4 things to remember before watching The Way Home season 2

The Way Home returns for season 2 on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel but there are definitely pieces of the puzzle fans will need to remember as we dive back into the Landrys' story. Much of what you'll need to take with you into the second season from season 1 revolves around the mystery of what happened to Jacob.

The disappearance of Kat's 9 little brother forever changed her family and, through the pond on the family's farm that allows them to time travel, she and her daughter, Alice, have had to contend with the way their time traveling has impacted their knowledge of the past. The following list contains the plot points from season 1 that are sure to affect what unfolds in season 2.

1814 is a significant year in the Landry family's history

The Way Home season 1 was bookended by scenes of a woman running through the woods in Port Haven back in 1814. It was unclear at the start of the season what this would mean, but by the finale we learned that the woman running was Kat, and she was the one who jumped into the pond. She promised to come back for Jacob and, noticeably, she was in a white rail which may mean she's actually the White Witch that her brother kept referring to in the '90s.

We'll also likely get more information on the origins of the family's almanac in season 2 considering the trailer shows Kat's storyline will involve spending a significant amount of time in 1814. Her portrait had been painted during her time travels there.

Time travelers have the ability to influence the timeline

While I agree with Elliott that what is supposed to happen will happen regardless of the time traveling, it's also true that both Kat and Alice have had to learn how their actions have brought events to fruition. For instance, no one ever knew how Kat's father, Colton, got into the car accident that claimed his life until she traveled back in time in an effort to save him. She, however, was too early and when Alice went after her they argued as a car was coming.

Kat pulled her daughter out of the way and the car swerved in order to not hit them. It turned out that that was her dad's truck. Now they both have to live with the knowledge that it's cemented in time that the accident happened because he was trying to keep from harming them.

Another example of their influence on the timeline is the fact that Del has maintained that Colton had been carrying on an affair because of the number she found in one of his shirt pockets and the woman who was weeping at his funeral. Though Kat told her that Colton had hired a private investigator to search for Jacob and had been attending a grief support group, because of the woman's presence, she still couldn't shake the feeling that he'd cheated.

Well, what Del doesn't know is that woman was actually her daughter as an adult crying at her father's burial site. She's been harboring hurt over Colton's perceived infidelity for two decades and the man never cheated. Also there's the season ending reveal that Alice was the one who sent Del's letter which establishes that The Way Home takes place in a time loop and proves Elliott's theory that the Landrys aren't changing the timeline, events are happening as they should.

Alice is done traveling to the '90s and aughts (as far as Elliott knows)

While we don't know if Alice is through time traveling all together--the teaser does show that she's going to be kept from traveling with Kat during season 2--we do know that she's not expected to make anymore trips to the '90s or 2000s. This is based on the notes that teen Elliott took so it's possible that we're not working with a full deck of knowledge but, considering the focus of the season seems to be 1814, it makes sense that we may have closed that chapter on the show for her.

Alice, however, did travel to the near past since she sent her grandmother's letter the same year that she and her mom moved to Port Haven. This could have been a one-off, but it's also possible that we could see her make more leaps back into the past that are closer in time to her own. We'll have to wait and see.

You can bring something from the past into the present

Kat bringing back the card from the grief support group showed that that these characters can bring items from the past to the present. If you can bring an object perhaps you can also bring a person. That's crucial in regards to Jacob. We don't know how time has passed for him, but there's a major implication that he is in 1814.

In season 1, Kat brought Jacob home safely in 1999 and watched as he walked into the house. But we learned later that he chased after Fynn, Del's dog from the present. Fynn had been time traveling the whole time unbeknownst to anyone in the present. With Jacob having jumped into the pod, he time traveled as well.

Considering this is a Hallmark series called The Way Home, I suspect Jacob will one day return to his family or be brought back by one of them. The question is when followed by how and will he be a child or a grown man.

Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more The Way Home news and coverage. Season 2 premieres Sunday, Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel. Next day streaming will be available on Peacock.