Jennifer Garner’s New Apple TV Series Stumbles Out of the Gate on Rotten Tomatoes
Three years after its first run, the sophomore season of Jennifer Garner’s Apple TV mystery thriller has landed with a thud, drawing an overwhelmingly negative response and a dismal Rotten Tomatoes score for the Laura Dave adaptation.
Jennifer Garner is back with a second season of her Apple TV+ mystery thriller The Last Thing He Told Me. It arrives three years after season 1 wrapped and, to put it gently, the reception so far is icy. The series is adapted from Laura Dave's novel of the same name.
Where the scores landed
- Rotten Tomatoes: Season 2 sits at 43% from seven critic reviews right now, slightly above season 1's 41%. The current audience score for season 2 is 48%. Across both seasons, the show holds a 42% critics score overall.
- Metacritic: Season 2 has a 57 Metascore from four critics, labeled as 'mixed or average.' That edges past season 1's 49, also 'mixed or average.' Season 1's user score is 4.7. When both seasons are combined, the series stands at a 50 Metascore with a 4.8 user score.
What critics are saying
The consensus tilts negative, with a lot of reviewers calling season 2 illogical, forgettable, even unwatchable. One verdict did not mince words:
"The last thing I will tell you about season two of 'The Last Thing He Told Me' is it wouldn’t hurt to skip it."
Another review argued the show only works if you fully buy into the heightened pulp of it all, logic be damned:
"To even approach 'The Last Thing He Told Me,' you have to turn off the part of your brain that looks at the beautiful cast with their recovered memories and penchant for burner phones and says, 'This makes no sense.' It’s the type of thing you enjoy while emptying the dishwasher."
Elsewhere, one critic said the new season aims for a prestige-crime sheen without the polish to fully pull it off. That said, there is some praise in the mix, especially from folks who think the show leveled up in confidence and pace compared to its debut year:
"Season 2 is a lot more confident in taking risks and energetically improves the series overall."
Bottom line: the numbers could shift as more reviews roll in, but the early picture points to a modest bump over season 1 while still landing squarely in mixed territory. If you were already in on the Garner-led, burner-phone melodrama, season 2 might scratch the itch. If you bounced off the first run, this probably won’t change your mind.