‘The Way Home’: 3 Big Takeaways From the Season 1 Finale
What a rollercoaster. Hallmark Channel’s The Way Home went out with a bang on March 26. The season 1 finale answered the big question that’s been hanging over all the episodes of the time-travel drama: What happened to Jacob? (Read more about that big reveal.) But the episode also cleared up questions about the identity of the mystery woman at Colton’s funeral and who sent the letter that drew Kat home to Port Haven. Plus, Elliot made a choice that Kat found difficult to understand.
[Warning: This article contains major spoilers for The Way Home Season 1 finale.]
Kat was the other woman at Colton’s funeral, ‘The Way Home’ season finale reveals
In episode 9, Kat (Chyler Leigh) learned that she’d inadvertently caused her father’s death during one of her trips back to the past. In the finale, she and Alice make one more trip via the pond for Colton’s (Jefferson Brown) funeral. Alice attends the memorial as a friend of teen Kat (Alex Hook). Meanwhile, adult Kat hangs back, watching from a distance.
Del (Andie MacDowell) spots Kat in the cemetery and assumes she’s the woman she suspects of having an affair with her late husband. It was a twist most viewers probably saw coming from a mile away, and frankly, it was surprising that Kat herself didn’t put two and two together and realize she was the other woman.
Back in the present, Kat tries to talk to her mom about Colton’s “affair.” Both women agree that they should let that part of the past go. Of course, Kat could explain that she is the other woman. But so far, she’s been keeping her ability to time-travel secret from her mother, perhaps because she assumes Del won’t believe her. She might also be hesitant to reveal the truth because it would mean she’d also have to confess to the role she played in her father’s death.
Alice sent Del’s letter to Kat
In The Way Home’s first episode, Kat received a letter from her estranged mother urging her to return home. With her marriage over and her career in shambles, Kat decided to go back to Port Haven after two decades away. But when she arrived and mentioned the letter to Del, her mother insisted she hadn’t sent it.
“Not All Who Wander Are Lost” finally revealed who sent the letter: Alice. After Colton’s funeral, Alice tries to make one more trip to the past to say goodbye to teen Kat. But instead of taking her to the year 2000, the pond sends her back just a few months. Alice overhears Rita urging Del to send the letter and Del refusing to do so. Alice takes it and drops it in the mailbox, thus engineering her and her mother’s return to Port Haven.
Elliot broke things off with Kat
Long-time friends Kat and Elliot (Evan Williams) finally acted on their feelings for each other earlier this season. In the finale, Kat signs her divorce papers, officially ending her marriage to Brady (Al Mukadam) and clearing the way for a happily ever after with the guy who’s been crushing on her since high school. But there’s a major wrinkle.
Elliot’s known time travel was a possibility since he was a teenager and Alice showed up out of the blue and shared her secret. She also clued him in about what was in store for his future. That knowledge of what was to come has shaped – and constrained – Elliot’s adult life. But now he’s finally at a point where he doesn’t know what happens next. And he wants to find out on his own, without Kat.
“I need to start a new chapter,” he tells her. “Just to see where my own path might lead. And I hope you can understand that.”
Kat’s broken-hearted, but she lets Elliot go. It’s not surprising Elliot wants to experience life free of his entanglements with the Landrys. But does this mean things are really over between him and Kat? Could he be leaving Port Haven? We doubt it. Chances are, we’ll continue to see Kat and Elliot’s relationship evolve in season 2.
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