringing in the big guns. Yeah.

42:07Joanna Robinson:Well, they're underestimating him. Clearly. They don't know. But aren't they? Superpowered. I know. I think they're probably underestimating him. Which is vodka.

42:14Bill Simmons:And God.

42:15Joanna Robinson:Yeah.

42:15Bill Simmons: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. You don't have to worry about him. It's like, no, you're going to have to worry about him. Yeah, yeah.

42:23Joanna Robinson:They're like, he just wants to eat his sandwich. It's like, no, he wants to eat his sandwich and solve crimes.

42:27Bill Simmons: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. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That quickly. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And is it an actor we've heard of?

42:37Joanna Robinson:Elvis Malasco.

42:39Bill Simmons:What's our scouting report on Elvis?

42:41Joanna Robinson:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have seen him in some things. Not a ton of things, but yeah, he's been around.

42:46Bill Simmons:All right, so maybe it's a one-sener. 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?

42:53Joanna Robinson: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 fentanyl. According to the biker gang.

43:01Bill Simmons: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. Sounds like Emily's the only one who will. We're probably due for that.

43:14Joanna Robinson:They don't want me to stick up for you. They did physically describe him. Skinnier, his hair is shorter. It's going to surprise you when you see him.

43:19Bill Simmons:He's going through some stuff. Some solid points about what it's going to be like in five years when he's just back in the room upstairs making cereal.

43:26Joanna Robinson: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 ground. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

43:33Bill Simmons:Maybe a hotel with those hostile hotel rooms.

43:36Joanna Robinson:Your forgiveness can have a ceiling to it. It could be not in my backyard. You know what I mean? Wow.

43:41Bill Simmons:And more. Strong stance.

43:42Joanna Robinson:Yeah, I'm nimbying on forgiveness. My last prediction is more.

43:45Bill Simmons:A third degree murder? More animal talk with Sam. I think he's got some thoughts on rabbits. Yes. Oh my God. Why does he want to talk to deer?

43:54Joanna Robinson:Especially. He said especially instead of especially. He's like especially deer. That's when they know they got you, when they threw in the X-Specially. That's a writing heat check. A bald eagle scene? Yeah. A majestic animal encounter will be coming. Maybe it's a deer, maybe not.

44:09Bill Simmons:Maybe there's an interaction with the other two kids scene, although one of them's older. But there's another kid that's around his age. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

44:17Joanna Robinson:Who loves a fart joke.

44:18Bill Simmons:Yeah. Who loves a chicken butt joke. Absolutely. But I think Maeve has to make a move. And her move in this third episode, she's either she's either got to get out of this or she's in for good now

44:31Joanna Robinson: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 talk to someone she thinks is sympathetic in the motorcycle club the woman bartender the woman that I think is the rat they're just called bartenders Joe I just don't know the character's name I didn't say female bartender I liked it

44:53Bill Simmons:also we might have a dark heart sign D, he calls her D

44:56Joanna Robinson:I don't know what that's short for.

44:58Bill Simmons:We might have a Dark Hearts primary. It might be primary season. It's October. The show's running.

45:03Joanna Robinson:I mean, that's what Perry's saying. Perry's like, Jason, 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 lieutenants. 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.

45:19Bill Simmons:So did Tons of Anarchy have that hierarchy thing with the president and all that stuff? Oh, yeah, yeah. I think I would like that show. Oh, you would. Ron Perlman, Charlie Hunnam.

45:28Joanna Robinson:Yeah, it's a great show. I missed out on that one. It's never too late. There's prospects. I know a lot about motorcycle club culture. I watched every single episode of that show. And now I know why. It was for this moment.

45:38Bill Simmons:Because you were preparing. Yeah. All right, so Tass, through two episodes, you're still A+. Oh, yeah. Huge thumbs up. Just the kind of premiere Sunday night entertainment we deserve.

45:48Joanna Robinson: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 that 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.

46:00Bill Simmons:Do I get enough credit for breaking Joe from watching four episodes ahead of time? We need that. This is better, right? This is a better process for the pod. Although I think you nailed like five of the predictions. It's concerning. We'll see. Inglesby is watching this going, God damn it, this Joanne. Joanna Robinson. She was in the room with me. He had them all.

46:19Joanna Robinson:HBO can tell when I've watched Scritters and when I haven't, so they know I'm telling the truth. I've only watched two episodes. She hasn't seen it, but she has been skulking around Brad Engelsby's house, watching the boards, seeing what's up there.

46:28Bill Simmons:Going through his track. You know? It's the only way to know for sure. Her version—I'm going to go basketball nerd for a second. Her version of how Sam Presti likes length is figuring out with the IMDb who's overqualified for the seemingly meaningless world. A thousand percent. That's her Sam Presti. Who's falling into the Roger Ebert economy of characters? You know, there's just too many people here who are going to shake loose. 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. Sounds good.

47:04Bill Simmons:But we'll have to reconvene for the last two. I mean, Jesus.

47:07Joanna Robinson:Yeah. We need you.

47:08Bill Simmons:Because we'll get the first six screeners and then.

47:10Joanna Robinson:I need your sympathy for us when Sam does die. And you can gloat and say you were right, but also I need your sympathy.

47:16Bill Simmons:There'll be no gloating, more of a like, look, I'm a veteran of the process. the deer monologue raised my hackles this is the thing

47:24Joanna Robinson: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 that's the bill effect he's not making it

47:34Bill Simmons:we're going dark all the way through okay

47:37Joanna Robinson:well protect Sam meanwhile I'm just Anthony Grosso over here I'm just playing I'm just bumping Calvin Harris hoping that it does the job

47:43Bill Simmons:just having pepperoni pizza on Fridays you're just doing living your life absolutely alright good to see you both likewise We'll be right back.