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Why Graham McTavish’s inclusion in Outlander Season 5, Episode 7 worked for me

By Alexandria Ingham

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 13: Graham McTavish attends the Starz Premiere event for "Outlander" Season 5 at Hollywood Palladium on February 13, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for STARZ)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 13: Graham McTavish attends the Starz Premiere event for "Outlander" Season 5 at Hollywood Palladium on February 13, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for STARZ) /
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Outlander managed to keep one major surprise for Outlander Season 5, Episode 7. Graham McTavish returned, and here’s why it worked for me.

Outlander Season 5, Episode 7 is certainly a difficult episode for many reasons. It’s the one where we see Jamie wear a red coat. It’s the one where Murtagh dies. And of course, it’s the one where we find out Roger has been hanged.

However, that doesn’t stop it from having some excellent moments. It doesn’t stop me being excited about watching the episode again. One of the reasons for that is Graham McTavish’s inclusion in the episode.

I get that this didn’t work for everyone. However, it worked for me, especially the fact that the show was able to keep this spoiler a secret for so long.

It all connected to Jamie’s prayer to Dougal in Outlander Season 5, Episode 7

Jamie struggled with what he was going to do on the battlefield. He needed to pray to help him figure out where his head and his heart laid. That prayer wasn’t to God but to Dougal.

We already have this memory of the War Chief of the MacKenzie clan. It only seemed fitting that we were going to get other memories of him. Buck MacKenzie had to show up during the episode.

We needed to know who Buck was just at a glance. This wasn’t just about him being Morag’s husband. It was about him being Dougal and Geillis’s son, about him being Roger’s direct ancestor. In a book, there’s a chance for us to hear Roger’s thoughts about the man. There’s that time to delve into who the guy is.

A TV show doesn’t get that liberty. It’s important to show something immediately on the screen and having McTavish turn up as that character made it extremely clear. We’re knocked with the fact that Roger’s own ancestor is about to kill him.

Of course, seeing McTavish on Outlander again is awesome, but this appearance had so many meanings. It hit in ways that hiring any actor for the role wouldn’t work.

Will McTavish return as the character again? That’s unclear. After all, we don’t know if Roger will get the exact same journey on the series that he does in the book. All that time traveling may be cut out of the story due to time. However, if Buck does return, I’d love for it to remain McTavish playing the role.

Next. The date inconsistency in Outlander Season 5, Episode 7. dark

What did you think of Graham McTavish returning for the role of Buck MacKenzie on Outlander Season 5, Episode 7? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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