‘Task’ Stars Break Down Perry & Erin’s Tragic Quarry Moment in Episode 5

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Task, Season 1 Episode 5, “Vagrants.”]

Task may have left viewers on the edge of their seats with a major cliffhanger in Episode 5, “Vagrants,” but it was the tragic end for one character as Erin (Margarita Levieva) met a dark fate.

The wife of Dark Hearts gang head, Jayson (Sam Keeley), Erin was put in a precarious position as Perry (Jamie McShane) discovered the real reason behind Billy Prendergast’s death was a result of backlash over her affair with the man. With red flags raised in front of Perry, who serves as Jayson’s mentor and protector amid potential mutiny in the ranks of the Dark Hearts, he follows Erin and realizes she’s still working with Billy’s brother, Robbie (Tom Pelphrey).

That discovery leads to a heated confrontation as he plans to deliver her over to Jayson and report on her betrayal to the gang. “When I come upon her by the quarry, my goal is to get her, put her in front of [Jayson and have him] deal with it,” McShane tells TV Insider. “That’s it. She’s gotta pay her penance, you know, and it’s with him.”

Peter Kramer / HBO

But what was intended to be a grab-and-go situation turned out to be a deadly crossover as nearby teens enjoying a fire at the edge of the quarry pushed Perry to quiet Erin’s screams for help. “I read that scene and I was like, this is absolutely savage, and I loved that because at least I felt like she went out fighting,” Levieva shares. “The animal in her was so alive at that moment… just fighting to stay alive for her kids.”

As Levieva describes, Erin didn’t go quietly, and in order to prevent being seen, Perry pushed her underwater and held her there, not realizing he was fully drowning her until it was too late. “I’m trying not to get caught, I’m chasing after a woman in a quarry, and there are kids up there, and I’m just telling her to shut up, and then she eventually shuts up, but not how I wanted her to,” McShane describes his character’s motives.

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Despite the dark tone of the scene, Levieva notes, “It was so beautiful where we shot.”

What repercussions will Erin’s death have on Perry’s Dark Hearts standing, especially with how closely related it is to his mentee, Jayson? Stay tuned to find out as Task continues to unfold on HBO, and let us know your theories in the comments section.

Task, Sundays, 9/8c, HBO and HBO Max