Ranking the Outlander Season 5 episodes from worst to best

The first half of the list

We start with my least favorite six episodes. While these episodes may switch around, I think they’re always going to stay at the bottom of the list. There’s just something about them that either became too irritating or too forgettable.

The problem is some of these episodes are extremely important for the story. Whaty ou’ll find is that it’s mostly the start of the season that fits into this list. The end of the season just picked up the pace and picked up the game. I have a feeling that this is when Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe got more say in their characters and the storylines, which helps to give the end of the season a boost.

While I do say that these are my least favorite episodes of this season, it doesn’t mean they’re episodes I’ve hated. In fact, I think Outlander Season 5 as a whole is the strongest season since the first season (and second half of the second season). It gripped my attention much more than Season 4.

Episode 6: Better to Marry Than Burn

I think this is always going to be my least favorite episode of the season. It is a shame, because I did enjoy seeing Roger and Brianna help save the Ridge from the locusts, but everything happening at Jocasta’s wedding was just, well, annoying for me.

One thing I did appreciate was seeing a backstory on Jocasta. I also adored Murtagh’s attempts to sway Jocasta to join him.

Episode 4: The Company We Keep

Sometimes I feel bad for episodes to drop to the bottom of the list. This is one of those episodes because I connected so much to Roger throughout the episode. I understood his actions.

But overall, the episode was a little bland. That’s especially when it came to the Browns. Now, this episode is important for later episodes, but I think with Lionel Brown’s attitude to women, later episodes would have made sense even without Alicia Brown and Isaiah Morton’s story. The only benefit for their story is having something in Season 6 to connect back to.

Episode 5: Perpetual Adoration

I enjoyed the character of Lieutenant Hamilton Knox. Sometimes, the best characters are the ones that have been invented by the show because there’s a little more freedom. Look at Angus and Rupert on Outlander Season 1.

It was sad to say goodbye to Knox in this episode, but it wasn’t surprising. There was only one way that story could end, making the whole thing predictable. Adso’s introduction was cute.

Episode 3: Free Will

Stephen King horror is my jam. It has been from a young age and I blame my parents for that—mostly my dad, because it and tech were the two things we could really connect over. But while I enjoyed this episode, it isn’t really one that’s overly necessary for the show.

It gives us some great Claire and Jamie moments, which is why it’s not at the bottom of this list. However, it’s main need is for the Beardsley twins, which I’m sure could have had some reasonable invention to handle.

Episode 2: Between Two Fires

We’re onto Episode 2, now. Out of all the episodes of the season, this is one of the more forgettable ones. I wouldn’t be able to tell you exactly what happened, except that it was the one that showed us that Murtagh was really fighting for the Regulator cause. That scene in Hillsborough with the tar and feathers stands out.

The importance of the episode (once I fully remembered it) was Jamie realizing that Murtagh was condoning violence. It showed us how far Murtagh had gone; something Jamie would have never condoned.

Episode 1: The Fiery Cross

I do feel a little bad about putting the Outlander Season 5 premiere in the bottom half of the ranking. There are some excellent moments, from Bree finding out that Bonnet is still alive to Jamie putting the kilt on. However, it’s just the start of a long journey.

One of the things I loved was how the show didn’t drag out the wedding like in the book. I missed the baptism, but I could appreciate the changes to contain everything about the wedding. This was the wedding for Bree and Roger we needed.