‘The Way Home’: What Happened to Jacob? 1 Theory Makes a Lot of Sense

So far, we’re only two episodes into Hallmark Channel’s new series The Way Home, but the show has already set up a number of intriguing mysteries for viewers to mull over. The biggest has to do with what happened to Jacob. We know that Kat’s younger brother isn’t around in the present day, and his absence is still an open wound for the Landry women. The circumstances surrounding Jacob’s disappearance are murky, but one theory could explain why he vanished in 1999 – and how he might find his way back into Del, Kat, and Alice’s lives. 

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Way Home Episodes 1 and 2.] 

A tragedy changes a family forever in Hallmark Channel’s new time-travel series 

Hallmark’s newest original series follows Kat (Chyler Leigh) and her daughter Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow) as they return to Kat’s hometown of Port Haven, Canada, where she reunites with her estranged mother, Del (Andie MacDowell). It quickly becomes apparent that Kat and Del’s relationship hasn’t been the same since Kat’s younger brother Jacob (Remy Smith) disappeared at age nine, more than 20 years ago. Soon after, Kat’s father, Colton (Jefferson Brown), died. In the wake of those twin tragedies, Kat left home, while Del stayed in Port Haven and tried to move on. 

When Kat returns home, she’s stunned to find that her mother seems to have erased all memories of both Jacob and Colton from the Landry family home. She’s even more shocked when she learns that Del has finally had Jacob declared dead and has planned a memorial service to help her let go of her son. Kat’s resistant to the idea. She’s still holding on to a thread of hope that Jacob will come home. 

The first two episodes of The Way Home danced around the exact circumstances of Jacob’s disappearance. But we do learn that Jacob was with Kat when he went missing. Del doesn’t explicitly say that she blames her daughter for what happened, but it’s hard to imagine that she doesn’t hold her somewhat responsible and that those feelings are at least partly to blame for their fractured relationship today.   

Is Jacob lost in time in ‘The Way Home’? 

The pain of losing Jacob is still so raw for both Del and Kat that neither is really willing to talk about it with Alice. But the teen is eager to find answers, especially once she discovers that a pond on her grandmother’s farm is actually a portal that sends her back to 1999, shortly before Jacob disappeared. 

When Alice goes back to the past, she meets her teenage mother, her much-happier grandmother, and the grandfather and uncle she never had the chance to know. It seems likely that Alice’s time-traveling will help her discover more about what happened to Jacob. And there’s a good chance that it has something to do with that magical pond. 

A brief scene at the beginning of The Way Home’s first episode made it clear that at least some of Alice’s ancestors also had the ability to travel through time. If Jacob has the same ability, it’s possible he fell into the pond accidentally and slipped into another timeline from which he hasn’t been able to return. If that’s the case, Alice may be able to find out where he went and possibly even bring him back, thus helping to heal the rift between her mother and grandmother. Even if a reunion isn’t possible, getting clarity about what happened to Jacob could provide the closure that both Kat and Del are seeking. 

‘The Way Home’ cast members say more will be revealed about Jacob in future episodes 

For now, Jacob’s fate remains a mystery. But The Way Home cast members say answers are coming. Viewers will just have to be patient. 

“Everyone’s dying to understand, well, ‘You can time travel. So now what are you going to do about your family? And I think that that’s a really pressing question,” Laflamme-Snow said during a live discussion of the show’s second episode (via YouTube).  

Alex Hook, who plays young Kat on the Hallmark Channel series, says “more answers” are on their way. But, “for every answer you get you have three more questions,” she warned.

“I think there’s going to be a lot more things opening up about Jacob, for example,” Hook added. “And some of the other things that are kind of up in the air right now that you’re hoping to learn more about.” 

New episodes of The Way Home air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel. 

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