NOTE: This post contains spoilers for Outlander season 7 episode 9, 'Unfinished Business'.
It has been a long Droughtlander but at last, our favorite time-traveling, warfighting and hard-loving characters are back with the second half of Outlander season 7.
And to start things off on a nostalgic note, 'Unfinished Business' brings us back to the place where it all began: Scotland.
Let’s recap what happened to Claire, Jamie and the rest of their family in this mid-season premiere of Outlander.
If you recall the events of 'Turning Points', the 8th episode of Outlander season 7, it was Simon Fraser’s wish to be buried in Scotland and Jamie accepted to take his body back to the motherland. He, Claire and Young Ian are now back and have fulfilled Simon’s last request, so they are now free to return to the Fraser’s ancestral home they have not seen in years: Lallybroch.
There, they are greeted by Jenny Murray, Ian’s mother and Jamie’s sister, who is very happy to see them again. Also in residence are Ian’s brothers, Michael and James, who he finds out are here because their father is not doing so well. Indeed, Old Ian is plagued with a bad cough but is nonetheless delighted to see his youngest son again, as well as Jamie and Claire. Asking Jenny how long Ian has been sick, Claire ends up identifying that her brother-in-law is suffering from consumption.
Later, in the laird’s chamber where Claire and Jamie first confessed their feelings to each other all those years ago, Claire tells her husband she knows well the disease that is affecting Ian, but that there is unfortunately nothing she can do about it in the 18th century. All she can do is ensure Ian is as comfortable as possible for his remaining days.
It’s overall a sad homecoming for the Frasers, and Jamie explains he now doesn't feel the same way he used to about Lallybroch. It’s still his home, but he can now see that their life really is in America.
Beyond the stones
While this is happening for Claire and Jamie, Roger and Buck have made their way through the stones and are back in the past. While the former wakes up from the time travel with a splitting headache, Buck’s heart is pounding in his chest and Roger wonders for a moment if he would cease to exist if his ancestor died then and there.
They are in a hurry to catch up with Rob Cameron and Jemmy though, so Roger doesn't have time for Buck potentially dying on him. They agree to split up and Roger decides to go to Lallybroch, assuming home is where Jemmy would go if he managed to get away from his kidnapper.
In a welcome change for the show, Roger’s voiceover is used throughout the episode to express his inner dialogue and how he works through his feelings about the situation he finds himself in. Concerned about Jemmy’s safety, he makes his way through the Scottish countryside hoping he will find him soon enough and thinking he cannot return to Brianna without their son.
Speaking of his wife, we see her driving back from the stones with Mandy in the 1980s, obviously worried about her son, her husband, and unable to do anything else than sit, wait and pray for their safe return.
Reunions all around
While Ian's nieces and nephews are curious to learn about his time with the Mohawks, his siblings are interested to know more about the war going on in America, and Michael points out such “unrest” would not happen in France where the Fraser business is going very well. Old Ian, on the other hand, wants to hear all about his son’s life in America and asks him about his ex-wife. Young Ian tells him about how they did end up having a son after all and how he named the lad Ian James, which warms his father’s heart.
Ian also tells him about Rachel and how he didn't gather up the courage to tell her he loves her (at least, not in English) before leaving her to dog-sit Rollo. Old Ian wants him to promise he will not miss a chance to tell her how he feels but Ian says he cannot leave him.
As Ian reconnects with his parents, Jamie tells Claire that he needs to go see Laoghaire and when she wonders why, he explains he has unfinished business with the woman he married. When Jamie arrives at Laoghaire’s place, he runs into her farmhand and new lover, Joey Murray, before seeing his ex. She isn’t particularly pleased to see him and asks why he bothered to come see her.
But as much as Jamie tries to explain to her that he wants to apologize for the way he treated her in the past, Laoghaire is not in the mood to forgive and forget. She tells Jamie that he never truly looked at her or tried to understand her. All he did was pity her, ever since they met, and she is clearly still mad about things that happened at Leoch a long time ago. In fact, Laoghaire gets so worked up that she starts hitting Jamie. When Joey comes to her help, Jamie hits him, which aggravates Laoghaire even more and she asks him to leave.
Back at home, Jamie tells Claire about what happened and while she isn’t surprised by the way Laoghaire reacted, she also points out that the woman had a point in her assessment of the way Jamie behaved with her. And speaking of telling the truth, Claire informs Jamie that she wants to tell his family about being a time traveler because there are things she knows about France’s history that might save Michael.
The thing about time travel
The next day, Claire explains to the Murrays that unrest is coming to France through a time called The Terror and tells Michael that he should not stay there past 1788. When they ask how she knows this, Claire reveals that she is from the future. Young Ian and Jamie vouch for her, and while Old Ian, Jenny and the others are shocked, they don’t have much time to react as a knock on the front door interrupts them.
That’s when the show resorted to a clever montage between the Claire and Jamie storyline and the Roger storyline, and alternated between showing Roger arriving at Lallybroch in hopes to find Jemmy, and Jamie going to answer the door. Except when he did, he did not face Roger, and Roger did not see a familiar face opening the door.
In Claire and Jamie’s time, the laird of Broch Tuarach finds Joanie MacKimmie at the door, Laoghaire’s daughter. In Roger’s time, he encounters none other than Brian Fraser, Jamie’s father. Roger then realizes that he is 'in the wrong time' and not when he thought he would be after traveling through the stones.
After explaining to Brian that he is looking for his missing son and meeting a young Jenny, Roger comes to the conclusion that he is in 1739 or 1740 and wonders if his son is too. The next day, he and Brian go ask around about a strange 'fairy man' who has been seen in the area, and Roger thinks it could be Rob Cameron. He then finds out from Jenny that Buck has taken ill on his way to Lallybroch and she tells him about a nearby herbalist that might be able to help him.
Making amends
Joanie has come to see Jamie in hopes he can help her convince Laoghaire to let her become a nun. The problem is that Laoghaire will not release her daughter’s dowry to marry Christ, and the Church frowns upon the fact that her mother lives in sin with her farmhand, Joey. Why doesn’t Laoghaire marry her lover then, Jamie wonders having seemingly forgotten that he made an arrangement with his ex years ago, stipulating he would provide for her as long as she remained unmarried, otherwise the estate of Balriggan would cease to be her property. All in all, Joanie just hopes Jamie can sort this pickle out and find a way for everyone to be happy.
Towards the end of the episode, Laoghaire comes to Lallybroch where Jamie proposes an amendment to their agreement (drawn by Ned Gowan, who is toothless but still alive). If she marries Joey, she will get her estate and Jamie won't have to pay alimony to her anymore (but will contribute to Joanie's upkeep at the convent of her choice). Laoghaire accepts, Joanie is happy, and the unfinished business is at last concluded.
Finding a way to go on
Jenny accepts the truth about Claire and decides to ask her if she could save Ian. When Claire explains there is nothing she can do for him, Jenny wonders if she still holds a grudge against her for telling Jamie to marry Laoghaire all these years ago. It’s water under the bridge for Claire who tells Jenny she would help Ian if she could, but Jenny isn’t convinced and leaves her angrily.
Later on, Jamie finds his sister screaming with despair in the woods. Jenny is gutted about Ian dying and doesn't know how she will go on without him. Her brother tells her she will find a way to carry on because she always has, and he reminds her of everything she has been through and how strong she is.
Back at the house, a letter arrives from Lord John Grey asking for Claire’s help: his nephew has been shot in battle and he needs her to perform surgery on him back in Philadelphia. Given Old Ian's condition and the fact that she cannot do anything for him, Jamie and Jenny encourage Claire to go and help save the man’s life.
Meanwhile, Ian has written a letter to Rachel telling her to forget about him because he cannot leave his parents again. When he tells Jenny that he must let Rachel go, she tears the letter and takes him to the graveyard where she shows him a gravestone they made for his late daughter Iseabail. She thought he would want a place to visit her and adds that Ian will always be a part of Lallybroch, whether he is there or not. “All is well” she tells him and when he says he cannot leave Ian, Jenny argues that his father wants him to go and live the rest of his life so he should go back to America with Claire.
When the time comes for goodbyes, Jenny apologizes to Claire for being hard on her before old Ian comes out of the house in his full regalia, kilt included. He wants to see his son off and they share an embrace, both of them fully aware that this is the last time they will ever see each other again. And there is not a dry eye in the audience.
As the episode reaches its conclusion, Outlander has one more surprise up its sleeve as Roger arrives at Cranesmuir to see the herbalist Jenny told him about... and who is none other than Geillis Duncan. Roger’s reaction in his voiceover then mirrors the viewers’ as he gasps “Oh Christ!”
Tune in next week to find out how that encounter will go in a whole new episode of Outlander, on Starz and MGM+.
