Spencer Macpherson Talks Jacob's Journey In The Way Home Season 4, Degrassi Nostalgia, and Teases School Spirits Season 4
“He’s evolved in so many ways.” When Spencer Macpherson first joined The Way Home, Jacob Landry was a man firmly rooted in the 19th century, suddenly thrust back into a modern world he no longer recognized. By the series’ final season, Jacob has evolved into something much more complicated. He’s a man attempting to understand who he is outside of Port Haven, finding love with Abby, and ultimately becoming part of one of the show’s biggest revelations.
The Way Home wrapped up its final season on Hallmark Channel this June, but the show is getting a flash of new life as season four makes its way to Netflix on October 1. Speaking with Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado, Macpherson reflected on Jacob’s journey through the final season, his early days on Degrassi, and shared what makes School Spirits and his character so special to him.
For Macpherson, that transformation has been one of the most rewarding parts of playing Jacob. “Initially, he was so much of the time that he was from and getting to slowly evolve him into this person that can exist in a modern day, that was a lot of fun in season 2. Sort of that fish out of water beats to play,” he told me. “But I think in this fourth season it was really cool to see him in a new light, in a romantic light, and sort of self-actualize.”
“When he exited at the end of the last season, there was a lot of questions left up in the air and I think very valid feelings from Jacob of wanting to establish himself and figure out who he is outside of this of Port Haven, outside of this family, which is a very relatable thing,” he continued. “That's what season 4 was about for Jacob in my opinion… and find himself he did.”
After all the trauma Jacob dealt with in the 1800s at the hand of Cyrus Goodwin, it was surprising to find him falling for Abby Goodwin in a Romeo and Juliet-style romance in modern day. “Holly [Deveaux] was fantastic, who plays Abby,” said Macpherson. “I think that they are both old souls in different ways and that was the root of their connection. The Romeo and Juliet thing was obviously awesome. There's tones of that throughout the whole season and I think Alex [Clarke] and Heather [Conkie] and Marly [Reed] do a great job at weaving these references into their show throughout the entire thing. Even the wine being from Verona that they have on their first date. There's just so many different little tie-ins that they've included which are beautiful and informed what Holly and I brought to it.”
The reveal that Jacob and Abby were actually KC’s parents added another major piece to The Way Home mythology. But when Macpherson was initially reading the scripts, he had a different idea of KC’s parentage. “As someone just reading the script, I thought that KC was the child of Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow) in the second season. I'm not sure if that was a pivot or if it was always intentional,” he explained. “When I worked with Vaughan [Murrae], I was kind of like, ‘I don't know, do we?’ But I'm really happy how that evolved and I think that it ultimately made so much sense.”
“I'm always puzzled as to whether there's an almanac with the answers to everything in it from the jump or if people are doing a little bit of jazz, a little bit of improvising,” Macpherson added. “I think that the best shows and the best plots come from somewhere in between those.”
With KC returning to the past, Macpherson wondered if there could be a darker reason behind the journey. “We've speculated a lot behind closed doors and obviously they've left the door open a crack to see where that goes,” he shared. “But there is something to me that feels like… maybe KC never knew their dad and that was the impetus for their whole storyline of going back to maybe meet Jacob and understand the dad that they never had.”
Maybe one that ties back to those Romeo and Juliet roots. “I don't know if there's tragedy that befalls in the future to tie-in with the Romeo and Juliet of it all,” said Macpherson. “It's all speculation at this point, but having a season from the perspective of KC, from their future, might inform all of those scenes that KC was learning about their parents.”
For fans who have followed my interviews with Macpherson over the years, some of his speculation has actually turned out to be right. “Our last chat, the 20s was brought up and that was just off the dome,” he laughed. “Maybe get me in the writers room, guys.”
Another major bombshell around Jacob was his connection to the pond and the reveal that he was “the One.” “There was always something very mythical and ethereal about the concept of this little pond child,” he shared. “I feel like there's always been an element of Jacob that we discussed and we wanted to have this like […] timeless quality to him. He's also very wise in a lot of ways, [but] I definitely wanted to always convey some sort of mystical element to him, an omnipresence, or something.”
Jacob’s story culminates into one of the season’s most “heart-wrenching” sequences with his wedding to Abby. The production transformed the pond into a wedding setting, bringing cast members back together for those final moments. “Truly everyone was there and got to come out of the woodworks,” Macpherson explained. “I loved that finale because it had that little bit of extra time for moments to sort of breathe. That final wedding sequence was no exception. I love that song. It's originally by Keen, [but] it's a beautiful cover. It really made me emotional watching it.”
He made sure to grab a few items from set to commemorate his time as Jacob. “I took two things. One was one of Jacob's pirate shirts from the 1800s. I took that because you need a flowy pirate shirt in your regular life. Maybe I've worn it once, but it's going to make more appearances,” he revealed. “And I took the suit that Jacob wore at his wedding.”
Of course, no The Way Home interview would be complete without discussing the pond. Macpherson revealed that he did receive one of the legendary Pond Plunger Awards during the season 2 wrap party, but repeatedly jumping into the mysterious body of water came with a memorable consequence. “The last time I jumped in the pond on the show, it was like late November,” confessed Macpherson with a laugh. “I just wasn't thinking and I open my eyes under the water. It's so not the kind of… it's like toxic waste. That's not true, but, no, it's very murky. I got a little bit of an eye infection from it.”
While The Way Home has come to an end, Macpherson is still deep in the weeds of another supernatural mystery with School Spirits. The actor has had the unusual experience of appearing in two mystery-heavy shows that have often filmed and aired back-to-back. “It's been amazing,” he shared. “I love getting to do what I do. So I'm eager to do it as much as I possibly can.”
He’s currently out in Vancouver filming season 4 of School Spirits and this is the first season he hasn’t had to go back and forth. “Obviously there's a jet setting element that's very exciting about that,” he admitted. “But it's also nice to be able to focus and dial in on one particular thing. And that being said, the new season is awesome.”
Macpherson described Xavier as “one of the most exciting characters I’ve ever gotten to play,” particularly because of how much the character has changed. He pointed to early episodes as evidence the writers have been quietly planting clues about Xavier all along. “I truly feel like it was mapped out in such a thoughtful way. If you go back to the first couple of episodes, it feels like there's a little breadcrumb trail of what is underneath this potential suspect,” he shared. “I love the humor. He's just such a multifaceted character, so it's really fun to rip it with him.”
“Xavier was always intended to be a very comedic character actually, but we really wanted to lay on the murder mystery element in the first season. With that came that suspicion, that sketchy element to him,” Macpherson explained. “It's interesting to see all the different dynamics between everyone. [It’s like when] you're a kid and you have your box of toys and it's like, ‘Cool, Barbie's going to hang out with Thor right now.’ I just love the way that they mix and match these characters and it ends up being like, ‘Oh my God, Thor and Barbie have crazy chemistry. Who would have thought that?’”
After years of playing characters caught up in mysteries, ghosts, and time travel, which character is actually most like Macpherson himself? His answer might surprise fans. “Maybe Xavier,” he said. “I think that a lot of the mannerisms as he's evolved in seasons three and four have been closer to me as Spencer. I also relate to that concept of when I was in high school, you just try on different hats. That's what I guess that part of your life is for is just trying on as many hats as possible and then eventually you realize like who you really are.”
Long before Jacob and Xavier, Macpherson made his acting debut in the iconic Canadian teen show Degrassi. While he loved it, he isn’t quite ready to revisit his performance from that time. “I don't have the guts to rewatch any of that, if I'm being honest. A lot of people go to acting school and they study and they break some eggs and make some mistakes, I did all of that on that show. So I think it would make me want to rip my skin off maybe, but I have such a reverence and love for it,” he confessed. “I'd probably be like, ‘Oh why am I talking like that?’ That being said though, I cannot wait for the day when I'm secure enough to sit down with my wife Paige and maybe a kid and watch Degrassi and wince at myself.”
Still, he wouldn’t rule out a return to the Degrassi universe someday. “Oh my gosh, that would be awesome. I would love to read whatever that opportunity would be,” Macpherson enthused. “I'm still so tight with all of those people from my generation of Degrassi. I do Dungeons and Dragons with Ehren [Kassam] and André [Dae Kim] and Eric [Osborne]. It's such a great, great group, so never say never. I'm always down to hit the halls again.”
All four seasons of The Way Home will be streaming on Netflix on October 1.
