The Last Thing He Told Me – Season 1 Episode 6 Recap & Review

When We Were Young

Episode 6 of The Last Thing He Told Me sees Owen/Ethan encounters an event from 1999 where he meets his girlfriend Katherine during a break from his job at a diner. While driving together, Katherine discusses her plans for taking the LSAT exams.

However, their journey is interrupted when they experience a flat tyre, prompting Katherine to call her father Nicholas for assistance. Owen feels uneasy about meeting her father for the first time with the lingering scent of the diner, but Katherine tries to ease his nerves.

Upon receiving Katherine’s call, Nicholas arrives to aid Owen in repairing the flat. He instructs Kate to wait in his vehicle while they attend to the issue. During their conversation, Nicholas engages in small talk with Owen, while also asking paternal questions about his intentions towards Katherine.

Using his innate charm and shared sympathy for those starting with little, Nicholas portrays himself as a virtuous figure, and the prosecutors as malevolent. Owen eventually discusses his desire to leave Texas and explore the world, but Nicholas advises him to reconsider this decision.

Upon returning to the Marshall’s office, Grady informs Hannah about Nicholas Bell and the difficulties they faced in tracing his illegal activities, despite his mostly clean record. Owen had provided evidence against eight high-ranking members of the Campanos organization, including Nicholas, which forced him to leave Austin with his daughter Bailey and assume new identities. After the news of The Shop’s fraudulent records became public, Owen recognized the danger and chose to leave.

Hannah questions why Owen didn’t quit when he discovered Avett’s wrongdoing. Grady speculates that Avett might have been blackmailing Owen with some secret from his past, which prevented Owen from speaking out against the inflated figures. Instead, Owen decided to work from the inside and sent his findings to Grady through a phone notepad.

Despite this, Hannah is concerned about Bailey’s sudden disappearance. She wishes to search for her personally, but Grady believes someone from their team will locate her. Additionally, going home is no longer a viable option for them.

Grady discusses with Hannah why Owen is in so much trouble. Owen had provided the federal authorities with significant proof of Nicholas’ organized crime activities. Due to the mob’s extensive network, their members were able to avoid imprisonment with ease, and those who revealed their deals were threatened or killed. Since Owen was part of Nicholas’ inner circle, it was challenging for him to avoid such risks.

Grady details how Nicholas was able to manipulate Owen through his charisma. Under Nicholas’ significant influence, Owen divulged some of his techniques for evading detection. Owen even established an encryption system to safeguard Nicholas’ discussions of questionable matters. Nicholas was unwilling to expose Owen, and Owen avoided reading the messages until Kate’s tragic death, which started all this mess.

Owen believed that the Campanos killed Kate, even though they washed their hands away from the incident. This was the reason why Owen wanted to implicate Nicholas and other members of the organization. He blamed them squarely for her death. This led to Nicholas’ imprisonment for six years for not turning on his organization.

In the present day, Grady wants Hannah and Bailey to join WITSEC due to an information leak that prevented Owen and Bailey from joining earlier. Grady was unable to assist them as a junior. He now plans to give them new social security cards and identities to start afresh.

Hannah objects, suggesting that Owen probably wanted her and Bailey to stay at home. Grady explains that by going to Austin and possibly being spotted by Nicholas Bell, she disrupted that plan. However, she is upset that Bailey has to completely change her life and doesn’t understand why Owen didn’t tell her about their situation.

Bailey arrives at Andrea Reyes’ house and is recognized by her. Andrea invites her in as Bailey’s phone battery is almost dead. Nicholas is informed of Bailey’s presence at Andrea’s house. Andrea tells Bailey about her mother Katherine’s relationship with Owen and how they had to leave Austin because of a complicated issue. She also shares how Owen suspected Nicholas in Kate’s murder. Andrea shows Bailey old photographs and her marriage video where Bailey sees herself with Kate and her entire family.

Hannah contacts Jules on a secure line and requests she reaches out to Bailey’s friend, Bobby, to find out where Bailey is. Jules goes to Bobby’s place but doesn’t find any useful information. Hannah talks to Bobby herself and discovers that Bailey mentioned Andrea’s address to him. Grady is informed, and his team arrives at Andrea’s place before Nicholas’ men.

While Hannah is at the office, she works on her WITSEC documents. She contacts Jules to inquire about Owen’s will and who he has chosen as Bailey’s guardian. It turns out it is Hannah herself. Knowing this, Hannah feels a strong sense of responsibility and decides to take a significant risk that could have a significant impact on their future.

At the same time, an officer informs her that they have established contact with Bailey. Hannah advises Bailey to trust her and keep what she’s about to do a secret.

Bailey arrives late, finding that Hannah has already left. Hannah goes to The Never Dry bar incognito and meets Charlie, expressing her desire to talk to Nicholas. The episode concludes with this interaction, leaving viewers to infer that Hannah’s decision may have been influenced by Owen’s choice to name her as Bailey’s guardian.

The Episode Review

Episode 6 was largely a well-crafted follow-up to episode 5. But the hopes that it could launch the Apple TV into better territory significantly failed. Many questions still remain unanswered and the plot in the present hasn’t moved at a desirable pace. With just one episode to go, the storytelling has really dulled down.

The sense of intrigue about mysteries like who killed Kate, why she was killed, and where Owen is presently has died down.

Hannah walking right into the lion’s den at the episode’s death was an exciting development yet woefully uncharacteristic of her character. I feel the writers have messed up her arc with that move and haven’t done Jennifer Garner full justice. She was the perfect actress to play Hannah due to her quiet strength and tender vulnerability.

And with that, they have ensured that the show is kept at a distance from us – too far away to make us care.