Task S1 E3 "Nobody's Stronger Than Forgiveness" Review

Nobody's Stronger Than Forgiveness is the first episode of this show that really tests the limits of what its construction can bear. The foundation stands strong more than it crumbles. Everything that was already great about Task remains just as good, and this show is shaping up to be a truly top-tier drama with an abundance of powerful performances, despite some minor cracks that appear in the facade. Make no mistake, this is top-of-the-line episodic television. Even if episode three is the weakest of the season so far, I'll admit that doesn't mean much.

The acting in Task remains just as strong as we've come to expect, and I'm glad that this story hasn't gotten lost in overcomplicated subplots at the expense of character development. Police investigations are stressful for both the investigators and the investigated, and the disputes, arguments, and fights in this show that come with the stress are uncomfortably believable. These characters who don't always get along are very consistent, and I love how Nobody's Stronger Than Forgiveness calls back to small conversations and anecdotes from previous episodes, as if to merely prove to us that the writers are paying attention to the details. The show's characters feel incredibly real. This is an excellent drama, with characters as lifelike and well-acted as you'll come across this entire year.

Task isn't a mystery story, and I wouldn't treat it as one. Still, despite all its strengths, it shares a weakness synonymous with the genre: occasionally heavy-handed expository sequences. The sudden spurts of tips and information are the easiest way this show could go about revealing vital information, and that's the avenue it sometimes takes, a noticeable step down in quality from the rest of this top-notch slow-burn drama. Still, Task can be a very rewarding slow-burn drama. The action and suspense sequences of this show are particularly well-staged.

The more pulse-pounding moments of Nobody's Stronger Than Forgiveness are an incredibly well-staged exercise in evoking dread. This show has invested everything in its characters, and the possibility that something terrible will happen to them is never entirely off the table. What's more, someone on the task force has not been entirely forthcoming with the rest of their colleagues, and it's a little unnerving to know that one of these immensely lifelike characters will eventually turn out to be an unseen enemy. Yes, you can get killed doing the job of a cop, but the idea of betrayal from the inside almost sounds worse. This isn't the most action-packed show of all time, but it feels dangerous in a way both believable and rewarding.

Nobody's Stronger Than Forgiveness is the weakest entry in this season so far. Still, it delves deeper into the characters, the strongest aspect of Task, and introduces a near-ethereality to the show that we haven't seen yet. It also finds a menace only touched on in previous episodes, the first sign that something will soon hit closer to home than ever before for these characters, whom I've grown surprisingly attached to. This show has been impeccably detailed in its portrayal of these characters, and it's a tad scary to think that someone who feels like a friend could be not just a habitual liar, but the enemy. Someone on this task force has not been entirely forthcoming about their true intentions, and I know that finding out who it is will hurt.

I can't wait.

Ezikiel 33:13-16