Kat and Alice had unfinished business in the 20s and the 70s, though, in true The Way Home fashion, it helped fans inch closer to the truth, while unlocking many new mysteries in the process.
On The Way Home Season 4 Episode 3, titled “Dust in the Wind,” the string that we continue to pull at, and that begins to unravel, is the mystery surrounding Tessa’s disappearance. Where did she end up? Who did she go with? Why did she leave? These are all answers we have only managed to drum up hypothetical answers to, which is frustrating, and we begin to understand why Elliott simply wants to know less about his biological mom at this point.
Was Tessa Augustine/Cooper a Time Traveler?
What Elliott is seemingly learning about his mother is far worse than the stories he’d tell himself to explain why she left him. At least, for now, with the limited pieces of information they’ve gotten and the jumbled way they are coming in.
Elliott’s bracing for the worst, as all signs point to Tessa jumping for love to live in a different timeline, and abandoning him with a father she didn’t ever believe was fit enough to be a parent. Heck, she didn’t even leave him in a place that guaranteed he’d be found.
Yet, plenty is pointing at Tessa also being a time traveler, and one who has crafted a life for herself in two very different eras. So, figuring out her story is much more complicated—she’s not the person operating in black and white; she exists in the gray areas.
Alice meets Tessa in 1978, as she works as a waitress at Coyle’s, who also steals from the till and shushes Alice to keep her secret. It’s weird, but the episode doesn’t fully get into it, so we’ll keep it in our back pocket for a later time.
This time, Tessa is no longer just a tourist passing through, and while she and Alice don’t exchange much, there’s a lot unsaid between them and a sense of familiarity, almost as if Tessa knows who Alice is. She even comments that she knows a wayward soul when she sees one, hinting at knowledge of time travel.
We also get our first glimpse at Griffin, who is seemingly also a pond time traveler. At this point, anyone who disappears for longer periods of time and becomes untraceable must be utilizing it. Not to mention, he clocked Alice heading in the direction of the pond during his brief visit to the Landry farm and seemingly knew what she was doing.
In the present, Del reveals she always assumed Tessa and Griffin had an affair and left together, though she’s never thought to mention it because she has no proof of it. Since we’re seeing them both in the same timeline, there has to be a deeper connection here.
Betrayal hits Elliot hard, especially from Del, as he points out that she, of all people, knows what secrets can do to a family. It’s a little unfair for Elliott to take it out on Del, but he’s going through a tough time and needs someone to blame, which just so happens to be the person who has always been on his side.
All this talk of Tessa and what happened to her reaches Vic, who blows back into town after his honeymoon to confront Del before making amends with her and Elliott. I’m now very suspicious of who Vic’s wife is. Is there a reason we haven’t met her yet? Why is she an off-screen character? Why wouldn’t he bring her to meet his son after the wedding?
Everyone Is Moving on Without Alice
Alice is more focused on how rapidly everything in her life is changing. In 1978, much like teen Kat and Elliott back in the 90s, Evelyn, Cole and Del are growing up without her. When she jumps back into the pond mere moments after meeting Griffin in 1976, she returns again, only for the timeline to jump two years. The realization that Evelyn has given birth to Louis and she’s missed this entire chapter of her life, unintentionally and through no fault of her own, despite promising to be there for her, is heartbreaking.
Evelyn isn’t one to hold grudges, but Alice feels the finality of their hang, fully knowing that she won’t ever be able to return and visit Evelyn and Louis again, as she can no longer explain not aging and the long periods between her returns. She can’t risk it, so she can’t be a part of their lives moving forward.
This moment serves as her final goodbye with Evelyn and Cole, and yep, I’m getting emotional. I’ve never been good at goodbyes.
The good news is that, in the present, she has finally found her tribe with Noah and Max, though everything is bound to change once Noah reveals his plans to open up a restaurant five hours away from Port Haven, which actually brings Max and Alice closer together.
At one point, he pushes her into the pond; thankfully, she doesnt time travel, but they nearly kiss, which may be the first moment that they’ve both realized there’s something there. Is the prophecy fulfilling itself? Whatever is meant to happen will happen, even if Casey isn’t their future child, though I kind of think they are.
Kat’s Speakeasy Experience Isn’t All That
Meanwhile, Kat tries to take a break from pond jumping, but honestly, her work isn’t finished yet, and Elliott is foolish to think she will rest without getting any answers. He may not want them, but Kat knows their puzzle is incomplete, and Tessa cannot be judged until they know the full story.
So while he presses his dad, Kat jumps again and ends up back in the 20s with Fern, at another prohibition-era party at a speakeasy.
But overhearing something concerning about “ending him” from the Augustine boys makes Kat uneasy. She’s not sure who they are referring to, but since they’ve worked with or for Grayson Goodwin in the past, she warns Fern about their intentions, just as Kane arrives to warn them of an upcoming raid. Fern doesn’t heed the warning, however, returning to give the crowd a grand finale, but the main reason seems to be so she can spike Kat’s drink.
Kat falls unconscious just as Temperance officer Kane raids the party, waking up behind bars, confused and betrayed. Is their trust too broken to be fixed?
I’d like to think Fern had her reasons, though I can’t fully figure them out just yet. Why would she do that to her own blood? How would this benefit her? Is she working for someone who knows about time travel?
Could the person be Tessa? Fern mentioned something along the lines of “it can’t be you, you’re a woman,” so maybe she’s waiting for Elliott?
Is Fern Connected to the Future?
There’s also undeniable proof that Fern has connections to the future.
First, Kat confronted Fern about knowing Tessa after seeing the two wear the same bracelet, so either she’s lying about now knowing a Tessa (which I think is the case) or the moment hasn’t happened yet. There’s also the fact that Fern performed a rendition of “Tainted Love,” a song recorded in 1964, way in the future, meaning she’d have to hear about it from someone in the ’60s, like Tessa, who possibly time-jumped with Griffin?
As for who the boss was and who the Augustine boys wanted to take out, it’s unclear, but Kat pieced together that Grayson Goodwin had a gun from photos found in a history book, later discovering the bullet shell that Alice picked up in the mines at Lingermore.
Is it possible that Griffin and Tessa were in the ’20s and got caught up in the violence?
Fern and Tessa Are Working Together… A Working Theory
All this leads me to my working theory… I’m starting to consider that Tessa meant to come back for Elliott, but something simply went wrong in one of the timelines. Maybe she’s stuck there? Maybe Griffin is the one who gets shot, and she can’t get back via the pond without a time traveler from the Landry bloodline. Fern can’t take her because the pond doesn’t allow anyone to travel to the future, so it would make sense as to why Fern drugged and had Kat locked up.
What do you think about the theory?
Elliott’s Heart-to-Heart With Vic
In the present, Elliott’s heart-to-heart with Vic may have finally allowed them to make some amends. It showed a softer side to the man who has endured his fair share of heartbreak and pain, likely forcing him to become cold-hearted and closed-off to everyone around him. He never intended to be a terrible father, but being abandoned by the love of ur life while you’re on a job can do that to you.
However, it also underscored that his father truly believed Tessa loved Elliott, so the reasons she chose to walk away from them are unclear even to him. Maybe it wasn’t willingly after all.
Vic is convinced she died after receiving a letter that her time is coming to an end, and though it included the family ring, it could have been from anyone, and honestly proves nothing. Also, someone sending letters?! He may want to compare the handwriting against the notes Del is getting.
Elsewhere in the episode, Elliott gets one more hint at his mother’s love when the clock only chimes at 11:11, as Vic tells him the specific time meant a lot to his mom. The clock clearly has to be some kind of message.
Kat Presses Pause on Her Future With Elliott
Elliott also tells Kat about his desire to have kids with her, which, frankly, takes her by surprise a bit, considering she’s sending her daughter off to college, but seeing how much it means to Elliott, she asks him if they can table the conversation rather than just flat out saying no. Could this be the thing that breaks Kat and Elliott for good?
Share your thoughts in the comments!