‘Task’ Series Premiere: HBO Sundays Are Back!

14:11Bill Simmons:Then for dinner, you can build your own meal. Choose from a variety of entrees like chicken scalopini in two sides, and it's all good too. Whole Foods has banned more than 300 food ingredients storewide. Shop back to school must-haves at Whole Foods Market, in-store, or online. Mark Ruffalo, what's your relationship?

14:30Joanna Robinson:What is my... We were just talking about... You can count on me when we did the 2000 draft. So good. Big pick draft. That's my introduction to Mark Ruffalo, and I think it's one of the best things ever seen. I love this guy so much, and he was sort of in not MCU jail, because he played the Hulk. Because they couldn't make a Hulk movie. Yeah, they legally couldn't make a Hulk movie, So he was not locked into I'm making Hulk movie after Hulk movie. So he's got his like world global fame because he is the Hulk. But then he also just picks extremely interesting side projects. He's doing your spotlights.

15:05Joanna Robinson:He's doing the kids are all right. He's doing whatever it is. And, you know, Inglesby, the reason Inglesby got Mary Beastown made was that he made the pitch to Kate Winslet. Yeah. And the first thing he did on this was he made the pitch to Mark Ruffalo. His move is get the star on and then everything will flow from there. And so I love that Ruffalo wanted to do this and get really into this deeply broken bad dad. But he's good at that, you know?

15:34Bill Simmons:Yeah. He is. I mean, we've had him 25 years now.

15:37Joanna Robinson:Wow.

15:40Bill Simmons:I'll save some of my thoughts for the You Can Count On Me rewatchables because we haven't done that on Ruffalo. Because I love that movie. It's a perfect movie. I honestly love that movie. Bleak week on the rewatchables. Well, totally. I mean I don't know we've gone bleak already but um it's interesting to think about his career in the 21st century context versus the 20th century context because so he hits in that movie and then he does some really cool interesting like he did this movie called XXXY that I really liked and I thought it was just weird and cool and um really different it's just gone I don't even know you don't even find that on streaming at this point but then he was also like everyone was saying this is the next guy this is the next big thing.

16:20Bill Simmons:So then you kind of have to go down the rom-com side. You got to go on the superhero side.

16:25Joanna Robinson:The Reese Witherspoon.

16:27Bill Simmons:And he's kind of straddling.

16:29Joanna Robinson:The 13 going on 30 years.

16:30Bill Simmons:I always felt like he just wanted to do things like this, like this part in this show.

16:34Joanna Robinson:Yeah, exactly.

16:35Bill Simmons:But then was paying the bills with the other side, but that's also what Hollywood wants. They're just pushing you to this other side. And I don't know, he straddled it both, but then you see him in something like Spotlight. like guy's a great actor but then he's in crappy rom-com number four and it's like why is he in

16:52Joanna Robinson:this well he's not doing those anymore and i think he's not i think he found his lane with hulk because he's he's in the new avengers movies he's going to be filming in his little like mocap suit for the new avengers movies right um but that's kind of light work compared to i have to do a whole rom-com i get to do i don't know 15 minutes in avengers you know doomsday or whatever

17:15Bill Simmons:it is so like and then i can do this took like ed norton in the 90s and then he kind of passed the torch to ruffalo as like the next guy to just be in weird movies like ruffalo easily could have been in 25th hour yes if it was like five years later um but norton there were there were movies he never would have done that i feel like ruffalo a couple times kind of caved on i think that's probably true i mean their presences are a little different like edward norton's version of charisma is a little harder edged even still ruffalo has a softness and a warmth to him yeah that makes it really effective when he's like the world where he'd beaten down by his circumstances kind of guy in all of these dramas and so it's like i can understand a producer or director saying let's put that guy opposite a hollywood starlet of some kind in a rom-com like i get the formula and i get how we kind of are still in that space and it's what makes him so good on the dramatic side too ultimately yeah xxxy he has some some college girlfriend all of them kind of intersected at one point and then they go it like goes like fast forward like maybe six seven years and he's with somebody else but runs into the old girlfriend and then all of a sudden they may or may not have had sex in the kitchen when the when the new girlfriend walked in and it just gets fucking weird it's like these are the there's like it should be a special channel for movies like this like fucked up kind of sexual romance gone wrong indie nobody's making a lot of money yeah yeah

18:42Joanna Robinson:all of it that kind of just weird there is a channel it's called the ringer.com it's basically all we do here I feel like you should do a mini series where we watch what's called like unfindables and it's like the movies that you just like you like literally cannot find anymore but do exist you had to buy for$17.99 on YouTube or something like that

18:59Bill Simmons:but it's interesting you can count on me is probably I think what people would say was his best performance and that was the first one. Yeah. But I think he got nominated for that. Mm-hmm. I mean, Spotlight may have transcended it in terms of like cultural footprint at this point, just like a more recent audience. Why is that? Because they knew! And they did nothing.

19:17Joanna Robinson:Yeah. Nominated for the kids' role, right? Yeah. His, you know, strange accent choices and poor things.

19:24Bill Simmons:That's another, that would be in that weird channel. He's so great in poor things. That's the thing, like he can be a ham. Like we love the Brothers Bloom too. Like he's so good and so charismatic in that. and you need all of that if you're going to have drunk Ruffalo, hard-boiled Ruffalo, leading the task force Ruffalo. He's going to have to be all of these versions of himself.

19:40Joanna Robinson:But this, to go back to you talking about watching the opening multiple times, this episode we've all watched a couple times at least really rewards the rewatch because once you learn about the fact that he studied and became a priest for a while, we get the scene later with his friend where he's talking about his lack of faith and how he doesn't give a shit anymore and then you rewatch the opening where he is like reluctantly, but kneeling down to pray when he gets up, you know? And it's just sort of like - I missed that one the first time. Yeah. Like, well, I was like, why is this such an onerous task for him?

20:16Joanna Robinson:And then you find out his whole history and you watch it again. And it's just sort of like this guy is just birdwatching his way through life.

20:22Bill Simmons:Did you have baggage with what you knew about the show before you watched it? Or did you watch a blind? Which, what baggage would you be holding back? Well, I didn't know anything. Yeah. so I thought especially when we had the home invasion pretty early I'm like oh yeah home invasion time and that scene fucking rips the first home invasion especially is just like so tight so kinetic and the mask designs

20:42Joanna Robinson:are really good are you more demon werewolf or skull guy yeah skull guy I always thought you were a skull guy yeah it's true

20:49Bill Simmons:what's hall of fame all time mask for you though point break I mean point breaks the presidents are right up there the town is pretty good like it kind of falls out of the cracks the nuns in the town or what are their left nuns? Because you want to cover like from here down. Yes. If you move around. I gotta say, I gotta say,

21:06Joanna Robinson:when our guy Cliff, when both of them took their masks off before they were out of that house, I was like, don't do that. Don't do it. Don't do that, man. But I also needed the relief of knowing that Cliff was not the one who got shot. You know, like I needed that as a viewer personally. That's why they did it. I appreciate it. Well, it's also so the kid could like ID them. That's really it.

21:25Bill Simmons:But the first watch, I thought it was going to be more violent and then when we're in the kitchen with him just singing to the priest. And I'm like, all right, all bets are off. I don't know where this is going. Like the second episode, there might be no violence at all. Maybe. It might be them just playing backgammon with a 10-year-old kid at the show. I don't know. Just a babysitting show from year 4th.

21:44Joanna Robinson:So they tried to build tension at the end of the episode of like did they kill the kid or not? Was there a minute where you thought that might be what the show was?

21:52Bill Simmons:Well, we should talk about that because that was the best moment in the show because I thought they were going to kill the kid. Yeah, I thought it was possible. It's clear like something is going to escalate and they look at each other and it was like oh my they're going to fucking kill the kid

22:03Joanna Robinson:the relay of calls you know four dead bodies and then well actually there was a kid in the house you know and we're on we're on tender hooks but I just thought the echo like the fact that the episode opens with Robbie carrying his son you know to his sister's bed in the morning and all of that and then ends with him carrying this kid in great idea guys bring the kid home this is going to be fine everything's going to be fine

22:28Bill Simmons:Different thoughts on parenthood is the theme. Sure. Religion, I think, is going to be a big piece of the show. Yeah. Absolutely. Family and community. Yeah, but there's going to be something about faith that I think is looming. That would be my only guess. Yeah. I think they laid some groundwork for that. Well, we also don't really know exactly what's happened with Ruffalo's character, Sun, as of yet.

22:47Joanna Robinson:I have— What's your hunch?

22:49Bill Simmons:You know, your hunch is a flashback, isn't it?

22:51Joanna Robinson:Oh, well, yeah, because—

22:52Bill Simmons:A little CGI Ruffalo, seven years early.

22:55Joanna Robinson:They cast Murray Enos from The Killing as his wife. Like, she's in the family photo. Yes. So we're definitely at least getting some.

23:04Bill Simmons:The lead from The Killing?

23:05Joanna Robinson:Yeah. The redhead from The Killing. Wow. Yeah. So she's.

23:08Bill Simmons:What's she been up to?

23:10Joanna Robinson:Waiting for her moment to be in a photo. In that photo. So it's the old family photo. Classic little transporter device for a show like this. We get Ruffalo's character, Tom. We get ostensibly his wife. We get the daughter we know, Emily. And presumably her brother, who we know is in prison, but we don't know why. And then another young girl who could be a friend, who could be another sibling. Do we know who that is? So this is what I think. We've got, he was a priest and - She was a girl. Can it be any more obvious? Some sort of missionary trip. I believe Emily, the daughter we have spent some time with, who's working at the water ice place, and the son who's in prison were adopted.

23:53Joanna Robinson:Yes. And then there's like a biological third older daughter. Who's out of the house? Who's just not around right now.

24:01Bill Simmons:But something bad happened that made him stop being a priest. Because there was some sort of catalyst for that too that we don't know. Left the priesthood and won't even visit his son in prison. So something's looming with that.

24:15Joanna Robinson:The paperwork that he looks at when he's in the meeting with the lawyer. Third degree. Murder in the third degree. would not take his medication, had voices telling him to kill, assaulted the spouse. So I believe the son killed his wife and that's what he's in jail for. But due to a psychotic break. And if these were adopted kids, there might be this tension that Emily feels in terms of like, do you regret adopting us if my brother killed our mom or something like that? If that is what happened, Ruffalo's in great shape. That's a lot to go through. And this is only, I don't think, you don't get the impression it's that much later if sentencing is still happening.

25:03Joanna Robinson:Exactly. So I think he left the priesthood because Inglesby did say in an interview that he's, I think it was his uncle who was a priest and then left the priesthood or something like that. But he was like interested in this strain of FBI agent who used to be priest. What made you leave the priesthood and become an FBI agent? so we don't know what that decision was but then it seems like an even more recent horror and once again this is just me doing my best freeze frame mahoney uh impression and

25:31Bill Simmons:looking at legal documents if we think the kid the murder kid if your theory is correct classic murder kid yeah um the forgot to take the meds excuse opens the door for forgiveness in the heart because it wasn't totally your fault he doesn't seem ready to forgive a big scene with a glass window in between. Oh, yeah, yeah.

25:53Joanna Robinson:And now that I'm on my meds,

25:55Bill Simmons:I understand what I did. Because if you refuse to visit - A classic trope in shows. It is a classic trope.

25:59Joanna Robinson:If you refuse to visit the kid in the first episode, it means you have to agree to visit the kid before the finale. It's true. Mid-season. You gotta come back. What are we doing? If we don't have one conversation with phones through glass, what are we even doing here?

26:10Bill Simmons:I mean, in so many ways to go, you could just whip the drink at the glass. You could spit at the glass. The Philly stuff? You could pound the glass. I am glad. This is one of those things that transcends all regional specificity. The like oversized plastic cup from a ball game that's then used to just guzzle alcohol is really an American tradition that has no equal.

26:31Joanna Robinson:I'm impressed that he's still mixing it. He's still squeezing the limes. With his finger though. Still, but he's still like going into trouble to squeeze the limes. I gotta say, Tom Pelfrey, exceptional actor. Incredible presence on this show. Him double fingering ice cream out of the vat from the freezer is one of the most deeply upsetting things we're going to see on television this year.

26:52Bill Simmons:Did you recognize him? Just in the show? Like, I didn't make the Ozark guy connection. Oh. And then I was like, Tom Pelfrey. That one, he was billed highly enough as being part of the show. I just forgot. I watched it during COVID. I don't remember two years of COVID. So good enough.

27:08Joanna Robinson:Just all blank slate.

27:13Joanna Robinson:I'm glad Mallory isn't here for whatever that was that you just did with the ice cream gesture. but that's what happened on the show. Should we talk about Martha Plimpton? I have a question for you, Bill. If you were to call me into your office and I brought you a lovely bag of garden grown tomatoes, would you cherish that gift from me or would you just drop them on the ground?

27:35Bill Simmons:I would cherish it. But I see Martha Plimpton and it's just like all bets are off because she's been going for, I will steal every scene I'm in status for about six years here.

27:46Joanna Robinson:She's fantastic. She's carrying the mayor of Easttown torch into this show. She's coming in hot.

27:53Bill Simmons:So we know she's the surly police chief and we know that there's going to be more to come. On her way out too. For retirement. That's it. If you could mix that plot in with wasn't quite on the meds. Yes. We could just merge those two plots. She knows the family.

28:11Joanna Robinson:She's asked about Emily. So she's close enough to the family to know. Do you want to talk about the three younger members of the task force?

28:19Bill Simmons:Let's plays. So that was my biggest question about the show, if I had to nitpick anything. Okay.

28:26Joanna Robinson:Too many characters?

28:27Bill Simmons:I didn't love the three characters. I didn't really understand what they were going for. I thought it just, they were trying to make it too quirky. And I thought that was the weakest scene.

28:34Joanna Robinson:Okay.

28:35Bill Simmons:I thought they were just trying too hard with it.

28:36Joanna Robinson:The intro scene, but not the later investigation scene. Do I smell mold?

28:40Bill Simmons:And I was like, all right.

28:43Joanna Robinson:I really like her. And I like... Her being Lizzie? Lizzie. Yeah. State trooper. Yeah. Lizzie. Sure. And I like this sort of, she's the one who bothered to talk to the neighbors moment that she has at the end of the episode. Didn't read the file though. No. Well. Didn't do her homework. Maybe it got Connor Spanfolder. That's true. You don't know. But I got to shout out my guy, Fabian Frankel, Sir Kristen Cole from House of the Dragon here. Show I never watched.

29:11Bill Simmons:I don't know who that is.

29:13Joanna Robinson:Is he in the Mavericks? honestly Kristen Cole great pick great potential high reach Anthony Grasso yeah love this I'm really excited for this

29:23Bill Simmons:deep Joe cuts right here yeah

29:25Joanna Robinson:yeah yeah so Kristen Cole I will say as far as you know a laugh a minute show like task Lizzie on the phone to what I assume is her soon to be ex-husband saying is that what you're doing like crawling around my place writing your name on all my stuff you little raccoon fuck yeah look it's just good writing but when she exits the scene later and she's like, I've changed my mind. I'm keeping the recliner. That stuff was pretty broad, though. I will say, like, the three characters, like, we need to very quickly establish who they are in relation to each other and, like, okay, here's the clean freak.

29:56Here's the girl who's kind of a hot mess and trying to get her life together. Here's the guy who's, like, a little bit down the middle, but we're trying to still figure him out. It is the broadest part of the show, especially when you contrast it to the slow play of everything that's happening with Ruffalo and Pelfrey, too.

30:09Joanna Robinson:Did you get hooked into watching Saltburn the year it came out? I did not.

30:13Bill Simmons:The movie?

30:14Joanna Robinson:Yeah.

30:15Bill Simmons:It was big in my house. I only watched it once.

30:17Joanna Robinson:So the actress who's playing the state trooper is like the sister in Salt Burn, and she had a lot to do in that movie. This is a very different part for her, but she is actually always Hot Mess Express. This is just a more American version of that.

30:31Bill Simmons:I would have potentially not even introduced those characters. Now I'm giving Brad Engelsby notes, but I would have, it was 66 minutes. If you were going to cut a scene and move it to episode two, I probably would have done that.

30:41Joanna Robinson:Yeah, that's fair.

30:42Bill Simmons:I'm not sure we needed them I was really enjoying the two worlds that we were yeah and you're like

30:47Joanna Robinson:we've got a hole to fill because Peach Boy is no longer with us no and it's gonna take rest in power Peach Boy it's gonna take three whole characters to fill his shoes so I think the contrast of that of if we did just do the version of the pilot that's just centered around the two guys on opposite sides of the law the way it's sort of like slow playing the introductions of them and in particular I'll say with Robbie where it's like you see them as garbage men it's like are they garbage men are they P.I. are they undercover cops like why are they sifting through all the trash at these drug houses it's like the way that's all slowly pieced together as you're meeting his family as you're getting a sense of these relationships and I think the pull the rug aspect with that character in particular from this isn't just like a nice well-meaning single dad trying to do the best he can he is the freeloading brother of a dead man living in his brother's kid's house like snooping stealing her weed stealing her weed out of her drawer like I think the way that they deploy all that stuff is so smart Maeve Amelia Jones' character is like third build in this show so and I was curious why but now knowing that there's going to be another kid in the house that they stole from and she's going to have this tension of like am I complicit in this do I take care of this kid do I have suspicions about where this kid came from what do I do so yeah I thought she was really good Amelia Jones for sure as the niece good actress yeah

32:06Bill Simmons:considering I didn't even recognize her she transformed she really did

32:10Joanna Robinson:It's the micro bangs. They'll get you every time.

32:13Bill Simmons:All kinds of stuff happening. We should mention, this is the second most important TV pod on The Ringer, recapping this, because this is set in the Philly area. This is like fucking crack cocaine for Greenwald and Chris.

32:26Joanna Robinson:Absolutely.

32:26Bill Simmons:Unbelievable.

32:28Joanna Robinson:It's like Brad made it for them, honestly.

32:30Bill Simmons:He's like trying to fuck with them. There's a scene at Bad Brothers. What's Chris's bar? I think that's what it's called. There's a scene in that bar. I'm going to go nuts. Then we'll know. he's like deliberately antagonizing in some way. All right. Let's go through the episode really quick. So we get all the setup. We get the two seemingly not bad likable guys talking about their love lives while they kind of stalk a house grabbing stuff out of garbage. One of them is a criminal with a heart of gold putting his kids to bed. Nice guy.

33:00Joanna Robinson:They both have pretty goldy hearts. Other guy just wants to meet somebody. Gold adjacent? Gold until it comes time to just like beat the shit out of the kid who's in your house. But Cliff is like, don't worry, you don't have to make me dinner. I'll take care of myself. That also was a good move. The Reed Drummond recipe that may have busts out, first of all, Reed Drummond probably has grounds for slander for this episode. Extremely tough. That said, also inedible.

33:24Bill Simmons:And then we get the Ruffalo side. I was like, all right, this guy's either putting his life back together or his life is kind of settled here. So we get that whole setup. And then we just get a home invasion pretty early. It's like 20 minutes in.

33:37Joanna Robinson:Yeah.

33:38Bill Simmons:And the switch flips. And it's like, okay, here we go. Really, as Rob said, really nice and clean. It's a good scene.

33:46Joanna Robinson:Well, you have to see it go well before you see it go terribly. I mean, it's like clockwork the first time. And honestly, it sounds like the first like 10 times. It's just they push a little too far with the one last job.

33:56Bill Simmons:I guess I did have a nitpick about how big is this area. And wouldn't it be easy to just find these guys?

34:03Joanna Robinson:Well, I think that they said they were hitting multiple counties. Yeah. And that they were hitting multiple counties. Multiple counties. But most of these houses are run by one gang, it sounds like. One motorcycle club. I love an emcee.

34:17Bill Simmons:Do we get the motorcycle club episode, possibly? I mean, we're going to get more. Do we just switch out of there?

34:22Joanna Robinson:Oh, just to like Sons of Anarchy time?

34:24Bill Simmons:Yeah, we're just for a half hour. Yeah, we're with the prospects. That sounds phenomenal. And what's going on with the Pennsylvania motor club scene?

34:31Joanna Robinson:We're about to find out. Brad's about to tell us. Let's true detective this shit. like somebody goes undercover in the motorcycle club I don't know who it's gonna maybe that's maybe that's a job for Lizzie you know maybe she's just the attitude for it

34:44Bill Simmons:feuding with Joelle Embiid yeah and then we get some Robbie Maeve yeah unusual name Irish there was one it was a Maeve Quinlan right that was an actress I can't remember I'm trying to think of other Maeves

34:59Joanna Robinson:Maeve Benji author it's a very Irish name

35:01Bill Simmons:very Irish anyway they start battling that's not he's hiding in the closet watching her hook up. That was a great scene.

35:09Joanna Robinson:Great. The whole thing, like him walking in with the headphones on and like dancing around to the music. The fact that they have both guys like enjoying music and dancing around to music at a certain point in this episode, both in train wreck scenes. But I just thought that was like really great. I love the tattoo assortment on Tom Pelfrey. Like we haven't talked about the fact that he's like his dead brother is this big weight that's hanging on him.

35:35Bill Simmons:Yeah. So what do we think

35:35Joanna Robinson:that backstory is i don't know 2023 so fairly fresh i mean could be a different kind of job gone wrong that's hard to say like maybe it's completely unrelated to all this stuff i don't know i had a i'm going drunk driver driver where uh i see she via spotify.com i was trying to source there's like this medallion hanging from his rearview mirror that has wings on it and like the date of when billy died and i was trying to see if it like is this air force or is this just like angel wing stuff. So anyway, if anyone has medallion information and wants to email us, I would like to know. Joe, you're coming in with the freeze frames with the incredible accuracy.

36:13I'll also say like, yes, email us at prestigetv at spotify.com. I did investigate whether we should get an email address for this show specifically. I did try snickerdoodle223 at gmail.com. Was it taken? Unfortunately, it was already taken.

36:25Joanna Robinson:Oh, no. So we'll have to come with something else. Did you try emailing it to see if HBO is running that email? Honestly, it would be a great bit. Yeah.

36:32Bill Simmons:Joe heard that somebody said online prestige peak during White Lotus. She's like, oh no. Just wait. My freeze frame game is going up a notch. So we have the actual Robert. Ruffalo getting bomb with the priest. What was the rock song?

36:50Joanna Robinson:I looked it up.

36:51Bill Simmons:I feel like I know all the rock songs. And that was one where I was like, I kind of like this. I don't know what it is.

36:55Joanna Robinson:It's out of Africa.

36:58Bill Simmons:It's an African rock song? Nice.

37:02Joanna Robinson:I don't have to play this. Zimbabwean. But it's, the band, I don't have it in front of me. The band was inspired by Jimi Hendrix. I know that. I thought it was good. It was really good. The music budget on the show, generally, very good. The selection, amazing.

37:19Bill Simmons:I like to say, come on, Danny, take your collar off. Yeah, now you're just a guy. Let's get rowdy in the kitchen.

37:25Joanna Robinson:Can I tell you something that another movie that I got really excited about that this reminded me of? Please. And this is just like a confession time for me. I really like the movie Signs. And this reminds me of Signs, wherein deeply unproblematic actor Mel Gibson plays a former priest who has given up priesthood because his wife died and he has lost his faith in God and has children to take care of and also an alien invasion. So what is more like an alien invasion than a home invasion, I ask you. But that idea of the former priest who's bitter about God, but still believes and is wrestling with it.

38:06Especially because of personal tragedy. He was wrestling with it for that reason. Do people not like science? Do you like science? I've only seen it once. People tend to not like science. It's definitely revisited. It's worth the rewatch. Is it really? Absolutely. I really like it. Joaquin is literally batting a thousand in it. He's really coming off.

38:27Joanna Robinson:Baby Abigail Breslin is in it. Got Culkin in it. you know honestly and one of the great freeze frame moments in film history in terms of that alien coming across the alleyway it's true

38:37Bill Simmons:does Mel go to moon shadows and get bombed and then insult some cops or that's a different movie in between scenes exactly that Priest by the way I don't know if he was kind of into how fucked up Ruffalo was he's seen it before for sure 20 % of it it was like I kind of came here knowing this would happen and I'm ready for it

38:57Joanna Robinson:well like he's like I'm with you I'll be carrying this guy up tonight i'm with you through this what this i got here you're drunk yep i brought you some pork sandwiches to try to soak it up it's obviously not working so i'm just gonna like you know when he tells when the daughter has seen it so often that she knows how to turn his head so that he won't aspirate on his own vomit and stuff like that you know and he says um he'll find his way through this right so this idea is like i'm gonna be here as his friend through all of this. So, yeah. Their relationship I just found to be really sweet. Like, again, there's so many like lived in aspects of the show from the jump that does make some of the clunkier introductions stick out a little bit.

39:39Bill Simmons:Who turns your head so you don't aspirate in your own vomit? Is it just your wife or are there other people that are dating? Would the dog do it for you? I think the dog would do it. You know? You train them well, they will take care of you. And then the robbery scene, which is like high-end action level. the second one we get two twists there's a guy coming up the stairs like oh that guy's gonna die nope he kills one of the three and then we get the second twist of the hands coming out and then the third twist of the kid and losing the gun is the first twist oh yeah I guess it's a four twist scene I have a lot of

40:16Joanna Robinson:notes for everyone in the scene but here's what I have to say if you want to survive the day I don't think you should scream we've seen your face we've seen your face we know you that's not that's not guaranteeing you're going to make it out of the other side of this home invasion let's talk this out what's the upside of that

40:34Bill Simmons:none honestly basically it's like just shoot me i know you are in real life absolutely for a tv show as three people who know this i did think it was like kind of a flex it's like we are so unafraid of you and you're like second-rate bullshit we've already seen you know who you are and we almost are like are daring you to shoot us it is a fun action character trope as the the female in the room who is so unafraid that she's actually on the attack yeah point break had a great one where they just come oh yeah she's fighting everybody in the thing for five minutes but yeah that that i don't know who that actress was but she was bringing it she was feisty yeah we've seen your face yeah uh and then we get the uh oh we got to take the kid as the ending and And then a nice little Brad Inglesby, the house and the shot going backwards.

41:25And we're just back in nowhere America.

41:29Joanna Robinson:But having, I really like that we had the earlier argument between Maeve and Robbie on that same deck area. Definitely. So that we know, okay, he's going into this peaceful house, but there's already so much tension inside this house. And now he's bringing a child he's stolen into the mix. It's going to go great. It's going to be fine. Had to be begged to stay. Yeah. And now I'm sure Maeve is going to have no questions whatsoever. Rob, should we do task character baggage rankings?

41:58Bill Simmons:I would love to hear it. I think Ruffalo's character is one.

42:03Joanna Robinson:How much ice is he going through? If he has to do a whole sink full of ice every morning? It was a lot.

42:09Bill Simmons:The full plunge? Yeah. That's intense.

42:11Joanna Robinson:Every morning?

42:12Bill Simmons:Might be the daughter, Ruffalo's daughter too. She's going through it. She's lost multiple family members. She's got her worried about her dad throwing up on himself every night. She's not put in the position, you know, the show is kind of like setting this up dramatically. The question of whether she will testify or not in her brother's sentencing hearing.

42:29Joanna Robinson:The family statement, yeah. And then question within that, if you are her and your, I assume, biological brother killed your adopted mother, if that's what we're assuming happened, do you want him to get off less? Do you not want him to get off easy? Like, she's in such a difficult position. So the baggage is high. That's probably. and then probably Tom Palfrey's character is probably third. I don't know about Mae. What about Maeve? Maeve is tough. Lost her dad. Yeah. Is a 20 year old who's basically having to raise several kids who are not her own siblings it seems like. One of whom is wall-to-wall fart jokes.

43:00Wall-to-wall. Well look. Feature or bug, you decide. And her uncle who's just like basically a deadbeat sleeping in the other room.

43:07Joanna Robinson:And doesn't know how to cook something that doesn't look like. And Maeve might be third. Yeah. I don't know what happened. Like how do you put cheese in the oven and it doesn't melt? Like what did you do to that cheese. What was that cheese? I don't know. It was so marshmallowy. It was clumpy in a feta way, but feta would melt. I had many questions.

43:24Bill Simmons:It would be funny to see Brad Inglesby tackle Big Little Lies as his next show or something like high-end, wealthy. Something glossier. He's in like the Hamptons, just people making bad girl cheeses.

43:36Joanna Robinson:Have you had water ice?

43:38Bill Simmons:I don't think I have.

43:39Joanna Robinson:Frozen custard. It's good. I've had water ice, yeah. I've had Rita's specifically. There are two Rita's in Los Angeles. So dare I suggest for the finale, we should maybe get some. I would love it. I haven't had the cherry flavor that apparently has cherry bits in it. Mare of Easttown was the first time I'd ever had a Philly cheesesteak. I'd never had one before. So that was like my first time ever. Overrated, right? It really is. I'm actually not a fan at all. I mean, low key, the pork sandwich is better. Like straight up as far as Philly delicacies go.

44:05Bill Simmons:The irony of local delicacies is that almost always they're overrated. Are there any you're willing to go to bat for? Look, the lobster roll is another one. Lobster rolls can be good.

44:15Joanna Robinson:Yeah.

44:15Bill Simmons:But people think when they go to Massachusetts and they Cape, it's like, got to get the lobster roll. It's like, I don't know if you do. Really depends on where you're getting it from. You might not have the greatest experience. Permanti sandwiches in Pittsburgh is another one.

44:28Joanna Robinson:I would say press hdv at Spotify.com. Chicago deep dish pizza. I like, sorry, I couldn't even say it. I did not have a great time with it.

44:35Bill Simmons:It is lasagna, but I like it.

44:37Joanna Robinson:No, I like it in general, but I was just like, nothing about the ones that I had in Chicago.

44:41Bill Simmons:Deep dish pizza is lasagna. Yeah.

44:43Joanna Robinson:Which is delightful. You got to get deep dish pizza. There's some great Bay Area versions of deep dish. But then I went to Chicago. I was like, this isn't any better.

44:49Bill Simmons:The first three bites are great. And then it goes like this. It's like a Charlotte Hornets season. It was an NBA joke for Rob. It starts out great. And all of a sudden, the mellows on the disabled list. I think you're being very kind to the Charlotte Hornets with that comparison, honestly. You just feel sick after like two slices. It's intense. It's like a lasagna crossed with, I don't know what. But yeah. So anyway, local delicacies, cheesesteak. It's fine.

45:14Joanna Robinson:would you go to bat for a uh a local delicacy from your hometown well so the clam chowder yeah

45:21Bill Simmons:and the scallops in general yeah yeah they're worth it the front like if you get the fried scallop situation because that's where stuff like that it's if you're getting it like out here they're or maybe not in la but let's say you're middle america yeah they're sending you frozen scallops that they're then unfreezing and then serving to you right if you're in the east coast it's just like they got the scallops.

45:45Joanna Robinson:Texas barbecue? Unimpeachable. Tex-Mex barbecue, Whataburger, unimpeachable. San Francisco, sourdough, burritos. You know what's not unimpeachable from the Bay? Dutch crunch. How do you feel about Dutch crunch? Disgusting. People try to sell me on one. I didn't know that was... Tri-tip? I don't know what we're doing out here. I didn't know that was a Bay Area problem. There are better options. Okay, interesting.

46:05Bill Simmons:Yeah, it's funny how Texas and a couple other places but really Texas, barbecue is just different. It just is. It's a lifestyle. For a variety of reasons. It's weird that LA is the second biggest city in America and has not figured out barbecue at all past like a B or a B+.

46:19Joanna Robinson:Bad news for brand new Angelino, Rob Mahoney. Extremely tough for me, but I will find it. There's one place near Dodger Stadium that's not that far from you that could be a good one. I've heard some interesting spots. I think the difference is the barbecue culture in Texas is so different. It's very much like I'm just going to commit to waiting in line for 90 minutes to two hours, drinking a beer while standing outside with my friends. like that's just a part of the experience we have koreatown here i mean so i mean that's like one of

46:46Bill Simmons:the best yes scenes in the country bottom line is everyone's regional food is terrible except for

46:50Joanna Robinson:boston all of texas and the bay area held it and la yep i disparage boston with the lobster rolls

46:58Bill Simmons:but the chowder it depends on the chowder okay there's i i think people think i'm sorry i thought

47:04Joanna Robinson:you were hitting it main with the lobster rolls i didn't know this that was a an own goal oh yeah

47:08Bill Simmons:Lobster rolls can be great. I'm just saying. People think when you go, it's just a blind order and it's going to be great. And it's like, just pick your spots. This isn't sushi in Tokyo. You can't just like roll up to the 7-Eleven equivalent in Boston. Pick your spots. Okay. That's it. Predictions.

47:25Joanna Robinson:Well, here's my question. Which fresh-faced member of the task force is dying first? Is getting shot in the back of the head? Is anyone else getting married? This is a great question. Well, we got one divorce on the book, so she seems safe. Lizzie seems safe. by comparison. Are Lizzie and Anthony Grasso hooking up before the end of the season? Why not Aaliyah though? Well, he keeps looking at Lizzie like this hot mess and then he was like, but there's something about her. So you're seeing like an enemies to lovers situation

47:52Bill Simmons:for them.

47:53Joanna Robinson:I don't know. Whoever dies is going to have

47:55Bill Simmons:some sort of backstory like a scene taking care of their sick father. Like something that'll make people like, oh, we can't lose them.

48:01Joanna Robinson:I'm excited to learn more about Aaliyah. We just got very little beyond one wet wipe, you know. Which vindicated. that house is disgusting you should wipe down anything that is touched there like that's a fair perspective i am already like already devastated for when cliff dies in episode five or so uh because we got to start cutting off that like the roads and the options for robbie do you think the mc gets cliff i'm not sure who's gonna get him but the feds get robbie i mean okay that is the kind of like the escalating stakes is that people are just start gonna start dying in retribution because of this motorcycle club.

48:37So why not Cliff?

48:37Bill Simmons:Cliff's had tough luck on HBO, just in general, finding happiness. Yeah. So I'm a little worried about it. The looking movie turned out okay. Like, Team Richie all the way. But, you know, he'll have his moment here before then, hopefully. How about you? Not even a very good barber. Okay, that's uncalled. Wow, wow, wow. Admitted he wasn't a good barber. I think that episode two normally is the reset, take it easy, set up episode three. Let's try to get some shit down, some character stuff in. And I don't think we're going to learn a lot the next time we do an episode.

49:14Joanna Robinson:I think we'll be like... Seven episode season though. There's a lot.

49:17Bill Simmons:I know, but they're going to go and then episode three and it'll just do that little dance. You feel like there's one episode

49:22Joanna Robinson:where we're just bird watching? We're just capturing new bird calls on the bird watching app? And some Quarry stuff? More Quarry stuff. Maybe the salt content and the Quarry? Yeah.

49:32Bill Simmons:we're definitely getting a couple twists that Mare of Easttown had a couple big ones and probably a Ruffalo completely falling off

49:40Joanna Robinson:but something I will say is that Mare of Easttown I'm curious, this show is so good but I am curious if it's going to be as much of a phenomenon as Mare of Easttown was because Mare of Easttown was a whodunit and this is not a whodunit it's a, what do they say on Poker Face? a why-dunit? a when-catch-em how-catch-em sort of thing Like we know who did everything.

50:02Bill Simmons:So what qualifies for a phenomenon at this point? Because you could argue The Pit actually became a phenomenon. A hundred percent. Absolutely. Like for what you're looking for from a streaming only on Macs kind of show?

50:13Joanna Robinson:But The Pit has a gimmick, right? Which is like every episode is an hour of this one shift sort of thing. I think the show deserves to be a phenomenon. I'm just curious if it's going to catch the way that Mare of Easttown caught in a very specific COVID time.

50:28Bill Simmons:you know content was sparse and and everyone loves kate wins and kate kate playing like rough

50:34Joanna Robinson:and tumble is far more surprising than mark ruffalo playing uh fucked up and curly headed

50:39Bill Simmons:so you know can we play right network wrong network where do you where do you see this i think it's an hbo show yeah yeah this feels like the right place absolutely which is a rare thing these days it is although now we have a better sense for what's an apple show what i was about Your friends and neighbors felt like an Apple show. The morning show felt like an Apple show.

50:59Joanna Robinson:We continue to ask these questions. We don't know the answers.

51:02Bill Simmons:And as we ask these questions, the subscription price goes up and up and up. What else did we update? Anything before we go?

51:09Joanna Robinson:I don't think so. I think we got most of it.

51:11Bill Simmons:I didn't really make a prediction. I'm just like, just we are so fucking back. I'm so psyched and energized by the existence of this show. What about the possibility of a zag if Inglesby likes heat? Yeah. It's too easy to have the Pacino ending where De Niro dies and Pacino's holding him. What if they zag and Ruffalo's the one that dies? Very possible. I could easily see them.

51:36Joanna Robinson:Pelfrey's not going to get away because I think there's a reason why there's a legal guardian ready to take care of those kids as soon as he dies. It's a good reason to have Maeve on the scene. The DH is just sitting there ready to go. But Tom could also die. Ruffalo's character could also die. Yeah. Because Emily will be fine. Double death? yeah definitely yeah the heat structure is just like these two guys again across purposes bouncing each other like off each other all season but who dies do you think they're gonna have a diner scene or is that too much to reach for what's the Philly equivalent I was wondering at the Wawa

52:11Bill Simmons:is there gonna be meeting at the Wawa meeting at the Wawa is there gonna be a Philly game involved in this will there be a Phillies game I could see it and we already got a lot of Phillies talk already a lot of troops yeah and Bede's not playing they bond they bond over their frustrations over the process hasn't been healthy for two years I don't know Pelfrey seems like a Ben Simmons guy I don't know I'm concerned Eagles game is in play minor league baseball there's some minor league baseball in Pennsylvania maybe like a lower end MMA show

52:47Joanna Robinson:you're trying to figure out what would make this feel the most

52:50Bill Simmons:Chris and Andy how do they end up in the same place I mean I like Wawa personally I think that's selling me that's pretty good maybe a ringer verse live show in Philly

53:01Joanna Robinson:yes

53:02Bill Simmons:the watch live show Rocky VUV watchables if Inglesby wrote in a watch live show but had actors playing Chris and Andy oh my god that would be a personal attacker well that's his third pitch or a celebration

53:14Joanna Robinson:oh that's the third show

53:15Bill Simmons:yeah HBO already greenlit it oh okay the watch goes wrong yeah alright I'm so glad we're back with Prestige this is legitimate Prestige TV It is. We're back. So we're going to cover, there's only seven episodes. You're going to be on all of them. I'll be on some of them.

53:29Joanna Robinson:Okay.

53:31Bill Simmons:But who knows? There's only seven. Football season. Maybe you'll be on all of them. See, Rob's off. Rob doesn't have basketball yet. No. I'm like deep down, like looking through the NFC West, trying to figure out if Arizona's going to go under. Are they? For wins. Yes, I think they will. Okay.

53:44Joanna Robinson:Are you going to win the Fantasy League?

53:47Bill Simmons:Probably not.

53:47Joanna Robinson:Okay.

53:48Bill Simmons:That's big of you to admit. Probably not. Not feeling great about it. Anyway, Joanne Robinson, great to see you again. Rob Mahoney, pleasure as always. Thanks to Justin Sales as well. Who else do we have to thank? Kai Grady. Oh, Kai. Thank you. Be back in a week.