The Last Thing He Told Me Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Keep Austin Weird

The pace picks up in The Last Thing He Told Me Season 1 Episode 3, “Keep Austin Weird.” After a slow start, with a lot of exposition and not a lot of suspense, this limited series has found stable footing. And a new location to play in.

Trying to spark a memory from Bailey’s childhood brings the mother/stepdaughter pair to The University of Texas at Austin. Hence the episode’s title, “Keep Austin Weird.” It’s aptly named, as weird things are happening in their quest to find Owen.

The change of location benefits the story by forcing Hannah and Bailey into action. By default, they interact mostly with each other in their adventure through the UT campus, which both narrows and widens their scope. On one hand, there’s brand new territory to cover. On the other, they have to deepen their previously rocky relationship.

The Jennifer Garner/Angourie Rice scenes in The Last Thing He Told Me double episode premiere were the most interesting. If the season continues to have the duo working mostly with each other, it’s poised to continue improving week over week.

The more Bailey thaws toward her stepmother, the more dynamic their relationship will become. The Last Thing He Told Me Season 1 Episode 3 gets that ball rolling.

Bailey has only known life with her father, for the most part. With him out of the picture, and the only parental figure left, her (relatively) new stepmom, there’s a ton of angst bubbling up. Angourie Rice continues to impress as the frustrated daughter, torn between her teenage aloofness and this anxiety coming to the surface.

On top of all of that, she’s in, as far as she recalls, a brand new city for the first time. It would be overstimulating for any teen, much less one that’s trying to find her missing father.

The new backdrop of Austin pushes both of the leading ladies out of their comfort zone, which allows them to be on level ground for once. 

It also brightens the mood a bit. Garner’s Hannah was sullen and moody in The Last Thing He Told Me Episode 2. Now that there’s a mystery afoot, Hannah is played with a bit more pep in her step. It’s a welcome change and one that promotes confidence in the character’s ability to suss out the mystery.

While the cuts to Hannah’s memories in The Last Thing He Told Me Episode 1 were random or just didn’t serve to move the story forward, the tactic works better in “Keep Austin Weird.” The difference? Bailey’s memories take center stage.

It makes more sense for memories to flicker in and out of focus, cutting into the present-day timeline, when the memories are intentionally being brought from the subconscious. And especially so since many of them are from childhood when she was four years old.

It’s clever camera work as well. All of the cuts made to Bailey’s memories are shot from below, looking up. It’s just the height that a toddler would be looking up at the world from.

As they follow the scavenger hunt map of Bailey’s memories, more threads start to unwind and more dead ends are hit. All of these dead ends actually help with the pacing of the limited series. Even though the forward progress is minimal, at least they’re making some progress.

Outside of the main storyline, I’m glad there’s still some focus on the characters back in California. Aisha Tyler’s Jules could just be an offscreen force in Hannah’s life, but instead, The Last Thing He Told Me makes a concerted effort to show what’s happening back at home.

Especially since the scope of the FBI investigation is expanding. The Last Thing He Told Me Season 1 Episode 3 digs deeper into the corporate scandal that thrust everyone into this mess. This is one of the most interesting story plots still unfolding, and new pieces are coming to light little by little.

Here’s hoping we see more of the shifty CEO Avett, and/or other players on the corporate side of this mystery. He’s intentionally misleading on the phone with Hannah, and he can be a make-or-break character in the legal implications for her and her family.

While it’s a smart move to keep the story in the Bay Area flowing, I’m not sold on how much screen time the US Marshall is getting. Augusto Aguilera is a series regular, so it’s likely he’ll have a larger part to play eventually. But the time spent on him lurking outside of the Michaels’ House Boat is wasteful.

And also — why is the guy from Austin, not in Austin? I know this story has a condensed timeline, picking up right where we left off previously. But you would think he’s a little better at his job and knows that Hannah and Bailey have ditched the West Coast.

All things considered, the women of The Last Thing He Told Me are carrying this limited series. Even behind the scenes, Hello Sunshine puts in the effort to bring in an all-female directing lineup to direct all episodes.

“Keep Austin Weird” is a step in the right direction for a show billed as a “gripping” mystery. I wish the distribution model had included this episode as a triple-episode premiere instead of just the two. The cliffhanger ending is exactly the twist that will hook an audience for the long haul.

There’s just enough doubt riddled through this episode to make the audience suspicious of Bailey’s upbringing. When Jake and Jules call Hannah to tell her that Bailey and Owen Michaels don’t exist, it’s almost relieving.

She’s not just paranoid. There’s something fishy going on with her husband, and it’s deeper than whatever corporate fraud investigation is going on back home.

Stray Thoughts

• As an Austinite, the overuse of “y’all” to emphasize their location was a major pet peeve.
• I think it’s going to prove that Bailey is more intuitive than they’re giving her credit for. Hannah’s only known Owen for a couple of years. Bailey’s known her father her whole life.
• The least believable thing in this whole episode is that Austin has bad reception. It’s a major tech hub.
• Do kids still call things “extra”?
• It’s funny how certain stimuli trigger memories. I thought this episode showed that random recall in a very authentic way.

What did you think of this episode of The Last Thing He Told Me? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

The Last Thing He Told Me  airs Fridays on Apple TV+.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

20 Best Limited Series of 2022