It’s been 14 months of marriage for Hannah and Owen, and it’s been 14 months of Hannah enduring the angsty disapproval of her stepdaughter, Bailey.
Hannah’s doing the best she can, really, to try and bond with Bailey. And Owen, who has a great relationship with his daughter, is prompting Bailey to finally give Hannah a chance. But every day’s a struggle. And as Hannah watches Owen drive Bailey to school one morning, after yet another eyeroll, she knows that she’ll just have to try again tomorrow.
But tomorrow comes with its own problems: A girl arrives at Hannah’s doorstep, dropping off a quickly scrawled note, which she says is from Owen regarding Bailey. On it are two words: “PROTECT HER.” And then Hannah finds out that the FBI has raided her husband’s workplace—and they’ve arrested Owen’s boss on grounds of Enron-level fraud. More than that, no one can even find Owen. And when Hannah picks Bailey up from school, she’s gotten her own cryptic note along with a bag containing thousands upon thousands of dollars.
It’s not long before officials begin investigating the household—and Hannah and Bailey begin doing some investigating themselves. Because neither of them could ever imagine Owen as some sort of criminal mastermind. But now, they need to work together to figure out the questions Owen has left in his wake.
Questions like: Protect Bailey from what? Or worse…who?
A television adaptation of Laura Dave’s New York Times bestseller hit the Apple TV+ streaming service on April 14, 2023. The book was not unique in its mystery plot of “Who did I marry?” The book is, however, quite unique among books following that sort of story by its lack of violence.
So far, each episode has remained generally faithful to its pacing and plotline in the book, which will likely please fans of the novel. And for those who haven’t read the book, the series doesn’t leave you behind confused, either. Its hooks come not from intense moments of combat but through small instances when Hannah digs out another shovel’s worth of mystery in this easy-to-understand story.
The worst thing viewers will endure in the series (and let the reader note that, as of this review, only three episodes have released) is some heavy swears and a few kisses. Fans of the novel may likewise be disappointed to discover that a male character in the book, the journalist Max, is now a woman on screen—which immediately creates a prominent lesbian couple for the series.
Clearly, the swearing alone will push this Apple TV+ show out of bounds for most families. But ultimately, The Last Thing He Told Me takes the mystery genre and uses it as a way to tell a story of a stepmother and daughter learning to bond with one another amid the uncertainty of their situation—without sacrificing the pull of the mystery in doing so. And as far as mystery messages go—and language concerns aside—that’s a pretty nice one.
Owen suddenly disappears following an FBI raid at his workplace, leaving a single note behind for Hannah: “PROTECT HER.”
Owen and Hannah share a few kisses. Bailey kisses her boyfriend a couple times, too. Bailey’s boyfriend tries to convince her to spend the night with him and lie to her dad about it. We are introduced to Jules and Max, a lesbian couple.
Hannah smashes a phone screen. Hannah vomits.
The f-word is used three times. The s-word is used five times. God’s name is abused once, and Jesus’ name is used in vain once. We also hear two instances of “a–.”
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Violence, profanity and explicit content reign king in this mob-like series that’s crafted to show the worst of society.
Petty rivalries and sexual dalliances might make for good drama, but they don’t make much for wholesome viewing.
Fantasmas, like the crayon Julio hopes to make, has no clear message—but plenty of clear issues.
