‘The Way Home’: Jefferson Brown Praises Hallmark Show for Creating Character Who ‘Knows He Needs Help’

We were not ready for that big reveal. Viewers finally learned the full story behind Colton’s fatal car accident in the March 19 installment of Hallmark Channel’s The Way Home. The devastating moment came at the end of an episode that also explored Colton’s attempts to come to terms with the disappearance of his son Jacob. Actor Jefferson Brown, who plays the character, said he was “proud” to be part of the show and grateful for the way Hallmark handled Colton’s storyline. 

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Way Home Episode 9.]

‘The Way Home’ reveals that Colton was attending a grief support group

During her visits to the past, Kat (Chyler Leigh) has gradually been learning more about her parent’s relationship after her brother vanished. Though her mom, Del (Andie MacDowell) had told her she believed Colton was having an affair, Kat uncovered evidence that he’s actually spent the family savings on a private investigator, not another woman. And during her latest trip back in time, she learned more about why Colton was pulling away from his wife after the tragic loss of their son. 

Kat inadvertently discovered that Colton had been a member of a grief support group. She befriended her father and attended several of the meetings, posing as a woman named Rose. During those meetings, he spoke about his struggles in his marriage and his feelings that he and Del weren’t doing enough to support teen Kat, who felt responsible for her brother’s disappearance.  

“My wife is the strong one. She’s a rock. She’s my rock. And I don’t know how to be a husband anymore. Or a dad,” he said. 

Jefferson Brown praises the Hallmark Channel show for Colton’s storyline 

After “The Day the Music Died” aired on Hallmark, Brown took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the episode. He praised the network and The Way Home’s writers for creating a male character who wasn’t afraid to show his emotions. 

“So many fathers and sons suffer in silence, chained to prehistoric notions of strength,” the actor wrote. “I want to thank you our writers and storytellers and especially @hallmarkchannel for presenting a character who shows the struggle and the pain and knows he needs help. Talk to your loved ones.”   

In another tweet, Brown said he was proud to be part of The Way Home and “especially proud of episode 9.” 

Kat learns she played a role in her father’s death 

Kat’s trips back to 2000 didn’t just give her more insight into what her father was going through in the months after Jacob vanished. She also realized that he would have been driving home from a support group meeting on the night of his accident. Once again, she became determined to go back in time and try to stop a tragedy, even though she’d already tried and failed to prevent Jacob’s disappearance.

Disregarding Elliot’s (Evan Williams) warnings that she couldn’t stop Colton’s death, Kat went back one more time. But she arrived later than she expected, leaving her no choice but to run to the exact spot on the road where the crash happened. Kat’s teen daughter Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow) begged her mom not to go back, then followed her mom into the pond. The two were arguing in the middle of the road when Colton spotted them. He swerved to avoid hitting them, crashing into a telephone pole. Kat rushed to his aid, and as he was dying, he recognized her as an older version of his daughter. 

How will Kat cope with knowing that her attempts to prevent her father’s death actually led to his accident? And will we finally learn what happened to Jacob? Hopefully, answers are coming in the season finale of The Way Home, which airs Sunday, March 26 at 8 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel. 

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