Task - Episode 6 ‘Out Beyond Ideas of Wrongdoing and Rightdoing, There is a River’ explained

Warning: Major spoilers ahead_

As the episode kicks off, Robbie is a wanted man – and while he hides out in his late brother Billy’s cabin, two forces are descending: The Dark Hearts biker gang he stole fentanyl from, and the Task force pursuing him for the robberies he committed.

With both opposing forces knowing where he is, a shootout occurs when they cross paths, with Jayson leading the charge for the Dark Hearts, determined to reestablish his position as a leader in the group and recover the drugs. The task force is forced to hit back – but within the crossfire, Tom finds an unlikely ally when Robbie, who he met last episode, saves him from the Dark Hearts. Robbie scolds Tom for not staying away, revealing he took the bullets from his gun last episode, and asks him to not blow his cover, giving him time to escape with the fentanyl.

Unfortunately, there’s little time for that, as Jayson and Perry reach the cabin. As Perry gets into a fist fight with Tom, Jayson chases after Robbie. Able to wind Perry, Tom decides to go after Robbie – but Jayson beats him to the fugitive, starting another fist fight when Robbie decides to throw the duffle bag of drugs in the river.

While Robbie initially gains the upper hand, Jayson pulls a knife and stabs Robbie in the chest, before making a run for it when Tom arrives on the scene. While Tom tries to get him help, it’s too late, and Robbie ultimately dies in Tom’s arms.

The bloody fight leaves several people on both sides with injuries. Kathleen McGinty, Tom’s boss, took a bullet to the shoulder in the fray, and is in need of help, but task force members Lizzie and Grasso are intercepted when they attempt to get to the police car radio. In a bid to protect themselves, Grasso fires at the Dark Hearts but does so too close to Lizzie’s head, leaving her with hearing loss. She still manages to shoot Shane, another member of the Dark Hearts coming after them.

But as she heads to the bridge where the car is located, she is struck and mortally injured by Perry and Jayson, who are speeding off from the scene in their truck, unable to hear their vehicle due to her previous injury.

Aleah witnesses the moment and tries to shoot them but is unable to stop the pair from getting away. Lizzie dies soon after.

As those left alive are taken to hospital, Kathleen’s superiors at the FBI inform the team that their assignment is over and the investigation will now be handled elsewhere. The task force themselves will also come under scrutiny for their botched handling of the case.

At the police station, Tom informs Maeve of Robbie’s death, asking her to help him. She tells him everything she knows, and in return Tom convinces the prosecutor not to press charges against her, allowing her to look after Robbie’s young kids, Wyatt and Harper.

In another surprising move, after Tom discovers Sam – who now has no parental figure – is being held in a juvenile detention centre, he decides to take the youngster in himself, as he’s got credentials as a foster parent, which shocks his daughters Emily and Sara.

Laying low after the events in the woods, Jayson and Perry wait until evening and return to the scene of the crime in a bid to pick up the duffel bag of fentanyl.

As the team recuperates, Tom visits Kathleen at her home to ask her why the FBI was putting so much weight into investigating his task force – noting it seemed heavier-handed than it should be. Kathleen shares that Grasso had been flagged by the team as a potential informant for the Dark Hearts, having had a similar issue on a mission several years ago. It was never on his record as they couldn’t get concrete proof of his connection.

Tom is enraged, knowing that Lizzie’s death could have been prevented if not for Grasso playing both sides, and he wants to make sure he faces justice. Kathleen tells him to let the investigation run its course.

But Tom commit to that and instead goes to visit Grasso at his house. While there, he tries to get a confession out of him, pointing out that Lizzie would never have been killed had the Dark Hearts not acquired Ray’s phone and derailed their sting operation at the park. Grasso keeps his mouth shut, but is clearly shaken, prompting Tom to warn him: “I’m coming for you”. Grasso’s response? “So come.”

Next, Tom stops by Aleah’s house, who wants answers about what’s going on with the FBI’s OPS investigation, fearing that they believe they did something wrong. He tells her they “have a lot to talk about”.

As the episode comes to an end, Jayson and Perry find Robbie’s duffel bag – but instead of finding fentanyl, it contains nothing but papers. Turns out there was more to the plan than meets the eye. Shelley – Ray’s wife – arrives to meet Maeve, handing over a bag of cash after secretly securing a drug deal away from the foray. Robbie went into the woods knowing he was carrying a decoy.