Note: This article includes spoilers for Episode 4 of .
With the distressing conclusion of this week’s episode of , it was undeniable that Robbie (Tom Pelphrey) appeared cornered. However, with three more installments of the HBO crime drama remaining, it’s reasonable to expect that the situation will not resolve precisely as it currently suggests.
After a deceptive maneuver led to Cliff (Raúl Castillo) being seized and fatally tortured by Jayson (Sam Keeley) and his Dark Hearts associates, Perry (Jamie McShane) began efforts to ascertain the initial possessor of the firearm discovered in Cliff’s vehicle, following Jayson forcing him off the road during an anticipated drug transaction. Upon learning that the weapon used to kill Dark Hearts member Warren Clarke (Joshua Dye) during the botched trap house robbery had previously belonged to one of their own, Perry committed himself to uncovering which member of the biker gang was leaking intelligence to the culprits. His investigation proved successful when the episode’s final scenes revealed him linking the gun’s holster to an older photograph depicting Robbie’s deceased brother Billy (Jack Kesy) wearing an identical one. Regrettably, his attention subsequently shifted to the other individual in the image: Billy’s daughter, Maeve (Emilia Jones).
Prior to Robbie and Cliff’s unsuccessful meeting with the alleged drug contact of Cliff’s shifty former cellmate Ray (Peter Patrikios), Maeve issued an ultimatum to Robbie: if he failed to surrender Sam (Ben Lewis Doherty) to law enforcement by the next day, she would do so herself. However, what if this intended benevolent act places her further into the vengeful crosshairs of Perry and the Dark Hearts?
The situation also appears dire for Eryn (Margarita Levieva), whom Perry had already accused of being the gang’s informant upon discovering Jayson fabricated a story about Billy pilfering from the Dark Hearts to justify beating him to death due to his affair with Eryn. It further complicates matters that Eryn was, in actuality, the source providing Robbie and Cliff with information on which houses to target. We suspect Perry’s proposition to conceal Eryn and her children where Jayson could never locate them was far from sincere.
“Perry’s not concerned with what’s happening on his watch,” McShane commented previously in HBO’s “Inside Episode 3” analysis. “He’s concerned with what’s going on. I think he just feels like, alright, something’s happened. Something goes wrong as things do. Why is it happening? Who’s causing it? What do we do about it? How do we fix it? Boom, that’s it. But then there’s also the compassion of who winds up being involved in all that and what the repercussions of that [are].”
Despite Cliff’s refusal to divulge Robbie’s name even under the Dark Hearts’ rather harsh interrogation methods, should Perry decide to pursue Eryn or Maeve, it appears probable that he will ultimately expose Robbie’s involvement in the entire predicament. Consequently, Robbie would be wise to ensure his children are protected from danger.
Furthermore, there’s the unresolved issue of an FBI informant, whom the series appears to indicate is Kathleen McGinty (Martha Plimpton) instead of one of the three task force members reporting to Tom (Mark Ruffalo). We observed her making that peculiar “We may have a problem” phone call subsequent to advising Tom to focus on the upcoming night rather than the leak, and the camera additionally highlighted her in the background of the scene depicting Tom’s distress when the FBI’s sting operation occurred at an incorrect site. What is Kathleen’s agenda? Or is she merely a diversion?
Fortuitously—or unfortunately, depending on one’s preference—just as it appeared everything was conspiring against Tom, he acquired a significant new clue: a photograph of Sam, taken on the iPhone of the concerned individual Robbie had brutally assaulted earlier that day. Robbie was also present in the image, though his hand obscured most of his face. However, if Tom manages to interview Robbie’s assault victim, it suggests he will possess sufficient data to begin focusing on him.
One might anticipate that these events will transpire as Robbie discovers his best friend’s destiny and confronts the fact that their joint scheme to flee to Canada has been thwarted—unless he decides to proceed independently. Concurrently, Emily was observed drafting her victim impact statement for her brother Ethan’s sentencing, and she started to waver under the strain of her untenable family circumstances. Will she support her brother against their adoptive family, thereby plunging Tom’s domestic life into disarray as the inquiry culminates?
