Task It set up a deadly but promising series finale, but did the HBO series conclude every plot line?
During the finale, which aired on Sunday, October 19, Grasso (Fabien Frankel) attempted to make amends after it was revealed that he was the mole working with Jayson (Sam Keley). Speaking of the Dark Hearts member, Jayson was on the run with Perry (Jamie McShane) when he discovered that his wife was murdered and that Jayson’s mentor was the culprit.
Jayson killed Perry before locating Maeve (Emily Jones) to steal the money that Robby (Tom Pelphrey) went for her. The situation escalated when Tom (Marcos Ruffalo) appeared and found Grasso bleeding.
Before Tom could intervene, Grasso killed Jayson. Elsewhere in the episode, Tom agreed to let Sam go live with his new family. The Brandis also attended Ethan’s hearing, where Tom publicly forgave his adopted son for accidentally killing his wife. The assignment ended on a hopeful note: Tom was preparing for Ethan’s possible return while Maeve left town with Robbie’s children.
Us weekly She spoke exclusively to Keeley, 34, about preparing for Jayson’s death after a long reign of terror.
“Most of us grew up in a culture where the right thing to do is to do the right thing to be a good person. Follow the rules, love like we love, and take care of each other and not hurt other people. I think life sometimes puts people in positions where they very often don’t have a say,” Keeley explained about playing a self-destructive character. “It is one of the central themes of Yana Grebenyuk Lace [Ingelsby]The program is: ‘What does it mean to be a good person? Through what prism are you viewing that? What metric are you using to measure that? As an actor, I find that fascinating: exploring the human experience.”
Keeley enjoyed exploring characters who take unconventional steps to “achieve their goals,” adding, “The consequences are dire because people get hurt when you make those decisions and behave that way. The problem with Jayson was that he didn’t necessarily know he wasn’t going to make it.”
The actor couldn’t see the antagonist’s story ending any other way.
“In episode six, I thought, ‘Someone has to kill this guy. He’s going to kill everyone because he’s so destructive.’ In the end he had to go. He had to be put down. It was just too much,” Keeley said before joking, “We couldn’t have that guy running around with no wife and a lot of drugs.”
Keeley knew all bets were off once Jayson killed Perry.
“He is a very reactionary person. He works on instinct and it is betrayal [that motivated him]. Perry was like a father figure to him in the backstory we had worked out. You’re seeing Jayson at his most desperate and Perry took away the only thing that gave him stability. He just wants to hear his wife’s voice, even through all this chaos that’s been created around him,” he explained. “But I still didn’t want him to be a masked villain in the dark. “He wanted to be with his family and Perry took that away from him.”
Keeley continued, “At that point he’s gone. He goes feral. The decision was made for him at that moment after he was already on the brink. It’s that principle and that drive means something to him. When they take his wife away, it’s just Terminator mode. I don’t think he’s thinking clearly.”
Despite bringing one of the show’s villains to life, Keeley didn’t see it that way.
“You want to try to get people to understand his perspective. He’s a man of principle and in motorcycle club culture, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. His honor is very important to him in that sense. That aspect of pride influences other aspects of his life, like his marriage, his family and everything else he knows,” he said. Us. “I was able to justify Jason’s actions and made it all about family. I don’t know if people will be able to relate to that, but I know a lot of people would go to great lengths to keep their family unit together.”
While it’s hard to imagine anyone else getting it Us So interested in Jayson, Keeley revealed that his character was not the original role he first auditioned for, saying, “I was interested in Grasso, but Fabian completely crushed it. He crushed it. And then they offered me Jayson directly so I wouldn’t have to read.”
Keeley was extremely committed to developing Jayson with his grounded performance.
“It was important to everyone involved creatively that he not be a typical version of a motorcycle president. What Brad does so well in his writing is that he doesn’t particularly write about villains. He writes about people on the other side of the fence,” he said. “I always saw Jayson as someone who in his heart believed he was a good guy. He cared about his family, his children, his club and the lifestyle he created for himself. Unfortunately, the things he does to protect those things that are very meaningful to him are atrocious.”
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Keeley added: “I read six different books by different people who were nefarious characters within various outlaw motorcycle clubs and in the culture. That was very helpful in getting a sense of where his values were and that helped me translate that into him on screen.”
In addition to doing her research, Keeley also committed to playing the role with her physique.
“He doesn’t say much, but his actions are quite powerful. He’s portrayed as a very scary guy and when you meet him he’s physically intimidating,” she said. “But he seems a bit calm and it was important to me and everyone involved that his physical presence be very commanding.”
Jayson’s story had to come to an end on Task – but there’s still potential to explore the character further.
“I was talking to Brad and I said, ‘Let’s do a Dark Hearts prequel.’ I’d love to go deeper into Perry and Jayson, including how they met. Maybe one day,” she shared with Us. “I’m depressed about whatever [when it comes to future roles]. I want to be super conscious of not just repeating myself too much. “I have played a wide variety of characters in my career so far and tend to continue doing so.”
Keeley concluded: “I’m drawn to these stories about real people facing real struggles. Very often, there are stories that are quite complex and difficult to watch. I’m drawn to those types of stories and characters. I’ve always wanted to be a part of projects that keep people guessing and thinking and that aren’t environmental. I want to continue to push the boundaries of what I’m doing as an artist and challenge people and hopefully create art that makes people have conversations.”
Task It is currently streaming on HBO Max.