The Way Home Season 4, Episode 7, “Working My Way Back to You” Spoilers Ahead
As we tick closer to the series finale, The Way Home‘s “Working My Way Back to You” starts peeling back key layers. It’s an interesting blend of messy family dynamics and romances where at least one person is keeping a major secret. We’re hitting some great emotional moments, but there are still a few points where things do feel like a “hurry and wrap it all up” situation.
Check and Mate
Finally, finally, we’re starting to get some answers! The Way Home Season 4, Episode 7 kicks off with a medium-sized reveal. We flash back to a year(ish) ago, where Sam is playing on a chessboard in the park when KC sits down across from him. This, apparently, is their first meeting, when KC asked for help with Susanna’s will. But it’s not their first meeting from KC’s perspective: in fact, they know him quite well from their life in Toronto. They let Sam in on the time travel secret, much like Alice confided in Teen Elliot (complete with the any place, any time phrasing).
Later, we jump to the present day, where Sam and KC are again playing chess (at Max and Alice’s board, no less). It appears KC has told Sam at least some parts of his future, hinting that he and Del will end up together. I do wish we understood more about KC as a character, rather than just a plot device. Making them such a central mystery is great for the suspense, but in such a character-driven show, they do stand out because the plot requires them to be such a cipher.
Worth noting, though. If KC knows Sam in their own time, that would suggest that they’re not a distant Landry descendant, but most likely the child of one of our current characters. And so the Abby/Jacob theory continues gaining steam! Even more so when Jacob offers to help Abby market the vineyard, and their tour of the fields turns into flirtatious banter and a kiss.
A Matter of Infinite Hope
The Way Home Season 4, Episode 7 makes it clear that Tessa is not happy to see Elliot. She won’t give him answers about her departure, and she seems in a hurry to send him back. Kat, meanwhile, comforts Fern, who’s feeling betrayed by Auntie Coop. The two bond over loss and love and what comes next.
Kat plans on jumping back with Elliot, knowing that they’ll have to come back, since Kat hasn’t experienced the screen test with Fern yet. But first, she’ll get to see her (presumed) great-grandparents fall in love! The tension between Cliff and Fern finally bubbles over into an old-Hollywood-esque kiss. This season is relying heavily on romance tropes and character chemistry to make storylines work on a compacted timeline, but in this case, it really does work!
When Kat and Elliot go to jump, however, Elliot lets go at the last minute. A panicked Kat emerges in 1979, where Grandma Fern greets her warmly. She reassures Kat that she needs to let Elliot have time with his mom. We also get another cryptic clue: “the key is the key.”
In the present, Kat discovers Elliot called a piano tuner to deal with the sticky key. There’s a paper wrapped around the key: the missing page from the Alice book that Tessa gave Fern. Now, it has a hand-drawn picture and mysterious words on one side… and a love letter from Cliff to Fern on the back.
In the episode’s last minutes, Kat finds out that Elliot scheduled a teaching sabbatical. And, in his room, she finds copies of old newspapers… including a photo of him — wearing round glasses! — getting arrested as the bootleggers’ leader at the 1925 New Year’s Eve party. He knew all along!
Welcome to the ’80s
And speaking of New Year’s Eve! Alice, on the run from her uncertain present-day plans (or lack thereof), jumps to NYE 1979. The whole gang is gathered at Coyle’s to ring in a new decade. Griffin catches Alice watching from afar and brings her in, and Evelyn is overjoyed. As Jasper plays a montage of the past years, Alice catches a glimpse of Kat in the background — and so does Evie! She insists that this is “My Katherine” and the “white witch” who saved her as a child. She wants to keep the reels, but Alice sneaks it out and throws it away. But someone pulls it back out.
There’s still tension between the Landry brothers. Griffin insists that he wants to be there for Colton, alluding to when they lost their dad. But he’s also a loudmouth and a mess who kind of hits on Tessa. So… mixed bag, altogether? Like KC, I’m worried that Griffin is more of a plot device than a three-dimensional character.
On her way out, Alice passes along a piece of advice KC gave her earlier in the episode. Everything is a countdown to something, so take time to enjoy things while they last.
What I’m Pondering
- I’ve suspected since the season premiere that the future “him” is Elliot, trapped in time somehow. Now, I fear that (or an even worse fate) really is the case. 1979 Fern tells Kat that the Landry women are cursed when it comes to true love. And she’s fiddling with a ring that is definitely not Grayson’s as she says it.
- KC is tired of being poked and prodded for time travel answers. I don’t blame them! Also, they give their blessing for Sam to confess the truth to Del.
- Speaking of Del and Sam! At first, Del pretends she doesn’t remember what she told Sam when she hit her head. But she actually dropped the L-word… and by the end of the episode, she does it again on purpose.
- While the Sam = Griffin theory seems to have been put to rest, it’s interesting that the show has made such a point of noting that no one, not even Del, knows where Griffin is in the present day. Is that going to be significant?
- Elliot’s 1920s alias is “Tom Buchanan,” and LOL. You can take the nerd out of the classroom…!
- Again: I think Jacob and Abby are very charming, but I hate how fast their storyline is being forced to move.
- When, exactly, is Tessa going to plant the clock in the wall? Or… could Elliot leave the inscription for his future self? After all, “Find me there” doesn’t seem like a message this Tessa would write.
- Noah is back in town and insists nothing has to change with him and Alice. Look, I think Max was a jerk the way he yelled at Alice last episode. He owes her a major apology… but I think this exchange proves he’s not entirely wrong. Despite her misgivings, Alice needs to move forward, and I don’t think Noah is the one to get her there.
- Young Del has been used so minimally this season, but she’s making the most of every single scene.
- I so badly want Evelyn to know the truth before the end!
Now streaming on Hallmark+: What are your thoughts on The Way Home Season 4, Episode 7, “Working My Way Back to You?” Let us know in the comments below.
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