Outlander season 7, episode 10 recap: Lord John Grey has bad news

Claire and Young Ian make it to Philadelphia in Outlander season 7, episode 10. Meanwhile, Jamie stays by Ian’s side, and Roger has to figure out what to do next.

Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Outlander season 7, episode 10.

The episode is split neatly into three parts, so we’ll do that with this recap. We’ll start with Jamie’s part, as it is smaller than the other two sections.

I guess, actually, in a way, it’s split into four parts. Young Ian’s story grows in this episode, as he and Rachel reunite. What does that mean considering Arch Bug is a threat?

Jamie says goodbye to Ian Murray

We start the episode with a flashback to Ian’s father teaching both Ian and Jamie how to fight. There’s an important lesson for the two of them, as Mr. Murray makes it clear that they need to treat each other like brothers if they want to fight like brothers. We get this set up of the way the two have grown up and the friends that they are.

There’s also an important lesson for Ian. He always has to be on Jamie’s left, to protect Jamie’s weaker side. This helps to make Ian’s mumble of “on your left” clearer as Ian passes away from consumption. His dying word is Jenny, who is also beside him.

What is surprising is the slight change to the book storyline in Outlander season 7, episode 10. Many of us were expecting Jenny to head to America with Jamie, but that’s not happening. Jamie suggested to Jenny while digging Ian’s grave that she come with him, but she decided that she has to stay at Lallybroch for now. I guess this does help to minimize character storylines and costs coming up in the series, especially as at one point Outlander season 7 was going to be the last.

Jamie shares his plan with Jenny for travel back to America. He’ll head to France to see Joanie off to the convent and to make sure Michael is settled again in Paris. Then he’ll make his way back to America. He writes this to Claire as well, and this is important for Lord John Grey’s bad news.

William saves Rachel’s life in Outlander season 7, episode 10

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, there is another life on the line. William and Rachel have been spending a lot of time together, but it’s clear that while William is interested in Rachel, she doesn’t think of him that way. When Rollo rushes off, Rachel realizes that it means Young Ian is back, and she rushes off to follow Rollo. Sadly, Rollo is too fast for her.

Rachel has to hope that Rollo either made it back to the barn where the horses are, or that he found Young Ian and they will come for Rachel. The latter is what happens, but it’s not before someone else finds Rachel. Arch Bug has arrived, and he’s going to carry out his promise. Young Ian makes it to protect Rachel, and a fight breaks out between the two men.

Well, William also makes it in time. While Arch and Ian are fighting, a shot is fired. That shot of William holding the pistol was him killing Arch Bug. But William knows that Rachel isn’t going to choose him, so he doesn’t share the thoughts he had when he went to the barn anyway.

Rachel only has eyes for Young Ian. She shares that she loves him, and he says that he told her he loves her too. Well, he told her, but not in English. So, he says the words clearly, but makes it clear that while he would become Quaker for her, she would know that it’s not fully in his heart. And it’s not. Young Ian can’t really change who he is.

Rachel isn’t going to let that stop them from being together, though. She shares how Rollo is a wolf, but he is also loyal and loving. Young Ian is just like Rollo, only Young Ian is her wolf. Aww, so adorable!

Roger figures out who the fairy man is

I honestly thought that Mr. Murray had said ferryman at first. It turned out that he was saying “fairy man.” Well, Outlander season 7, episode 10 gives Roger the clues he needs to figure out who this fairy man is.

After telling Buck that Geillis has killed—or will kill—five husbands (I’m still working out who two of them are), the two start to wonder if Geillis is in on the situation with Rob Cameron. They are from the same area, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense for Roger. Geillis left through the stones in 1968, and it’s 1980 now. Why would Rob wait 12 years? And how would Geillis know that they would need to wait 12 years?

Roger does work on seeing if Geillis knows of a Robert Cameron, but there’s no sign that she does. She isn’t the reason why Rob came back to this time.

When Dougal MacKenzie shows up, the plot thickens. He shares that he was looking for Roger, hearing that he is looking for a fairy man. He learns that one of his men won some sort of charm in a card game. It has the name “Jeremiah MacKenzie” on it, and Dougal heard that this was the name of Roger’s son. So, he thinks that it has something to do with Jemmy.

Well, it has something to do with Roger, but not with Jemmy. Roger immediately realizes what the charm is, but he needs to talk to Buck in private. The charm is a set of dog tags from World War II. There are Air Force dog tags, and while Buck points out that there are many Jeremiah MacKenzies throughout time, Roger points out that there aren’t many from the RAF. These dog tags belong to his father.

The fairy man isn’t Rob Cameron, after all. The fairy man is Roger’s father, and this is sure to send shivers down many spines. Roger’s father, who went missing in action during World War II and was never found, is in the past, and he is the reason Roger and Buck have ended up in this time.

Claire saves a life but gets bad news in Outlander season 7, episode 10

We’ve had to leave Claire’s storyline for last. After all, it’s a major one in terms of storyline and devastation.

Claire makes it to Philadelphia in time to save Henry Grey. It turns out that Denny Hunter is also in town, and he was able to remove one of the two remaining musket balls lodged in Henry’s body. This has given Henry some time, but Denny couldn’t get to the other one. Claire shares that Lord John Grey bought everything he knew Claire would need to make ether to be able to perform surgery on Henry.

Denny is there to assist Claire with the surgery. After all, he wants to learn, and he knows that Claire is the best teacher around. Mercy Woodcock, who is the wife of Walter Woodcock, who we met at Ticonderoga, is also there. It turns out that she is falling for Henry, and she remains in the room to ensure Henry remains asleep with the ether.

With Henry saved, there are more things to deal with in Philadelphia while waiting for Jamie to arrive. One of those is to share with Mercy about her husband. Claire is able to give Mercy the closure that she needs about her husband. I love that this is changed from the book, because there was way too much ambiguity in the novel for no reason.

This connection also allows Mercy to find the trust in Claire to open up to her about potentially being arrested as a spy. She carries letters out of Philadelphia, and she has one for George Washington. Only the man she got the letter from was arrested, and the British soldiers know her face. She can’t get out.

Claire takes the letter. She’s able to get out of the town because she forages for plants. She is able to use the excuse of needing arrowroot considering she had only gone foraging the other day. Of course, Captain Richardson is at the gate, and he suspects Claire of something. It’s not surprising then to find out that Richardson goes to see Lord John Grey with some not-so-conclusive-but-enough proof that Claire is a spy.

This hits just as Lord John Grey gets some bad news. Jamie Fraser has been lost at sea. The ship he was on went down and there were no bodies found. Jamie’s name is on the manifest. As much as Claire doesn’t want to believe it, there’s too much to prove that Jamie has died at sea. It’s absolutely heartbreaking, and we live in Claire’s grief for the night.

Lord John Grey can’t see her hanged as a spy, though, so he breaks into her room to propose to her. Yes, he wants Claire to marry him to protect her. Otherwise, they will arrest and hang her.

Claire isn’t all that bothered about dying. She wants to die to join Jamie. John talks her out of that idea when he points out that if Claire is arrested and hanged, people close to her will also be arrested as spies, even if they’re not. That means Young Ian, the Hunters, and Mercy will all be arrested and likely hanged. Can they do that? This is the British Army; of course they can!

Claire has no choice but to agree to marry John. It has to be that day because Richardson has only given John 24 hours—and that was a courtesy to John so that there wasn’t a scene at the house.

So yes, THAT storyline is happening from the books!

Outlander airs Fridays on STARZ.

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