Recap of “The Way Home” Episode 7: The Mystery Deepens

Mark

“The way home”

Hallmark’s new series, The Way Home, was stellar in its first season. Episode seven continued the main mysteries and added a new twist involving grandfather Colton. Finally we could see Kat and Alice opening up to each other. But this episode’s star might have been Alex Hook as Young Kat, navigating the conflicting emotions a teenager feels after such a great tragedy strikes her once safe home.

This article contains spoilers for Episode 7.

Jacob’s secret deepens

Last week’s episode surpassed all expectations as Kat tried to save her Jacob, but things went strangely wrong. She found Jacob and escorted him home safely, thinking he would be safe now. But somehow her intervention changed nothing.

oh cat @chy_leigh lost her job at the newspaper. Do you think she’s getting any closer to asking what happened to Jacob? #RemySmith? #The way home pic.twitter.com/iCdt6wpaLa

– Hallmark Channel (@hallmarkchannel) March 6, 2023

Part of this new episode was about Kat dealing with the aftermath of this heartbreak. She got fired after neglecting her job to save her little brother, and then all those attempts exploded in her face. Chyler Leigh did a great job on this episode where every step forward is nothing more than just walking in place.

However, the mystery of what happened to Jacob has deepened. And when Alice returns to the pond, only to end up on New Year’s Eve and not the night of Jacob’s disappearance, the family’s ability to save Jacob seems increasingly unlikely.

What happened to him? My personal guess is that after Kat saw him enter the house, he went back outside and somehow fell into the pond. I believe he is still alive, but lives in a very different time period.

Sadie Laflamme Snow said on Twitter that she won’t even tell her closest friends how the mystery will be solved.

“Just to be clear – I don’t even tell my closest friends if their theories are close or not. My friend thinks Jacob is trapped in the dog’s body 💀💀 I made him think so…” she tweeted.

A new mystery involving Colton emerges

Mark“The way home”

The episode also revealed that Colton and Del didn’t have a perfect marriage after all. The stress of losing her son caused a huge rift between the two. Colton felt that Del was moving forward too quickly, and Del felt that Colton was shutting them out.

In the present day, Del Kat confesses that she thought Colton would end up cheating on her. He was spending all of his savings on something Del had never found out about, but she assumed it involved stalking other women. (She didn’t come out directly and say that, but it seemed to be the case.)

However, Kat learns that a mysterious note in Colton’s shirt points to a motel that is now closed. Did he maybe buy the motel to try and start a new business and distract himself? Or was he taking care of someone who lived there? We wonder.

Teen Kat was a standout character in this episode

Alex Hook, who plays Teen Kat, was outstanding in this episode. She brilliantly portrayed a grieving teenager who is heartbroken not only at the loss of her brother but also at the loss of her relationship with her parents. The show did a great job of drawing an interesting parallel between how Del felt left out by Colton and how teen Kat (and adult Kat) felt similarly left out by Del. And Hook really sold the scene where Teen Kat suffered her first panic attack and had no idea what was going on. Seeing Alice help Kat through that moment based on how her mother had dealt with it over the years was a nice touch.

I’m so thankful we were able to show what it looks like when someone is having a panic attack. I’ve had them all my life. I felt seen when I saw this. Beautiful working ladies @sadielsnow #AlexHook #The way home

— Chyler Leigh (@chy_leigh) March 6, 2023

On Twitter, Chyler Leigh wrote about the scene: “I am so thankful that we were able to show what it looks like when someone is having a panic attack. I’ve had them all my life. I felt seen when I saw that. Nice work ladies @sadielsnow #AlexHook.”

Y2K Party Bts #The way home @TheWayHomeHC @hallmarkchannel @evan_m_williams @chy_leigh pic.twitter.com/rg5RgareCx

— Sadie Laflamme-Snow (@sadielsnow) March 6, 2023

Before the panic attack, the Y2K party was a fun respite from the heaviness of the plot (and any viewer who was a teenager at the time probably felt a bit of nostalgia watching those scenes.) The crew paid attention to every little detail during the Setting up the props for this party, even down to a whiteboard where everyone voted on what would happen at midnight – and young Elliot voted “nothing happens”. It was absolutely perfect for his character.

Romantic relationships grow without drama

It’s nice to see the main characters develop their own love interests. Alice and Spencer had a really sweet moment where he made her a meal and helped her out of her depression even though she was still pining for her 1990s boyfriend.

Del and Byron also appear to be making good progress. There isn’t much drama between the two and Byron understands very well what she is dealing with. I was glad they didn’t show Del getting upset with Byron for not telling her he fired Kat. They seem to have a lot of respect for each other.

Chyler Leigh and Evan Williams were the romantic stars of this episode, with their portrayals of Kat and Elliot’s growing affection. Their scene together in the car was perfect as you could really feel that these two have a lifelong friendship to build on.

BTS: The scene where we sing in the car was one of the funnest days of filming @chy_leigh . We’re like kids most of the time, so it’s nice to just let it loose on screen. There were far more outrageous takes. 😂🥰#The way home @hallmarkchannel @TheWayHomeHC

— Evan Williams (@evan_m_williams) March 6, 2023

Eva Williams shared on Twitter that the scene in the car was “one of the funnest days of filming with @chy_leigh”.

And then of course there was the scene where they almost kissed. Personally, I think Elliot should have kissed her right away, but delaying the moment makes better television.

Overall, this was a great episode that has become the norm for The Way Home. All of the stars present an authentic, nuanced take on their characters, and it’s never quite clear where the plot will lead next. This definitely shines as one of Hallmark’s better series, and the show’s renewal for a second season is universally welcome news.

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