"The Way Home" Season Premiere Brings More Questions

 

Author's Note: This article contains spoilers for Season 2 of "The Way Home". Please do not read any further if you have not seen any of the episodes yet and do not wish to be spoiled.

After waiting for nearly ten months, the second season of "The Way Home" finally premiered on Hallmark Channel on January 21, 2024 and with it came some new questions. Below are some that stood out. 

1. Who is the woman standing by Jacob at the beginning of the episode?

At the start of the episode, we see Jacob Landry (Kat's younger brother who disappeared in 1999 and is late revealed to have gone back in time to 1790 and is now an adult in the year 1814) standing in front of the pond. Standing next to him is an elderly woman. The woman tells Jacob that the pond will take him where he needs to go but for now, he needs to stay. One possible explanation is that Jacob can't return home while the pond is frozen, but this is never explicitly stated.

Answer:  The Season Two finale gave us another shocking twist when we discover that the boy we saw standing at the pond in the season opener wasn't actually  Jacob but his father Colton. The woman is revealed to be his grandmother.

2. Why does Jacob need to stay in 1814 for now?

As mentioned in the first question, Jacob is told that he needs to stay where is for right now. Why is that? 

Answer: As mentioned below in Question # 5, Jacob was actually sent back in time to 1790. He spent the next twenty-four years being raised by Elijah and Rebecca Landry and in the year 1814 is engaged to Susannah Augustine. Depending on whether or not Kat is descended from Jacob or William, that could potentially mean that Jacob becomes his own ancestor. However, we now know that the boy we saw in the opening shot of Season Two was actually Colton, not Jacob.

3. Why did Evelyn Goodwin leave the Herald to Kat?

During the episode, we learn that Port Haven's oldest resident and a member of one of the town's founding families, Evelyn Goodwin, had passed away and left the town's newspaper, The Herald, to Kat. Presumably, this was  due to Evelyn not having any next of kin; however, it's revealed in Season Two, Episode Three ("When We Were Young") that she has at least one grandchild, Casey Goodwin, so who knows for sure?

4. Who painted Kat's portrait in 1814?

While going through Evelyn's things, Kat finds a painting of herself (or at least someone who looks identical to her) with the caption "My Katherine, 1814". Assuming it really is Kat in the portrait and not an identical ancestor or relative, that means that at some point Kat will travel back in time to 1814 and have her portrait painted. But by whom?

Answer: Susanna Augustine

5. Who shot Kat?

The season premiere ended on a major cliffhanger-Alice and Kat become separated while attempting to use the pond, with Alice going back to time to what appears to be early 2000, based on teenage Elliot recognizing her, and Kat presumably going back in time to 1814. Just as Kat exit the pond, however, she is shot by an unknown assailant and left for dead in the pond.

Answer: A man named Tom shot Kat after apparently mistaking her for a deer. She is later rescued by Susanna Augustine (presumably one of Elliot's ancestors), who is later revealed to be engaged to Jacob Landry. It turned out that Jacob was actually sent back in time to the year 1790 and is now living in the year 1814 as an adult. He was adopted by Elijah and Rebecca Landry, the latter of whom is revealed to have passed away sometime prior to 1814. Elijah and Rebecca are revealed to have another son, William, who named his son after Jacob. It's later revealed that Tom had actually meant to shoot Cyrus Goodwin, the town's mayor, but shot Kat by mistake.

6. Will Kat die?

Considering that some of the sneak peeks for Season Two that Hallmark Channel has released feature scenes with Kat in them that have not been seen yet, probably not. 

Answer: She does not. She is rescued by Tom and Susanna, then later escapes from them and returns to the present.