**This is not a spoiler-free review of this episode. This review is also from a non-reader, and any comments revealing spoilers from the books will be deleted.**
20/10, no notes.
Episode 809: “Pharos”
Written by Diana Gabaldon, Directed by Emer Conroy
HOW FUNNY THAT WE FINALLY GET MORE OF A FOCUS ON CLAIRE (CAITRIONA BALFE) WHEN THE ACTUAL AUTHOR WRITES THE EPISODE!!
This review is the one where I spiral.
In other words — “Pharos” is my favorite episode of the final season. Who would’ve thought Lord John’s (David Berry) capture would’ve resulted in a happy family reunion?
Someone had to take one for the team!
I’m frankly still flummoxed that this is THE penultimate episode, guys. Honestly, I procrastinated on writing this because once I finish this review, there’s only one left.
THERE’S ONLY ONE EPISODE LEFT.
I really appreciated that this episode brought us back to our core crew. Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Lord John FINALLY let bygones be bygones. Keep that in mind, folks — if you’ve had a falling out with your friend who slept with your wife when he thought you were dead, just get kidnapped and have him rescue you, and all will be forgiven!
HOWEVER.
Will this be the last time Lord John and William (Charles Vandervaart) see Jamie? I really loved the parallel of Jamie actually looking back this time when he rode away on the horse. Who needs therapy when we can have Jamie heal our childhood trauma?
But I digress.
Ezekiel Richardson (Ben Lambert) basically had a grand scheme to blackmail Lord John because he’s been a SECRET TIME TRAVELER THIS WHOLE TIME, and he wants the Brits to win the Revolutionary War to stop slavery.
The exchange with Ezekiel (AHEM, Mike Callahan) and Claire was one of the best scenes in the episode. What I love about it is that Ezekiel-Mike makes a valid argument for changing time.
AND I SAY THAT AS AN AMERICAN, OK. But wanting to stop slavery is a noble goal. It’s a tough scene for Claire because she understands how Ezekiel-Mike feels. However, if anyone knows you can’t mess with time (because it messes with you), it’s our girl Claire.
ALSO THAT MOMENT WHERE SHE HOLDS EZEKIEL AT GUNPOINT? GOLD. SHE’S JUST TOO BADASS FOR WORDS.
I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to pick up on Claire’s prisoner being a time traveler before this. Should I rewatch past episodes, guys? AM I JUST OBLIVIOUS?
Anyways. Brianna (Sophie Skelton) had another baby?
Time-travelers. They’re just like US.
I do wish we had a few more episodes to wrap everything up in this final season. I know I’ve been harping on it a lot, but everything has just felt rushed. We saw Brianna pregnant in the last episode, and all of a sudden, she gave birth. There’s also no time for Marsali (Lauren Lyle) in this episode, so there’s no guarantee we’ll get a follow-up on her mission to keep Fergus’s print shop alive.
ANYWAYS.
Back to Claire.
Claire and Ezekiel-Mike argue over the desire to change time. At one point, they hit an impasse. Ezekiel-Mike begs Claire to let him go. At this point, it’s pretty clear he’ll no longer be a threat to Lord John. She makes him promise he won’t bother her family again. He gives his word.
AND THEN LORD JOHN SHOOTS HIM POINT-BLANK IN THE HEAD.
When you mess with time…..
There’s sadly not enough time to mourn Claire’s fellow time wizard. William breaks up with Amaranthus (Carla Woodcock) after she makes one last attempt to see if he’s willing to give their fake love story a chance.
I had to applaud her for her audacity.
In a way, this episode was all about forgiveness. Jamie needed to forgive Lord John and apologize (for the first time in his life!!) for how he almost beat him to death. William needed to forgive himself for falling for Amaranthus and, in the process, let go of his resentment towards her. Claire doesn’t need forgiveness because she’s Claire, and WE FINALLY GOT MORE TIME WITH HER AGAIN.
SPEAKING OF TIME!!
THAT SCENE WITH CLAIRE WRITING A BOOK!!!
AHHHHHHHH!!!
My dumb butt was like, “Wait, that first line sounds AWFULLY FAMILIAR.”
GUYS, SHE REPEATED THE LINE FROM THE FIRST EPISODE!!
HAS CLAIRE BEEN WRITING THE STORY OF OUTLANDER THE WHOLE TIME??
I’m wondering if they will pull that with the series finale — Jamie dies, Claire finishes their story, and then we somehow return to that moment with Jamie looking at Claire in the window in the 1940s.
Oh, who am I kidding? I have NO CLUE HOW THEY’RE GOING TO END THIS.
One thing I am looking forward to is finally reading the books after this. As someone who normally reads voraciously (and diligently compares adaptations to their books), it’s been genuinely fun watching Outlander with no prior knowledge of the main source material. One thing I do like about the final season is that they’ve been VERY ambiguous about Jamie’s fate — I’ve never felt the sense of, “Oh, they wouldn’t kill him.”
The episodes have been filled with a sense of DREAD as the Battle of Kings Mountain approaches, so I applaud the eighth season for keeping me on the edge of my seat.
I think it would be BOLD to kill Jamie off in the final episode. I guess the time loop where Jamie visits Claire still confuses me, though. Would she return to her present time after Jamie’s death, thereby restarting the time loop? They HAVE to explain that famous scene from the first episode.
Y’all, I genuinely have no idea what’s going to happen. It’s been a wild ride up to this point. For the last time, signing off with…
Until next time!
(ALSO, CAN THEY PLEASE LET WILLIAM GET A GIRLFRIEND WHO DOESN’T DIE OR LIE TO HIM ABOUT HER DEAD TRAITOR HUSBAND FOR ONCE. PLEASE.)
That’s all, folks!
THIS 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.”
