For the opening scene of its mid-season finale “Turning Points,” Outlander leaned into its rare good humor after the previous episode had ended on the cliffhanger-esque moment of Jamie, lying unconscious in the battlefield after the First Battle of Saratoga. Once Claire rescues him from some female graverobbers and it’s clear that his worst injury is catching a sword hilt in his hand, the scene is played surprisingly lighthearted for the series, with them bickering like the middle-aged married couple they are about his inability to stay out of trouble.
Despite Claire’s rant about Jamie as a “vainglorious, pigheaded, grandstanding Scot” and her trotting after him “sticking pieces back on,” the episode favored smaller, more subtle emotional moments between unlikely kinsmen. Nonetheless, the finale’s eponymous turning points were more foregone conclusions that rather neatly ended the Frasers’ chapter in America; we could have used a wee bit more excitement before the next Droughtlander.
Spoilers for Outlander 7×08 “Turning Points”
What rang odd about Claire’s complaints about Jamie’s “stupid hero complex” is that I expected to see that sentiment reflected in Roger and Brianna’s conflict. Here seemed a clear parallel of these two Scottish men rushing headfirst into the unknown, their respective wives hovering breathless on the sidelines as they fight for their children’s future—Jamie doing his part to ensure that America wins the Revolutionary War and therefore exists for Brianna to grow up in, Roger rescuing Jemmy from being kidnapped and taken through the stones to fend for himself in the past. The pacing of this plot continues to be off-kilter, with the previous episode teeing up all of the Rob Cameron drama but then the finale showing little more than Roger and Buck McKenzie at the stones, where we basically left them last week, their big goodbye to Bree and Mandy rather over-the-top.
That said, the lead-up to this finale has made for a pretty good season (or half-season) of Outlander with some solid time travel shenanigans. Tom Christie is alive! And kissed Claire (Outlander hijinks ensue), and was the one who put the obituary in the newspaper for the Frasers—a well-meaning mistake that nonetheless brought Brianna and Roger back in time, aww. Wendigo Donner gets blown to bits for trying to weasel his way back to the present! Buck MacKenzie passed forward through the stones! And begged Roger’s forgiveness for hanging him, realizing how in the wrong he was for attacking his kin. (The kids watching Buck Rogers with Cousin Buck was pretty damn cute.)
Buy the Book
All the Hidden Paths
Claire and Jamie’s letters to Brianna are an engaging way to keep track of the dual timelines and to play with the past-as-present, simultaneously watching the Frasers live through one of America’s biggest historical moments while reminding us that they are also long dead. It’s just eerie enough to augment the ghostly feel of Lallybroch, as the MacKenzies embark on their bittersweet renovation and settling in to their ancestors’ family home. And the fact that they’re not far from the stones always keeps the door open, as it were, for future returns to the past.
Among the more affecting plotlines this season has been William Ransom’s quiet disillusionment with war. Ever since he sneered at deserters at the start of the battles, I’ve been waiting for him to make his escape. Instead, the most crucial effect of the Battles of Saratoga is to constantly bring William and Jamie into close range, with Jamie accidentally shooting William’s hat off his head during one battle and then offering his own hat (aww) while in the British camp for his cousin Simon Fraser’s passing.
Everyone keeping William’s true parentage a secret seems almost comical at this point, as Claire and Young Ian and Jamie himself interact with the young soldier with mounting levels of dramatic irony and secretive tension. But while to a modern viewer it feels like typical TV withholding, it does fit for the time period, as learning the truth would actually threaten William’s social standing; or, at least, he might think so, but we all know Lord John Grey would love him all the same because he’s Jamie’s son. But to know that the general he already grieved was a distant relation—gah. And Sam Heughan’s quiet delivery of “I thought I must at least try to speak to him once as a man” was just wrenching.
Speaking of men disillusioned with war…! When Jamie unintentionally quoted Robert Browning to a soldier before the poet had even written that line, I thought for a moment we’d get him fulfilling a fun little paradox, his own little Marvin Berry moment. But instead it was Benedict Arnold who was not only inspired by the line about man’s reach exceeding his grasp, but who is on his own collision course to becoming the most famous turncoat.
Unlike the little George Washington Easter egg back in season 4, I appreciated that “Turning Points” lingered on Claire’s dilemma regarding Benedict Arnold. It’s not the first time that she’s wrestled with whether to change the course of history, and in this case she obviously doesn’t want to tamper with American independence. But she also really takes to heart his comments about encouraging people to attempt the impossible; obviously she wouldn’t be here now if she had ever let herself think that some of her adventures and choices were not possible. So even though she knows that his legacy will be forever tarnished by his own choices, she hears him out when it comes to venting his feelings of not being given credit. Outlander holds space for men like this, who are desperate to secure their own legacies yet often wind up hamstrung by those foolish dreams of glory.
At least the mid-season ends with the Frasers embarking for Scotland. It only took an extra year, and it seems awfully convenient that Simon’s last request that his body be returned to Scotland allows Jamie to fulfill what he had always intended to do… but I daresay that after a year of serving in the war, they deserve to take the out.
Arch Bug’s reappearance toes the line between ominous and downright melodramatic, as he creepily intones to winsome Quaker Rachel Hunter that her “friend” must “REALLY LOVE YE” if he entrusts her to watch Rollo. I know it’s meant to drum up tension for next season, but it feels (to viewers, at least) like he’s overplayed his hand. If he had shown up seeming like a kindly old man, that would be one thing, but hopefully Rachel is smart enough to not be fooled, especially after her last encounter with a supposedly helpful stranger led to rat stew and attempted murder.
The second half of Outlander season 7 promises to be more exciting, as Jamie, Claire, and Young Ian return to Lallybroch to reunite with Jenny and Ian—while in the 1970s, Bree will be holding down the fort at the same estate two hundred years later, waiting for Roger and Jemmy’s return. Those parallels will be fascinating to watch, not least because we’re still not sure as to Buck McKenzie’s fate, whether he’ll perish in the past with Roger or come back to the present… and guess who are returning to the series but his parents, Dougal MacKenzie and Geillis Duncan. And how can I forget, Jamie’s ex-wife Laoghaire too!
That’s the thing with this series—even after an only somewhat satisfying season, it feels like tromping around after the show, filling in the narrative blanks to paper over some less-than-thrilling plot points. Or standing still, breathless, waiting for the promise that it’s going to return to its best self.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Natalie Zutter is here for all the Scottish drama next season. Pass the Droughtlander with her on Twitter and Bluesky!
