[This is not a spoiler-free review of the episode. If you have not seen the episode yet, read it at your own spoiler risk.]
Episode 801: “Soul of a Rebel”
Written by Sarah H. Haught, Directed by Jan Matthys
The Frasers are back for their final season of Outlander, and the first episode, “Soul of a Rebel,” continues a search, introduces new characters, and reintroduces characters through reunions aplenty.
The finale episode of season seven ended on a cliffhanger. Fanny (Florrie May Wilkinson) sang a modern song in Claire’s (Caitriona Balfe) presence. The song was none other than the one Claire sang to the stillborn Faith back in season two. Even more interesting is that a woman named Faith was Fanny’s mother. This moment became either a revelation for Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire or just a huge coincidence. Nevertheless, the Frasers took Fanny into their care because Fanny was under the protection of William (Charles Vandervaart) after her sister died.
The episode begins by attempting to clarify the Fanny situation, with Jamie questioning a man named Vasquez (Miguel Álvarez). He is a pirate of sorts, dealing in stolen goods, except he took a couple of girls as his loot when he encountered a Captain Pocock, his wife, and children during such a siege. Vasquez killed Pocock and his wife, and the two girls were taken to a brothel for payment of a debt. Claire, hearing this story, kills Vasquez with a couple of stabs to his back. Apparently, this story is all viewers will know about Fanny’s parentage for the time being. Bereft of a possible life with a stolen child, Claire and Jamie lament what could have been had they known their child lived.
The addition of Fanny’s audacious storyline to the Outlander plot is one of the weaker ones thought up outside of Diana Gabaldon’s novels. Considering how thick the Outlander novels are with plenty of side-plots and characters to choose from, why did the writer’s room and producers decide that this was a good idea? Although this story is ridiculous, the actress who plays Fanny is remarkable and quite endearing on screen.
The whole run-in with Vasquez took place somewhere near Savannah, Georgia, as the Frasers woke up in Fergus (César Domboy) and Marsali’s (Lauren Lyle) house and printing press. Along with a gaggle of grandchildren, the Frasers appear to bask in the warmth of being surrounded by family despite what they just did. Fergus is very much a Fraser, and his convictions in running a printing press during the Revolutionary War parallel Jamie’s back in Edinburgh—like father, like son.
Jamie made a promise to Claire to return to Fraser’s Ridge, leaving little time to spend with their family. Upon arriving back at home with Fanny, they receive quite the welcome gift—a new house under construction by Ian (John Bell) and the families on Fraser’s Ridge. They had only parted ways with Ian maybe 7 to 8 months earlier, so building must have commenced quickly. At the new house, a heavily pregnant Rachel (Izzy Meilke-Smalls) is there for their arrival.
The Ridge has entered the world of commerce while The Frasers were away. There now appears to be a small town center, complete with a general store. It is there that we meet Amy McCallum (Joanne Thomson) again with her two boys, who is now married to Evan Lindsay (Gary Lamont). Hiram Crombie (Antony Byrne) runs the general store with backer Captain Cunningham (Kieran Bew). Cunningham is, unfortunately, a former Captain in His Majesty’s army, much to the shock of Jamie. This encounter between these two men is already setting up a butting of heads and maybe more. Cunningham’s mother, Elspeth (Frances Tomelty), makes an appearance at the end of the episode and does not inspire confidence as becoming a friend to the family.
Back at their home, Lizzie (Caitlin O’Ryan) makes a brief appearance with a gift of a beehive to the Frasers and has her daughter, Claire, in tow. Some of these characters’ appearances feel like the show is just placing them briefly in the last season for some lip service to the fans. Hopefully, Lizzie and the twins will return this season.
Shortly thereafter, Roger’s (Richard Rankin) iconic “Hallo, the house” line is finally uttered, and the MacKenzies are back on the Ridge and back in time. The lingering on Mandy’s doll lasted too long—it seemed there was a push for the family to show up blurry in the background for the reveal, but the moment becomes too long. When we left this family, they were still back in time with Brian Fraser and Buck. Sometime in the past few months, they traveled back to their time, then back to Jamie and Claire’s time. It appears they are here to stay, bringing with them books for Jamie and Claire. Fanny, being utterly gobsmacked by Mandy’s (Rosa Morris) picture book, was adorable. Jem (Blake Johnston-Miller) had a significant growth spurt since the season seven finale. Claire and Jamie mention Faith to Brianna (Sophie Skelton) when she asks about Fanny, but the story is either held for later or told offscreen. The more interesting part would be seeing Jamie’s reaction to Brianna meeting younger versions of his father and Janet. There is no mention of Buck—did he return to his own time or park himself somewhere else?
One of the books brought back by Brianna and Roger is “The Soul of a Rebel,” written by none other than Frank Randall. It is in Jamie’s perusal of the book that we learn that Jamie never knew Frank looked like Black Jack Randall. In seeing Frank’s photo on the dust jacket, Jamie has a voice recall of Black Jack (Tobias Menzies) that haunts him still, honestly sending shivers up my spine. Frank’s book mentions Jamie’s name several times so far, and he questions Claire about how honest Frank was. Why would Frank write a book that has Jamie Fraser as a focal point? This question harkens back to what Frank knew about the past. Surely if he researched Jamie Fraser in this time period, he also would have come upon Claire’s name. Frank writes about Jamie’s death in a year’s time in the book. Is this a truthful account or something Frank wrote to lead Jamie and Claire away or into a different situation, for better or for worse?
Apart from Jamie and Claire’s story in this episode, there is also Lord John Grey (David Berry), who exists elsewhere in a large home, as well as William, continuing to dwell in his sorrows in alcohol due to losing Jane last season. William has not made much of himself since we last saw him. He appears to no longer be in the army and also has no interest in returning to England. In the meantime, Lord John has sort of become a babysitter to his great-nephew, who is just a baby. It seems that William’s cousin died and left a wife and a baby behind. The beautiful widow Amaranthus (Carla Woodcock) is steadfast in her position as a Lady, as is due to her because of her marriage, but beyond the criticism of William that she may not be legitimate, there are already lovey-dovey eyes being made between them. Seems like the cure for losing one lover is another for William.
The show crams as much as possible into the first episode, reacquainting us with the story and the characters. Most importantly, the Frasers are back on the Ridge, but with war still occurring around them, it does not seem like the family will continue to live somewhere oblivious to the struggle for freedom. However, the episode continues to veer off course with the Fanny story, leaving limited time to devote to some of the things fans may look forward to this season. We all know that Diana Gabaldon has not finished Book 10, but the show will not end how Diana imagined it. This season of Outlander may be the least like the books, and it will be interesting to see whether those behind the show can pull it off or go down as another final season of a series that could not stick the landing.
NEXT WEEK ON FRIDAY, MARCH 13TH, AT 8 PM ET: EPISODE 802: “PROPHECIES.”
Synopsis: “When a violent tragedy shakes the Ridge, the Frasers must lean on their new tenants to make the community whole again.”
