The Last Thing He Told Me Episode 3: Based on Laura Dave’s bestseller novel, ‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ follows the mystery of Hannah’s missing husband while she tries to build a relationship with her step-daughter. The two-episode premiere focused on the early stages of her journey after Owen’s disappearance. She and Bailey had to accept their harsh reality and be ready to challenge the notions they once held about Owens.
While looking at different possibilities for Owen’s sketchy past, Bailey recalls a vague memory of her and Owen at a football match in a stadium in Texas. After speaking with Jake, Hannah surmises it is a stadium in Austin. So, in the end, we see her getting on a plane to Austin with Bailey.
*Spoilers Ahead*
The Last Thing He Told Me Episode 3 Recap:
Episode 3: Keep Austin Weird
After learning about a possible connection of Owen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) with Austin, Hannah (Jennifer Garner) suddenly decides to travel to this Texan city with her stepdaughter, Bailey (Angourie Rice). Things are still shaky between them, and it becomes evident through their interactions. When Hannah offers her jacket, Bailey denies it. She keeps maintaining some distance. Even during her brief dialogue with the air hostess, she goes out of her way to say that Hannah is not her mother but her stepmother.
But Hannah lets that behavior slide. She is less concerned about her feelings and more about why Owen decides to abruptly abandon them. She keeps recalling her past interactions with Owen to find the signs of such behavior. Her travel to Austin is her way to make Bailey think of her past from the stadium. She read somewhere that revisiting a place can rekindle the memories associated with it. She wants to see if Bailey can recall any specific details by the same psychological trigger.
Eventually, they reach Austin and go to a hotel. Hannah tells Bailey to go inside and then listens to Jake’s (Geoff Stults) voice note. He advises her to cooperate with the FBI, or they will threaten to get Bailey’s custody from her. Hannah soon goes in and books a room under the name – Max Parnes. Soon after, she and Bailey walk to the DKR football stadium. Despite Bailey’s unwillingness, Hannah decides to join a tourist group for a tour inside the stadium.
Does Bailey recall any memory from the Austin football stadium?
Hannah takes Bailey to the seats and asks her to try to recall her memories. Bailey finds the idea ridiculous but still makes an effort. She looks around the stadium and tries to feel what she felt back then. She can’t. Hannah decides to go somewhere else for her to try it again. Frustrated by that, Bailey starts walking out of the stadium. On the way out, she notices an orange sign that says Hook ‘em Horns.
It suddenly brings back certain memory flashes, and Bailey starts walking back. She recalls being in the stadium when she was just a kid. She remembers Owen had come there in a suit and that she had worn a dress that was itching. That is odd for someone coming to a stadium. So, Hannah figures the two might have to come from a wedding, party, or some similar event. Bailey feels the same, and she thinks she has walked toward the stadium. Besides, she thinks Owen was particularly happy about everything – the game, the team, and the stadium. That is odd since he doesn’t like football, as far as they know.
Since her internet connection is spotty, Hannah calls Jules (Aisha Tyler) to tell her about the churches nearest to the DKR – thinking they can ask the management for wedding records from back then. Max (Tyner Rushing) takes over the call and says that the investigation is proceeding with the pretty staff and all the senior staff of The Shop. Hannah notices a car passing by and feels as if someone is following her. Suddenly she looks around and finds Bailey missing. She gets worried and starts running to find her.
Hannah soon reaches a concert hall and thinks Bailey’s inside. She goes in to find Bailey sitting on a chair, watching a rehearsal. Bailey recalls her plans for her big performance at the school. Now it all has gone to waste. Hannah feels equally bad for Bailey but warns her not to leave her sight. She soon receives a list of churches from Jules and decides to go to the nearest church.
On their way there, Hannah gets Avett’s call. She is still angry at him for not warning her about their fraud. Avett now says that it was merely an accounting error. He says the FBI will come for Owen next and mentions that he has a questionable history. He gets surprised when Hannah mentions she has no idea about it. Nevertheless, Hannah still believes Avett and others are trying to get Owen in trouble and that he is innocent.
The two soon enter the nearby church, and Bailey goes through brief memory flashes of a wedding. She recalls Owen holding her in his arms with so much joy. Now, she is certain that she was there with him. Then, Hannah asks the lady in charge about the details of the wedding from the date of the match. She rejects sharing that information out of confidentiality but soon feels empathy for Hannah. So, she starts going through old files to look for any wedding records.
Hannah comes out to take Jake’s call. He says that The Shop COO – Jordan, has been indicted. Jake fears the danger for Owen and fears Bailey’s custody claim would soon go to Owen’s extended family. Hannah says he had none. He decides to come to her place to meet her. By then, the lady goes through the record to find that the church was closed for construction during the fall of 2011. Bailey firmly believes she and Owen were there that day and, thus, lashes out at her and then storms out. She asks, ‘Who does this to their own family?’ Hannah says, ‘A person without a choice.’ She still believes that Owen is not at fault.
Back at her home, a man comes by her place and clicks some photos. Grady (Augusto Aguilera) takes note of it. He keeps a watch on the house to see who passes by or comes to visit them. Later at night, he notices the same man from before trying to enter the house by breaking the lock. Grady stops him by pointing to a torch. The man says that he is Eric Cousins, head of security for The Shop. Grady tells him to go away right then. Then Brady enters the house himself. He looks around to find any changes. Under the bed, he finds a duffel bag full of cash – the same one that Bailey finds in her locker room.
Hannah goes back to her room and still believes that she and Bailey will find a record of that wedding. Then, she recalls an incident where Owen shared his worries about Bailey’s future and her safety. ‘There will be a time when I won’t be able to protect her,’ he says. At the time, he showed Hannah a piggy bank and said that Bailey’s grandmother gave it when she was born. She recalls seeing ‘Lady Paul’ written on it. Hannah recalls the password hint for Owen’s will was L. Paul and wonders about its connection.
Hannah does not think it is a coincidence. So, she calls Jules and asks her if she can go to her house and look for this piggy bank and what’s inside it. Bailey calls Bobby (John Harlan Kim) since he was trying to reach her before. She tells him that she is in Austin. He says that she is not the topic of discussion anymore. Then he asks if he should save her from her wicked stepmother. She says that Hannah may not be as bad as she once thought.
The Last Thing He Told Me Episode 3 Ending, Explained:
What does Jules find inside the piggy bank?
Jules uses the key to Hannah’s house and gets in. She looks around the house and tries to find the piggy bank that Hannah told her about. She finally finds it on the bedroom table and opens it to find a key inside. It is not clear yet what this key is useful for. Anyhow, Jules hears a sound coming from the house and feels like someone has broken in. She walks out of the room and shouts at whoever’s out there. Jake responds and says that the door was open, so he just entered the house. He had come there to meet Hannah and to tell her something in person.
What does Jake Davis find out about Owen Michaels?
Jules calls Hannah and confirms that she found the piggy bank. But she then hands over the phone to Jake. He shares some shocking information he heard from his private investigator. He says that Owen and Bailey’s histories are inconsistent. There is more than one Owen Michaels who grew up in Newton and graduated from Princeton. But the only one with both these details is a 78-year-old man who lives with his partner. There is no evidence that Owen and Bailey had a house in Seattle. So basically, neither of them exists in terms of records.
