The Way Home: How Kat and Susanna’s Relationship is ‘Pure Love,’ Casting Watson Rose, and More Details from ATX TV Festival

The pond sends Kat Landry back to the 1800s on The Way Home Season 2, taking her to Jacob. Along the way, she meets a new cast of characters that she (and the fans) fall in love with.

During the panel at ATX Television Festival, the cast and creatives were asked if they were aware of the insane chemistry between Kat and Susanna and the fan speculation that perhaps their relationship goes a bit beyond being platonic.

Chyler Leigh (Kat Landry) commented, “The vibes were vibing, fo sure.”

Alexandra Clarke (Showrunner/Co-Creator/Executive-Producer) described Susanna and Kat’s relationship as “just pure love.”

“They are in awe of one another, and they see strength in one another that they are not thinking they are capable of themselves. Here is this woman in 1814 who is afraid to really say what she is, who she is, doesn’t even really have the words for it, and here comes Kat, who is this strong, independent, fiercely vocal woman in pants.”

Clarke continued, “Conversely, I think with Susanna, she is such a strong woman but it’s a quiet strength, and it’s from within. She’s so dignified and determined to live the life she wants to live on her own terms in a time that might not necessarily let her.”

“So I think when they meet each other, it’s a meeting of minds, but there is this sort of chemistry, no question about it, in the way they interact with one another. Let’s be honest, Kat doesn’t really have a lot of female friends in present day, and I think seeing that equal in one another, even though they are in two completely different eras, is what draws them to one another like a moth to a flame,” Clarke stated.

“We really appreciate the significance of chemistry on the show,” Leigh said. “So we actually did a chemistry read with two lovely actresses, Watson Rose being one of them, just for the relationship, just to see what it would be like between the two of them, not really defining anything, not trying to put any borders on anything at all.

“But just like, how can we represent something from a time that was unrepresentable and that was totally, like, not even thought of. Like it would be better that you were a witch than you would be a lesbian.”

Leigh continued, “So reading with Watson, we just knew. We just knew. She came in, and she was so well prepared. But if you meet Watson in person, as beautiful and elegant — and she is stunningly gorgeous, like inside and out — but she is the biggest gremlin you’ll ever meet in your life. She’s the goofiest person.”

“Print that,” Evan Williams (Elliot Augustine) joked.

Leigh added, “She would agree. We call each other gremlins. It’s fine.”

Leigh then pivoted to discussing another character who holds a bit of Kat’s heart: Thomas Coyle, played by Kris Holden-Ried.

“With Kris, we also did a chemistry read, and it was like immediate. We just knew who belonged there with us to tell this story. I was nervous because I was like, ‘I gotta go to the 1800s. This is a whole different cast. Are the vibes vibing?’”

Her fears were soon squashed as she spent time with that cast. “I personally feel like they all nailed it,” Leigh said.

—

Check out all of our coverage of the ATX Television Festival right here. There’s still more to come!

The Way Home Season 1 and 2 are available to stream on Peacock.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!