Family Statements

"Family Statements" is the second episode of the American crime drama television miniseries Task. The episode was written by series creator Brad Ingelsby, and directed by executive producer Jeremiah Zagar. It was first broadcast on HBO in the United States on September 14, 2025, and also was available on HBO Max on the same date.

The series is set in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and follows an FBI agent, Tom Brandis who is put in charge of a task force to end a string of violent robberies undertaken by an unassuming family man, Robbie Prendergast. In the episode, Tom's task force begins investigating the events at the shootout, while Robbie must figure out how to proceed.

The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances, intrigue and climax.

Jayson, a volatile senior member of the Dark Hearts, is informed of the shootout at Deric's house. He is visited by Perry, the gang's leader, who is upset for the publicity and the gang's actions. Jayson reveals they lost their drug shipment, but states he will work around it. He is aware that the FBI is investigating, but promises to take care of Tom.

Robbie and Cliff find that Warren's duffel bag does not contain money, but wrapped fentanyl. Robbie is forced to take care of Sam as they debate on what to do next, telling Maeve that he is a friend's son. As she takes care of Sam, Maeve comes to realize that this is the missing kid. During this, it is revealed that Robbie's brother was a Dark Hearts member, before being killed by his own gang. Tom and his task force interrogate the family of Peaches, whose real name is Kenny Pollard. They are devastated to learn his criminal status, and refuse to cooperate with their statements. Investigating the background of the Dark Hearts, they find they were involved in trafficking fentanyl, and believe that the robbers were helped by an insider. After finding Peaches' role in the robbery, the Dark Hearts attack his family.

During a therapy session, Emily talks about Ethan, revealing that he was incarcerated after an assault during a game, admitting her fears that he could be released. She later meets with Tom and his biological daughter Sara, to discuss the incoming sentencing of Ethan. They argue over testifying at the sentencing, revealing that Ethan was incarcerated for throwing Tom's wife, Susan, off the stairs, leading to her death.

Maeve takes Sam for shopping, dropping him at a market while she goes to her nearby job to call authorities, reporting Sam's sighting. As authorities arrive, Maeve returns to her car, but finds Sam there, having returned earlier. She tries to avoid authorities by claiming she saw the kid, but Tom asks her to return to identify him. She idenfies a different kid, leading authorities to leave on the wrong tip. Maeve returns home with Sam, angrily scolding Robbie for their predicament.

The episode was written by series creator Brad Ingelsby, and directed by executive producer Jeremiah Zagar. This marked Ingelsby's second writing credit, and Zagar's second directing credit.^[1]

Regarding Maeve's actions in the episode, Emilia Jones explained, "It's a realization for Maeve that her whole world has just come crashing down. You know, Maeve's really stuck. She was losing her sense of identity before this happened. So this is a moment for her where she's at the end of her tether and it's really quite sad."^[2]

"Family Statements" earned mostly positive reviews from critics. Caroline Siede of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "after a slow-burn, character-centric debut, “Family Statements” kicks the season into high gear with more than enough story to fill seven episodes. After the first installment narrowed its focus to the parallel stories of Mark Ruffalo's FBI Agent Tom Brandis and Tom Pelphrey's burglar/kidnapper Robbie Prendergast, this second one expands out to a whole world of organized crime."^[3]

Grace Byron of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "A good crime show should feel like the toxic, luxurious relief of a well-earned cigarette break. “God, I needed this,” you sigh as you swill a nice, cold drink with your one hand while you exhale a nice cloud of smoke. Luckily, that’s precisely how “Family Statements” feels, a solid-world building effort by Brad Ingelsby that’s primarily interested in driving the plot forward. A truly expert crime serial knows how to build atmosphere, dangle new clues, and complicate our detective's troubled family life."^[4]

Josh Rosenberg of Esquire wrote, "All these characters know is drama. There's no way Tom could watch the local news or even own a TV. He listens to baseball games on the radio, for god's sake! That's all he can handle. Task might break him... if it doesn't break me first."^[5] Carly Lane of Collider gave the episode a 9 out of 10 rating and wrote, "We're only two episodes in to Brad Ingelsby's new series Task, and already the HBO crime drama is carving out a different niche for itself from its award-winning predecessor."^[6]

Helena Hunt of The Ringer wrote, "We can assume that Robbie — along with whoever his informant is — has been getting his own ill-advised payback against the club by stealing their money and now their drugs. But by getting his little form of revenge, he’s put his own family up against a bigger, more brutal one."^[7] Carissa Pavlica of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.15 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The good news? The pace is sharper, the stakes higher, and the sense of dread nearly constant. The bad news? For Robbie, at least, everything that can go wrong is already starting to go wrong."^[8]

• "Family Statements" at IMDb