Who hanged Roger on Outlander Season 5, Episode 7?

At the end of Outlander Season 5, Episode 7, Roger was one of the ‘Regulators’ hanged under Tryon’s orders. How was Roger mistaken as a Regulator?

Jamie, Claire, and Brianna immediately recognized Roger’s body hanging from the tree at the end of Outlander Season 5, Episode 7. Naturally, it’s led to a lot of questions. If he was hanged for being a Regulator, how could he have been mistaken as one? Who really hanged Roger?

The last we saw of Roger, he was with the Regulators in an attempt to prevent the Battle of Alamance. As he was leaving, he saw Morag MacKenzie and decided to find out how she was. Of course, that led to meeting his ancestor, Buck, which was not a happy meeting.

After finding out that Roger was a militiaman, Roger was knocked out and that was it. The next we saw, Roger had been hanged.

So, was it Governor Tryon or did Buck do the hanging first? If it was Tryon, how could he possibly have mistaken Roger for a Regulator? As Jamie’s captain, wouldn’t Tryon have met Roger?

Well, we have to remember that Tryon wasn’t the one that actually did the hangings. He gave the orders for others in the Army. But surely they would have recognized Roger, wouldn’t they? Maybe this was why Roger was notably late when Jamie was talking to Tryon and others. It made a note that Roger wasn’t necessarily known by everyone.

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Buck had something to do with Roger’s hanging

While Buck didn’t do the actual hanging, he would have had something to do with it. There’s a moment in the Inside the World segment for Outlander Season 5, Episode 7 that shows Buck wearing the yellow flower.

The yellow flower is important. This was the way the men of the militia would be distinguished against the men of the Regulators. The British Army wouldn’t necessarily look at faces and just pay attention to the yellow flowers. By Buck wearing what was likely Roger’s flower, he would have escaped being hanged and pointed the Army at an unconscious Roger.

Of course, Roger wouldn’t have been able to say anything since he would have been unconscious. He may have even been gagged at the time. However, it’s clear that he woke up at some point. This would have given him the chance to put his hand through the rope.

When Tryon learns about the mistake, he’s going to offer Brianna land in way of apology. That’s clear in the promo for Outlander Season 5, Episode 8. However, his forgiveness can’t be bought—although, I’d argue with the situation it actually wasn’t Tryon’s fault and it’s Buck we should be blaming.