I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE
HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET
MINISERIES FINALE: Here’s another drama wrapping up tonight – but whereas Quiz has been light and fun, I Know This Much Is True has been unrelentingly grim. This miniseries, based on the book by Wally Lamb, has developed into an anguished family story that works in three time periods. In the one unfolding at the center of the drama, Mark Ruffalo plays twin brothers Dominick and Thomas – and in tonight’s episode, after Thomas has been institutionalized for four months after chopping off his own hand in a psychotic episode, he’s freed to go home, in the case of his often angry, always guilty brother. Flashbacks to the twins’ childhood, and early college years, have explained their often tortured dynamic. And in last week’s episode, Dominick began reading the freshly translated unpublished memoir of their grandfather, who emigrated from Italy and almost instantly began mistreating not only his own brother, but the women in his life. Tonight, all those forces crash on the same emotional beach – and while I’m sure I’ll be watching, I’m not expecting to be comfortable. Ruffalo’s performance, though, is among the year’s very best, and not to be missed.