The Last Thing He Told Me Season 1 Episode 6 Review: When We Were Young

The penultimate episode of Apple TV+’s The Last Thing He Told Me pumps the breaks on the high-octane pace. Though it makes sense, due to the characters finally uncovering the mystery, unfortunately, it kills the mood. After a slow start, then an engaging pick-up in plot, The Last Thing He Told Me Season 1 Episode 6, “When We Were Young” is a backslide.

Part of this slump is due to the series’ weekly drop model. With the mystery/thriller genre, it’s easier to build intrigue and retain watchers when the suspense levels are consistent. The Last Thing He Told Me has never really hit that level of consistency. If episodes dropped in batches, or all at once, these slumps wouldn’t exist.

That being said, the amount of exposition in “When We Were Young” is necessary to make sense of the story. Now that we know what Owen’s secret is, it’s nice to see some of his backstory and life pre-Hannah. It’s just enough focus on his character to make him more interesting. His presence is always looming, but up until now, we’ve had barely any time to get invested in his story outside of his relationship.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has been underused through the limited series up until now. The little that we have seen of him has made it hard to believe the dynamic between him and his daughter. Though his scenes in “When We Were Young” are set in the past, when Bailey was young, this interaction paints Owen/Ethan in a new light.

The background also changes Bailey’s perception of her father and Hannah’s perception of her husband. The Last Thing He Told Me Season 1 Episode 6 is cleverly laid out so that both women are getting Owen’s back story, just from different sources. Bailey’s understanding comes from a more direct source — her aunt Andrea. Hannah on the other hand, gets clued in on the reason for Owen’s shadiness from law enforcement.

It’s an appropriate juxtaposition for both of them. Bailey’s entire life is up in flames now that she’s discovered she isn’t who she thinks she is. Having somebody who knows her, the “real” her, is more empathetic than learning case details. Hannah, on the other hand, gets the “adult” version of the story. And the tough decision of what to do next.

For what it’s worth, I think learning about Owen’s backstory, no matter who it is from, brings both of the women closer to the missing man. His motivations are more clear knowing what he’s been through. And for Hannah in particular, knowing what Owen did to protect Bailey the first time influences her decision on how to protect her step-daughter moving forward.

Nicholas Bell has an interesting introduction in The Last Thing He Told Me. We meet him in the past, helping his daughter and Ethan/Owen change her tire after getting a flat on a secluded Austin road. Right off the bat, he doesn’t seem like a scary or a bad guy. He does give off rich dad energy, keeping tabs on his daughter and her significant others very closely. And he hits a bit at his “unethical” law practices.

But nothing in their interaction, or any of the flashbacks we see, feels dangerous. And maybe that’s the most dangerous thing of all. It’s interesting that the big bad guys aren’t shown in The Last Thing He Told Me, rather it’s the outer network that we have to look out for. In a way, it’s even more unsettling than showing the mobsters as the villains. Anybody can be a bad guy in this world.

Grady has become more and more important to this story, but I still think that some of the early scenes of him lurking around were unnecessary to the plot. Once Hannah digs deep enough, it’s inevitable that she would find out Owen’s past wasn’t lining up, and she would organically come back in contact with the US Marshall.

This episode humanizes themselves for each other, now that they’ve spent more time together. Especially considering the circumstances. The random scene of Grady and his son in The Last Thing He Told Me Season 1 Episode 4 doesn’t make sense until you realize it’s to show that he has a family he wants to protect, the same way Hannah does.

There have been a number of moments in The Last Thing He Told Me where scenes seemed randomly inserted, or unnecessary until later. Again, if all episodes were able to watch at once, more connections between these throwaway scenes would probably form. Unfortunately, it is what it is, and waiting week over week is blurring those finer details. 

In the end, the cliffhanger of this penultimate episode isn’t high stakes enough for the series’ impending finale. It’s very on-brand for Hannah to sneak off on her own and confront Charlie again at The Never Dry. And now that she knows how much Owen sacrificed, coupled with his note about protecting Bailey, I’m sure she’s determined to give Bailey a normal life.

But I’m not shocked enough, or worried enough about her, to feel anxious about what’s coming up next.

We’ll just have to see what happens in The Last Thing He Told Me finale. Knowing that this is billed as a limited series, most storylines are sure to get wrapped up.

Stray Thoughts

• Huge shoutout to the hair and makeup team for this episode. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau looks SO young in his flashbacks.
• How long does it take to change a tire? There’s no way it should have gotten as dark as it did if she only had one flat to change.
• Jennifer Gardner is so broody in this episode. My forehead was hurting just watching her scowl the entire time.
• Angourie Rice is a star. The little emotions that cross her face when she’s seeing her home videos are incredible to watch.
• Smart thinking of Hannah to get Jules en route to Bobby to see if he knew where Bailey went. But when did Jules ditch Jake?
• Seems out of character for Nicholas to let his daughter drive such a run-down car if he’s as rich and powerful as he is.

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

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

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