The Way Home Season 3 Episode 2 Review: The Way We Were

Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

4.5

Do you ever wonder if maybe you’re just ornery when it comes to characters on TV?

The Way Home Season 3 Episode 2 just introduced Colton, Del, and Evelyn, among others, from the 1970s, and I’m immediately drawn to and rooting for Evelyn.

Evelyn (Evie), of all people!

(©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks)

The Dawn of Del

I’ve never been all that fond of Del if I’m being honest.

She’s so cold. We’ve seen her with Colton, and at least some of that time, she seems much warmer. I always chalked up her frosty demeanor to the tragedies of the ’90s.

But now we’ve met her in the ’70s, and she’s not any warmer than she is now.

Maybe Colton’s love changed her.

Could Sam’s do the same in the present? The man — and I know many of you question his intentions — has the patience of a saint.

(©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks)

They’re grown-ass adults sneaking around like Romeo and Juliet. And when Sam asked Del if they could finally, after six months, appear in public together, she still wasn’t ready. Like I said, the patience of a saint.

I’m curious why the writing team decided on Sam and Del declaring their love for each other only to send Sam packing.

Was it to staunch any awkwardness when Alice inevitably shares what she sees as Del and Colton fall in love in 1974?

I don’t know, but what I’m most looking forward to during The Way Home Season 3 is the opportunity to learn what drives Del and whether she’s grown much as a human being in the last 50 years.

Alice’s Time-Traveling Adventures Continue

(©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks)

At least I don’t feel alone with my Evie appreciation. Alice is as smitten with the swirling blonde as I am.

Alice returns to Wonderland, even seeing how the book with the hidden message came into their lives.

She’s getting such an incredible education by traveling through time. Can you even imagine getting to meet your family at different phases of their lives? Even when tragedy strikes, it’s an overall joyful experience.

She and Evelyn became fast friends. Will Evelyn still go to Morocco after Rick dies? Now that she’s seen Colton’s interest in Del, maybe she’ll stay behind, and her friendship with Alice can continue.

I’m already looking forward to Alice running into Evelyn and feeling differently about her in the present now that she knows her from the past.

The Friendship Tricycle Falls Apart

(©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks)

Through high school, Colton, Rick, and Evie were the dearest of friends.

Twenty years later, Evie was the last one left. No wonder she’s not the most pleasant of people. She learned loss at an early age when Rick died in the accident, and Colton fell hard for Delilah Watson.

Rick made it seem like Colton and Evelyn were written in the stars, but that didn’t last as long as the party on the beach.

Evelyn is ready to see the world, but Colton is happy in Port Haven. And while she (and Rick) might have thought their future together was cemented, all Delilah had to do was walk onto the beach to destroy that notion.

There has to be something more to Delilah’s story, showing up alone for the summer. What happened to her family?

(©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks)

I may have squealed with glee when Evelyn called Delilah an “ice-cold fun killer.” That sounds like the Del we know!

If I didn’t like Delilah at first glance, her dress was incredible.

That’s the style that I looked at as a kid and thought, wow, I want to be just like her when I grow up. Isn’t it weird how you change so much?

Now, I’d want to be like Evelyn.

I’m worried about her and how she takes Rick’s death and losing Colton to Delilah. Colton will be upset, but having a crush always helps take your mind off of the bad things in life.

Coyle’s — The Sticker Mystery is Solved!

(©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks)

The teen joint is owned by a groovy dude named Jasper, and he slapped the Coyle’s sticker on Colton’s gift from his other two wheels.

Jasper is related to Thomas, and he shares with Kat that Thomas ended up in New York with a sprawling family.

Was that the last we’ll hear of Thomas? It sure sounded like the writers wanted to put a cap on it, dammit.

Yes. I’m a Thomas fan, which shouldn’t be a surprise since I’m an Evie fan, too. I’m always drawn to those just a little off-kilter. Proudly, I think I’m the same.

Kat has accepted Elliot’s offer to move in with him, declaring that all she wants is for them to take care of each other. It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Right??

Victor Augustine, Then and Now

(©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks)

Vic was a little pisser before he walked away from an accident that killed his brother, so how did that experience further change him?

He has been obsessed with social standing as long as we’ve known him. Does the accident act as a catalyst for that?

Cooking breakfast, kicking the coffee habit, and falling in love with a woman named Laura didn’t make him a better man.

Under the guise of including Elliot in his future, Victor was there only to rob his son. Or was he? Could he have gone to the house with good intentions only to fall back into old patterns since returning to a house that brought him so much pain?

Vic momentarily spoke well of the past and Elliot’s mom, but I don’t recall any joy from Elliot’s childhood outside of what he had with the Landrys.

I hate that he’ll feel disappointed by his dad yet again.

Jacob Isn’t Acclimating Well to the Present

(©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks)

Will Jacob stay in the present, or will he be drawn back to the past even though danger lurks around every corner?

How do I find my footing when you were my foundation?

— Jacob (to Elijah)

Jacob remembers visiting Elijah and Rebecca’s graves with Colton when he was a child. As Jacob looks back on that moment, he recalls Colton speaking about Elijah as if he knew him. How long until Jacob realizes his father was a traveler, too?

Jacob is really torn between the past and the present. As much as he tries to be the son that Del believes him to be, his heart is in the past with the people he grew up with — his “father,” Elijah, and the others.

Del doesn’t make it any easier for him when she compares adult Jacob to a nine-year-old child. How much can you ever know who a child will become as they grow?

(©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks)

You’d think she would be happy to have him back, but maybe that’s why she showed virtually no emotion during The Way Home Season 3 Episode 1 — Del really doesn’t know how to be happy.

Instead of counting her blessings and being thrilled to have her son in her life again, she’s wondering who he might have been if she’d raised him.

Thankfully, the man he became wants to embrace the present. He wants to find out who he is now as much as Del does. It’s not going to be an easy road, but the best stories never are.

The Book Launch

(©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks)

The book launch was anti-climactic compared to the rest of the hour, and I’m not sure if that’s because I so love the time travel aspect and the 1974 time frame or if it really just fell flat.

I’m more inclined to the latter. After getting so deep into the 1800’s timeline, that door was slammed shut on us. Now that I think of it, that’s exactly what Jacob is feeling.

If The Way Home fandom is reeling from the abrupt loss of characters we fell in love with, how must Jacob be feeling?

The people we met in The Way Home didn’t disappear, so this is a new feeling. Show your fellow fans some grace as they sift through it.

The launch brought Louis Goodwin to town with news about his vineyard and anger about Susanna’s published chapter rewriting his family history. Every time one chapter is closed, another opens!

I Think Colton’s Pond Moment Was a Misdirect

(©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks)

Yes, Alice found Colton thrashing around in the pond, but I think that’s a misdirect for now.

As much as I’d love the two of them to have an impromptu discussion about time traveling, I think we’ll have to wait a while for that.

We’re barely getting to know Colton now, and it seems like the more pertinent part of Alice’s journey to the past this time around is to rediscover her love of music.

She returned to Port Haven with fresh ideas about her future that put music in the rear view mirror, but learning that Colton came so close to something bigger will reinspire her and point her in the right direction again.

We’ll no doubt see Colton using the pond at some point, but it’s too early for that. Maybe as the season progresses.

My Childhood On-Screen

(©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks)

I grew up in the ’70s, so this decade is my jam.

The set design here is a lot of fun, and their use of music is perfect. They couldn’t have picked a song more indicative of the early ’70s than Summer Breeze, and Colton and Evie singing it gave me chills.

The prospect of spending more time in 1974, getting to know Colton, Del, and Evelyn couldn’t be any more exciting!

The Way Home Season 3 is off to a rip-roaring start, so we’d best buckle up. If the previous two seasons were any indication, we have no idea what’s to come. Even though the present is the future, the past still hold plenty of secrets.

What did you think of “The Way We Were”? Did you see any clues to add to the overall mystery? You’ve made it this far. Why not dip below and share your thoughts in a comment? I’d love to hear from you.

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