We left off the last episode of Last Seen with a bit of a cliffhanger. Ian Ridley (Patrick Brammall) had finally found his daughter, but it ended in gunfire, and it wasn’t clear who survived.
We get the answers to that in this week’s penultimate episode, “The Prophet.” But we also learn a little more about how we got to this point. Let’s dive in. SPOILERS BELOW.
Last Seen episode 5 begins with a look to the past
We pick up after the credits 15 years earlier. Donald (Daniel Henshall) is trying to kick drinking and driving to his father’s religious compound to do it. He’s heading there with his girlfriend, Jenna (Maxine Peake). Turns out Jenna and Donald were together first, which is part of what has made her such a push point for Henry (Brendan Cowell) in the past.
Donald arrives and is treated like the Prodigal Son. He enjoys the attention, but it’s still not the life he wants. Donald doesn’t get on with his father, he doesn’t want to be on the compound, and he isn’t really that religious. He dreams of running his own fishing vessel—a future we’ve already seen for him. When his father belittles the idea, Donald snaps.
He turns back to drinking and attempts to steal the money. When he’s caught, Donald is forced to leave. But it turns out Jenna has found a home there, and she decides to stay. And as she stays, she grows in faith and grows closer to Henry. Eventually they marry, and she becomes pregnant.
When Jenna inherits a farm, they leave and decide to start a life of their own. It’s a hard road, but they are filled with love and family. Their daughter, Sarah, is born, and she’s the light of their lives. But after a tragic accident, she dies. It leaves Jenna broken and Henry searching for answers.
That’s when he spotted Mags, who had accompanied Ian to work. It was all too easy to follow them and to pick the right moment. He snagged Mags and took her home to Jenna, a replacement for the daughter they lost, who was buried in the woods.
The hunt for Justice
Meanwhile, in the present, things aren’t going well. Jenna has been shot and she’s bleeding out in the car. Henry goes for supplies, leaving Jenna with Sarah (Chloe Jean Lourdes). Jenna urges Sarah to leave, to make a break for it. She tells Sarah she doesn’t belong with them any more. And Sarah appears to go.
When Henry returns, he’s distraught that Sarah is gone. But it turns out that Sarah couldn’t leave the only mother that she knows. So, she comes back to the car. For better or worse, she’s sticking with Henry and Jenna for now.
Meanwhile, Ian is recovering in the hospital. He was wounded, but he’s alive. That’s more than can be said for Bill, who died in the incident. And worse yet, everyone got away. That leaves Ian hurting and enraged, but with few leads.
Things don’t get any better when Debbie (Jessica Wren) arrives; she is filled with grief and rage. She is broken, as her first child is missing and the father of her nearly born child is dead. She blames Ian. She blames him for being broken and for breaking her life. She tells him she’s done. It’s a painful exchange that leaves Ian with no options.
Ian checks himself out of the hospital and makes his way to the house. He grabs a gun and ammunition and tells his son (Tobias Muhafidin) goodbye. He heads out and finds Donald. At gunpoint he demands to know where Henry is going.
We have a lot to chew on heading to the finale. We finally know the truth about Sarah, Mags, and what happened more than a decade earlier. Ian has been through a lot, and he’s put his family through a lot. Can we see him finally reunited with the daughter he lost?
Last Seen airs Wednesdays on Apple TV. Check back next week as we recap all the action of the season right here.
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