The Way Home Season 2 Episode 10 Review: Bring Me to Life
Carissa Pavlica
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Could it have played out any better than The Way Home Season 2 Episode 10 airing on Easter Sunday?
The messages of rebirth and resurrection in the finale were not lost on this lapsed Catholic. To quote Del Landry, "I'm speechless and happy and so grateful to be with all of you."
While you may not say much while you're here, I like knowing you're here and enjoying this beautiful show with me.
Where do we begin with an episode that is so bountiful with emotion and answers?
With this non-linear tale, it doesn't matter because every moment in time is as important as the next and the one that came before.
Let's start with the story and leave the most dramatic developments for later.
Finally, Elliot is no longer a bystander in someone else's story.
Elliot has managed to divide viewers. Whether it's by how he loves Kat but takes no chances with that love or how he points fingers at how Kat and Alice react to and continue time traveling, he can be a divisive guy.
It's been evident that his whole life has been devoted to trying to escape and understand time travel. He let the future he didn't know affect the future he would have, and it was a bruise he couldn't easily forget.
How hard would it have been to know the ability to travel was within reach but not yours? It would be enough to drive a sane man crazy.
Instead, Elliot persevered. He got an education, married, divorced, and returned home to Port Haven, which is in his blood, just as his father foretold.
His whole life had been leading up to the moment when Kat and Alice would return. That's probably what doomed his marriage. How could he give himself freely to another when he knew his chance to win the woman he loves hadn't yet come?
His persistence has finally paid off. He's got a chance with Kat, and his endless pursuit of answers about traveling hinged on missing data that Kat's travels provided.
You can't go forward in time, but you can go back.
Elliot: I think the pond won’t bring you forward from your timeline into the future, but it can bring you back from your existing one. Think about it. The pond is all about reflection, looking at what has happened, and learning from it. So, why would it show you your future? It wouldn’t.
Alice: So, hypothetically, you could go back.
That explains why Elliot and Susana couldn't travel with Kat, but Fynn (sorry, I was spelling it wrong all this time!) could. Once the Fynn theory was on the table, Alice didn't hesitate to take Elliot back.
Finally, Elliot had all the right reactions and could see how his words for Kat and Alice to stop trying to change time were worthless.
Even after decades of studying time travel, when he finally saw Colton, the man who was more a father than his father could ever be, his first instinct was to warn him.
Evan Williams is remarkable in those scenes as Elliot tries to hide his emotions. When Hallmark was telling us to bring a tissue or two, that's where they were put to good use.
It's always the initial jolt when they discover firsthand that time travel is real, seeing those they lost again, speaking with them, and making an impact that stirs even the coldest hearts.
After everything that Kat's return has reawakened in Elliot, the thing he needed the most was to know that Colton cared for him as much as Elliot cared for Colton.
The barn was such a special place for Elliot and remained so long after Colton's death. It was also where he got to know Colton's granddaughter when Colton himself was unaware of that connection.
Colton's words healed any remaining wounds Elliot had about the past. He got his five minutes with the person he loved the most.
It gave Elliot the courage to tell Kat he wanted her to choose him, but Kat hesitated. She had just said goodbye to Thomas after a fiery kiss. It still wasn't the right time to choose Elliot.
I want you to choose me.
Elliot
Traveling and reuniting with Colton gave Elliot the courage he desperately needed to confront his past and move beyond it.
He'd held onto that hole in the wall for decades because his fear was so great that he'd turn into Vic. When you fear turning into someone you don't want to be, it's easier to lose sight of the kindness and compassion that also shaped you.
We don't know what the future holds for anyone, but Elliot's getting a fresh start.
His change of attitude could make a difference with Kat. She's drawn to strength, and as Elliot begins showing his, she will undoubtedly find him more attractive.
Unfortunately, that dream may be drawn out longer than anticipated with what Kat has been feeling for Thomas.
Yes, Thomas was executed. But it was a ruse. I've waited so long to say this to people who care, so here goes.
THOMAS IS ALIVE!! HE'S ALIVE!!
If Elliot's visit to the past told me anything, he and Kat are just what Colton said they are: best friends. Kat's hesitation was wrapped in many things, but when you truly love someone and the moment arrives for you to say it, you don't hold back.
For now, Elliot may not be the man for Kat, but as he changes, she'll have to confront what's been holding her back, and she'll need to get Thomas off of her mind.
Amazingly, Kat arrived in 1814 just moments before Thomas was executed, not by anyone official, but by Cyrus Goodwin. Thomas offered himself up in Jacob's stead for the man he loves as a brother and the woman from the future who has captured his heart.
Of course, she blamed herself.
Thomas: Katherine, if I run, Jacob dies! I’m not innocent in this. I’ve played my part. I didn’t mean to shoot you by the pond.
Kat: That doesn’t matter.
Thomas: Yes, it does! I need you to know I was aiming at Cyrus! He was in the woods alone that day, and I had him in my sights.
Kat: Wait. If you had killed him, then Jacob and Susana would be safe. YOU would be safe! God! This is all my fault!
Thomas: No, no! Kat, I would never fault you for emerging into my life. Ever.
With the memory of her father dying in her arms and the role she played in it, she imagined that if she had stopped searching for Jacob, none of this would have come to pass. Everyone would be safe.
Jacob Landry would still be gone to them, but at least they would all be alive. That was not at all how Thomas saw it. You could see it on his face that finding Kat was the best thing that ever happened to him.
What guy doesn't want to fall in love with his best friend's sister? Becoming a family in more ways than one is a dream for many.
Thomas urged her to run and never look back, but not without taking a piece of him with her to hold close.
Thomas: Will you still allow me to carry that part of your heart in mine, as I asked before? Then please, take a piece of mine for yours. Something to remember me by.
Kat: Please, please. [They passionately kiss] Please don’t. [sobbing]
Thomas: Katherine, you need to go now! Kat, go! Run! And whatever you do, don’t look back. Go!
He offered her two coins, which miraculously made it to the future intact. (I wonder why she can bring things forward but not people and why they can take people backward but not medicine
With Thomas gone, Kat was free to reconnect with Elliot, but she wasn't ready, which says a lot about how she feels about Elliot. Does that mean they'll never be together? Who can predict that?
When she had a free moment and revisited the pond, she imagined a conversation with Thomas that suggested she could have loved him and did love another.
Thomas: If I had lived, what would you have done?
Kat: I don’t know. I could have loved you. But I love someone else, and you and I, it’s just too late.
And then, Jacob emerged from the pond.
Thomas isn't dead, having used armor for protection. He is dead for all intents and purposes, but he's alive and well in 1814.
I'm surprised that Susana's book didn't disclose that information. Perhaps she didn't for all of their safety.
But since she didn't plan on publishing the journal but saved it for Kat to do so in the future, you would have thought that escapade would have made it onto the pages.
As some have guessed on The Way Home forums, which are proliferating the internet, Susana painted the My Katherine portrait. Some believe she might have been a lesbian, but I think it's simpler than that.
They felt an immediate kinship and considered themselves sisters. I once had a best friend that I spoke about in the same way. It's a term of endearment to show just how much someone means to you.
It can be platonic, as with Susana, and paternal, as with Colton. There are many Katherines in the world, but there is only one who each holds so dear.
Mysteries were being solved left and right, but one of the greatest came to a close through Elliot's and Alice's travels. Alice had been wondering why she kept returning to the past, but there have been many reasons.
She was there to understand how her family began so she could live through her parents' divorce, for one.
The girl Alice was on The Way Home Season 1 Episode 1 no longer exists. She's been erased by a compassionate, intelligent young woman who puts others before herself.
She's come to understand her mother and father in ways we can only imagine. She's seen Kat, especially, at her worst and most vulnerable but also at her very best. It has strengthened their bond.
It's no wonder she has wanted the same for Kat and Del, desperate to bring them together again so they can have what she has with Kat.
The rift between Del and Kat upended many lives. Pain seared their relationship because of unsaid words between them. We give so much credence to the words we say to each other, but the unsaid causes the most damage.
It's a TV trope that mirrors life. Almost every miscommunication that makes it into a script is unsaid.
When we hold back, we deny those we love the opportunity to understand us, giving us nothing to work with. Instead, our imaginations get the better of us, and the unknown leads us down a negative path.
If people would use a modern device called the telephone to air their dirty laundry instead of always wanting to do it in person, that could make a dent in these miscommunications, too.
Instead of calling Del and telling her how she felt, how much she missed her, and that she wanted her to know her granddaughter, Kat flew to Port Haven with airline tickets.
That's almost nonsensical, but it gets even more so when you realize she trusted Vic to deliver those tickets.
We know that Elliot wasn't entirely honest with how bad things were at home, but when Vic declared in public his disdain for his fellow founding families, it was a good indication he couldn't be trusted with something as crucial as that delivery.
At least he didn't tear them up. They just got tossed in a drawer and lost for decades. Finding them meant an end to the trauma between Del and Kat.
They've been trying to forgive each other without knowing the whole story, and since Kat never asked why Del didn't come to Minneapolis, she held onto the pain of her mother's rejection.
Now, we can finally put that behind us as Del and Kat renew their mother-daughter bond.
We can also put to rest worries about losing the farm thanks to fellow time traveler Casey (and Thomas's coins). Yes, forum detectives sussed that out, too. It's funny that I didn't since Casey behaves precisely like Alice did when she traveled to 1999.
Casey's always coming and going with an unseen dad (much like Alice did with her unseen mom) and disappears in an instant. When Casey discovered that the land was going to the Goodwins, Casey made a beeline out of the cafe.
Whatever happened after that saved the land and put it back in Del's hands.
Now, Casey doesn't HAVE to be a traveler, but how else would Kat's ring, which Alice was wearing around her neck, wind up on Casey's? I especially love that Alice saw it and began investigating.
I can't remember if Alice ever gave herself a last name in her travels. Is Casey really a Goodwin, or is that a made-up name because it made sense in context since nobody could ask dead Evelyn if they knew Casey or why they'd never met?
As Landrys are the only family who can time travel alone (so far), that's our best conclusion. That brings up another mystery solved: the man watching the family festivities from the darkness.
It wasn't Jacob holding hands with Rebecca by the pond, but Colton and his grandmother (I assume). This is an enormous discovery, especially since it looked like Colton came forward and didn't go back.
How many kids in long white gowns were hovering about in the 20th century?
Those clothes suggested he came from the past to the future, which upends the Fynn theory and opens the door for many more adventures unless his mother was pregnant with him and gave birth to him there. There are so many possibilities!
But before we consider what any of it could mean, we have to realize that if Colton can travel forward and backward, there may be a good reason why Del has been so reluctant to bring another man into her life.
What if one of the many times she's been chatting with him, it's really been Colton? I doubt that, but when Kat said, "I wish dad was here to see this," I wondered if he may be lurking in the dark watching his long-lost son return.
On this Easter Sunday, I wanted Del to see Jacob arise from the dead. They're so close to walking through that front door, and to cut it off at that point leaves the door open for him not to walk through that closed door.
Is it possible something will happen moments before Del gets a chance to wrap her son in her arms again? They wouldn't be that cruel, would they?
But back to Thomas and Kat for a second. Did you see the longing look on her face as she, even if just for a brief second, considered ditching Jacob and rushing to the pond and back to Thomas? Tell me you saw that, too.
Del has to be brought into the loop one way or another. If Jacob doesn't come through that door, Kat can still show her the missing almanac page and finally say the unsaid.
Secrets and unsaid words have nearly crushed this family.
With so many options for future seasons and the possibility of forward and backward travel thanks to Colton traversing time and space, too, the Coyle's sticker on his guitar becomes more than just a funny Easter egg (ha!) reference to the past.
Colton could have been there. How close did he come to finding Jacob? Was he ever taken back to the late 1700s or early 1800s? All of that investigating Kat did into Colton's random disappearances in The Way Home Season 1, and she never saw this coming.
What else don't we know? Who else have we encountered that may be from the future (or the past)?
I hate to break it to you, but we've got ten months of agony before we find out.
By the way, I know that The Way Home uses Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass for its story, but I've never read either. Fantasy was never my thing, so I steered clear. Have you read them, and can you follow the story more easily because of it?
This discussion could last forever, but I'll let you take over from here. Did the finale answer all of your questions?
Did the breadcrumbs dropped for future seasons whet your appetite?
Share your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to return next week for the return of When Comes the Heart, which a new TV Fanatic writer will cover. See you then!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
