{"id":90746,"date":"2025-10-20T20:41:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T20:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/90746\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T20:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T20:41:11","slug":"creator-brad-ingelsby-breaks-down-episode-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/90746\/","title":{"rendered":"Creator Brad Ingelsby Breaks Down Episode 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Editor\u2019s note: The following interview contains spoilers for \u201cTask<\/a>,\u201d especially Season 1, Episodes 6 and 7.]<\/p>\n

The crime drama of \u201cTask<\/a>\u201d all led up to a devastating penultimate episode that included the manhunt for missing 6-year-old Sam (Ben Doherty) coming to an end, a chaotic gun fight in the woods, and the death of Robbie (Tom Pelphrey). While on this week\u2019s episode of the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast<\/a>, creator Brad Ingelsby<\/a> admitted he was nervous about how audience\u2019s would react to last night\u2019s far less action-pack finale.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a negative in some way to having such a big explosion [in Episode 6] \u2014 that\u2019s the high point of action in the show, you\u2019re never going be able to replicate that or do anything close to that, and it\u2019s still one episode left,\u201d said Ingelsby. \u201cSo it did worry me that at the end of that sequence: What are the mysteries? What are the things that people are still trying to solve?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jafar<\/a> \"TELLURIDE,<\/a> <\/p>\n

Ingelsby was conscious that, in his previous HBO series, \u201cMare of Easttown,\u201d the crime investigation wasn\u2019t resolved until the dramatic last 10 minutes of the finale<\/a>. But the \u201cTask\u201d creator was quick to point out \u201cMare\u201d was a whodunnit being led by a cop (Kate Winslett) avoiding facing her son\u2019s suicide. <\/p>\n

\u201cTask,\u201d in addition to being more \u201cHeat\u201d than mystery<\/a>, was led by an investigator Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo), who comes out of the near-death experience of the investigation ready to confront the family tragedy he had been avoiding. It\u2019s an arc thats emotional resolution required the time and space of last night\u2019s tear-jerking finale.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019s going to be people who watch the show and go, \u2018Man, Episode 6, that was it for me,\u2019\u201d said Ingelsby. \u201cBut I hope they do stick around, because the emotional payoffs are quite high.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Loss of Faith<\/p>\n

When Ingelsby started to develop \u201cTask,\u201d he didn\u2019t have even the basic plot points of the cat-and-mouse criminal investigation, what he did know was the beginning and end of Tom\u2019s emotional arc, which pivoted on the story of man who lost his faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always between A and B, and because if it\u2019s a guy who\u2019s lost his faith and then has to let his son come home, I know that the story has to take place within those two edges,\u201d Ingelsby said describing how his writing process was shaped by knowing Tom\u2019s arc centering on his loss of faith. \u201cIf I know where it ends, I know I can\u2019t go too far this way or too far this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mark\u2018Task\u2019Peter Kramer\/HBO<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right, Ingelsby went into writing \u201cTask\u201d not knowing the FBI would clash with the Dark Hearts biker gang<\/a> in Episode 6, but he did know Tom would end up giving that courtroom speech in Episode 7. Ingelsby explained that he wrote Episode 1 very early in the process, establishing how Tom had completely lost his way<\/a> in the year following the death of wife Susan (Mireille Enos) at the hands of their adopted son Ethan (Andrew Russel). <\/p>\n

He then went into writing Episodes 2 through 7, knowing he needed to create an emotional journey in which Tom believably goes from burying his anger in alcohol, to a climatic courtroom scene in which he finally looks Ethan in the eye.<\/p>\n

The Priest Who Inspired Ruffalo\u2019s Character<\/p>\n

While on the podcast, Ingelsby talked about how Tom was inspired by one of his many Delaware County relatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of Ruffalo\u2019s character is inspired by my uncle, who was an Augustinian priest for years and years, and he left the priesthood and married a woman. He\u2019s not an FBI agent, but my uncle would give last rites in the hospital,\u201d said Ingelsby.<\/p>\n

The \u201cTask\u201d creator liked the idea of how being a former priest better equips Tom to receive Robbie at a moment of crisis (the car ride in Episode 5<\/a>), and comfort him at his moment of death (the car ride in Episode 6) based on having given last rites and his experience dealing people\u2019s fear of death at the end. Tom being a former priest also gave his loss of faith, and the subsequent leap of faith he takes in Episode 7, that much more dramatic impact.<\/p>\n

Giving Up Sam<\/p>\n

\"\"Ben Doherty (Sam) and Mark Ruffalo in \u2018Task\u2019 <\/p>\n

Ingelsby is well-aware that audiences are not going to like Tom\u2019s decision to allow Sam to be adopted by another family at the end of the series. But that emotional dissonance is part of the point.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know audiences might struggle with [not keeping Sam], but that was really important to me because when I was writing the story, it\u2019s not about keeping Sam, it\u2019s about embracing his son and getting the house ready for his son to come home. If Sam\u2019s there, it muddies it,\u201d said Ingelsby. \u201cHe\u2019s really cute and he\u2019s a charming kid and he\u2019s a great actor, but that\u2019s not what the arc is about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ingelsby went on to explain why giving up Sam was key to Tom\u2019s arc. \u201cWhat I liked about that was it was an act of faith, \u2018I love this kid. I love being with him. I have to give him up and I have to believe that the family that takes him is going to take care of him,\u2019\u201d said Ingelsby. \u201cHere\u2019s a guy that doesn\u2019t have any faith in the beginning of the show, and giving up the kid is an act of faith. It\u2019s not going to the altar and kneeling, sitting in the pew or going back to the church, it\u2019s not that, but it\u2019s an act of faith that the kid\u2019s going to be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Courtroom Speech<\/p>\n

As discussed above, one of the few things Ingelsby did know about the finale going into writing \u201cTask\u201d was the broad strokes of the Tom\u2019s courtroom speech. That said, the scene terrified Ingelsby. \u201cThere is a danger that it can be very hokey,\u201d said Ingelsby of the courtoom speech. \u201cI think that I went into it quite nervous, it\u2019s a lot of pressure on that speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, what was the key to it not being hokey? Not surprisingly, Ingelsby, a research junkie, found the answer working with \u201cTask\u201d mental health consultant Ariel Stern and reading testimonials of parents and care-givers about the difficulty of caring for a child, like Ethan, with severe mental issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that stood out to me when I was talking to Ariel, or reading an article, was \u2018Weekends were the worst for me as a parent,\u2019\u201d said Ingelsby, quoting a line from Ruffalo\u2019s courtroom speech, which came directly from reseach.<\/p>\n

\"'Task'\u2018Task\u2019Peter Kramer\/HBO<\/p>\n

For Ingelsby who, like most parents, looks forward to the weekends as the time he gets to enjoy his kids, that line hit hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just broke my heart hearing that, because \u200ayou go through life, you pick up your kid at school, you pass these parents, you have no idea what they\u2019re going through and how hard it is. And I wanted Tom to not run from that. I wanted him to acknowledge that it was hard,\u201d said Ingelsby. \u201cI think once we got to acknowledging the hardness of that, then it felt we\u2019d earned the right to [have] some [dialogue], that on its own could be hokey, like, \u2018He called me Dad.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a confessional aspect to Tom\u2019s courtroom statement \u2014 the theme of confession running throughout the series paying off in this moment. Ingelsby pointed to Tom admitting he didn\u2019t wear a name tag to Parents Night, not wanting people to know he was Ethan\u2019s father.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s so honest at the front about saying these things that he did, and the shame he feels, it makes his confession of the joy that much more true, because he\u2019s allowed the audience to get close to him,\u201d said Ingelsby. \u201cHe showed how vulnerable he is, and then when he says, \u2018There was so much joy,\u2019 you go, \u2018Oh my God, this is his truth.\u2019 It allowed you to hold onto that moment. And Mark, he\u2019s just so good in that scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision for Tom to read from prepared remarks \u2014 rather off-the-cuff and from the heart as we\u2019ve come to expect in these type of scenes \u2014 was important for two reasons. One is dramatically obvious: It sets up the powerful moment, where Tom puts down his typed statement to finally make eye contact with Ethan (\u201cEthan, look at me, son\u201d). But for Ingelsby, the carefully crafted written words also spoke to where Tom is at the final moments of \u201cTask.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike a priest at the podium giving a homily, it just felt like he had taken the time and care,\u201d said Ingelsby. \u201cI always feel like \u2018Mare\u2019 was a show about a woman who avoided having to face the death of her son. Tom\u2019s avoiding having to face what his son has done and his anger is preventing him. And so [it meant something] for him at the end to have been through the craziness of this case, to sit down and take the time to write his thoughts that he\u2019s been avoiding, and also to take the burden off of [his daughter] Emily (Silvia Dionicio). That was the act of grace, \u2018Emily, I don\u2019t want this to be your choice. \u200aI\u2019ve put you in a tough spot, and I\u2019ve been avoiding this for a long time now, let me. I now have the strength to shoulder the burden of this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That Last Shot<\/p>\n

Ingelsby didn\u2019t want to show us Ethan\u2019s homecoming. The breakthrough moment in the courtroom of Tom welcoming him home was the emotional resolution. The idea of having cake and celebrating their reunification months later would be a false note.<\/p>\n

Ingelsby did believe the audience needed a moment with Tom just prior to Ethan walking back through the door for the first time since he killed Susan. He liked the simplicity of Tom getting Ethan\u2019s room ready and having a quiet moment looking out the window.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat it meant for me was Tom cleaned, he got his son\u2019s room ready, he\u2019s readying for his son to return,\u201d said Ingelsby of the last scene. \u201cAnd he looks out the window and he hears the birds. And it\u2019s not that he knows he\u2019s going to be OK, it\u2019s that he knows it\u2019s going to be hard, and it\u2019s going to be challenging, but there is a spirit in him that is ready to face what\u2019s coming in a way that he was not ready at the beginning of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

To hear Brad Ingelsby<\/a>\u2018s full interview, subscribe to the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast<\/a> on\u00a0Apple<\/a>,\u00a0Spotify<\/a>, or your favorite podcast platform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[Editor\u2019s note: The following interview contains spoilers for \u201cTask,\u201d especially Season 1, Episodes 6 and 7.] The crime…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[30972,156,68215,594,111,139,69,8290,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-90746","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-brad-ingelsby","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-filmmaker-toolkit-podcast","11":"tag-interviews","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-task","16":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}