The Ties That Bind

Change is sweeping through Odyssey - and it starts with a knock at the Meltsners' door. Eugene and Katrina are asked to take in Buck Oliver, the boy from the counterfeiting scam, when he earns an early release from juvenile detention, and they have one day to pray over their answer. Across town, Connie is cleaning out her late mother's attic when she uncovers an old skeleton key engraved "WWW"... a key that fits no lock in the house. Then, at a comic book convention, the grand prize winner of a national art contest is called to the stage - and it's Jules Kendall, the half-sister Connie never knew she had, flown in from California without a word of warning. A new home, a strange key, a surprise sister: in Odyssey, the ties that bind are about to be pulled tight.

Found on The Ties That Bind Album 58 · 14 episodes

The run See every episode

0745 Like a Good Neighbor When a rash of neighborhood break-ins reveals how little the residents of Odyssey know each other, Olivia sets out - brownies in hand - to discover what it really means to love your neighbor.

0746 The Lone Lawman When a Kids' Radio western goes on the air, a lone survivor of a stagecoach ambush must decide what it truly means to pursue justice.

0747 Thirty Jays Hath September Two boys' after-hours scheme at Whit's End goes wrong, earning them thirty days of mandatory kindness that neither expects to matter.

0748 The Perfect Gift When a church maintenance man dies leaving behind a garbled videotape, a stuffed penguin, and a trail of cryptic clues, Whit and his friends set out to unravel the secret of a quiet man's final gift.

0749 The Drop Box While visiting South Korea, Whit and Eugene give up their vacation to help a pastor build a safe haven for abandoned babies - only to find the refuge itself under threat.

0750 All By Myself After a powerful spiritual experience, Penny sets out to recreate it alone in the mountains - just as a blizzard rolls in and her friends need her most.

1 of 14 0751 The Ties That Bind An early release, a mysterious key, and a surprise contest winner set three Odyssey households on a collision course with big decisions and unexpected arrivals.

2 of 14 0752 The Ties That Bind While minding the antique shop, Jason uncovers a mystery in an old key - and all across Odyssey, unexpected visitors and difficult decisions begin to reshape the lives of his friends.

3 of 14 0753 The Ties That Bind A frazzled family searches for a way to slow down and reconnect, while a comic creator's big convention announcement risks attracting the wrong kind of attention.

4 of 14 0754 The Ties That Bind A reformed young con artist gets a second chance at a real home, while old secrets and new opportunities begin to stir trouble across Odyssey.

5 of 14 0755 The Ties That Bind As Odyssey prepares for a festival celebrating tolerance, a paint-balloon attack on Whit's End, a reformed troublemaker's return to school, and a mysterious blogger stalking Wooton's new comic set several unsettling mysteries in motion.

6 of 14 0756 The Ties That Bind When a notorious troublemaker returns to Odyssey hoping for a fresh start, Whit uses the town's biggest train set to teach the kids a lesson about design, choices, and consequences.

7 of 14 0757 The Ties That Bind While a mysterious break-in at Wooton's house points to an online leaker after his new comic series, a wave of coordinated pressure against Whit's End hints that something much bigger is stirring in Odyssey.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 6 more roles

3 featured characters

Matthew Parker Gunnar Sizemore Olivia Parker Kelly Stables Jules Kendall Shona Rodman

3 supporting roles

Rhonda Adelaide Barbara Niles Juan Reyes Ruben Garfias Mike Carol Nathan Hoobler

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Paul McCusker Writer · Director Jonathan Crowe Sound Designer Nathan Hoobler Producer Dave Arnold Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 4 min

On a busy Saturday morning at Whit's End, Whit seems unusually scattered, misplacing ice cream and forgetting breakfast, and Connie teases him about it before heading off for the day. She has inherited her mother's house and still can't get used to calling it her own, so she and Penny are planning to clean out the attic. Before she leaves, she learns that Eugene and Katrina are meeting with Pastor Juan Reyes, the chaplain at the juvenile detention center, about Buck Oliver, the boy who was caught up in a counterfeiting scam. Connie declares that everyone already knows how it will turn out: Buck will be released, return to Odyssey, and be adopted by Eugene and Katrina. When Whit asks if she is calling them predictable, she smiles that they are "Not predictable. Just true to character." Meanwhile, Wooton drops off boxes of his sketches and paintings for a gallery display Whit is planning, then hurries away to pick up Penny for Comic-Connellsville, a big comic book convention where he intends to make an announcement about a new project.

At the Meltsner home, Pastor Juan tells Eugene and Katrina that Buck has behaved so well he is being given an early release. The program requires probation, which Pastor Juan will oversee, and a "halfway residence" to bridge the gap between the detention center's strict rules and normal life. Since Buck has no family and talks about the Meltsners constantly, Pastor Juan asks them to consider becoming that home for him, acting as guardians, or supervisors in the eyes of the state. He believes Buck is rethinking his life and may be moving toward faith. Eugene sputters at the enormity of the request, but rather than refuse, he and Katrina agree to look over the paperwork and spend the day thinking and praying before deciding together that evening.

In the musty attic of her mother's house, Connie and Penny sort through boxes of clothes, books, and Christmas decorations, and find the painting Connie's mom once made of leaping dolphins that looks more like bananas on a blue tablecloth. They also discover a mysterious skeleton key engraved with the letters "WWW," though the house has no lock it fits; Connie decides to ask Jason at the antique shop about it. Penny muses that the big attic could become a bedroom or an art studio, and Connie remembers how her mom once talked about making it her room, and how she used to pray that feisty young Connie would someday have a child just like herself. The laughter turns tender when Penny says she is sorry Connie's mom won't be around to see what becomes of the house.

Back at Whit's End, Whit and Matthew work on their hush-hush project, which turns out to be a model train they hope will run on alternative fuel. Olivia has felt left out of the secret, so Whit invites her to join them, though she finds the whole thing rather boring. Their work is interrupted when Miss Adelaide, a teacher, arrives asking Whit to hang a poster for a citywide festival called Let's Get Together, celebrating family, inclusivity, and tolerance. Whit gently presses her on what the organizers mean by those words, explaining that he can't promote ideas to kids without knowing what they stand for. When she demands they stop being evasive, he tells her plainly, "Well, I base my definitions on the Bible." Miss Adelaide, who does not, leaves coolly, and Whit declines to hang the poster, saying he can't promote an event that celebrates ideas contrary to God's Word. Olivia grows quiet and abruptly excuses herself, and Whit admits to Matthew that he doubts he has heard the last of the matter.

At Comic-Connellsville, Penny marvels at the costumed characters while Wooton nervously explains why he is so jumpy: his chaos-causing cousin Hadley Bassett is supposed to be there, and Wooton still remembers his ruined fishing rod, drowned hiking boots, and the backpack that went into a wood chipper. Wooton also refuses to reveal his big announcement even to Penny, for fear of the Perilous Pen, a mysterious internet writer who leaks comic book secrets before anyone else knows them. As Wooton warns, "The Perilous Pen is in everywhere." Then comes the day's true surprise: the grand prize winner of a national comic art contest, flown in from California, is announced onstage, and it is Jules Kendall, Connie's half-sister on her father's side, whom no one knew existed until Connie's mother's funeral. Jules, traveling alone, says she thinks their dad was supposed to tell Connie she was coming. As Jules is whisked away for photos, a stunned Penny decides it is time to call Connie.