Escapist Routes #31

Welcome, my friends, to another edition of Escapist Routes, where I feel irrationally bad that I only have three shows to discuss. There are a couple of other things on the bubble, but I’m not ready to review them yet. So it goes!

Task, season 1, episode 5

It turns out that what Task has needed all along was to put Tom and Robbie in the same room. Let Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphery do their thing and the series immediately goes ZING!

Unfortunately, this finally happens in the second half of the fifth episode of a six-episode series. Not that I haven’t enjoyed everything that came before, but as I’ve said, I admire Task without necessarily being emotionally engaged.

Like, normally I’d be angry and saddened at the on-screen murder of a female character, but when Perry drowned Eryn, I was like, “Yeah, that was inevitable.” I was satisfied that my initial guess that Grasso was the mole was correct, and sad for the Redditors who thought Perry was going to be an undercover cop working with Martha Plimpton, but I wouldn’t say I had a strong emotional reaction.

I do find it interesting how Task returns to bodies of water and immersion for key scenes, from the repetition of Robbie putting cold water on his shoulders to prepare for a plunge, to Maeve teaching Sam how to swim, to Eryn’s violent drowning. I appreciate a theme and/or motif.

But overall, my feeling about Task is that it’s only offering about 80% of the intensity that Mare of Easttown provided. I think that maybe giving both Tom and Robbie a complicated, dysfunctional family split the work too much, even though Robbie’s kids are barely a presence. I cheered when Emily and her sister reached a rapprochement, but I also realised I was never in any doubt that it would happen. Mare of Easttown had me constantly doubting, which kept me watching. Last night? I kept stopping myself from reaching for my phone.

Slow Horses, season 5, episode 3

Is Roddy the saddest member of Slough House? Or the happiest?

Everyone else there is on some level aware of their failings. (Frankly some are far too self-conscious about their weaknesses — Catherine — while others could stand to try just a smidge more self-awareness — looking at you, River and Jackson.) But Roddy lives entirely in a fantasy world where he’s the coolest, sexiest man alive.

I’ve seen reviewers say this is implausible, but honestly? I’ve met people like him: highly skilled in one specific area, and beyond that, their entire self-image is a surprisingly robust facade. There are a few tech billionaires who are like this, but the type I’ve spent the most time with personally is women who think they are the all-time greatest suburban wives, mothers and home makers.

I don’t think anything will penetrate Roddy’s ego, and honestly? That’s kind of fine? It was interesting to see Taverner interrogate him, because without giving him so much as a fraction of an inch, she was much gentler with Roddy than with any other member of Slough House she has ever interacted with. Her naked contempt was laced with sadness, which was both very humanising for her, and a reminder that she is in fact the most qualified person in the service.

Of course, she has to answer to Claude Whelan, who is almost Roddy-like in his total lack of self-awareness and qualifications. James Callis has built a whole career out of playing inadequate men, but every scene with Whelan is an exercise in secondhand embarrassment.

Hey, you know who’s not inadequate this week? The Slough House team! Yeah, River is unable to warn Shirley about the lockdown, but they’re all ready to go when Jackson spins his yarn about captured spies and the Stasi improvising weapons.

(Like Catherine, I assumed that the story was actually about himself, but I also believe him when he says it was entirely made up. Like, Jackson clearly has some dark shit in his past, but I am skeptical of my own urge to find a trauma that will Explain Him and then enable someone — again, Catherine — to Fix Him.)

Since last season, I’ve been waiting for Flyte to screw up to a degree that she is relegated to Slough House; at this point, I suspect Devon will be a new addition to our team. And I welcome her. Yeah, she’s an ex-cop, but she’s smarter than most people (except Lamb), and she’s fun.

Finally, let’s all take a moment of silence in memory of the murdered penguins. I am so glad we did not actually see that explosion on camera.

The Morning Show, season 4, episode 4

Hi, and welcome back to The Morning After The Morning Show, the fake breakfast TV show where we break down Liz’s feelings about The Morning Show. Welcome back, Liz!

Thanks, Liz, it’s good to be here.

So a lot happened this week! How do you feel about our latest episode?

Am I allowed to swear?

Absolutely not.

[Bleep] me. Okay. At this point, my household is thinking we might walk away from the series after this season.

Can you unpack that for our audience?

I just think that it’s 2025 and if you’re making a show about contemporary politics and culture, and specifically the media, you need to say something beyond “News is important!” Like, this week Alex and Bradley turn a story about an environmental activist — one brought to their attention by a billionaire with a vested interest in undermining the conservation movement — to Fox News, without so much as a guilty look.

But it was for the greater good!

They didn’t even hesitate! And the whole reason they came to “Eagle News” is that they learned its coverage drove an environmental activist to take his life. But sure, they’ll hand over another one. Meat for the grinder.

And, okay, we end with the twist of Bradley learning that Cory is responsible for the cover-up.

Big feelings!

Yeah, the guy who walks into every single scene wearing a big flashing sign that says I’M THE VILLAIN is in fact the villain.

The only things which surprised me this week were learning that Marion Cotillard is NOT aware of her husband’s infidelity (and again, I’m sorry to stereotype, but she is French), and that Justice, the non-binary student journalist who worked with Alex last week, is blackmailing her for a job.

And frankly the latter shouldn’t surprise me, because, uhhhhhhhhh. This show. Is not so great. With the representation. I was reminded of the bit in One Battle After Another — a movie about which I am deeply ambivalent — where it’s Willa’s non-binary friend who sells her out to ICE. Is this the new biphobia? From “you can’t trust these people because they are attracted to too many genders” to “you can’t trust these people because they are too many genders”?

I thought it was a nice touch that Alex and her dad misgender them in their conversation, but Alex uses their correct pronouns when discussing them with her assistant.

Yeah, Alex has no integrity. Bradley thinks she has integrity, but she also … does not.

It’s just not fun watching these people. They are the actual worst.

Did you at least enjoy Yanko’s proposal rehearsal and the Boeing stuff?

I am always here to dunk on Boeing. And I … well, I wouldn’t say I respect a man who is willing to rickroll the nation in order to execute a public proposal, but I support him absolutely.

Thanks for your thoughts, Liz, and we’ll see you again next week!