Sumith Prasad
Apple TV+’s thriller series ‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ follows Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter Bailey Michaels, who set out to find the former’s husband and latter’s father Owen Michaels after his astounding disappearance. They soon learn that Owen is really Ethan Young, who was a close associate of the crime syndicate named the Campanos through his father-in-law Nicholas Bell. After learning about Owen’s past, his wife and daughter consider the possibility of him returning to their lives, which makes the viewers curious about the same. Well, here’s what we can share about the ultimate decision Owen makes! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Owen Chooses Safety Over Reunion
After arriving in Austin, Texas, to dig deeper into Owen’s past, Hannah and Bailey end up learning that Owen is Ethan Young, who fought against the notorious Campanos, who killed his wife and Bailey’s mother Kate Smith. Ethan/Owen turned evidence against the crime syndicate to the authorities, which led him to leave Austin to set up a new with a new identity with his daughter. Hannah and Bailey realize that Owen disappeared fearing that the Campanos will find him and his family to exact their revenge on him for being the crime family’s betrayer. After his first wife Kate Smith’s death, he doesn’t want the Campanos to hurt another or every member of his family.
Owen then decides to not return to Hannah and Bailey’s lives. While Hannah talks to Nicholas Bell about safeguarding his granddaughter from the Campanos, Owen calls Bailey and lets her know that he isn’t coming back and she should trust Hannah. Owen decides to not return to his beloved family to not endanger their lives. He knows that the Campanos will not hurt them to find him since Hannah and Bailey are as clueless about his current whereabouts as the crime syndicate. If he tries to reach out to them, the crime family may torture the two of them to find him, which is avoided due to his disappearance for good.
Owen may have been able to consider returning to Hannah and Bailey’s lives if they have chosen to get into witness protection. But Owen knows that the Campanos may not find it hard to find them even if they end up in witness protection as it happened the first time after he turned against the crime family after Kate’s murder. Furthermore, Owen may not want Hannah and Bailey to live using fake identities with the false hope that he will return to them and the fear of the Campanos infiltrating the program to hurt them. As someone who had lived a significant phase of his life using such a fake identity, he must know how hard it will be for Hannah and Bailey to lead such lives.
Even though Owen decides to not return to Hannah and Bailey’s lives, he makes an exception and shows up at an exhibition of his wife’s works in disguise. He tells her, “The could-have-been boys still love you,” which likely means that Hannah should move on from him and share her life with someone who couldn’t be her partner due to her relationship with him. Owen disappears soon after saying the same, which indicates that he cannot risk staying with them for good. Owen must have come across his daughter Bailey during the exhibition and sought comfort in the fact that Hannah and Bailey have connected.
Owen and Hannah’s meeting after five years may motivate the latter to find her husband discreetly. Co-developer and the author of the source novel Laura Dave recently announced that she started writing the sequel to her novel. In the potential sequel and the possible second season of the series, Hannah may discover Owen and they may try to find a way to resist the Campanos.
Read More: Where Is The Last Thing He Told Me Filmed?
