[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Way Home Season 3 finale “If You Could Read My Mind.”]
Properly, it’s a very good factor The Means Dwelling has already been renewed, as a result of the Season 3 finale is reveal after reveal after reveal … and leaves us with much more questions!
Among the large moments embody: Eliot (Evan Williams) was the child within the basket, and he or she jumped into the pond with a Landry; Colton (Jefferson Brown) realized who Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow) is after assembly her in 1999 and the 2 have a dialog as grandfather and granddaughter — and he knew who Kat (Chyler Leigh) was when he died; Del (Andie MacDowell) time traveled with Kat again to her personal wedding ceremony to Colton; Alice pushed herself within the pond within the premiere; Casey (Vaughan Murrae) is now not hiding that they’re a time traveler and gave Jacob (Spencer Macpherson) Susanna’s will to assist together with his authorized troubles; Casey isn’t Alice’s child from the longer term; Kat and Elliot get again collectively; and Jacob leaves and Sam (Rob Stewart) stands on the pond as he tells Del it is going to be okay.
It’s so much. Under, govt producers (and mom and daughter) Heather Conkie and Alexandra Clarke unpack a few of these large moments. (Keep tuned for Half 2 of our chat for solutions to extra burning questions and scoop on Season 4.)
The Augustines have all the time been wrapped up within the Landrys and time journey. Now, you’re including one other layer to it with Elliot’s mom, whom Alice met in 1974, and he’s the child within the basket. Why have Elliot’s mother — why her particularly from his household — time journey?
Alexandra Clarke: Elliot is a personality who’s leaned on the Landrys his total life and never due to time journey. Even simply by means of his childhood and thru teenage [years], they’ve been this type of protected haven and Del and Colton have all the time been mother and father which have welcomed him in with open arms. Colton particularly constructed him that clubhouse to present him his personal house, and it’s very clear that they acknowledge what’s happening at house for Elliot and what’s happening at house is a extremely tough relationship together with his dad within the wake of an absentee mother. The factor that we’re actually enthusiastic about goes right into a Season 4, trying into his household and the way his household might need been affected by time journey.
It’s not simply the Landry household that’s been affected by time journey. It has this ripple impact by means of one other founding household, nevertheless it additionally exhibits that — I really like that it’s one thing that Elliot himself didn’t even know. The pond is pervasive. It’s this energy that can provide and take away. And I feel up till this level, he’s been very judgmental of the pond in a bizarre manner, not totally understanding why Kat is drawn to it as a lot as she is. Sure, he acquired an unbelievable present together with his 5 minutes with Colton on the finish of Season 2, however he’s all the time stored it a bit at arm’s size, being the one watching and determining the principles, and on the finish of this season, to know and understand that possibly this pond has affected his total life in a much more private manner, I’m actually excited to see what that does to Elliot in Season 4 and his opinion of the pond, his involvement with the pond. It simply opens a extremely fascinating door for him.
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Heather Conkie: It additionally will remedy the thriller what occurred to his mother. He’s all the time felt that she walked out on them. She deserted him as a younger baby. This can reply quite a lot of these questions — and lift extra.
Talking of extra questions, what are you able to say concerning the id of that Landry and Elliot’s mom’s relationship with that individual?
Clarke: Not an excessive amount of proper now. I feel that’s one thing that we completely discover subsequent season. It’s enjoyable as a result of we’re a gaggle of writers that doesn’t like issues to be too simple. So I feel everybody ought to form of maintain that in thoughts. [Laughs]
This does imply that Elliot has the possibility to see his mother once more if he time travels utilizing the pond with a Landry. Will he wish to do this extra?
Clarke: Once more, TBD. I feel Elliot goes to have quite a lot of combined emotions about this revelation and what it means for him, what it means for what he’s all the time thought of his childhood and his life. Nothing is straightforward, nothing is simple. I feel there’s going to be some struggles. There’s going to be some waffling, nevertheless it’s all going to really feel actual and earned.
Conkie: Let’s put it this fashion: Elliot is a thinker. He’ll assume an excessive amount of, and this may trigger him to assume manner an excessive amount of.
I completely beloved the best way you confirmed what Colton knew and his realization. Speak about deciding how to do this and what you wished to do with Colton and Alice’s dialog.
Clarke: From the very starting of our first season room, we knew sooner or later we’d wish to do that. We’d fallen in love with the concept of doing a little bit of a forensic research of his final day on Earth, which is what basically Episode 10 is and why we named it what we did, “If You May Learn My Thoughts.” We’ve by no means seen the world by means of Colton’s eyes, and we begin our episode basically doing that and telling the viewer, that is what we’re doing this episode. The minute he walks into that barn after assembly Alice for the primary time, and we see the precise response he had and that stunning Coldplay tune, “The Scientist” taking part in over it, “take me again to the beginning,” I feel ought to inform the viewers, and I hope it does, that it is a very particular episode and we’re lastly going to see the world by means of his eyes proper from the beginning.
I used to be so happy with Jefferson and Sadie for these scenes by the pond that basically are the end result of going again and seeing what he knew when and seeing what he did on his ultimate day. We had been all blown away by their performances. I feel they each gave the perfect performances they’ve ever given on the present. We had been all a large number, together with them.
Conkie: I’m nonetheless a large number speaking about them.
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Clarke: Precisely. Each time I discuss these scenes by the pond the place Colton lastly sees Alice for who she actually is, his granddaughter, after which explaining the key that he carried that he felt he wanted to hold as a result of it could be a burden to everybody else, however realizing he made a mistake… It was simply so exhausting to get by means of on the day and so exhausting to observe within the edit. Mother and I had been within the edit selecting the perfect takes, and we had been only a mess.
Conkie: Selecting the perfect of the perfect. They had been all unbelievable and virtually unimaginable to get by means of with falling aside.
Clarke: I feel that scene is such an important scene and every part that form of comes after it for our three ladies to get closure lastly on the Colton of all of it. Over the course of those three seasons, not solely does Alice get 5 extra minutes together with her grandfather as her grandfather, it additionally permits Kat by means of this to know that he knew her the night time that he died and that he beloved her and Del to know why he stored this secret from her and that he was going to inform her. These are clouds which have been hanging over our ladies for all three seasons, and it’s so good. It’s one of many causes I’m so thrilled we do have the consideration of getting a Season 4 as a result of it is going to be a Season 4 with this cloud gone. They’re lastly free in a brand new manner. And yeah, I’m actually excited by that prospect and seeing who they’re once they come out from below that storm cloud.
Del time travels! Why have it occur now? Was it all the time going to be to her and Colton’s wedding ceremony or did you contemplate some other moments of their previous?
Clarke: It was all the time going to be the marriage.
Conkie: This has been a season of mounting doubts in Del’s thoughts, particularly with Alice seeing it from her perspective, and Del’s worry that, did she actually have that relationship? What else did she miss that Alice appears to be seeing? It’s been a type of issues that made her doubt the validity and the trueness of all of it. After which simply by seeing the 2 of them at that age. The marriage, once more, we couldn’t get by means of that fairly often within the edit there. [Episode] 10 was tough. I feel all of us want remedy.
Clarke: Comfortable tears.
Conkie: So many tears.
Clarke: I feel it all the time needed to be the marriage that was going to be the affirming factor for her, that their love story was as pure and true as she all the time remembered it being. I really like that second the place she says to Kat, “It’s precisely how I remembered it,” as a result of I feel in simply these few phrases, we’re realizing she wanted that with the intention to proceed on. She wanted that affirmation that her personal reminiscences actually are hers and that this love story was precisely as she remembered it. The marriage in and of itself is such an ideal second for her to see as a result of it’s the tip of 1 facet of their love story. It’s the fortunately ever after second of their love story. Nevertheless it’s additionally the launching pad into what we all know because the viewers of them being a household, beginning that household, turning into the individuals we love them as within the ’90s. So it was an ideal second for her to witness in so some ways.
Kat and Elliot at the moment are once more giving issues a attempt, and a proposal is of their future. Why would possibly they be capable of stroll this time?
Conkie: As a result of they’re lastly shedding all of the previous and beginning with a clear slate. And I feel that’s what they wanted to do all alongside as a result of they’re nonetheless again within the ’90s, Elliot put it as he says, “I put you on a pedestal.” And he did. He fell in love with teen Kat and he’s nonetheless making an attempt to make grownup Kat into her. And I feel in her personal manner, [for] Kat, he was the man who was all the time there for her. If she wanted him, he was there. All her life, she’s taken him without any consideration with out actually understanding the best way it may very well be if they only beloved one another for who they’re now. And I feel quite a lot of relationships are like that. I feel you get used to the best way it was when that there’s adjustments to be made.
Clarke: And to that time, I feel they each confirmed their capability this season for development and maturity, but additionally their capability to make dumb errors. They each made dumb errors this season, no query, however that’s as a result of they’re human and the best way they reacted to one another’s errors, I might argue, was truly fairly mature this season versus how we’ve seen them earlier than. We’ve seen them in all out fights the place it will get to a heated second the place they are saying issues they don’t imply they usually storm out on one another, they usually didn’t do this this season. What they did do was discuss issues calmly in a manner that admitted that they’d be hypocrites in the event that they mentioned, “How dare you make that mistake?” As a result of they’re very able to making errors as properly and understanding that in consequence they’re at a little bit of an deadlock versus different seasons the place they’re so fast guilty.
This season was much more about trying inward versus outward at what wanted to be fastened in the event that they wished to repair their relationship, and I feel that final second is type of the end result of that. The truth that the very very first thing Elliot says is, “I’m tousled.” And Kat then says, “Properly, I’m, too.” And I really like that they’re now in a spot the place they’re keen to confess their very own flaws versus selecting on the different individual’s flaws and saying, “Properly, you alter the best way you might be as a result of that’s what’s going to work.” As a substitute it’s, “I’m going to alter the best way I’m.” Very equally to how we’re feeling about seeing Kat, Del, and Alice be after the storm cloud of all of the Colton questions has form of cleared, I’m very excited to see the place Elliot and Kat are able to going now that this type of thunder cloud of the previous has cleared for them as a result of I feel it’s a really intriguing factor to say, properly, it’s all properly and good to journey to the previous, however we are able to’t dwell previously with our personal relationship, and let’s see how that goes for them. I feel it’s the perfect place they’ve ever been in to attempt once more.
Alice pushed herself into the pond. Had you wished somebody to push a model of themselves into the pond from the start?
Clarke: No, that got here round initially of the Season 3 writers’ room. It was Marly [Reed], the creator of the present, Mother, and I on this mini room forward of the massive official room, and we had been form of mulling about what’s a cool manner for them to go within the pond. We’ve seen Kat get shot. We’ve seen Alice and Kat separated below the water. We’ve seen Kat do this epic backwards, leap out. We’ve seen quite a lot of cool jumps in that pond. What’s a good cooler one? We began speaking about, properly, what if somebody will get pushed they usually don’t imply to go? And since we’re loopy, we then mentioned, properly, we’re a time journey present, what if the individual pushing is themselves? It’s the one time you might ever form of contemplate that as even an choice. We simply fell in love with the concept of it. After which it was quite a lot of whiteboards making an attempt to determine how we might truly make that work. Loads of explaining —
Conkie: Particularly to me.
Clarke: No, it was quite a lot of like, “Okay, so Episode 1 Alice goes all the way down to the pond, however Episode 10 Alice is…” It was a mind breaker, however quite a lot of issues are on our present, however I’m so glad it labored out. I hope individuals are shocked by it and in addition impressed.
Colton’s sweater — as quickly as he put it on Alice, I used to be like, oh, I feel I do know the place that is going…
Clarke: Oh, good. Yay. That’s superior. That’s fabulous. That was what we wished.
The Means Dwelling, Season 4, 2026, Hallmark Channel