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Following last week’s emotional setback for the Fraser family, the latest episode of Outlander centers on healing and connection, as Jamie and William finally start to bond as father and son.
In the episode titled “In the Forest,” crafted by original series creator Ronald D. Moore, we open with Marsali and Jamie (played by Sam Heughan) visiting Fergus’ grave. Marsali is contemplating Percy Beauchamp’s offer to inherit the Comte St. Germain’s wealth, which could help her rebuild the printshop destroyed by fire and continue supporting the American Revolution. However, she hesitates because Fergus was against accepting the Comte as his father. Jamie speculates that Fergus’s reluctance was due to the Comte’s villainous nature, but Marsali tenderly corrects him, explaining that Fergus never wanted anyone but Jamie as his father. Aww.
Jamie assures Marsali that Fergus will always be his son. With that settled, Marsali decides to accept the money, despite concerns that selling the land to Percy’s associates might hinder the American rebel cause. After Jamie departs, Marsali reveals she is expecting their fifth child, expressing her joy at having more of Fergus. However, it seems viewers may not see much more of Marsali after this heartfelt moment, making Lauren Lyle’s performance a memorable farewell if that’s the case.
Meanwhile, although Brianna and Roger have successfully smuggled firearms for Jamie’s militia, Jamie remains worried that the Loyalists may gain the upper hand with Patrick Ferguson’s new “breech loader” rifle. Bree proposes a solution: she can create a Hall rifle, decades ahead of its time. When Buck is impressed by her firearms expertise, Roger mentions that her adoptive father, Frank, nicknamed her “Deadeye” for her sharpshooting skills. This revelation leads Jamie to realize that Frank’s book is dedicated to Brianna.
Jamie and Claire come to understand that Frank wasn’t trying to hurt them with the information in Soul of a Rebel. Instead, Frank had been preparing Bree for a possible return to the 18th century to find her biological father. The book serves as a warning to Jamie, and perhaps Frank even hoped that Claire would use her 20th-century medical knowledge to save Jamie’s life. This paints Frank Randall in a positive light, as reflected in Tobias Menzies’ more optimistic voiceover, encouraging Jamie to prepare his militia for the battle at King’s Mountain and survive for their daughter’s sake. As time goes on, a visibly pregnant Bree actively contributes to the cause by successfully producing bullets and crafting the Hall rifle.
Another family member who was looking out for the family in the future was Buck. He recounts to Roger how he spent some time with his mom and dad, Geillis and Dougal, in the 1730s. But as they both thought he was romantically interested in Geillis (which didn’t bother Geillis one bit — classic Geillis), he left that time period. The stones took him back to the 1980s, where he protected his descendants and killed Rob Cameron.
The Fraser family grows larger when none other than William shows up at the Ridge (and not to Mount Josiah as Lord John had assumed). He’s warmly welcomed by the family and opens up to Brianna about his relationship with Amaranthus. He’s still icy to his biological father, but Roger and Brianna nudge him into going fishing with Jamie.
Things start out promising on the father-son fishing trip, but they turn ugly when William reveals that he left Lord John’s when he discovered him kissing Percy. He asks if Lord John and Jamie were lovers back at Ardsmuir. William’s cruel words about Lord John’s sexuality lead Jamie to defend his old friend, highlighting that he may have finally forgiven LJG for the whole Claire marriage fiasco.
After their argument, William is ready to flee again, but his stepmother x2, Claire, encourages him to stay. William then sees Jamie in the field with Mandy on a horse, and he flashes back to his time at Helwater when Jamie was his groom, complete with footage from Season 3’s “Of Lost Things.” William softens toward Jamie and visits him while training his militia. They encounter Mr. Whittaker, the father of the twins that Claire supernaturally saved. He says that he and his men want to join Jamie’s militia after Ferguson brutally burned down an entire village of free men. Before Jamie can introduce the welcomed new recruits to his troops, William interrupts with an awkward proposal to go “hunting in the forest.” Jamie accepts.
While hunting, William apologizes to Jamie for his malicious accusation about him and Lord John. He opens up about how much he had looked up to and loved “Mac the groom” when he was a child, and how hurt he was that Jamie had abandoned him without a look back. “I am your son,” William says. “How could you leave me?”
With tears in his eyes, Jamie says he loved him too, but he didn’t want William to suffer since he had nothing to offer his son as a Jacobite traitor. He only hadn’t looked back at William when leaving so as not to lose his resolve. Now it’s Jamie’s turn to apologize, and William accepts with a cathartic cry and a big old hug. Let the healing begin!
Jamie’s son may be feeling better, but Jamie’s granddaughter is struggling as Fanny tells Rachel that some boys at the Trading Post told her Jane is in hell for being a murderer and dying by suicide. Rachel suggests she speak to Roger, who is officially going to be ordained as a Presbyterian minister. Fanny interrupts him while he’s picking out a hymn for his ordination (his singing voice is basically healed after Buck had him hanged back in Season 5). She won’t divulge to him why she’s come, but she’s bitter toward God, and at his ordination, she flees the church. Like a good Reverend, he goes to her afterward and gets to the heart of what’s troubling her. Roger tells her that though the Bible may make it seem like it’s black and white, he doesn’t believe Jane is necessarily in hell, and encourages her to speak to God about it herself.
Fanny takes comfort in Roger’s words and, at her cairn, asks Jane for a sign that she’ll see her again. Fanny then finds an emerald gemstone washed up in the riverbed. When she goes to pick it up, it’s hot to the touch and cracks in her hands. She then hears the telltale buzzing — turns out, she’s a time traveler like her grandmother Claire.
The episode ends in Savannah, where Percy has beckoned Lord John to get intel on the whereabouts of Captain Richardson (Ben Lambert), who had schemed against the Grey family in Season 7. But when Lord John arrives, it’s a setup orchestrated by Percy! The black-hearted scoundrel Captain Richardson is there, and he promptly knocks LJG unconscious.
Good thing William and Jamie have come to terms with Lord John because he’s going to need the both of them if he’s going to get out of this mess. And with theories that Richardson could be a secret time traveler, it doesn’t hurt that there’s another time traveler in the Fraser family.
Caitlin Gallagher is a New Jersey-raised, NYC-based entertainment writer. When not writing about or watching TV, she can be found planning her next Halloween costume, crying over rescue animals, or praising Season 2 of The Leftovers.