Outlander Season 7 Episode 10, “Brotherly Love,” packs an emotional gut punch and propels the overarching narrative. In fact, the story moves at a steady clip here. A lot happens, y’all, and we tie some loose ends, including the Old Ian arc and the Arch plot. We also get that bombshell about Roger’s father.
Caitríona Balfe delivers a raw, visceral, heart-wrenching performance. We know Jamie’s not dead, but Claire’s response had me reaching for the tissues. “Brotherly Love” is stuffed to the gills with action and is just damn entertaining.
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Outlander, “Brotherly Love”
We open with a young Jamie (Ethan Thorn) and Ian (Gabriel Calderwood) practicing sword fighting with John Murray (Adam McNamara). In the present day, Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Old Ian (Steven Cree) sit in that same spot where they practiced with wooden swords as kids. They share a flask. Old Ian is in quite a bit of pain. He surmises that if miracles like Claire exist on this planet, then “paradise” must be even better. They reminisce about the past — specifically, when they gave each other blood for blood.
Later, Jamie carries Ian to bed while Jenny (Kristin Atherton) sits beside him. He passes away. After this, Jamie digs a spot in the family cemetery for Ian. Jamie vows to stay as long as Jenny needs him. In other news, Jenny’s son, Michael, will accompany Joan to a convent in Paris, so that’s settled. Jamie plans to visit her there before returning to Philadelphia.
To America
Jamie urges his sister to move across the ocean to America. Jenny will seriously consider it once the kids don’t need her anymore. Elsewhere, Claire (Balfe) and Young Ian (John Bell) arrive in Philadelphia after five weeks of travel. They see the city is now under British occupation. While in the carriage, Ian wonders if his father is still alive. Claire suggests he might hold on until after his birthday in May.
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Ian plans to find Rachel at Valley Forge, where the Continental Army is still encamped. Once they arrive at their destination, Ian departs to find Rachel, while Claire knocks on the door of the residence where Henry Grey convalesces. She meets Mercy Woodcock (Gloria Obianyo) and assumes she’s the servant of the household. Mercy corrects her, stating she owns this home.
Inside, Claire reunites with Lord John Grey (David Berry). She asks if he’s returned to service, but John reveals he’s resigned his commission. That said, he can wear the uniform, which he uses as an intimidation tactic to protect Mercy, who’s for independence. Henry was given to Mercy as a prisoner of war. Once Philadelphia came under British control, John remained in uniform to continue the ruse.
Who Are You?
The conversation pivots to Claire operating on Henry, who was shot twice with a musket. She tells John she’ll need vitriol to make ether. John reassures her that he bought all the vitriol she could ever need. Meanwhile, in 1739 Scotland, Roger (Richard Rankin) and Buck (Diarmaid Murtagh) meet Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek) — well, re-meet for Roger. He stares at her in bewilderment. Of course, at this point, she doesn’t know Roger from a hole in the wall (or that Buck is her son).
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Geillis listens to Buck’s heartbeat before determining that boiled foxglove steeped in tea is the best remedy. She heads out to the garden for the herbs. Roger fills Buck in on how he knows Geillis (without mentioning the “Buck’s mom” bit). Buck wonders if Geillis knows Rob Cameron since they’re from the same time. Roger does think it’s suspicious that Rob took Jemmy to find the gold because it won’t be there for another 40 years.
Meanwhile, Claire examines Henry’s (Harry Jarvis) stomach. He has scarring from previous surgeries, one of which was conducted by Dr. Denzell Hunter, Rachel’s brother. Hunter removed one of the musket balls, so only one remains inside Henry. Claire reunites with Dr. Hunter (Joey Phillips) to discuss Henry’s surgery. The procedure Claire plans to perform seems out of Hunter’s skill set, but he’ll assist her.
A Reunion
Elsewhere, Williams (Charles Vandervaart) accompanies Rachel (Izzy Meikle-Small) and Rollo to the market. Rachel asks William if he plans to return to Boston soon. He’d rather not stay with the British army in general. He much prefers Rachel’s company. Suddenly, Rollo bolts. Rachel assumes this means Ian is back. However, the dog disappears from view, and Rachel can’t find him nor Ian. Thankfully, Rollo reunites with Ian. Aw. On a less happy note, Arch Bug (Hugh Ross) lurks in the shadows, inevitably waiting to pounce on Rachel in his quest for vengeance against Ian.
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Next, Geillis gets her flirt on with Roger after admitting that he looks familiar. Roger asserts he’s a married man. He pivots the situation away from all that to Jemmy. He tells Geillis that Jemmy was abducted two days ago, and locals say his kidnapper is the “fairy man.” Roger slips Rob Cameron into the conversation, putting out feelers to see if she knows him. Unfortunately, Geillis doesn’t, bringing Roger back to square one.
Then, Geillis introduces Roger and Buck to Dougal MacKenzie (Graham McTavish), you know — Buck’s future papa. Dougal knows they’re searching for the fairy man. After learning Dougal’s name, Roger thinks, Oh, Christ. Elsewhere, Claire opens Henry up to remove the last musket ball during a surgical procedure. She made ether to ensure Henry won’t feel anything. Mercy and Hunter assist her. Claire finds the aforementioned musket ball in Henry’s intestines.
The Truth About Walter
Meanwhile, Rachel and William wait in another room while Claire performs surgery. William reassures Rachel that they’ll continue looking for Rollo. John emerges to inform them that Henry survived a successful surgery. Outside, Claire and Mercy talk about the latter’s husband, Walter. Claire tells Mercy that she amputated Walter’s leg, and he eventually succumbed to his injuries. He was left behind during the siege of Fort Ticonderoga. Mercy shares that her last interaction with her late husband wasn’t a happy one.
Rachel leaves for the stables to tend to the horses. William looks tongue-tied, as if he wants to say something. My man’s got it bad. Sure enough, Arch descends upon Rachel in the stables. He plans to kill her in front of Ian. Rachel tells Arch that he won’t survive this either, but Arch has nothing to lose. If he dies, he’ll reunite with his wife. At the same time, Ian arrives at Mercy’s home. Hunter informs him that Rachel is in the stables.
Thankfully, Ian finds Rachel in time for an anxiety-riddled reunion. Ian charges at Arch. Rachel runs toward him, begging him not to kill the older man. Arch buries his ax in Ian’s arm. The two wrestle on the ground as Arch digs his finger into Ian’s fresh arm wound. Ouch. Arch overpowers Ian with ax in hand, preparing to deliver the killing blow, until William shoots him in the chest. Arch keels over.
The Aftermath and Roger’s Dad
William urges Ian and Rachel to flee, insisting he’ll take care of the body. As a soldier, he’s got a bit of immunity in that regard. Later, after Claire presumably patched up Ian, he sits beside Rachel in Mercy’s home, his arm in a sling. Rollo lays at their feet. Ian admits that Rachel is the only constant in his life. A source of comfort and stability. These two crazy cute kids need to get together already.
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Later, Claire stops by the garden for herbs before she and Ian read a letter from Jamie. They learn that Old Ian has passed away. Oh, and he’s about to board a ship for America. They realize that he left six weeks ago, meaning he could be there any day now.
In 1739 Scotland, Dougal gives Roger a “charm” a friend of his won. It could be tied to the “fairy man,” aka Rob Cameron. They’re military dog tags. Roger asks if he can keep them. Then, Dougal promptly flirts with Geillis, which makes sense. If they didn’t, Buck (or Roger) wouldn’t be here. After the lovebirds leave, Roger explains the significance of the dog tags. These particular military ID tags belong to Roger’s father, who went missing in action. This means his dad is here — he’s the “fairy man.”
Claire the Spy
Then, Mercy tells Claire she’s working as a courier for the Continental army. She mostly transports letters, but if she overhears something interesting in the market from the British soldiers, she’ll report that, too. This makes me want to rewatch TURN. Mercy doesn’t know who she sends the letters to, only who gives them to her. Unfortunately, that person was caught.
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Mercy reveals she has a letter now in need of delivering to General Washington. However, she was followed today. Claire offers to deliver it for Mercy. They never stop her when she shops in the garden. But a handful of soldiers question her this time, wondering why she’s back for more herbs so soon. She explains in great detail that she needs them to provide diarrhea relief to a patient. That’ll turn anyone off, I suppose. After this interaction, Claire surreptitiously slips the letter through a hole.
My Heart Would Stop, Too
Later, John tearfully informs Claire that Jamie is gone. The ship he was on was lost at sea. Of course, Claire is incredulous. She insists that if Jamie were dead, she’d feel it. Her heart would stop, too. Give Balfe that Emmy now. That night, she sobs in bed. Visions of a younger Jamie flood her mind.
After this, Captain Richardson (Ben Lambert) chats with John about Claire. Richardson plans to arrest Claire as a spy. He explains that Claire was delivering missives (on behalf of Mercy) for the Continental army. One of Richardson’s soldiers intercepted some of the letters. John informs Richardson that Claire is in mourning at church. Richardson allows John a day before he arrests her.
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John races upstairs to Claire’s room. He proposes they get married. Not for the reason she thinks, though. He reveals that the British will arrest her as a spy. However, if Claire’s his wife, this offers her protection. If she’s apprehended, this puts the others — Mercy, Ian, Rachel, Denzell — in danger, too.
Poor Claire. Not even a day after receiving news about Jamie’s death and she has to marry another man to stay safe.
Outlander streams new episodes on Fridays at midnight EST on the STARZ app and at 8 pm on STARZ.
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