Reviewer Rating: 4.5/5.0
4.5
If you’re one of those fans who doesn’t like a fast pace, The Way Home Season 3 Episode 3 might not be for you.
But if you, like thousands of others, are invigorated by the idea of time travel and where this immersive human puzzle might take you, then you are in your element!
The history of the Landry, Goodwin, and Augustine families gets really exciting.
So much happened in this hour that Nick Augustine’s death wasn’t as sad as expected.
Instead, we see the beginnings of life-changing events in 1974, and in 2025 (or is it 2024? Whatever…) surprising revelations promise to upend everything we know about the pond so far.
Colton isn’t ready to share his secret about the pond
As I expected, if Colton had used the pond in 1974, he wasn’t prepared to share it with Alice. While they didn’t just come out and say, “Hey, let’s time travel across the pond,” Colton and Evelyn were close enough.
They were definitely traveling. What’s more interesting is, possible Evelyn can do this on her own, which either means she has Randy’s ancestor in her bloodline or that the Goodwins have their own little secret.
If Colton’s stories so far were true, he probably wouldn’t have shared his adventures with Alice. Their relationship wasn’t close, and it was a huge secret. But I also wonder if he recognized Alice from 1993.
He was so warm and seductive to a girl his daughter barely knew.
He most likely already knew that Alice was his granddaughter. Those of you watching Season 1 of All the Way Home for the tenth time need to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Colton has to know that if he’s still alive, Alice won’t quit.
A big part of the reason Kate and Brady left was the turmoil with Del following Jacob’s disappearance and Colton’s death. Knowing Jacob when he disappeared could be a blessing or a bad thing.
We never see him searching for Jacob in the pond, but one of his first actions after Nick’s funeral is to visit the pond, possibly in hopes of bringing him back.
The biggest revelation of the night was that it now appears that a significant part of Cole and Evie’s relationship involves the pond.
Evelyn admits she loves Colton
The summer Del fell in love, Evelyn gave up on her dreams of a future with Colton.
Alice can barely continue the conversation because she is the product of Del and Colton’s love. I wonder what would have happened if Evelyn had lived long enough to meet Alice.
As Evelyn and Alice talk, Alice mentions the pond, and the moment everyone has been waiting for arrives—there’s a hint of knowingness in Evelyn’s demeanor.
Before the truth is revealed, Alice remembers that the books are a set, and she and Kate discover a more important message in the two books:
To Evie: If you stay, you won’t be cursed. Water literally saved us. I believe it now. There is magic in the house. Back to me and the pond. Love Cole
What does this mean? Did Colton fall in love with Evie when he met Del, only to have his heart stolen? Or did he write these messages in the book at a later time, perhaps after Evelyn left the pond? Did he hope to send a message to her over time through the paired books?
Why, oh why, did Evelyn have to die before we got this far? I wanted her to be a part of the story. Instead, we have to learn who she is through conversation and time travel.
But there are other things to consider. There is evidence that the Goodwins were also travelers. If so, what does this mean for the Goodwins we’ve met so far?
How will the past connect to the present and reveal their full story?
Kathy is a member of the Goodwin family, and we’ve always been keen to connect time travel and the ring to Alice. But what if there’s another reason that ties it all together that has nothing to do with Alice?
Vern Landry is home!
In 1974, Kate met her great-grandmother, Fern Landry. Coincidentally, Del starts talking to Alice about her at the same time.
Fern is Colton’s grandmother, two generations before Colton. If she was in her 80s in 1974, she would have been born around 1894, 80 years after Kate found Jacob in 1814.
Are we getting hints at other times Kate and Alice might travel in the future? Del recalls Fern saying the pond was magical and cursed, just like the message in the book.
Even better, not only does Fern know the pond, but she may have been familiar with Kate before they met in the woods. She’s not called Kate Katie Kate for nothing.
She’s absolutely delightful and probably has a basket of secrets to tell. The first revelation came to Kate when she was “worried that Colton was ‘the one’.”
I’m worried he’s the one. If it wasn’t his father or brother, it was him. But I was wrong.
— Vern Landry
When she bumps into Kate in the woods, she’s also singing a ditty that Evelyn and Colton later sing together. “Sixty-five years old, thought they were dead. Sixty-five years old, still alive.
In 1965, Port Haven wanted to fill in the pond. Why?
Is this song about Colton’s brother? Do they think he died in 1965, but Fern (and maybe Colton and Evelyn) knew he was still alive?
And, as many fans have speculated, is Sam Colton a long-lost brother?
Why is Evelyn singing this song while looking at the pond? Did they just hear Grandma Vern singing it all the time, or did they know the secret of 1965?
If we had any doubts about the entire Landry family using the pond, Colton and Evelyn pretty much admitted it because they said they wouldn’t do it without each other. However, Colton at least tried, so he might have an adventure without her.
Seriously, it made me dizzy, but it did it in the best way possible.
The best and worst summers of Colton’s life
Del recalls 1974 through Colton’s eyes – the best and worst summer of his life. Summer has just begun, so we don’t know how bad things are going to get, but Nick’s death is a good start to the grieving process.
Meeting Del was the beginning of the best part of his life, so that summer really threw him into trouble.
We finally see Del’s heart when she delivers casseroles to the Augustine family after Rick’s death. If she’s not too happy with Kate, she’ll definitely step up to the plate when Elliot needs to be defended.
She insists she doesn’t understand time travel, so we have to assume she’s new to it, and it must be exciting to have her granddaughter witness her past in her own present. It’s a lot to wrap her head around, especially since she hasn’t seen Colton in a long time.
Wouldn’t it be hard for you if you were in her position and didn’t want to touch him in a certain way? I think (for now) it’s enough for Alice to be there for the man she loves in his worst moments.
That doesn’t mean she’s shared everything she knows about that summer. The way she pleads with Kate to choose the present over the past suggests she’s hiding something (besides her affair with Sam).
Eliot’s family history
A devastated Vic blamed Colton for Rick’s death in 1974.
(BTW…why are there two Ricks in the following seasons? Is there a connection between them?)
Currently, Vic claims he is back to give the ring to his new wife. He kept looking around and even called Elliot’s ex-wife to find her. He laughs in Elliot’s face when he realizes he’s been saving the ring for Kate.
Of course, Vic doesn’t want the Augustine family ring to fall into the hands of any Landry, who is wealthy because she’s the only person in the equation who knows the real early Augustine.
But I’ve also seen a lot of people questioning what happened to Elliot’s mother, now that we know she ran away shortly after they were married.
From the way they spoke, I sensed that Elliot’s mother was not dead and would come back. “You have the only living family you have left” usually implies that someone is terribly wrong.
There’s even a moment when Vic really seems to be just a sad man living a sad life – until he steals the ring without the ring box. No one would give an engagement ring to their daughter without a box.
This guy is on to something, but who knows?
elsewhere…
Jacob finally left the farm. If Danny needs a change of pace, he needs to see his friends more.
Will this finally give Danny what he needs to move on? He was stagnant, his life had stopped since the day Jacob disappeared.
Alice and Noah are spending some time together again, but I can’t be the only one not interested in what her life will be like in 2025. On the way home.
Does this do anything to unravel the mystery of the baby in the basket? I don’t think so yet. If my personal experience is any guide, the girl jumping into the pond is from the 90s, a story I imagine will only be revealed at the end of Season 3 of All the Way Home.
Now it’s your turn! Is your heart still trembling? Are my thoughts completely out of whack? What do you think of Fern? Will we see Colton and Evelyn travel?
Please share your thoughts below. I’d love to see your thoughts!
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