It’s been awhile since television audiences have had a chance to see all that Jennifer Garner is capable of – it’s been a whopping 17 years since Alias, the ABC spy drama that launched Garner’s career went off the air. The Last Thing He Told Me, the AppleTV+ miniseries based on the novel of the same name, finally gives Garner that television platform again – and a chance to show audiences that she’s still got what it takes to be a star. Unfortunately, while Garner makes the most of the thin character and storyline she’s presented with, TLTHTM is a mess that isn’t worthy of her – or the rest of the surprisingly stacked cast’s – talents.
The story is a rather simple one, at least at the outset. Hannah Michaels (Garner) is an artist in the Bay Area, living with her new husband, Owen (a criminally underused Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of Game of Thrones fame), and her surly step-daughter, Bailey (Angourie Rice, doing her best with the littler she’s given in way of character). One day, the tech company Owen is working for is raided by the government and Owen disappears, leaving in his wake notes to his wife and daughter and a bag full of cash. It’s then up to Hannah to try and keep Bailey safe from outside forces who are looking for her (and Owen) while also trying to solve the mystery of just who her husband really is and how his disappearance is connected to everything happening around them. So, a dramatic thriller with Garner at its heart. Sounds like a winning combination, right? Wrong.
While it might sound intriguing on paper, the story hinges on a key element: Owen. We need to understand who he was to Hannah and Bailey to understand why they desperately want him back when it’s clear there’s something shady going on. And in order to do this, you would think the series would pepper us with flashbacks detailing his close relationship with Bailey, his loving nature with Hannah. Show how he cared deeply for them both, how much he was integral in their lives. How much they miss and need him back. Well, you would be wrong. Because sure we get the occasional flashback moment, but none of these limited looks at Owen do anything to deepen his character and make us want to save him. In fact, as the story unfolds and we learn more about the great mystery, the less we care about Owen. And the more we care about Hannah and Bailey and how much better their lives might be without this spectre hanging over them. Which counteracts the idea that we want Hannah to solve this mystery in the hope of bringing Owen home to his family. And that’s not getting into the rest of the mess that comes with the reveals.
Unfortunately, the thin characterization of Owen is present with all of our central characters in this story. Bailey is a bratty teen until the moment the story needs her not to be anymore and a switch flips and she’s changed. Hannah is lost in her quest until she needs to be great at it and a switch flips and suddenly she’s a less spied-out version of Sidney Bristow, Garner’s Alias character (her Alias co-star and great friend Victor Garber pops in for an episode as a professor helping her on her quest, which only served to make me wish I was re-watching the early seasons of that show instead of this one). No one in this miniseries is a complex or well-rounded character. Rather, they are pieces who lock into their necessary mode depending on what the story calls for. The story moves them rather than their growth and change compelling the story to move forward.
If this miniseries, which was written by Laura Dave (the author of the novel) and her husband Josh Singer, reminds people that Garner can play more than moms in family films, that’s likely to be its greatest legacy. Because if you’re looking for an interesting story of a woman trying to discover the truth about her husband and save him from himself before its too late, this is not the series to watch.
The Last Thing He Told Me premieres on April 14 on AppleTV+. All seven episodes were provided for review.
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