The Way Home Season 3 Episode 8 Recap: Smoke on the Water

The eighth episode of ‘The Way Home’ season 3, titled ‘Smoke on the Water,’ centers on the Landry’s chaotic affairs as time travel takes its toll on their interpersonal relationships. It provides more knowledge about Colton’s mysterious time travel abilities, which have compounding effects on the entire timeline and the people involved. As a result, Del grapples with the knowledge that her former husband may have kept some profound life-altering secrets from her. Kat and Alice face their own issues, particularly in their romantic lives. With the mounting pressure of Elliot’s kiss weighing on Kat’s mind, she takes her own route, leaving her relationship with Elliot in a no man’s land. Alice goes through something similar, as Casey’s time travel abilities from the previous episode confirm a hard-to-swallow truth. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Jacob Confirms Colton’s Hidden Time Travel Past

The episode begins with Jacob spreading the information to Del and Elliot that Colton is indeed a time traveler. Meanwhile, a distraught Alice also comes back from the pond to tell her grandmother and Elliot that Casey, too, is a time traveler. With two monumental revelations swirling around the block, the family members try to make sense of what is going on around them. In the 1816 timeline, Kat and Thomas have a sweet and tender moment on the beach. However, Kat eventually recognizes that she is completely unraveling her relationship with Elliot by being with Thomas. She eventually comes back to the present day, learning from Alice that her father and Casey are time travelers. The audience is provided a flashback into Jacob’s past when a young Colton came to visit Elijah at the farm.

In the flashback, Colton spends a lot of time with Elijah, Susanna, and Jacob, learning the ways of the family and their history. Before returning to his timeline, he urges them to grow potatoes and rye in their crop fields instead of their usual choices. Jacob is confused by Colton’s suggestion. However, the latter clearly knows that if the family plants wheat and corn, it will likely fail due to his time-travel powers. This information is staggering to Del, who begins questioning everything she knows about her past life with Colton. Most of all, it dents the trust she has in her former husband. She cannot fathom how or why Colton kept it a secret from her, particularly after their son Jacob went missing. She feels devastated that Colton may have known all along what happened to Jacob and kept her in the dark about it.

Kat and Alice Try to Pick the Pieces Out of Their Struggling Relationships

Alice heads back to 1974 to meet up with Colton and Evelyn. Colton is still devastated following Del’s move away from Port Haven. He tries to mask his pain through some songs. Meanwhile, Evelyn cannot understand why Colton is not moving on from Del and trying to enjoy his life in the present. Alice returns to the present and finds it difficult to deal with Noah. After learning about Casey’s time travel powers, she is more confident than ever that she is fated to fall in love with Max and have a child with him (Casey). Therefore, she stops reciprocating Noah’s gestures of affection, even ignoring his calls. With her doubts overtaking her mind, she gets closer to Max. Their animosity gives way to some general friendliness after a few episodes.

Kat also struggles to make sense of her relationship with Elliot. After the big kiss moment from the previous episode, Kat feels guilty about the incident. Realizing that Elliot told her about his kiss with Emma, she decides to do the same by calling him in for a private talk. There, they discuss their respective bouts of cheating, wondering where it leaves their relationship. Kat comes clean and states that being with Elliot takes more work than she previously thought. Elliot considers that response and replies that if that is how she feels about it, then it perfectly encapsulates what their relationship is and feels like. He disappears subsequently, leaving an air of mystery to their relationship status. However, it seems evident that something has broken between them, and it is likely a breakup.

Jacob is Rescued By an Unlikely Savior in 1816

Alice and Colton performed a live demo recording in 1974 at their frequently visited shop. Jasper Coyle facilitates the entire arrangement. Thus, grandfather and granddaughter have a moment of clarity and joy while singing together. Evelyn also pops in and enjoys Colton’s singing from afar. Eventually, Alice meets Evelyn at the pond, where she tells her the harsh truth about Colton’s feelings for Del. It infuriates Evelyn, and she subsequently walks away. Meanwhile, Kat heads back to 1816 to catch up with Elijah and Susanna. Several months after Susanna’s wedding to Cyrus, the townspeople are furious with the weather. Their fury has boiled into aggression towards Cyrus, who is harboring Susanna, a known witch, under his roof. Kat finds Susanna, and the two try to figure out a better solution.

Cyrus learns about Susanna and Kat’s arrangement, telling the former that she will never love him how he wishes. He informs her that his protection deal is off. Subsequently, he heads outside and riles up the agitated crowd into believing that the Landrys are responsible for the recent bad weather. The townsfolk turn their wrath on the Landrys and storm the place. Kat and Susanna try to coax Elija into leaving the place. Jacob also arrives from the present day and convinces his adopted father to leave. The inhabitants are able to escape just before the farmhouse is lit on fire. However, Jacob heads back inside to complete one final task. The smoke and the chaos within leave him badly winded, and soon, he loses consciousness. Kat desperately screams for her brother from outside.

A miracle appears as Jacob is hauled out of the house by an unknown figure. After Jacob’s rescue, Kat notices that his savior is none other than a young Colton. She is astounded by the sight but is unable to stop Colton from running away at full pelt. He leaps into the pond as soon as it comes into his sight. When he emerges out of the water in 1974, he runs into Alice. It is the same scene played out from the opposite perspective during Rick’s funeral day. At the time, Alice thought Colton was simply dipping in the water. However, all the suspicions that Colton knew about the pond’s magical powers are confirmed in this episode. In fact, he had also been influencing various timelines in his own way, which will undoubtedly shock Kat, Alice, and Del.