Long-held secrets bubble to the surface in the Season 2 finale episode of Hallmark Channel’s The Way Home. Will Kat’s (Chyler Leigh) knowledge of Jacob’s (Spencer MacPherson) whereabouts be one of them?
A Promised Heart | Picking up where Season 2’s penultimate episode ended, Kat travels back in time to say goodbye to Thomas Coyle (Kris Holden-Ried) after seeing his name listed in Port Haven’s execution records. She finds Thomas at the cove awaiting his death. Thomas explains to Kat that the only way to save Jacob’s life was to give Cyrus Goodwin (Tim Post) his own. Kat breaks in Thomas’s grasp as she promises him a part of her heart for a second time at his request. As a token for her to remember him by, Thomas places two coins into the palm of her hand. They part after a kiss just as Cyrus and his henchmen reach the top of the hill behind them. As Kat distances herself she hears a gunshot ring across the shore.
The Letter | The pond takes Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow) to the Landry farm in 2008, a year after the Lingermore incident. Young Elliot (David Webster) has earned his teaching credential and is packing to move away for a life of his own. Just as Alice and Elliot begin to discuss the pond’s reason for taking her to that moment in time, Kat (Alex Hook) knocks on the door of the Augustine home. Alice quickly shuffles into the back room before Elliot welcomes Kat in. This is the first time the two friends have spoken since Kat left Port Haven. While the pair catch up on the last year, Kat confides in Elliot about her struggles with motherhood. “I’ve lost myself in being a mom and I think it’s made me a terrible one,” she tells him. Elliot reassures Kat that she is going to be an “incredible mom and raise an amazing daughter whose love for [her] is beyond words.”
Before Kat leaves, she hands Elliot’s father, Victor, an envelope to give to Del. Inside is a photograph of baby Alice and an open plane ticket so that Del (Andie MacDowell) can visit them and meet her granddaughter. Alice later realizes that the letter never makes it to Del. Victor’s grudge with the Landry’s cemented a wedge between Kat and Del that’s lasted for the sixteen years that Alice has been alive. Luckily with the help of Elliot, they find the letter tucked away in a drawer. When Alice sits her mother and grandmother down to finally place the letter into Del’s hands, the years-long feud is extinguished. Del is given the opportunity to explain to Kat that she didn’t visit because she didn’t think that she deserved to see Kat and Alice all of those years ago. She also wanted to give Kat the chance to move forward with her life with burdening her. With her eyes swelling with tears, Del adds that if she had known about the open ticket, she would have flown out to see them “in a heartbeat.”
Five More Minutes | Elliot (Evan Williams) shares a promising hypothesis he calls the Fynn Factor with Alice. Fynn, the Landry’s dog, was able to go back in time by entering the pond in tandem with a Landry. Furthermore, he hypothesizes that “the pond won’t bring you forward from your timeline into the future, but it can bring you back from your existing one.” Elliot believes the pond’s motive revolves around reflection. “Looking at what has happened and learning from it,” he continues.
Alice coaches Elliot in testing his hypothesis by inviting him into the pond and they find themselves in 1999 on the day of the Landry’s summer kickoff party. While Alice hides away, Elliot approaches Colton (Jefferson Brown) at the barn. Colton welcome’s the “stranger” with open arms in true Landry fashion and asks him for a hand in wiring electricity in the barn clubhouse for his daughter’s best friend Elliot. During their time together, Elliot learns how much he meant to Colton. Elliot had always viewed Colton as a father figure and after years of grieving his loss of him, Elliot walks away with the “five more minutes” with Colton that he always needed.
To end the trip, Alice and Elliot watch the Landry’s and young Elliot from afar as the family enjoys their annual firework show. Little do Alice and Elliot know, a time-traveling Colton is also watching from the shadows.
My Katherine | Kat visits the town’s cemetery to find Thomas Coyle’s grave when she happens upon Susanna Augustine’s (Watson Rose). A symbol of a sun on her friend’s gravestone resembles the same sun painted in the corner of Kat’s portrait painting she purchased at the Lingermore Estate sale. Kat makes the realization that Susanna is behind the “My Katherine” painting and that a clue is hidden on the cover of the book Kat is holding portrait. The initials “EL-RL” points Kat to the stone fireplace that Elijah Landry built in the family home. Behind the stone with the same initials etched, Kat finds leatherbound book written by Susanna, The Founding of Port Haven. To honor her friend, Kat vows to make Susanna’s fairytale come true and publish her book.
The Farm is Saved | During a short visit with Alice at The Point Cafe, Casey Goodwin (Vaughan Murrae) learns that their father has purchased the Landry farm from Del. Kasey abruptly leaves the coffee shop mid-conversation Alice, but later visits the Landry home with news that the land contract with their father is no longer tenable. Del, Kat and Alice celebrate the news that they will be keeping the farm after all.
Homecoming | Kat stands at the edge of the pond imagining a conversation with Thomas in which she admits she could have loved him had he not died. Suddenly, Jacob breaks through the surface of the water and climbs his way onto the rocky shore. To the surprise of his sister, Jacob has decided to return home after the encouragement of Elijah, Susanna and… Thomas, who is alive!
As Jacob approaches his home, he envisions himself as an eight-year-old (Young Jacob, played by Remy Smith) running through the front door to play outside. A smile lights up his face and he turns to Kat with an outstretched hand. Jacob has found his way home.
Stream Hallmark Channel’s original series The Way Home on the Hallmark TV. Join us on PopWire’s WitchSlapped Aftershow on the PopWire YouTube channel for a deep dive into episodes of Seasons 1 and 2.
Dani grew up on the West Coast in sunny California. With a passion for film and television, she’s always on the hunt for binge-worthy flicks with diversity and positive representation of Womxn, the LGBTQIAN+ community, and other marginalized groups. Favorite genres include supernatural dramas, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and magical realism. Dani’s current favorite shows are Motherland: Fort Salem, Killing Eve, Dickinson, and Euphoria.
