I loved this episode, and for those of you who have been following the show with me for Season 7 and 8, you’ll know how much I love William. So to get a William-heavy episode was amazing.

But before we get to the William scenes, we must first see Marsali and Jamie put Fergus to rest. Fergus’ passing was hard for me, especially since I’m a book reader. And yet, so much of this conversation between Marsali and Jamie rings true with some of the conversations we see between Fergus and Jamie about their father/son relationship. I wish that this wasn’t the last we’d see of Marsali and the kids. A huge part of me hoped that in some ways, she would end up with Buck on the Ridge. However, Marsali seems to be off the Ridge as fast as that wagon in the opening credits can go.

We see the episode open with Jamie, Roger, Buck, and Bree discussing rifles and the information Frank wrote in his book. We find out that Frank called Bree “Dearest Deadeye” because she was a good shot. It also lets Jamie know that the book really was for Bree, so if she wanted to find her birth father, Frank left her the clues to find Jamie. We also know the lengths Frank went to in order to prepare Bree for the past (shooting, horse riding, etc), should she choose to go. I feel like this is something Claire should have mentioned a while ago. It’s where a shorter season and having to condense Diana’s books makes the episode fall short or retrofit, making our beloved characters seem more like fools. However, the scene between Claire and Jamie makes me desperate for Diana to finish her book about what Frank knew.

We finally make it back to Charleston, and we find out that Amaranthus is worried since she can’t find William. Lord John hasn’t seen him either but hopes William has gone up to his plantation at Mount Josiah.

We see Jamie preparing his men for battles, while Claire and Fanny makes supplies. Buck shows hand-to-hand combat, which is a nice echo to Dougal showing the highlanders how to fight. Bree works on changing the rifles. Finally, Buck and Roger discuss why Buck came to the Ridge. Buck admits he went to visit his parents, but they both misunderstood his interest in them, and he couldn’t quite tell them that he’s their son. Buck knew Morag wasn’t happy with him, and that it was better to let her move on without him. Buck decides to let the stones take him where he needs to go, which leads him back to the 1980s. He decides to check on Rob Cameron and sees him preparing to go back in time. We get a lovely little brawl, starting with a headbutt from Buck. It’s quickly apparent that Cameron is no match for Buck. Buck takes him out, and grabs Roger’s wee book and Cameron’s hat. Buck is sure electric on screen. Again, I’m sad we get so little of him as the season winds down. He’s stepped into the role of the “Murtaugh” of the Macs. As Buck’s story comes to a close, Bree shows up, and the size of her pregnant belly is a signal of a passage of time. She’s showing but is more excited to show how she’s altered the rifles for quickly reloading. Jamie is pretty excited with the results but also pretty proud of Bree for figuring it out.

We get a couple nature shots, and William finally shows up on the scene. Fanny and Claire greet him, but he seems less thrilled about seeing Jamie. While Jamie is kind and gracious, William inquires about Bree. And while she is a bridge that will eventually connect the family, you can’t help but see the hurt and confusion on Claire and Jamie’s faces. Maybe it’s because I’m a teacher, but it’s kinda like the dorky kids are excited that the cool kids have talked to them, only to realize the cool kids are trying to talk to the people behind the dorky kids. I don’t think William is intentionally trying to be mean. He just doesn’t really know what to say, like when someone asks you if you like the food and you aren’t sure what to say because the food is “meh.” We see William pour out his heart to Bree about the mess with Ben and Amaranthus. While it’s nice to see him open up to someone, we the audience just hopes it keeps on happening. We then get a wonderful shot of Jamie and Claire with all of their family at dinner. William shares with Rachel that he saw her brother. He gives a toast to Ian and Rachel’s happiness, and it seems like it’s all water under the bridge until William smiles too brightly at Rachel. Ian teases William to not let things get out of hand. Roger announces that he will be ordained soon. Jamie gives a toast as well, but it’s obvious William isn’t very comfortable around Jamie. As Ian and Rachel depart and Roger and Bree take on the dishes, Jamie takes the bull by the horns and invites William to go fishing with him. William turns it down very coldly, and bitterly mentions how the last time they went fishing, Jamie lied when they ran into trouble with the Cherokee. He tries to play it off that he can’t go because Bree is giving him a tour of the Ridge. However, Bree conspiratorially mentions how she can’t give the tour until the afternoon. Jamie makes the most of it and fibs about how each guest on the Ridge has to catch their own supper, knowing that William has been raised to respect the rules and customs of people’s homes. Roger jumps in and heartily confirms it is a thing. William can’t get out of it now, and after Jamie leaves, William gives a “hearty” thank you to Bree and Roger for all of their help.

Jamie does his best to try to connect with William by complementing him on his casting and discussing fishing spots at Hellwater. Jamie ribs William about his fishing stories, but it quickly devolves to why William is really there at the Ridge. William admits he knows what Lord John is. Unfortunately, it turns nasty as William starts accusing Jamie to be a former lover of Lord John. William struggles to understand how else Jamie would know the truth about John or why John would agree to help raise William. As he flings the verbal mud at Jamie (and John) and voices his hurt and anger, Jamie tastefully stands up for John. He admits that he will neither defend or claim to understand John’s personal life and his choices, but he does understand John to be one of the best men he knows and admits that John has been a good father to William. And instead of William acknowledging the truth, he almost throws his fishing pole at Jamie and stalks off. We next see William preparing his horse to leave. Claire catches him and gives him a good “come to Jesus” moment. As William continues to lash out, Claire calmly hold him to task and lets him know that even though he is hurt, the rudeness and unkindness is uncalled for. When he still won’t listen and continues to spew bitterness, she finally pulls the “life is short” card. And while William tries to protest that one, she admits that Jamie might have to go back into battle, and that William, of all people, should understand that this could be the last time he sees his father. (Long time watchers should be reminded of how Bree angrily shared her last words with Frank.) This last bit of firmness from Claire finally breaks through to William. He catches a glimpse of Jamie teaching little Mandy to ride, and we see him filter through his memories of Jamie at Hellwater. I truly loved this scene of Claire and William. We didn’t get to see William and Claire develop a son/step-mom relationship in season 7 like we do in the books. So it’s lovely to see Claire get though to him, especially since he’s missed having a mother figure for half of his life. It’s also amazing to think back to Season 1 Claire, who would have come out guns a-blazing and trading barbs and flinging the mud right back at him. We are Claire’s growth in this situation by how she chooses her battles, and her approach to calmly, but firmly doesn’t back down and to hold William accountable. Even seeing how Bree handles William shows how much she’s grown since the angry, bitter teenager we met at the end of Season 2.

We see Rachel comfort Fanny as she works through the unkindness of people talking about Jane. Fanny also has quite the arc for discovering her past, her family, and dealing the the various stages of grief and building trust. This seems to be the last hurdle for her to heal and move on.

Meanwhile, John get a note from Percy that he has information regarding Richardson. As the sloth says in the movie The Croods, “dun dun dun…..!”

We cut to the Ridge members training. William stops by, as well as Mr. Whitaker. Whittaker comes with information, and offers to help fight Ferguson. William decides to retreat but finally offers up hunting as a way to spend time with Jamie. After William trips over his words and awkwardly says “in the forest” a couple times, Jamie agrees. I feel like Ron Moore is inserting a private joke in here that I don’t know about it, but I’ll roll with it.

A lot of people gave William a bad rap throughout the season because they felt like his anger at his dads’ choices was over done and strung out much longer than it needed to be. But I also think we forget that we sometimes get stuck in ruts. When we are hurt, we wrap ourselves in the hurts and injustices.  We also see Bree held as a mirror, a young adult who much responded in the same way as William but eventually got past it after getting to know Jamie. And William has a choice, as he can stay in the bitterness or listen to Claire and give Jamie a fair chance. That’s something that takes time and growing up. When we are young, we only see things from our perspective, whereas we get older, we start to see things from multiple viewpoints. William has been hurt, and it takes manning up to go and ask Jamie to hang out. To be vulnerable and finally ask all the questions and get answers for all the fears and doubts that have been gnawing at his mind and heart.

In many ways, Fanny is the same. I know some have been complaining about Fanny going over her trauma and trust issues. However, she’s been through a lot since a young age and to be told most of her life that she was only good for one thing once she came of maturity wreaks a havoc on her sense of self-worth and identity. Much like William, it will take time and reassurance that she is loved and valued for who she is, not what money she can bring in. And to see her parents murdered and to see her beautiful sister change greatly and have to kill a soldier to save her….Those are mental and emotional scars that will stay with her forever. I think about how we read in the books that Jamie, Claire, and Bree have nightmares from all of their trauma. Who knows what Fanny sees in her dreams? In that way, Roger’s gentleness and honesty keeps the door open for Fanny to start talking to a man of the cloth who doesn’t pass judgement.

William and Jamie are off on the hunting trip to bond. William mans up and apologizes. But as Jamie gets ready to butcher, William starts asking those knife-sharp questions. We get a lovely shot of William standing further behind Jamie as he kneels by the animal. We are able to see both react to each other’s statements and vulnerability. It’s a shot I wish we would see more in tv shows and movies. William and Jamie finally talk it out, and it ends with a bone-crushing hug. It’s the happy ending we as viewers have wanted ever since we saw Jamie ride away from William back in season 4.

In some ways, Fanny is the mirror to William and shows what happens if you don’t have someone in your corner fighting for you. Jamie had to leave but knew John would take care of him. Fanny’s family didn’t have anyone to protect them, and to be honest, Claire and Jamie had many near escapes over the years that could have made them die in similar situations. Add to that people being cruel about things that are out of Fanny’s control or even things that were out of Jane’s control. It’s no wonder then her reluctance to join in at Roger’s ordination or even struggle to let Roger in to talk towards the end of the episode. I think Roger very beautifully states how sometimes man makes rules that God never said.  Me being a religious person, I’ve sadly seen this happen many a time. I’m glad that Roger doesn’t pressure or pester, but leaves the door open for Fanny to try on her own time when she’s ready, and let’s her know that God isn’t close-minded. In that sense, this episode is all about finding fathers…Jamie and Claire realizing Frank’s book was to help Bree find her birth father, William coming to terms with his birth father and all the history that goes with it, and Fanny being open to learning more about her Heavenly Father. Yet there is one father out there that is about to fall into a heap of trouble.

In true Outlander fashion, things can’t stay happy for too long. Lord John goes to meet Percy and meets Captain Richardson instead and gets an awful bump on the head as a result. The question is, how long before anyone finds out? And which kids are gonna come save Lord John?

Dram: Thief Creek Bourbon by Undammed Spirits… I’m not much of a Bourbon gal but this one hits the spot every time. Plus, there is a lot of symbolism in rivers. They symbolize the continuous flow of time, the journey of life, and spiritual rebirth. We see this so much in this episode, between Roger being ordained (spiritual rebirth), Fanny coming to a peace about things and finding the burning rock that shows she is a time traveler (transitions, coming into a life-force, the flow of time), and William learning to trust and let go of his hurts and fears. We see the journey of life as Bree has found her father and settles into being a wife and mother, but also an engineer and inventor. Buck’s journey has brought him to the Ridge and finding family, if if it meant giving up Morag and his children. Fergus’ journey ran out too soon, and yet Marsali carries his legacy with her and their children. Jamie’s journey may be running short, and yet it has been a full life, with many ups and downs, twist and turns.

Comfort Food: Maybe left field, but I’m going with Scotch Eggs. It was the travel food of choice for Scots. I can see Claire or Fanny making these the night before and setting them aside for Jamie and William to grab before hunting or fishing in the wee hours of the morning. Please check out the recipe from The Outlander Kitchen. It’s the recipe I use, although I like to bake mine in the oven on parchment paper for ease and less mess. For gluten-free breading or keto-breading, I’ll use almond flour or pork-rind dust instead of regular flour. It’s become one of my husband’s favorites.

Song: “How Can I Keep from Singing.” Besides being a Quaker tune, there is a rhythm to it that reminds me of the ebbs and flows of a river, no matter what arrangement you hear. Plus it talks about continuing on, even when life is hard.