THE STORY – Five years after the events of season one, Owen unexpectedly returns, forcing Hannah to navigate trust issues and protect her family.
THE CAST – Jennifer Garner, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Angourie Rice, Judy Greer, Luke Kirby, Rita Wilson & Augusto Aguilera
THE TEAM – Reese Witherspoon, Lauren Neustadter, Jennifer Garner, Josh Singer & Laura Dave (Executive Producers)
When shows are a hit – even limited series- the conversation inevitably turns to when the next season will arrive. “The Last Thing He Told Me,” a limited series thriller starring Jennifer Garner, arrived on Apple TV+ in 2023 and became the most-watched limited series in the platform’s history at the time of its release, reaching 4.5 million viewers in its first 31 days. The first season stayed pretty true to its adapted source, a novel of the same name by author Laura Dave. It was a rather engaging, character-driven story about a stepmother, Hannah (Garner), and stepdaughter, Bailey (Angourie Rice), bonding while uncovering secrets about the secret life of their husband/father, Owen, played by a mysterious Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Not without its faults, including tepid chemistry between the leads and an anticlimactic ending, it was still an easy, bingeable series filled with predictable twists and turns. While there’s been a follow-up to the book titled “The First Time I Saw Him,” Apple decided to lock in a second season and continue the story that was wrapped well enough in the first book and season. The result is a mixed bag: tedious plot, unnatural dialogue that is at times a bit corny, and performances that do their best with a subpar, overextended story.
While the end of the first season left us with a five-year time jump in the finale, the second season picks up immediately after that final moment of Owen reappearing in Hannah’s life. Owen decides it’s finally time to start taking down the crime family that’s trying to kill him, and Hannah and Bailey get swept up in the consequences. The cat-and-mouse game each season has taken on is by far the least interesting part of the series, becoming all the more tedious the second time around with the same stakes as the first. The plot picks up when the characters travel abroad, but it may lose viewers before getting there in the last few episodes. What redeemed the first season was the character-building between Hannah and Bailey, each learning to trust the other to save lives and solve the mystery of who Owen really is. The two characters hit the ceiling for character growth in season one, leaving nowhere to go in season two. Coster-Waldau’s Owen’s reappearance offers new emotional stakes, but Garner and Coster-Waldau struggle to generate more than stoic chemistry between them. The problem stems from the fact that we barely saw our main pairing together as a couple in the first season, making their reunion low stakes and their supposed years of deep chemistry feel like they were starting from scratch. The two performances are not necessarily ice cold, but leave a lot to the imagination.
A trio of new supporting cast members brings a bit of excitement to otherwise flat, poorly written characters. Rita Wilson appears as Hannah’s estranged family member. Still, the character seems shoe-horned in as a weak plot device, with little information beyond quick exposition to explain her appearance. Wilson’s performance is strong enough with the little material she’s given, but ultimately remains forgettable. Luke Kirby, known for his charm and emotionally layered character work, is confusingly flat, likely because the character is one-dimensional and the dialogue is lame. Judy Greer appears as Bailey’s mom’s former BFF, leaning in to the “best-friend” archetype she’s so well known for, but with a different, more serious twist. Her authoritative portrayal of the dry yet powerfully connected Quinn is easily the best of the three newcomers this season.
The action throughout the season remains compelling enough. Jennifer Garner has not slowed down since her “Alias” days, kicking ass just as forcefully now as she did 20+ years ago. Garner herself is an underrated action star and really shines in this role. The few chase scenes are exciting and action-packed, but they aren’t enough to carry the season. The dialogue and script are substantially weaker than the first rendition, unrealistic, and at times bordering on cheesy. Adding to the cheesy tropes are additional guest appearances that feel like the writers prompted AI with “what are standard character tropes in thrillers,” such as an older female bartender who calls everyone “sweetheart” and a villain who’s a corrupt authority figure. And, unfortunately, common on television as of late, the cinematography has an awful grey tone in so many scenes that it’ll have you checking your television’s color settings.
Ultimately, “The Last Thing He Told Me” pulled a “Big Little Lies” and couldn’t leave well enough alone, overstaying its welcome and becoming a caricature of itself. Losing the core part of what made the first season so well-liked, the intriguing emotional battles between Hannah and Bailey are all but absent and shifted to Hannah and Owen, which is much less compelling and much less believable. Unlike the first season, the writers didn’t seem to know what drew people to the series, and placed their bets on the wrong plots. While everyone tries their best, this new season is very forgettable and very unnecessary.
THE GOOD – The continuation of an originally intriguing thriller with some fun action scenes.
THE BAD – An unnecessary extension of a story that wrapped up pretty cleanly last season, the plot is tedious and repetitive with little emotional stakes.
THE EMMY PROSPECTS – None
THE FINAL SCORE – 5/10
