The Way Home Season 4, Episode 9, “Auld Lang Syne” Spoilers Ahead
Well, that’s certainly one way to head into a series finale! The Way Home‘s “Auld Lang Syne” closes the penultimate chapter with a (literal) bang. Honestly, there’s so much happening that it feels like it could have nearly been an extra-long episode like next week’s finale! I giggled, I gasped, and I definitely cried. If you did too — let’s get to it. Because we have a lot to discuss!
One More Jump
It doesn’t take long for Kat to show up on Elliot’s doorstep at the start of The Way Home Season 4, Episode 9, “Auld Lang Syne,” willing to jump again after realizing that they may have inadvertently invited Tessa to the night she dies. She knows the feeling of losing a parent — she doesn’t want him to regret anything. But when they jump, they land in the early 1980s instead, running right into Grandma Fern. After last week’s episode showed them bonding, it’s so nice to see Fern’s excitement over seeing Elliot.
But it’s tinged with bitterness, too, when she realizes they haven’t lived through the NYE party yet. “What a sacrifice you made,” she tells Elliot. Speaking of Fern: later in the episode, Del and Colton bring home baby Kat to introduce her. As she meets present-day Kat’s eyes where she’s hiding, Fern smiles down at baby “Kitty Kat.” She also comments that she’s glad Kat is a girl, so she’ll be “nice and safe.” A great reminder that we still haven’t solved “the one” lore!
Elliot and Kat jump again, and this time they do land right when they planned. Kat heads to Lingermore, where she walks in on the screen test as we knew she would. But the film reel scare wasn’t a bad thing after all! Grayson startles them, but he’s not there to hurt anyone. He’s there with Tessa, and they’ve hatched a plan. Oh, and no worries for Fern, either: they amicably split up and are just postponing the announcement to keep the film on track. Grayson got an explosion written into the “Cassandra” script, and they’re going to stage a filming accident. It will collapse the tunnels (freeing Grayson from his bootlegging obligations) and fake Tessa’s death (freeing her to go home with Elliot).
Mama Who Bore Me
Tessa is one of those characters who is easy to dislike. But as this episode shows, it’s also so easy to have sympathy for her. The Way Home Season 4, Episode 9, “Auld Lang Syne,” is one of the only times I can recall a cozy show like this — and certainly a Hallmark title — depicting the not-so-romantic possible outcomes of motherhood. No one diagnoses Tessa on screen, but even if it’s not something overtly medical, it at least portrays the struggles of someone who never felt like she was “supposed” to be a mom. Tessa does love Elliot, but she feels like she’s terrible at the nuts-and-bolts of being a mom, and she’s losing herself in the process. It’s a bold and complex choice for a show that is, at heart, about mothers and children.
When Alice returns to the 1980s, she bumps into Griffin, who snaps her picture as she emerges. Tessa arrives, possibly to meet Griffin, but instead asks Alice to walk her home. But not before Griffin takes the picture we saw in the present, of young Tessa and baby Elliot. Tessa confides that she envies Alice’s freedom and is struggling with motherhood.
Back home, Tessa is babysitting Lewis while also caring for Elliot. But when Lewis runs off, Tessa pursues him… leaving Elliot behind with the stove going. Alice rescues Elliot, just as Tessa, Lewis, and Evie all return. Evie chews out Tessa for being a bad mother, and you can see it chipping away even further at Tessa’s fragile state.
The End of an Era
We always knew something would have to fracture the founding families’ friend group. The Way Home Season 4, Episode 9, “Auld Lang Syne,” shows us: Griffin blows things up in spectacular fashion. After Colton warned him to stay away from Tessa earlier in the episode, the chaotic Landry brother lashes out at one of their dinner parties.
The catalyst is Griffin giving Tessa the bracelet, and things devolve quickly. He mocks them all for thinking they could be a “happy family” with so much tension beneath the surface. Among the nastier blows he lands: accusing Evelyn of being in love with Colton — and Colton of knowing it. Evelyn chimes in too, revealing that Tessa fell asleep while watching Lewis and Elliot. The brothers get into a physical fight, ending with Griffin gone again. When Evie tries to tell Del that it’s not true, Del says that it is true, and she’s always known about Evie’s feelings.
Amidst the chaos, Grandma Fern descends. Once again, Tessa bears the brunt of her wrath, as Fern yells that she’s going to kill her son. And… I think we finally have our “I jump for love” answer. Tessa doesn’t love Griffin; she loves Elliot and believes that leaving him will save him, which makes the rest of the episode even more painful.
I don’t have an issue with the blowup itself; we always knew it was coming, and this makes sense. What I struggle with is Griffin’s role in it all. All season, he’s been more of a plot device than a character. We know little about his motivations, his wants, or really anything beyond his free-spirited, flirtatious personality. Having him be the driving force, without any major motivation, feels not quite right — especially on a show where even the side characters are usually so finely drawn.
New Year, New Chances
The Way Home Season 4, Episode 9, “Auld Lang Syne,” is one of those TV hours that builds you up so you can really get gut-punched (and I say that as — mostly — a compliment!). Tessa and Elliot look at the land that will one day be their home, and she tells him how she’s been saving to buy the property, fix it up, and ultimately leave it for Percy and Mo. There’s a really lovely moment where she tells him about how Susanna built the first house for her nephews, and Elliot just smiles to himself. Tessa also reminisces about how Colton and Del wanted them all to be a family, and Elliot seems so proud when he tells her he did, after all.
The Augustines aren’t the only ones making certainly doomed plans. Kat and Elliot stumble upon Cliff and Fern sharing a romantic moment after Fern visits him on the farm. “You’ve gotta shoot for the stars,” he tells her, “Just as you land back down here again, on the farm, I’ll be waiting to catch you.” And awwwww!!! Cliff proposes, Fern, accepts… and Cliff says he’s going to the NYE party. Oh no.
“Now that’s how it’s done,” Kat teases Elliot, earning her a kiss against the car door, and what an excellent reminder that Elliot’s proposal is also still a dangling plot thread! Later, she finds Cliff alone, writing his love letter to Fern, and she cryptically tells him to trust her and Elliot because they want to keep Fern safe. But as she walks away, she hears the sound of a twig snapping off-screen. She looks in its direction (but the camera doesn’t follow), then continues away. Who’s there (and, more importantly, from when)?
But Daddy, I Love Him!
Amidst the life-and-death drama, Jacob’s romantic entanglement seems almost quaint. And yet, The Way Home Season 4, Episode 9, “Auld Lang Syne,” does manage to devote time to it. Abby is opening Goodwin’s Good Wines with an event in the Lingermore tunnels, and she wants Jacob there. Not only is that reopening a trauma he can’t tell her about, but it also sets him on a collision course with Lewis.
It all goes… about as well as you’d expect. Lewis tries to kick Jacob out, Jacob declares that he’s in love with Abby, and she tells Lewis she loves Jacob too. Then Lewis drops the bomb that the Landrys have been “blackmailing” him — failing to explain the details of what actually happened with Susanna’s will — causing Abby to leave in anger.
More importantly, Rita drops another bit of Port Haven lore about the tunnels. The folk song about “five souls in, four out” didn’t mean that four people survived, although that’s how local legend interpreted it over time. In reality, all five died in the explosion, but only four bodies were recovered.
Tick, Tick… Boom!
“Auld Lang Syne” has what the season has been building to: the explosion at Lingermore. And despite the episode’s earlier setup — or perhaps because of it —we know it won’t go off as planned. At the NYE party, Elliot quickly realizes that Tessa lied: she’s doing one more job for Capone. Before he can do anything, Cliff’s undercover cop recognizes him and has him publicly arrested as the “head” of the bootlegging ring. Elliot begs Cliff to let him go help Tessa, or at least say goodbye. Cliff agrees… then follows with the cop.
Grayson, Fern, and Kat try to figure out a plan. While Fern stays at the party, Grayson takes Kat to the tunnels, giving her his gun so she can defend herself. Down in the tunnels, Tessa and the Augie boys are getting one last shipment ready. She won’t leave with Elliot until it’s done. When she sends Mo (Elliot’s great-grandfather) up to the surface as lookout, it’s clear what’s coming next, and all we can do is watch it happen.
Everyone ends up in the tunnels at once. Among the chaos, Tessa gets the gun from Kat, but when she aims at Cliff and his deputy, she hits Elliot instead. As Kat tries to help Elliot — and Tessa freezes in horror — Percy and Cliff struggle. They hit a lantern, which tips over and sends a line of flame right into the explosives. Outside, Fern sings “Auld Lang Syne” as the partygoers gather to watch fireworks. Over the sounds of her song, Kat pulls a barely-conscious Elliot through the tunnels, while Cliff, Tessa, Percy, and the cop register the danger. We hear the explosion from Fern and Grayson’s position… and cliffhanger! What a thrilling (and emotionally draining) episode.
What I’m Pondering
- The focus on Griffin’s camera + realizing Alice is a time traveler… could Griffin be the one who cut Alice and Kat out of Jasper’s reels?
- Speaking of photos: Vic took the photo of Colton, Griffin, Del, and Tessa that Colton tore up.
- I think we all had figured out that Danny was the mysterious letter-writer, right? But his explanation is really quite sad. He overheard Kat and Alice trying to take medicine to Jacob, way back in Season 2. Realizing Jacob was alive — and that the Landrys were still allowing Danny to take the “blame” for his childhood disappearance — he lashed out. Jacob forgives him and promises to share the truth… though he’s not sure Danny will believe it.
- Oh, and Jacob is bringing Danny on as a full-time partner in the farm, so that he can commute to Toronto to see Abby.
- It was really nice — however short-lived — to see Kat and Jacob’s sibling heart-to-heart in “Auld Lang Syne.” Their storylines have kept them apart most of the season, but their relationship is so important.
- I guess we know now why Grandma Fern hates Tessa so much!
What We Still Don’t Know
- With the double-length series finale next week, we’re still looking for a lot of answers to mysteries, questions, and dangling plot threads! Some (like the identity of Tessa’s son’s father) haven’t been explicitly stated, but the narrative has made them clear. Others are still open theories!
- Who sent the letter and ring to Vic in Tessa’s name?
- Who put the clock in the Augustine house wall?
- Who is KC?
- Which — if any — of our couples will end up happily ever after?
- What is “the one” prophecy, and who will it be?
- What happened to Griffin after he came back to get medicine for Tessa, and where is he now?
- Whose wedding was in the season prologue, and who is the “he” Kat wishes could be there?
- And finally: what is Stormy the horse’s whole deal?
Now streaming on Hallmark+: What are your thoughts on The Way Home Season 4, Episode 9, “Auld Lang Syne?” Let us know in the comments below.
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