Homecoming season 1 finale recap: Stop

Everything comes to a head in the Homecoming season 1 finale–trust us, you’re not ready for it.

Homecoming has been such a whirlwind adventure with everything one would desire from a psychological thriller. The cast, the story, the backdrop, basically anything and everything about the series is worth boasting about, and it saddens me that I’ve completed the first season already.

While things are coming around to bite Colin in the butt in 2022, in 2018 we see him giving a presentation about the Homecoming program in front of DoD employees. Everyone is extremely content with how the program is going, and the fact that its success means a steady flow of individuals to redeploy.

And while many in the audience wish they could have taken advantage of such a drug or therapy (if you can call it that), they are unaware of the detrimental long-term effects it can have on a person. While Colin is trying to schmooze with the employees, Craig the tattletale texts him to say that Heidi has gone rogue.

Colin could care less about what happens to Heidi but the fact that she tampered with Walter’s progress irks him because he was the one person that proved the benefits of the program. Heidi tells Colin that because of the double Week 6 dosage Walter has taken, he can no longer be redeployed, which was her plan all along.

Credit: Amazon Prime Video

And while this prevents Walter from going back, he will be rendered debilitated for the next year or so and has to return to his family as he recovers. As Heidi drops this bomb on Colin, she’s walking out of Homecoming with her belongings having destroyed all of her session tapes besides one. She has kept the tape from her first session with Walter that she intends on sending to Gloria, his mother.

In 2022, Colin continues to be an asshole and when he’s confronted by his receptionist about where he had been, he snaps and begins demeaning her. Ugh, Colin is the worst. But little does Colin know that she is no longer his receptionist, and in fact, she’s been promoted big time. Geist along with her know about his little trip to Florida and the fact that he confessed–he’s basically SOL.

Remember when Thomas learned the dates of discharge for Walter and Heidi were exactly the same? Well, we find out in the season 1 finale that it was all Craig’s doing. He went in and fudged the dates and then said Walter was discharged for misconduct, so the blame would be on him rather than the Homecoming facility.

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Heidi arrives at Gloria’s to find some sort of closure and to learn about what happened to Walter. Is he dead? Is he alive but not who he once was? As we ponder, Heidi starts to tell Gloria all about the program and how it was designed and run.

Around 18 soldiers were brought in under the age of 30 and had all undergone trauma and the therapy at Homecoming was meant to eliminate it.

Heidi came in as the counselor who had to track whether or not their memories were actually going away or not. And as long as they were, it meant they could be “reset” and redeployed.

And while Heidi isn’t completely to blame, it was still something she took part in.

But good news! Walter is alive and well, as well as he can be. His health seems like it’s back to normal and he’s returned to his pre-war state according to Gloria. However, at this point, we still don’t know where he is, but Heidi figures it out pretty quickly.

Given the road trip conversation she and Walter had on their last day, and her conversation with Gloria, Heidi heads out on the road. It’s clear that she’s searching for Walter, but she isn’t sure if she’ll actually find him where she thinks.

And then we finally see him. He’s building something outside of his cabin, and then he heads into town and goes by the diner, where Heidi is currently at. After realizing it’s him, she contemplates showing him the map to see if he’ll remember anything but holds back.

Her eye contact and demeanor catches his attention and yet he doesn’t recognize her in the least bit. Instead, Walter sits down with her and tells her about his life there and how he always imagined being there. All in all, he’s finally happy, which makes Heidi happy, and us happy.

As Walter leaves the diner, Heidi looks at him longingly and happily and takes notice of something as he drives away. Her fork is positioned in a crooked direction–just like he once did while playing a prank on her. Wow, Homecoming, wow.