Did Tessa survive? “The Way Home” series finale explained (SPOILERS)

WARNING! THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS ABOUT THE WAY HOME SERIES FINALE!During the series finale of The way homeElliot realized that his mother, Tessa, was probably alive because he had not put the clock on the wall of their house before she supposedly died in the explosion in the Lingermore tunnels, meaning she must have survived. Tessa Cooper (Megan Follows) experienced postpartum depression after giving birth to Elliot Augustine (Evan Williams) in the early ’80s.

Tessa’s fears of being a terrible mother were confirmed when Fern Landry (Jill Frappier) warned her that she was going to kill her son. Elliot grew up thinking that his mother had abandoned him and his father, Victor Augustine (James Gallanders), when he was a baby, but eventually discovered the truth that Tessa had used Landry Pond to travel back in time.

Elliot realized that Tessa had jumped into the pond and traveled back in time, and had gotten stuck in time. He eventually followed her to 1925, where she was working as a smuggler after decades of living in the past. On New Year’s Eve 1925, Elliot ended up in the Lingermore tunnels with Tessa and others. She accidentally shot him just before the explosion, which had become part of Port Haven lore. Elliot returned to the presentwhere he made a full recovery, but thought Tessa had died in the explosion.

How did Elliot realize that Tessa might have survived the Lingermore Tunnel explosion on her way home?

Elliot Augustine from The Way Home holding the clock from inside the wall

During The way home In episode 1 of season 3, Elliot found a mysterious clock on the wall of his house, which he assumed his mother had placed there. However, when they met in 1925, she told him that she knew nothing about the clock. Because Tessa supposedly died later in the Lingermore Tunnel explosion, it seemed like it was impossible for her to be the one who put the clock on the wall.

However, during the end of the series The way homeAs he looked at the clock on the mantelpiece, Elliot realized that Tessa must have survived the explosion. He remembered that she had not yet purchased the house when she supposedly died, so she must have put the clock on the wall after 1926. Elliot told Kat (Chyler Leigh) that he believed Tessa had lived, theorizing that she did not put the clock on the wall so that he would find her in time, but to let him know that she was still alive.

What do The Way Home executive producers say about Tessa’s survival of the explosion?

Tessa (Megan Follows) and Elliot (Evan Williams) from The Way Home sitting outside together

The creators and executive producers of The way homeMother and daughter Heather Conkie and Alexandra Clarke confirmed that Elliot’s theory about Tessa being alive is correct. When asked about Variety If Tessa put the clock on the wall to prevent Elliot from coming back for her, Clarke responded: “It’s peace of mind. It’s Bootstrap theory.”

Bootstrap theory, also known as the time travel paradox, is a causal loop in which an event causes itself. The way home I had many examples of Bootstrap theory. Clarke explained, “Elliot tells Tessa about the clock on the wall, and she doesn’t know what it was. Is that why he puts it on the wall later? It’s an interesting, cyclical time travel puzzle. But in our minds, yes. Tessa putting it on the wall is to reassure Elliot that he’s okay. What Elliot decides to do with that information is up to the audience because we’re not going to be able to see it.”

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In an interview with Television InsiderConkie explained why it was important for Tessa to survive the explosion. She said, “Well, I love the ending of that story because it’s heavily hinted at; in fact, I think it’s proof that she survived that explosion because the logic of the clock on the wall was always in question, but she put that clock on the wall just to show him that, ‘No, it wasn’t over. It was fine. I put this clock on the wall for you to explain some things to her after the fact.’ So, I think that was a much nicer ending than knowing that she was blown up. I mean, that just wouldn’t be good for a mom.”

It seems Elliot’s theory about Tessa being alive is true, as confirmed by the executive producers of The way home. Now fans will wonder if Elliot would try to travel back in time with his now-fiancee, Kat, to find her again. Tessa would be too old to have lived to this day, so the only way Elliot could reunite with her would be to travel back in time, but he can’t do that alone because he’s not a Landry by blood.

It was nice to see that Tessa left Elliot a sign to let him know what had happened to her. He lived his entire life with uncertainty about his mother, but now he can have some peace knowing that she somehow survived the Lingermore Tunnel explosion and was able to buy his family home. The inscription on the clock read: “To finish is to begin” From TS Eliot’s poem, “Little Gidding.” As Elliot said, the poem is about time, “the unity of past, present and future.” This ending to Elliot and Tessa’s story is both hopeful and intriguing. Now fans are wondering if Elliot and Tessa would have met again in a future season of The way home.

Sources: Variety, Television Insider

Release date: 2023 – 2026-00-00
Grid: Distinctive channel
Directors: Grant Harvey, Shamim Sarif, Norma Bailey, John Fawcett, Michelle Latimer