[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 809: “Pharos”
Written by Diana Gabaldon, Directed by Emer Conroy
Expectations are high as Outlander nears its conclusion with its next episode, and this episode of Outlander, “Pharos,” is the crescendo of sorts to its end. It is the episode that should set up a satisfying conclusion. The stories of its important supporting characters should conclude, allowing the focus to be on the main characters’ final chapter.
The previous episode, “In The Forest,” built to an understanding between Jamie (Sam Heughan) and William (Charles Vandervaart) that allowed the father and son to continue on in a friendly, loving manner in the next episode. If the strife between the two characters continued, the animosity and cold shoulders would not serve the important rescue of Lord John Grey (David Berry).
At the beginning of the episode, we learn why Captain Richardson (Ben Lambert) kidnaps Lord John. It is to attempt to persuade Lord John’s brother, the Duke of Pardloe, to continue to advocate for the British war against the Colonies. The Duke is apparently going to present to Parliament to urge them to stop financially supporting the war. Richardson wants Lord John to write a letter to his brother, begging him not to give his speech and not to change his stance on the war. To force Lord John’s hand in writing this letter, Richardson has letters from Percy Beauchamp (Michael Lindall) and another of Lord John’s lovers that detail Lord John’s sexual proclivities. Lord John would be ruined if word of his personal life got out.
Lord John begs Percy to find his son and give him his ring, but of course, William is not at home. The package with the letters was left at his house with Amaranthus (Carla Woodcock), who has already sent a letter to William detailing Lord John’s absence.
Six weeks pass by before William, Jamie, and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) make it to Savannah to help find Lord John. They learn of the letters and the attempt to blackmail the Duke, which leads them directly to Percy and a beatdown by William and Jamie to get Lord John’s location out of him. Unfortunately, Richardson took great care to keep the location from Percy. However, the ring that Lord John gave Percy for William has the word “Pharos” scratched into it—a clue to Lord John’s location on Tybee Island.
The trio of rescuers heads to Tybee Island, where they are fortunate enough to spot Captain Richardson straight away. Claire stays behind to keep an eye on a fishing Richardson, while the boys head to the boathouse to find Lord John. And what an entrance they make to that boathouse—very Predator-esque. They easily kill the two men stationed there and find Lord John, who has now grown quite a beard. (Where did Jamie get the tricorn hat after the rescue?)
Back on the shore, Claire finds herself needing to intervene with Richardson, who is almost done fishing and ready to head back. Claire always looked good with a pistol, and this time is no different. Clarie had to update Richardson on her married name again, but she holds her own against a trained military man. She brings him back to the boathouse, where Jamie ties him up. The men leave again to look for any additional guards and to retrieve the boats. Claire is left alone with Richardson again.
It is in the conversation between Claire and Richardson that we learn the underlying intent of his blackmail—he wants to eradicate slavery in the Colonies. He tells a story of his great-great-grandmother being a slave and bearing a child with the owner. That’s interesting. He continues to go on about the English being proactive about eradicating slavery, and if the Colonies stay with the British, slavery will end quicker than the alternative. The alternative is the Civil War, a conflict between the North and the South. Claire quickly picks up on his reference, which would not mean anything to someone who does not already know the future. Richardson is a time traveler himself, but unfortunately, we do not learn from what year he originated. Although Claire attempts to persuade him of his futility in changing the future, explaining the attempts she made, he still wants to try. Feeling some compassion for Richardson, Claire lets him go to continue his endeavor. Unfortunately, Lord John sees him trying to walk out of the boathouse and shoots him dead.
If you look back at the non-familial time travelers presented in the television series, they all had a cause they fought for in their return to the past. Geillis wanted the Jacobites to win at Culloden along with Bonnie Prince Charlie, Richardson wanted to abolish slavery, and Wendigo and Otter Tooth wanted to prevent the eradication of the Native American tribes. No one has been successful thus far, but their presence is still enough to alter the history of those around them, almost as if they were always meant to time-travel.
Back at Lord John’s house, Jamie continues to step in it regarding his behavior toward Lord John and Claire’s marriage. He forgives Lord John, but that is not exactly what was needed in that moment, and Claire concurs with Lord John. Jamie sometimes needs to get his head out of his arse in regards to his relationships with people he is close to—he is guilty of thinking he does no wrong in certain situations, and this is certainly one of them. The one-on-one discussion between them certainly clears the air, ending with a chess match reminiscent of all the ones they played before.
When Claire and Jamie depart Savannah, there is a parallel to Jamie leaving Helwater when William was small. Lord John is still by William’s side, watching Jamie depart, but this time Jamie looks back at William with a smile, hoping it’s not the last time they see each other.
Along with the time jump at the beginning of the episode, there appears to be another one when the Frasers return to the Ridge. Brianna (Sophie Skelton) has already given birth to her son, but Brianna points out that she was grateful that Claire and Jamie made it back for the birth.
It is in a conversation between Brianna and Jamie that Brianna learns about what is in Frank’s book. Jamie is supposed to die at the fight at Kings Mountain. Why does no one else read this book?! Seriously, it is like Frank wrote it only to Jamie, and no one else had any interest in reading it, even while Brianna and Roger were back in the present. Now, Brianna is quite stressed about the upcoming battle and is rightfully begging her father not to go. Being the prideful and stubborn Jamie, he knows he will go, regardless of what may happen to him.
While this episode had many great moments, the conversation between Jamie and Claire in the bedroom has to be the best one. Claire reveals that she is writing their story, and the first page is Claire’s narration from the first episode of Outlander. It is a great way of making all the seasons come full circle, as this tidbit shows that Claire from the future past was revisiting the story of Jamie and her story at the beginning. Although Diana Gabaldon wrote this episode, it will be interesting to see whether this tidbit of knowledge makes it into the last book or if this is a show-only moment.
Benjamin Cleveland (Turlough Convery) breaks this moment between Jamie and Claire when he rides up to the house with the news that the Loyalist militia and Ferguson are headed their way. The stage is set for Kings Mountain and the fate of Jamie Fraser.
This episode marks the last time the viewers may see William and Lord John, and certainly the last time we see Amaranthus. With the visit to Savannah, the Frasers did not have an on-camera reunion with Marsali and the children. With Percy’s fate, viewers can only hope that the deal happened that would allow Marsali to get the Comte’s money. I felt with Marsali’s monologue at Fergus’ grave, that would probably be the last time we saw her.
The episode did well enough at tying up emotional threads and regrets among the characters. There is no unfinished business with words unsaid. When Claire meets another time traveler trying to change the future, she is reminded of her futile attempts in the past to do the same, yet it is the fiery healer in Claire who, I am sure, will do everything in her power to save Jamie from Frank’s words and history. We viewers, whether or not we have read the books, have to wait to see what Matthew B. Roberts has in store for the finale. He has certainly not made strong or logical story choices as the showrunner this season, so I hope for all of us that he hits it out of the park.
NEXT WEEK, ON FRIDAY, MAY 15TH, AT 8 PM ET: EPISODE 810: “AND THE WORLD WAS ALL AROUND US.”
Synopsis: “In the series finale, Jamie and Claire must protect the home that they’ve made for themselves and trust in the love that binds them.”
