The Way Home season 3 episode 9, “Too Late to Turn Back Now,” was a beautifully written episode that wrapped up some storylines, preparing us for the season finale. We learned so many answers about Colton and Evelyn, and it seems that the 1800s storyline is complete. But more mysteries remain, and as some stories are reaching their conclusion, the show is setting the stage for a new season if it’s renewed.
Below is a detailed recap and review of season 3 episode 9, including a list of the mysteries we need answers for (at the very end of the article.)
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR S3E9!
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Is The Mysterious New Character Elliot’s Mom?
I’m going to start the review by focusing on one of the most fascinating parts of the episode: the mysterious new character. She shows up at Coyle’s in the 1970s, speaking to Alice right after Evelyn walked out. She was obviously listening in on their conversation.
She tells Alice: “She’s right you know? about dreams? footfalls echo in the memory, down the passage we did not take. Towards the door we never opened. It’s a quote from my favorite poet, T.S. Elliot… Be the one to open the door. Fix things. Life’s too short for regrets.”
She certainly seems wiser than I would expect from a random kid listening in on the conversation!
Obviously there’s more to her than meets the eye. I’m seeing all sorts of theories. Some people think she’s a younger K.C. Others think she’s a brand new Landry.
There are also fans who think she’s not a time traveler at all, but Elliot’s mom (which would mean she named her son after her favorite poet.) Right now, I’m leaning into the Elliot’s mom theory.
Jacob Is Spinning Out of Control
The episode begins with a sobering look at the Landry farm in the 1800s, as Kat and Jacob assess the damage from the night before. Ultimately, Jacob decides to go back to the present and Kat is going to stay to help Elijah.
But Jacob is spinning out and losing control. He wants revenge on Cyrus, even though Del reminds him that in the present day, Cyrus has been dead a very long time. But Jacob can’t let go. His PTSD was likely triggered again when Cyrus almost killed him on the night of the lunar eclipse.
So he decides that by setting fire to the Goodwin farm in the present day, and preventing it from being able to produce good wine, Jacob will somehow get revenge on Cyrus. He’s willing to put his childhood friend’s job at risk, and risks Del too when she shows up to stop him. Since a camera caught the whole thing, there will be repercussions to pay. This might even put a wedge between Max and Alice, since Max has already been suspicious of Jacob.
I feel drawn back to the question about whether the show will touch upon the idea of a time traveling sickness. I don’t think Fern has dementia; I think she gets caught up in the past that she’s seen. It might be a side effect of the pond. And Jacob seems to be suffering the same. I’m not sure the show will actually go in this direction, but it would be interesting if they did.
Colton Finally Opens Up About His Time Traveling Journey to Alice, but Left Del in the Dark
Many of our questions about Colton were answered in this episode. We learned why Fern said he was a rule breaker. We learned exactly what was happening in that flashback scene from season 2.
But Del is struggling in this episode, and I don’t blame her. In her shoes, I’d likely do the same. She now has proof that Colton was time traveling as a teen. Del doesn’t understand why he wouldn’t tell her (especially since we saw that even Grandma Fern told her about the pond!) Elliot suggests it’s because Colton felt guilt-stricken over what happened to the Landry farm. And he might be right.
In the 1970s, Colton does confide in Alice about the pond, and we get a lot of questions answered. (Which also irks Del. Why would he tell Alice and not her?)
Did Fern Want Colton to Not Enter the Pond Until He Was Older Because She Knows Someone Gets Stuck in the Past?
We learned that scene from season 2 was with Grandma Fern and young Colton. She didn’t want him to jump into the pond as a boy, but wait until he was older. I’m guessing this is because she traveled to the 1800s at some point and knew that a Landry boy ends up stuck back then, and she wanted to protect Colton. This would mean that Jacob was “the one” she was so concerned Colton or his brother might be.
When Colton dove into the pond to try to save Evelyn as a child, he wasn’t taken anywhere, and he assumed Fern was wrong about everything. But then he accidentally traveled as a teen and realized she was right. And that’s why he left the secret message for Evelyn when she was leaving town.
Fern scolded Colton for breaking the rules by telling the Landrys what crops to plant, and Colton carried the guilt of that weight with him. (But let’s be honest… Kat and Alice have tried to break the same rules that Colton did. I don’t think that rule is really a rule, lol.)
I’m left wondering… Did Colton eventually learn that Jacob was going to get stuck back in time? Did he use the pond to try to find him? Did he blame himself somehow again?
The Mystery of Elliot & the Flying Pendulum Clock
A new mystery is introduced, and I don’t think it’s one that will be solved in the finale. I think we’ll be exploring the mystery in season 4 if the series gets renewed.
Earlier this season, Elliot found a broken clock in the wall of his home.
In the new episode, Elliot almost drops the clock and finds that it has a hidden drawer that holds an extra piece: a pendulum that sits at the top of the clock. The clock is a Horolovar (Jerome Ignatz) flying pendulum clock, patented in 1883. With this type of clock, a pendulum swings from left to right, wrapping around a bar on either side of the top of the clock. Here’s a Facebook reel showcasing how it works. It’s also known as the “Craziest clock in the world.”
The Facebook post notes: “Lengthening the string slows the clock. Shortening it speeds it up.”
This makes me wonder: will the Augustines have a forgotten ability to speed up or slow down time?
There’s another funny connection between the clock and the show… Apparently, in real life, the clock got the nickname Ignatz in 1935 because clock collector Dr. Rowell thought the clock had the personality of Ignatz, a mouse in the Krazy Kat comic. (Which is an interesting connection to our Kat!) How interesting is that?!
Susanna Finds Her Freedom & We Now Know Who the ‘Spirit’ in the Attic Was
Cyrus is going to spend the rest of his life paying for driving the town to burn down the Landry’s farmhouse. He’s injured severely and will never be able to talk. Because of the extent of his injuries, he agrees to let Susanna be his voice, and she’s going to use his wealth to help Port Haven. It’s a beautiful culmination to her story. Susanna even tells Kat that she removed her chapter about Cyrus from the Port Haven book because it would undo all the good that she had done. So it appears that by trying to “fix” things, even if well-intentioned, Kat accidentally undermined a decision Susanna herself had made when she added that chapter.
We can also deduce that the spirit who appeared during the Ouija board session was Cyrus. He spends the rest of his life locked away after being burned in a fire, not even able to talk. It was Cyrus who was hidden away, not a Goodwin’s wife.
And finally, in one of my favorite moments of the episode, Elliot and Susanna meet. Seeing the two together, and Elliot’s deep respect for Susanna, was a beautiful scene.
The End of Kat & Thomas: Fare Thee Well
And just like that, the triangle is over.
In the first episode of this season, Kat kind of flippantly chose Elliot over Thomas because of her overflowing joy about Jacob being home. But as the season continued, cracks in Elliot and Kat’s relationship began to emerge. She didn’t seem at ease with him, they weren’t syncing up, and she was constantly obsessed with the concern that they’d end up like her and Brady. Slowly but surely, they began to drift apart. And even though I couldn’t reconcile how Kat and Thomas could end up together when they’re separated by time like they are, I also couldn’t reconcile Kat and Elliot being endgame either.
Elliot was drawn into kissing his ex-wife Emma of his own accord, and Kat fled back to the 1800s and rekindled her passion with Thomas. But in this episode, Thomas and Kat hash things out and realize they simply can’t be together. Kat obviously can’t abandon her daughter to live in the 1800s. Sure, if it was a traditional long distance relationship, they could make it work. But the pond does not always send you where you want to go, so unless Kat was committing to stay forever, there’s no way to make “them” work.
Admittedly, I had held out some hope that Thomas was going to be some kind of “keeper” of the pond, considering how he’s always there at the pond, lurking in the bushes…
But those theories were firmly laid to rest in this episode. Thomas is not from the future. He’s not a time traveler. He’s just a man who was there for a “season.” I do believe this is going to be the last we see of Thomas.
Kat & Elliot Rekindle Their Love
At the end of the episode, Elliot asks Jacob to take him to the pond so he can be with Kat and help her rebuild Elijah’s home. And he arrives just as Kat has wrapped things up with Thomas. In fact, Elliot and Thomas even exchange looks across the field, nodding at each other, quietly recognizing who the other is. (Some people think there was something deeper going on in this exchange, but I think they both simply put two and two together.)
(There has also been some debate over whether Elliot really used the pond, because some people say he didn’t look “wet” in that scene. To me he did — or, at least as much as any of the other characters have looked wet after leaving the pond.)
Kat’s enthusiasm over seeing Elliot, after she had been so broken down at the idea of trying to rebuild Elijah’s home alone, was very sweet. Their reunion did seem to rekindle their love. But it was also a bit offputting, considering that Kat just had such an emotional goodbye with Thomas. To be honest, it kind of reminded me of those Bachlerotte episodes where the Bachelerotte sobs as she decides not to give someone a rose and then celebrates five minutes later with the rest of the contestants.
But with that said, if this show is renewed, I think this will be endgame for Kat and Elliot and they won’t break up again. (But if this were real life, I don’t think the couple would last.)
Colton & Del Get Engaged
Much of this episode centered around people ending up in the relationships where they belonged. Del returns to Port Haven unexpectedly, and Colton immediately proposes to her and she says yes. It’s a sweet moment that Alice got to witness.
We also learn that Del left home because her parents had lost all their money and were so distraught that they didn’t care about her anymore. It broke Del’s heart. (Ironically, as an adult she does something similar to Alice when Jacob goes missing.)
Del even encourages Colton to not bother finishing his senior year, but to pursue the record deal. It’s unclear why that didn’t happen.
Max & Alice Make a Romantic Connection
With Noah out of the picture, a path opens for Max and Alice to connect. Max reveals to Alice what happened to his grandmother Evelyn later in life. She got married, and the man was abusive to her, so she left him and kept her name. She raised her son as a single mom, taking him on many adventures around the world because she believed that provided the best education.
She and her grandson Max were very close. Evelyn even taught Max how to play chess! When Max opens up to Alice and shows his vulnerable side to her, it draws the two of them closer and they kiss. Alice is conflicted about it, though. She really does like Max. But did she only kiss him because she believes they get married and KC is their child? (I’m seeing more evidence for this being the case, by the way. Max probably taught KC how to play chess and that’s why KC had the bishop with the burner phone.)
All the Mysteries & Questions We’re Still Pondering
Here are some questions I’m pondering this season. Let me know in the comments if I missed any. (I crossed out the ones that have been answered.)
- Who is Colton’s brother and what happened to him?
Why were Evelyn and Colton estranged later in life?(She didn’t want to just be friends, and they went their separate ways.)How did Colton “break” the rules?(Potatoes and rye warning.)When did Colton start time traveling?Is that Colton with Jacob in Susannah’s drawing?- What secret did Del and Colton hide, and why would it be a “fear” their children would have to carry?
- Who is sending Del those letters? (“I know about your family. Soon, they all will.”)
- Can someone travel to the future?
- Who is “the one” that Fern referred to?
- Who was the couple who left the baby in a basket? And who was the baby?
- What happened to Colton’s dad?
- Why did Elliot’s mom leave and where is she now?
Could Evelyn travel through the pond by herself?- What does Fern’s rhyme about 1965 mean?
- Did Kat travel back in time and meet a younger Fern?
- What’s the deal with the clock Elliot found when he tore down the wall in his home? The time was 11:10 and it has a pendulum piece that attaches to the top.
- Is there a ghost in the lighthouse making coin sounds?
- What’s so important about Elliot’s mom’s ring? Who stole it?
- Who pushed Alice into the pond and why were they wearing Colton’s jacket?
- Who sent Del the letters?
- Who is KC really?
- Why was KC seen with Sam? Who is Sam really?
- What happened to Finn the dog?
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Stephanie Dwilson has been working in entertainment journalism for more than a decade. She's led teams of writers covering top TV show franchises like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Rick and Morty, and more. She's a veteran Hallmark journalist and runs a 60,000-member Facebook group dedicated to the genre.
Stephanie is a licensed attorney and she has a master's in science in science and technology journalism. You can reach her at [email protected].
