Diksha Sundriyal
Apple TV+’s ‘Hello Tomorrow’ is a retro-futuristic drama that is set in a technologically advanced world where going to the moon is a common thing. It is here that a man named Jack Billings has set up a business to sell condos on the Moon. The first three episodes of the series set the stage for a conflict that intends to upturn everything that Jack and his employees have worked for all this while. The stakes for every character are revealed and the ending of the third episode leaves the audience at a crossroads about which character they want to root for. Here’s what the premiere episodes tell us about the show and its future. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Hello Tomorrow! Episode 1, 2 and 3 Recap
The story of ‘Hello Tomorrow!’ opens in Vistaville where Jack Billings and his team of salesmen arrive to sell condos on the Moon. They work for a company called Brightside, which has created a huge complex somewhere in the Sea of Serenity. The owner of the company, Stan Jenkins got rich and moved to the Moon. On Earth, he communicates with the employees through Jack. No one else has ever talked to Jenkins, and by the end of the episode, it is revealed that Jenkins doesn’t really exist.
The truth is that Jack is a conman. He is duping people into buying condos that don’t really exist. Even Stan Jenkins is a made-up person, and the messages that come from him are fabricated by Jack. His team is not aware of this ruse, which is why are dedicatedly focused on their sales and they actually believe that they are changing lives. Things take a turn when Jack discovers that his wife, whom he left more than two decades ago, met with an accident and is now in a coma.
Unbeknownst to Jack, his son, Eddie, who doesn’t remember him now, attends one of his conferences and decides to get a place of his on the Moon. When Jack discovers what Eddie is trying to do, he rejects the application and asks Eddie to come work for him instead. After a little struggle in the beginning, Eddie becomes a good salesman too. But then, he discovers that Jack and the others are traveling salesmen, which means that they will not stay in Vistaville for long.
Hello Tomorrow! Episode 3 Ending: Why Does Jack Decide to Stay in Vistaville?
Jack knows that there are only so many people that he can dupe for so long in one place. He tells the clients that the flights to the Moon depart quarterly, which means that they’ll have to wait for a few months before their turn arrives. This means that he has enough to get as many people into the fold as possible. Once that’s done, he and his team conveniently leave town, never to be heard from again. Months later, when they are not taken to the Moon the people realize that they have been conned. But by then, it’s already too late and there’s nothing they can do about it.
The stability of Jack’s rather fragile con depends on the fact that he never stays in a town longer than he needs. In fact, the earlier he escapes the better it is. This time, however, things are much different. This time, it’s about his son. Jack had left his family behind a long time ago and he wouldn’t have returned to them if he didn’t find out about his wife’s accident. This tragedy brings him to his son, who he realizes is utterly alone and needs someone who can guide him to a better future.
When Eddie becomes a part of his sales team, he doesn’t consider the fact that the team will have to move eventually. When Eddie finds out about it, he decides to quit because he needs to stay with his mother. Jack succeeds in changing his mind about it. He tells Eddie that he shouldn’t stop living his life and that staying in Vistaville isn’t going to make any difference to his mother anyway. She’d rather he went out and lived his life. Eddie decides to go with the flow. But then, Jack’s mother knocks some sense into him. She chides him about leaving his family when they needed him and now forcing his son to leave his mother while she is on her deathbed.
While he despises his mother, Jack can’t help but accept that he is being utterly selfish. He visits his wife in the hospital and spills his heart to her. After much contemplation, he decides that it wouldn’t be good for Eddie to leave his entire life behind and depart Vistaville, leaving his mother alone. Jack needs to leave but he wants to spend more time with his son. He wants to make up for all the lost years, even though Eddie doesn’t yet know about their connection. So, Jack finds it best to stay in Vistaville for a little while more. While it seems to be the right decision for Eddie’s sake, Jack doesn’t know how much danger he is putting himself in with this move.
How Will Myrtle’s Complaint Affect Jack’s Business?
Jack’s whole operation rests on the fact that he targets a very specific audience. He seeks out people, whom he calls leads, who have been through a very sad time in their lives. These people have either lost family or lost their purpose. In any case, they are utterly alone and in need of hope. The idea of a fresh start is something that Jack can easily sell, as opposed to the people who are already satisfied with their lives.
One of the people targeted by Jack’s time is Myrtle. She is a housewife, stuck in a marriage where she is utterly unhappy. She is convinced by Herb to leave her husband and get a fresh start on the Moon. It is a very difficult step for Myrtle and she goes all into it. She gets all the money she has, burns down the house to spite her husband, and leaves her past behind for good. Or so she believes. It isn’t until she has already given away her money and signed the contract that she discovers that it will take a few months for her to get the flight to the Moon.
This revelation infuriates Myrtle and she pleads with Herb to get on the next flight as soon as possible. She has nothing left on Earth, not even a place to live. All her money is gone and she has burned all the bridges, which makes her desperate for a fresh start. With every passing minute, she realizes that she might have made a mistake. She tries to get in touch with customer service, but as expected, there is no one to listen to her.
At the end of the third episode, Myrtle meets Lester, who works for Vistaville county and already has his eyes on Brightside. It turns out that they haven’t filled out the required forms to declare their business. This problem could have been evaded if the team simply left the town. But now that Jack has decided to stay, Lester will keep hounding them about the forms, and sooner or later, he will discover the truth. On top of this, he also helps Myrtle file an official complaint against Brightside, which means that the noose will tighten on Jack’s business now, bringing his shady endeavors to the brink of discovery.
