The Last Thing He Told Me is a TV miniseries adapted from Laura Dave’s novel and stars Jennifer Garner as Hannah, whose husband Owen mysteriously disappears, leaving behind his teenage daughter, Bailey. The show is an irresistible mystery that keeps you hooked from start to finish with its unexpected twists and turns. The story is adapted by Dave and Josh Singer, who remain faithful to the book, and the show hums along at a steady pace, dropping twists and reveals at regular intervals.
The Last Thing He Told Me is a tender celebration of love that showcases the single-mindedness of its characters. The story is set in Sausalito, where Hannah and Bailey live in a pristine floating home. The show portrays Owen as a perfect husband and father who is too protective of his daughter. Hannah is also depicted as perfect, showering Bailey with unconditional care and endless offers of grilled cheese sandwiches. However, the central performances by Garner and Rice add depth to these one-dimensional characters, making them more than just stereotypes.
The Last Thing He Told Me is the hot new series on Apple TV+ that has everyone buzzing. Based on Laura Dave’s best-selling novel, the show is a thrilling mystery that follows the disappearance of Owen (played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), leaving behind his wife Hannah (played by Jennifer Garner) and teenage daughter Bailey (played by Angourie Rice). The show is a stylish and glossy drama that is perfectly watchable but ultimately lacking in substance.
The show begins with an irresistible mystery that draws the audience in from the very beginning. Owen disappears without a trace, leaving behind only a few cryptic notes and a bag of cash. The deeper Hannah and Bailey dig, the less the pieces seem to add up. The show moves along at a steady pace with regular twists and reveals that keep the audience on the edge of their seats. However, some of the later developments strain credulity, and the drama never fully engrosses the audience.
Under the tasteful gloss of the show is a pervasive sense of blandness. The characters are one-dimensional, and their relationships lack nuance and depth. Owen is depicted as an implausible ideal of a husband and father, and Hannah is almost as perfect, a doting wife and stepmother. The central performances add some depth to these characters, but they are still lacking in complexity. The familial dynamics feel more theoretical than lived-in, and the show largely avoids messiness, ambivalence, and nuance.
One of the show’s strengths is its focus on the bond between Hannah and Bailey. As the show shifts its focus from Owen’s whereabouts to the growing bond between his wife and daughter, it inches them closer by degrees and avoids unnecessary conflict or unearned sentimentality. The show highlights the pure and limitless love that parents have for their children and uses it as the driving motivation for the characters through all their wild ordeals. While this is easy to understand and impossible to root against, without flaws or quirks to add some texture, perfection turns out not to be all that interesting by itself.
The show does have its flaws, though. The disappearance of Owen occurs too early in the series, giving us little time to get to know the characters before they’re thrown into extreme circumstances. The show avoids messiness, ambivalence, and nuance, making the familial dynamics feel more theoretical than lived-in. Additionally, some of the later developments in the story strain credulity, relying heavily on a small child’s ability to retain detailed memories.
Despite its flaws, The Last Thing He Told Me is an enjoyable watch, especially if you’re a fan of suspenseful mysteries. The show does a good job of keeping you guessing until the end, and the central performances are strong enough to make up for its flaws. While the show may lack depth and nuance, it more than makes up for it with its compelling mystery and tender celebration of love.
