What a long, strange road it’s been for the characters of The Way Home. But Kat (Chyler Leigh), Del (Andie MacDowell), Elliot (Evan Williams), Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow), and Jacob’s (Spencer MacPherson) stories have bittersweetly come to an end on Hallmark Channel.
WARNING! Spoilers ahead for The Way Home Season 4 Episode 10, “Ahead By A Century,” which streams on Hallmark+ on June 22.
The fan-favorite time-travel drama returned for its fourth and final season on April 19, delving into storylines spanning centuries, including why Elliot’s mother left him behind, who KC Goodwin (Vaughan Murrae) really is, and whether Elliot made it out of the explosion under Lingermore alive.
Williams told DECIDER in a sit-down interview ahead of Season 4 that “it was really cool to have Elliot have a mission” this season, explaining that it was “nice to be able to shine some light and bring some healing” to his character.
If you’ve watched The Way Home Season 4 finale, “Ahead By A Century,” and are in need of an explanation, DECIDER’s got you covered.
The Way Home Ending Explained: Is Elliot Dead?
The Way Home Season 4 Episode 10, “Ahead By A Century,” picks up where The Way Home Season 4 Episode 9, “Auld Lang Syne,” finished off. Elliot was shot in the infamous explosion that took place under Lingermore, which inspired the song teased toward the start of the series, “Five Went In.”
As Kat () is dragging him out and toward the pond to send him back to the present, Alice and Jacob arrive to help. After Jacob takes Elliot back to the present, Alice and Kat jump into the pond together. However, the pond won’t allow Kat to time travel, keeping her in 1926. This allows her to check in with and console Fern (Bianca Melchior), who laments that her love and the town’s temperance inspector Cliff (Dan Jeannotte) did not find her and kiss her at midnight (it is New Year’s, after all).
Fern eventually discovers that she lost Cliff to the explosion, after one of the Augie boys stops by and informs her that four of the five bodies under Lingermore were pulled out, and that they found Cliff’s hat. This revelation is only made more difficult to bare after Fern tells Kat that she’s pregnant, and was planning to tell Cliff during their planned midnight meet-up.
Del and Sam (Rob Stewart) are speaking outside her house when they hear Alice and Jacob scream for help, as they drag Elliot toward the house. Sam tells Del to call 911.
While Kat stops by the Herald‘s office in 1926 to pick up clothes for Fern, she tells off Grayson Goodwin (Gabriel Hogan), who tells her that he knows that the Landrys are the “rightful owners” of Lingermore as penned in Susanna Augustine’s (Watson Rose) will.
In her grief, Fern only wants more time with Cliff, and asks Kat to join her as she time-travels for the first time. The pond takes them back a day prior, granting Fern the opportunity to have one more conversation with Cliff and to tell him that she is expecting. She urges him not to “be the hero,” telling him to run once the clock strikes 12. Fern vows to protect Cliff’s name, keeping the fact that he is the father to her baby a secret.
Though it looks like touch and go for Elliot upon his return to the present, Del tells Alice and Jacob that Elliot made it to the hospital and survived emergency surgery.
Alice finds teenage Tessa (Kelsey Falconer)—Elliot’s mom—burying a suitcase filled with her stuff, a ploy to convince Vic (Leo Pady) that she did not time travel, but just left town. She tells Alice that Vic “hating” her is easier than having him “worry.” Tessa assures Alice that she’s not in love with Griffin (Charles Vandervaart), but is “in awe” of the magic the pond provides, and how it can take her away from the struggles of motherhood, in which she feels like she’s failing.
While it seemed as though Elliot’s mother Tessa, later known as “Coop” (Megan Follows), was lost to the explosion, Elliot has a sudden realization while pondering when it was his mother left the inscribed clock in the wall of his home. His mother hadn’t bought the home before she allegedly died, though the Augustines own the house now. Elliot deduces that she put the clock in the wall after 1926 to signal to him that she was still alive.
Does Elliot Finally Pop The Question?
Yes! Elliot tells Kat he was working so hard to find the “perfect” moment to ask her to marry him, though he realized that there is no perfect moment to tell the person that you love that you want to spend the rest of their life with them. (Cue the awws!) After Kat says yes, Alice pulls out her guitar, serenading them from the porch steps.
Who Does Alice End Up With?
At the start of Season 4, Alice and Noah (Alexander Eling) are committed to maintaining a long distance relationship, should Alice go to school in New York. Though she decides to delay her enrollment by a semester, there is also another obstacle to her and Noah’s relationship: Max Goodwin (Dale Whibley), Alice’s best friend.
After Alice sends him a recording of the song she wrote, Max is convinced that it’s about him, and drives from Toronto to Port Haven to tell her as much. Alice is at a loss for words as Max says he can have the kind of relationship she writes about—one in which she is pushed to be who she wants to be—with him, and he drives off.
Alice visits older Evelyn (Susan Hamann), confirming that she was the one who edited her and Kat out of the tape recording from Coyle’s in the 70s, concealing their secret that they can time travel. While there, she shares a sweet moment with both young Evelyn (Devin Cecchetto)
Max returns to apologize, proposing that he and Alice pretend like their conversation never happened. But Alice reveals that she’s ended things with Noah, explaining that she needs to choose herself. After Max says he’s proud of her and begins to get in the car, Alice admits that her song is about her relationship with him, and the two share a kiss.
Who is KC in The Way Home?
The mystery of KC Goodwin’s identity has eluded The Way Home fans since their debut in Season 2. However, it seems as though one fan theory prevailed. KC, who let Sam in on the secret of the pond, is wondering what is holding Del back from pursuing a relationship with Sam. They decide to take Del to the summer kickoff in 1999, where Del can see her late husband Colton (Jefferson Brown) once again. Colton urges Del to “be happy” for him, and the two share a dance. This ultimately pushes Del to sell Colton’s boat to Nick (Kerry James), and to move on, allowing herself to follow her feelings for Sam.
After Jacob decides to propose to Abby (Holly Deveaux), he asks Alice what kind of ring Abby may be expecting. When Alice offers up her ring, the one her father Brady (Al Mukadam) originally proposed to Kat with, it all clicks: KC is Jacob and Abby Goodwin’s child, as evidenced by the ring they wear around their neck, the same one that Alice owns.
How Does The Way Home End? The Way Home‘s Final Scene:
The final scene of The Way Home takes place in Port Haven—at the pond, of course—in the future, where the Landrys and Goodwins are gathered for Jacob and Abby’s wedding. Through misty eyes, the Landrys spot those they met in eras past while time traveling, including Susanna, Elijah Landry (Stuart Hughes), and Thomas Coyle (Kris Holden-Ried); young Fern and Cliff; young Evelyn; and Colton. KC also watches from afar, as their parents tie the knot. After the wedding, Kat and Alice shed light on them and their family’s “happy ending,” but highlight how “every ending is just a new beginning.” And with that, the two jump into the pond together. To where, we don’t know.
The Way Home Season 4 finale begins streaming on Hallmark+ on Monday, June 22.
