Critic Reviews

Overall, The Last Thing He Told Me Season 2 is a lot more confident in taking risks, emphasizing the rarity of a follow-up that doesn’t just continue the story but energetically improves the entire show to date.

Apple TV+’s seven-part adaptation of Laura Dave’s 2021 page-turner improves as it progresses, tossing out solid twists and then hitting us with a satisfying wrap-up.

“The Last Thing He Told Me” is handsomely shot by an all-female team of directors, and each episode builds to one of the novel’s more gobsmacking cliffhangers. Add in Garner’s intuitive performance, and the show makes for a perfectly entertaining experience — albeit one that settles for replicating the novel rather than expanding it.

The series stumbles around for a few episodes while it establishes the Hitchcockian ambience (circa “Vertigo” and “The Birds”) and puts in place the clues to Owen’s past that will pay off in later revelations. (The seven episodes run from just 37 to 45 minutes, and the pace is generally brisk.) But it quickly gels into a better-than-average whodunit and a superior family drama, one whose denouement hits you with surprising force.

Patience will have to be a virtue across the whole season as well, as the creators expand their world view to varying degrees of success. .... Garner is, unsurprisingly, the MVP here because the show understands she is most engaging as an actress and as a series lead when she isn’t given a chance to catch her breath.

In the end, there’s nothing offensively wrong with this show: It’s got some solid performances, picturesque sets, and zips briskly through episodes that max out at around 40 minutes each (the dream in the era of Peak TV!) But it’s also probably not what you thought you were going to get either. And while that’s not bad, per se, it’s still pretty disappointing.

The series has established itself as at best middle-of-the-road fare, delivering yet another reminder that in TV drama as well as newsmagazines, the first order of business is asking a whole lot of questions before saying “I do.”

We’re still a little annoyed that the second season of The Last Thing He Told Me seems to serve up a thrill-light nothingburger of a story, but we still want to see the chemistry between Garner and Rice, which is the best thing about the series.

The Last Thing He Told Me seems perfectly fine with being adequate and nothing more or less. Garner and Rice deliver in the two leading roles, but overall the writing is often holding the series back from achieving its true potential.

There is a lot to be said for competence in this arena. The Last Thing He Told Me might not always understand how to keep its own momentum going—in fact, it often has long stretches of extremely middling excursions. ... The Last Thing He Told Me doesn’t overstay its welcome like similar offerings, boasting only seven episodes, most of which are under 40 minutes. It gets the job done, and it does it effectively.