Everything in Port Haven seems to lead back to the water, doesn't it? But if you’ve been paying attention to The Way Home, you know that the Landry family doesn't hold all the secrets. There is a shadow hanging over the town, and it's shaped like a massive, decaying estate called Lingermore. At the center of that shadow is Evelyn Goodwin the way home fans have spent seasons trying to figure out.
She's dead. At least, that's what we’re told in the season 2 premiere. But in a show where the pond literally spits people out into different centuries, "dead" is a relative term.
Honestly, the way Evelyn was introduced—or rather, the way her death was introduced—felt like a punch to the gut for Kat and Del. It wasn't just the passing of a neighbor. It was the closing of a vault. Evelyn was the gatekeeper of Port Haven's elite history, and she took a lot of secrets to the grave. Or did she?
Who was Evelyn Goodwin, really?
Evelyn was the matriarch of the Goodwin family, the "royalty" of Port Haven. While the Landrys have the dirt and the farm, the Goodwins had the gold and the power. For decades, Evelyn lived as a recluse inside Lingermore. No visitors. No public appearances. Just a lot of rumors and a telescope pointed at the world she refused to join.
The show finally gave us a real look at her in season 3, but through the lens of the past. In 1974, we meet a young "Evie" Goodwin, played by Devin Cecchetto. She’s not the cold, bitter woman people remember. She’s sociable. She’s warm. She’s even... kinda cool? She befriends Alice, and for a second, you almost forget that this girl grows up to be the woman who threatens to throw the Landrys in jail.
The 1974 Connection
This is where it gets weird. Alice meets teen Evelyn and they actually hit it off. But there’s a tension there. Evelyn is clearly part of the "origin story" for Del and Colton.
Think about this:
✨ Don't miss: Austin & Ally Maddie Ziegler Episode: What Really Happened in Homework & Hidden Talents
- Evelyn was in love with Colton Landry.
- She describes Lingermore as a "jail" when she's a teenager.
- She ends up locking herself in that "jail" for the rest of her life.
Why? What happens between 1974 and the present day that turns a vibrant girl into a woman who hides behind pill bottles and binoculars? Fans have some wild theories, and honestly, some of them make a lot of sense.
The Lingermore Incident: The Night Everything Broke
We keep hearing about "the incident." The night at Lingermore that changed everything for the teen versions of our main characters. We know it involved a party. We know it involved Del, Colton, Elliot, and Evelyn. And we know that whatever happened, it was bad enough that Evelyn used it as leverage over Del for decades.
In season 2, there’s a heavy scene where Del visits Evelyn. Evelyn tells her, "You owe me now, as if you didn't already."
That’s a loaded sentence. It implies that the Goodwin-Landry feud isn't just about class or property lines. It’s about a debt that can't be paid with money. Some people think Evelyn might have known about the pond way earlier than anyone else. Others suspect she played a role in the night Jacob disappeared, or perhaps she knew more about Colton's own time-traveling secrets.
Is Evelyn Goodwin actually a time traveler?
Let's look at the evidence. The Goodwins are always positioned as the "top" of the Port Haven hierarchy. The Landrys have the pond (the power to move), the Augustines are the observers (the keepers of the record), so what do the Goodwins have?
Some fans on Reddit have floated the idea that if the Landrys are travelers and the Augustines are "Time Keepers," the Goodwins might be "Time Seers."
🔗 Read more: Kiss My Eyes and Lay Me to Sleep: The Dark Folklore of a Viral Lullaby
Consider the telescope. Adult Evelyn spent her life watching. Maybe she wasn't just watching the neighbors. Maybe she was watching the ripples in time. In season 3, it's revealed that Evelyn actually sent Colton money to help find Jacob in the year 2000. She knew he was suffering. She even pointed out the portrait of "My Katherine," noting the name match.
She knew. She definitely knew something.
The Mystery of Casey Goodwin
You can't talk about Evelyn Goodwin the way home without talking about Casey. Casey (played by Vaughan Murrae) shows up as an intern at The Herald claiming to be Evelyn's grandchild.
But Casey is a total enigma. They have a ring that looks exactly like Kat’s wedding ring. They seem to know things they shouldn't. In the season 3 premiere, the show basically confirmed what many suspected: Casey is a time traveler.
If Casey is Evelyn's grandchild and a time traveler, does that mean the "traveling" gene skipped Evelyn? Or was Evelyn the one who taught Casey how to navigate the pond? The fact that Casey uses a Goodwin family check to help the Landrys suggests a massive shift in the family dynamic—or perhaps a secret mission Evelyn set in motion before she died.
What most people get wrong about Evelyn
A lot of viewers see Evelyn as a villain. She’s the rich lady who wanted to take the farm. She’s the one who held a grudge.
💡 You might also like: Kate Moss Family Guy: What Most People Get Wrong About That Cutaway
But if you look closer, Evelyn seems more like a victim of the town's magic. She was a girl who wanted a life with Colton Landry, a man who was literally destined for someone else and obsessed with a pond that steals children.
If she spent 20 years in a wheelchair at Lingermore, was she actually sick? Some theorists suggest the wheelchair and the oxygen tank were a ruse. A way to keep people away so she could work on whatever she was doing in those tunnels under the house. Remember, Lingermore has a basement that looks suspiciously like a jail cell—the same place where Jacob was kept in the 1800s.
The 1814 Connection: Cyrus Goodwin
The Goodwin legacy is dark. In the 1800s, Cyrus Goodwin was basically a tyrant. He was a British sympathizer who used a "Letter of Marque" to pillage and steal. He’s the one who almost had Jacob executed for treason.
When Kat goes back to 1814, she sees the roots of the Goodwin power. It was built on blood and theft. Does Evelyn carry that guilt? Is that why she stayed in her room? Or was she trying to undo the damage her ancestors did?
The show is slowly connecting these dots. We see teen Evelyn going to Morocco in 1974. We see her returning in 2000 to help Colton. We see her "dying" just as Kat returns to Port Haven. The timing is too perfect.
Actionable Insights for Fans: How to Watch Season 3 and 4
If you're trying to keep up with the Evelyn Goodwin mystery, you need to watch for the small things. This show doesn't do "filler."
- Watch the Background of Lingermore: In season 2, when Kat and Del are clearing out the estate, look at the artifacts. The "My Katherine" portrait is just the beginning. There are books, maps, and documents that Evelyn left for a reason.
- Pay Attention to Casey’s Jewelry: The ring is the obvious one, but Casey’s entire aesthetic and the way they interact with the Landry farm is a clue to Evelyn’s true intentions.
- Listen to the Teen Dialogue: Every time teen Evelyn speaks to Alice in 1974, she's dropping hints about her future. When she says she wants to leave Port Haven, it’s a tragic foreshadowing of her becoming a recluse.
- The "Debt" Mystery: Keep an eye out for any mention of what Del "owes" Evelyn. It hasn't been fully explained, and it’s likely the key to the entire mid-90s timeline.
Evelyn Goodwin might be "gone" in the present, but her influence is growing. Whether she was a secret ally or a tragic figure caught in the crossfire of time, she remains the most complex character outside of the Landry home.
Next time you see that telescope at Lingermore, don't just see a lonely old woman. See a woman who was waiting for the circles to finally close.