Episode 713: "Hello, Goodbye" (SPOILERS!)

Here are my reactions to Episode 713 of the OUTLANDER TV series, titled "Hello, Goodbye".

*** SPOILER WARNING!! ***

There are SPOILERS below! If you don't want to know yet, stop reading now.

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The episode opens in Scotland in 1739, with Roger and Buck still searching for any trace of Jem. This scene (like many others in this episode) isn't in the book. Buck looks at the landscape and remarks that "It hasna changed at all. Those mountains, they havena aged a day." That gives Roger an idea.

"If Pitlochry is that way, then the Errochty Dam is down there, or it will be."

Roger tells Buck about the strange experience Bree had in the tunnel in Episode 705, "Singapore". If there's a time portal in the dam, then that must be where Roger's father, Jerry MacKenzie, came through from the 20th century. In the book, Jerry MacKenzie was in Northumberland, not Scotland, when his plane went down, but I liked this change. It ties Roger and Buck's storyline directly to Jem's very effectively.

The next scene takes us back to Lallybroch in 1980, where Bree has locked Rob Cameron in the "priest's hole", a small windowless room. The dialogue here comes mostly from the book. Bree demands to know where Jem is, then threatens to kill him if he won't tell her, but Cameron only laughs at her.

"You don’t know where he is. And you’re not going to, until you turn me loose. I meant it, hen--he’ll be thirsty by now. And hungry. It’ll be a lot worse for him by morning.”

Her hand tightened on the grate. “You had better be lying,” she said evenly. “For your sake.” She shoved the grate back into place and stepped on it, clicking it down into its frame. The priest’s hole was literally a hole: a space about six feet by eight, and twelve feet deep. Even if Rob Cameron hadn’t been bound hand and foot, he couldn’t jump high enough to get hold of the grate, let alone reach the latch that held it down.

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 26, "A Step into the Dark". Copyright © 2014 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

The "priest's hole" in the show is not actually a hole, but a closet-like space with a flimsy lock that even nine-year-old Jem can manage easily, as we saw in Episode 704, "A Most Uncomfortable Woman". Still, there doesn't seem to be any way for Rob Cameron to escape with his hands tied behind him and the door latched from the outside.

As Bree comes into the kitchen, she sees little Mandy standing there. "Where's Jemmy?" Bree kneels down to hug her, then goes to call for help, but the phone is dead. Bree decides they must go to the police themselves, so she and Mandy get in the car.

The next scene is in a dark place with water dripping on the floor. We see Jem, alone but apparently unharmed, yelling, "Help! Help!"

The title card for this episode is a WWII Spitfire airplane, like the one shown here. Very appropriate!

Back in Philadelphia in 1778, Ian is preparing for his wedding to Rachel. We get a glimpse of an elderly Rollo, lying on the floor. He's probably about twelve years old here, nearing the end of his life.

“None sae young as ye used to be, are ye, a choin?” he asked, scratching Rollo’s whitened jaw. “None of us are, a mac mo pheathar,” said his uncle Jamie, coming out of the gloaming and sitting down on the stump Dottie had been using to mount the wagon.

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 57, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night". Copyright © 2014 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

Ian and Jamie's conversation here is mostly small talk, but serves to remind the viewers of a key difference between Ian's wedding here and the book version. Since we have not seen Hal and Minnie's daughter, Lady Dorothea (aka Dottie), in the show, this will not be a double wedding. Still, of course they'd like Denzell to be there, so Jamie sent him a letter. I thought that was a reasonable way to handle the situation.

Jamie and Ian's talk about the wedding night comes straight from the book. Ian is a bit nervous, never having lain with a virgin before, so Jamie tells him about his own wedding night.

“So it was me that was virgin on our wedding night. [....] And I was given any amount of advice beforehand, too, by my uncle Dougal and his men.”

Dougal MacKenzie had died before Ian was born, but he’d heard a good bit about the man, one way and another. His mouth twitched.

“Would ye care to pass on any of it?”

“God, no.” Jamie stood up and brushed bits of bark from the tails of his coat. “I think ye already ken ye should be gentle about it, aye?" [....] "The only useful thing was what my wife told me on the night. ‘Go slowly and pay attention.’ I think ye canna go far wrong wi’ that.”

[....]

“And was she gentle with ye?”

“God, no,” Jamie said, and grinned broadly.

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 57, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night". Copyright © 2014 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

I've always liked that bit, and I'm glad they included it here.

The next scene, with Claire and Mercy Woodcock helping Rachel to prepare for her wedding, is not in the book, but I liked it. Rachel is clearly excited, but a bit nervous. Claire mentions that Jamie and Ian both have orders to leave with the army in a few days. How do women cope, watching their men go off to war?

"Your love becomes a shield, your armor. You wake up every day, and put it on, and then you fight, too." That's an odd thing to say to a Quaker, in my opinion.

But I'm glad they included this bit:

[A] marriage is made not in ritual or in words but in the living of it.

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 94, "The Sense of the Meeting". Copyright © 2014 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

Diana Gabaldon has often said that one of the overall themes of the series as a whole is the exploration of what makes a successful long-term marriage. I think this line sums up that idea very concisely and eloquently.

The next scene is not in the book. Jamie is setting out chairs for the wedding guests when Denzell Hunter comes in, followed by Lord Henry Grey, who looks vastly improved from the last time we saw him. Henry has moved out of Mercy's house (as is proper for an unmarried couple, of course) but he still takes walks with her every day.

Denny tells Jamie about treating Lord John's eye in the Continental army camp. "He was badly injured. To be honest, he was in quite a state, bloodied and bruised with a broken eye socket." That's more than a bit awkward for Jamie, under the circumstances, considering that he caused John's injuries in the first place!

Denzell tells Jamie about Lord John's escape from the Continental Army camp at the end of last week's episode. I can't quite tell from Jamie's reaction whether he is relieved to hear the news or not. Things are by no means settled between John and Jamie.

The wedding scene is pretty close to the way I imagined it, except for the absence of Dottie and her father, of course. And Jamie didn't wear his kilt. (Oh, well....) I thought they did a great job with it. Much of the dialogue, like Rachel's opening remarks, comes straight from the book:

“I thank you all for your presence here. For Christ said, ‘Wherever two or more of you are gathered in my name, there am I.’ And that is all the essence of a meeting of Friends: that Christ may make His presence known among us--and within us.” She spread her hands a little. “So we gather, and we listen--both to one another and to the light within us. When a person is moved of the spirit to speak, he or she does speak. [....] But we do not fear silence, for often God speaks loudest in the quiet of our hearts.”

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 94, "The Sense of the Meeting". Copyright © 2014 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

The silence goes on for an extraordinarily long time (by the standards of a TV show, anyway!). Finally Claire and Jamie have a brief whispered exchange:

"But what if the Spirit doesn't move them?"
"Then we may be sitting here for a verra long time."

I laughed a little at that.

Denzell urges Jamie to get up and say a few words. I thought Jamie's speech, which is not in the book, was rather trite and generic. Denzell's and Rachel's remarks, by contrast, are almost verbatim from the book:

“[To be put out of meeting] is a grievous thing to a Friend,” he said quietly. “For our meeting is where our lives and souls abide, and when Friends marry, the whole of their meeting must approve and witness the marriage, for the community itself will support the marriage. I have deprived my sister of this approval and support, and I beg she will forgive me.”

Rachel gave an unladylike snort. “Thee followed thy conscience, and if I hadn’t thought thee right, I would have said so.”

“It was my responsibility to take care of thee!”

“Thee has taken care of me!” Rachel said. “Do I look malnourished? Am I naked?”

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 94, "The Sense of the Meeting". Copyright © 2014 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

I have to say, Rachel's personality comes through very clearly on screen! I think Izzy Meikle-Small is basically channeling Book Rachel here, which is amazing to watch. Her face is rapidly replacing my mental image of Book Rachel.

Denzell's apology to Rachel is not in the book, but I liked it. I think he needed to make it clear to everyone that he approves of his sister's marriage. As her only living relative, that's important.

"But now that I see thee with Ian, Rachel, I realize my fears were for naught, for only the Spirit could lead the way to such a path. With Ian by thy side, thee has found love, and therefore, a home."

Ian's wedding vows are somewhat condensed from the book version, but his sincerity and his love for Rachel come through very clearly.

“My wife was called Wakyo’teyehsnonhsa, which means ‘Works With Her Hands,’ and she made this for me, as a love token.” Long brown fingers fumbled with the strings, and the strip of woven shells came loose, slithering into his hand. “Now I lay it down, as witness that I come here a free man, that my life and my heart are once more mine to give. And I hope I may be allowed now to give them forever.”

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 94, "The Sense of the Meeting". Copyright © 2014 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

Rachel rises and speaks her own vows, and they are married. It was a lovely ceremony, just as I'd hoped.

The next scene, with Jem in the tunnel, was very well done and mostly consistent with the book. The boy playing Jem did a good job! I thought it was a clever idea for him to stumble across a hard hat with a light attached, so he could more or less see where he was going.

As he walks through the tunnel, Jem remembers his mother's story of her escape from the same tunnel on her first day at work, as she'd told it to Roger, Jem, and Mandy in Episode 705, "Singapore". I remember thinking when I first watched that episode, "I hope Jem is paying close attention, because this information will be important later!" And just as I suspected, Jem follows his mother's directions exactly. I particularly liked the way he figured out how to turn the lights on, based on Bree's story. How many nine-year-olds do you suppose know what a breaker box is or how it works? (Engineer's kid, no doubt about that!)

Meanwhile, Bree and Mandy are driving down the road when Mandy suddenly shouts, "Jemmy!" She can sense him somehow -- possibly due to a double dose of the time-travel gene? Bree suggests a game of "Warmer/Colder", and just as in the book, Mandy is able to tell her which way to go.

What happens next is not in the book, but I liked it very much.

Back in 1739, Roger and Buck are converging on the location near where the dam will be built 200 years later. They discover a group of standing stones, like Craigh na Dun, but smaller. And they also find evidence that Jerry MacKenzie, the RAF pilot, has been there: a pair of pilot's goggles and a survival kit full of emergency supplies.

Roger starts yelling, "Jerry! JEREMIAH!"

In the tunnel in 1980, Jem approaches the shimmering curtain -- a time portal? a ley line? -- in his path.

Something like an electric shock ran right through him. He gasped and fell over backward. The only thing in his mind was the idea that somebody had hit him with a lightsaber like Luke Skywalker’s, and for a minute he thought maybe whoever it was had cut off his head.

He couldn’t feel his body, but he could see in his mind his body lying bleeding in the dark and his head sitting right there on the train tracks in the dark, and his head couldn’t see his body or even know it wasn’t attached anymore. He made a breathless kind of a noise that was trying to be a scream, but it made his stomach move and he felt that, he felt it, and suddenly he felt a lot more like praying.

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 26, "A Step Into the Dark". Copyright © 2014 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

And somehow, in the tunnel more than 200 years later, Jem seems to hear his father calling his name. I loved the way they did that! It was very reminiscent of Frank calling Claire's name at the stones in Episode 108, "Both Sides Now". Jem yells back, and all of a sudden the screen goes black. And Mandy, in the back seat of her mother's car, says, "He's gone."

That was absolutely chilling, even for me, and I knew perfectly well what was going to happen next. Very well done!

Bree turns her car down a service road leading to the dam. Mandy starts yelling, "Hot, Mummy, really hot!!" And Bree slams on the brakes, just in time to avoid running into a dazed Jem, standing in the middle of the road. This scene is very close to the book, but they left out Jem's heartbreaking question, "Where's Daddy?" I think that was a missed opportunity. Surely it couldn't have taken more than a few seconds of screen time to show that, and it would have increased the dramatic tension considerably, reminding the audience that Roger is still in the past, engaged in a futile search for Jem, who isn't there.

Back in 1739, Roger sees a boy stealing something from the little cache of Jerry MacKenzie's supplies. He and Buck chase the boy down and discover that he has Jerry's WWII helmet. This sequence is loosely based on MOHB chapter 100, "Be Those Thy Beasts", but the details are different. The effect is the same, though: to lead Roger and Buck, eventually, to Jerry MacKenzie's last known whereabouts.

The next scene takes us back to Philadelphia in 1778, and Ian and Rachel's wedding night. Most of this is straight from the book, but I thought this scene went on a little too long. It was also very reminiscent of Jamie and Claire's wedding night, especially when they undressed each other. (I guess that was unavoidable.) But I did like seeing Rachel with her hair loose. And I was pleased that they included this bit, which always makes me laugh:

“Let me,” she said softly, and lifted herself, a hand round his neck, and suckled him, very gently.

“More,” he said hoarsely, bracing himself against her weight. “Harder. Teeth.”

“Teeth?” she blurted, letting go.

“Teeth,” he said breathlessly, rolling onto his back and pulling her on top. She drew breath and lowered her head, hair spilling across his chest.

“Ow!”

“Thee said teeth.” She sat up anxiously. “Oh, Ian, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt thee.”

“I--ye didn’t ... well, ye did, but ... I mean--do it again, aye?”

She looked at him, dubious, and it occurred to him that when Uncle Jamie told him to go slow and gentle with his virgin, it might not have been all to do with sparing the virgin.

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, "A Coda in Three-Two Time". Copyright © 2014 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

Meanwhile, Jamie and Claire are in bed, in Lord John's house, in the same bed in which Claire and Lord John had sex in Episode 711, "A Hundredweight of Stones". Jamie can't sleep. This scene is not in the book, and I didn't care for it.

"It's hard for me to sleep here," Jamie says. No kidding! It makes sense that the thought of what John and Claire had done in that bed would bother Jamie a great deal. So why are they still staying in Lord John's house? Surely Mercy Woodcock would have let them stay in her house, or they could have found a room somewhere else. Are there no inns or similar establishments in a city the size of Philadelphia? Is this truly the only house available for them to sleep in?

Besides, in the book, Jamie makes it clear that he doesn't want to be dependent on Lord John's hospitality for anything at all.

“My house on Chestnut Street,” John said. “Plainly I shan’t be living there for the foreseeable future. And I understand that you had taken refuge with the printer’s family in Philadelphia. Given your present fragile state of health”--he nodded delicately at the small heap of bloody dressings in the corner--“clearly it would be more comfortable for you to resume residence at my house. You--”

A deep Scottish noise interrupted him, and he looked up at Jamie, startled.

“The last time I was compelled to accept assistance from your brother, my lord,” Jamie said precisely, staring at John, “I was your prisoner and incapable of caring for my own family. Now I am no man’s prisoner, nor ever will be again. I shall make provision for my wife.”

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 88, "A Whiff of Roquefort". Copyright © 2014 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

Jamie and Claire's conversation turns to William's discovery of his true paternity.

"William may be angry for a while, but eventually he'll come to understand that the reason you and John kept this from him is because of how much you both love him."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I see so much of you in him. And you would come to understand, I think."

Huh?? Claire's answer makes no sense to me. Wouldn't it be easier just to say, "Because Bree went through something very similar when she was William's age. She grew to know and love you, and I think eventually William will, too." They have, after all, been through this before.

I did like Claire's line, "Thank you for missing that ship." No kidding!!

In the next scene, we return to Lord John, asleep in the woods somewhere in Pennsylvania. In a scene taken straight from the book, John wakes to find a musket pointed at him. He's been captured by a group of Continental soldiers. John poses as a would-be American militiaman, and gives his name as "Bertram Armstrong", using two of his middle names as an alias.

Meanwhile, back in 1980, Bree and the kids return to Lallybroch under police escort. Bree goes with the cops into the house where Rob Cameron is locked up in the "priest's hole". Except that they open the door to find the little room empty! Rob Cameron has escaped!

The scene where Bree is questioned by the police in her kitchen is not in the book. It reminded me strongly of the way the police treated Frank Randall in Episode 108, "The Way Out", when he couldn't explain where his wife had gone. Here, Bree has to come up with a convincing reason to explain why she can't get in touch with Roger.

"My husband is in Boston, on a business trip."

But that's not much of a stumbling block in 1980. Transatlantic phone calls are expensive, but not unheard of. The police officers grow suspicious when she can't come up with his phone number.

[It] took no stretch of imagination at all to conclude that the police might really suspect her of having something to do with Roger’s disappearance, since she couldn’t produce him and couldn’t tell them where he was. Might never be able to. She swallowed, hard.

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 41, "In Which Things Converge". Copyright © 2014 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

Again, the parallel to Frank's situation in Episode 108 is very strong! The police were suspicious of him for the same reason.

The next scene brings us back to Roger and Buck in 1739, in pursuit of Jerry MacKenzie. Again, this scene isn't in the book.

"I was so young when he disappeared," Roger says. That's true. According to the books, his father disappeared on Oct. 31, 1941, when Roger was less than a year old.

Buck wonders what he'd say to his own biological parents, whom he never knew. I'm not sure why Roger doesn't say something like, "Oh, Dougal MacKenzie and Geillis Duncan? You met them a few days ago." It's only been a short time since we encountered them in Episode 710, "Brotherly Love", after all.

Suddenly they see a fair-haired man in he distance. It turns out to be Jerry MacKenzie!

I really enjoyed this whole sequence with Roger and his father. It's sort of an alternate-universe reimagining of their encounter in the books, in a situation where they have a little time to talk, to see each other's faces in daylight, and I thought that was a real treat. The actor who plays Jerry MacKenzie, Nicholas Ralph, is very good, totally believable as Roger's dad.

I loved Jerry's reactions to Roger's talk about the future. "This is madness," he says, looking as though he's just developed what we call on TheLitForum a "time-travel headache", caused by too much thinking about time-travel paradoxes. But in fact he's in pain from a cut on his hand. Roger treats it with alcohol, then they have a few minutes to sit and talk. Roger tells Jerry about his missing son, also named Jeremiah MacKenzie, but of course Jerry hasn't seen him.

The smile that breaks over Roger's face when his father talks about his own baby son (who is, of course, Roger himself!) is just priceless. But he manages not to tell Jerry who he is.

Jerry explains how he encountered the stone circle. He went through by accident, just like Claire did the first time. He was on a training flight, preparing for a top-secret mission to photograph the Nazi concentration camps in Poland. (Yes, these flights were real. If you want to know more about the Spitfire photoreconnaissance flights during WWII, I recommend a very interesting documentary called 3D Spies of World War II.)

Suddenly Buck hears dogs barking in the distance. They need to move, quickly! As they run through the woods, Jerry trips and twists his ankle. Roger and Buck help him get back to the stone circle. The scene that follows comes straight from the book:

[Roger] stuck a hand into the leather pouch at his waist, pulled out the tiny oilcloth package, fumbled it open, and pressed the garnet pendant into Jerry’s hand. It was faintly warm from his body, and Jerry’s cold hand closed over it in reflex.

“Take this; it’s a good one. When ye go through,” Roger said, and leaned toward him, trying to impress him with the importance of his instructions, “think about your wife, about Marjorie. Think hard; see her in your mind’s eye, and walk straight through. Whatever the hell ye do, though, don’t think about your son. Just your wife.”

[....]

Then it all rose up in him. Seized by an urgency greater than any he’d ever known, he turned and ran. Ran heedless of footing, of dark, of Buck’s startled cry behind him.

Jerry heard his footsteps on the grass and whirled round, startled himself. Roger grabbed him by both hands, squeezed them hard enough to make Jerry gasp, and said fiercely, “I love you!”

That was all there was time for—and all he could possibly say.

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 101, "Just One Chance". Copyright © 2024 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

I love the quick flashback of young Roger, as a toddler in the tube station just before it collapsed. That was a clever idea.

This was such a wonderful scene! But I wish Roger had been looking into Jerry's face when he said, "I love you," so there would be no doubt in his mind that Jerry had heard him.

If you want to know more about Roger MacKenzie's parents, Jerry and Dolly, and the events that led to Jerry's accidentally traveling to 1739, I highly recommend Diana Gabaldon's novella, "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows". It's a terrific story, only about 40 pages long, but well worth reading! Check out my FAQ page HERE for more information on how you can access this story in print, e-book, and audio formats.

The next scene brings us back to Ian and Rachel, lying in bed. The dialogue here comes mostly from the book. Ian is concerned about the fact that he is a violent man, and the toll that violence takes on her.

“I willna kill anyone unless I have to, Rachel,” he said softly, and touched her cheek. “I’m signed on as a scout. I shouldna have to.”

“But things happen,” she said, and looked away, to keep him seeing the sudden shadow in her eyes. “I know.”

With an unexpected spurt of impatience, he wanted to ask her: would she rather he kill or be killed for the sake of his soul’s grace? But he smothered the impulse, and the tinge of anger with it. She loved him, he didn’t doubt that. It was maybe a fair question to put to a Quaker, but not to his betrothed.

Her eyes were on his face, interested and thoughtful, and he felt a slight flush rise in his cheeks, wondering just how much of his thoughts showed.

“Thy life’s journey lies along its own path, Ian,” she said, “and I cannot share thy journey--but I can walk beside thee. And I will.”

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 57, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night". Copyright © 2024 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

I've always loved that last line. Rachel really is a remarkable woman, and Ian is very lucky to have found her.

In the next scene, Jamie comes to Claire dressed in his new (and splendid) uniform, as a General in the Continental Army. I was astounded by how calmly she reacted.

"Do you like it?"
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't."

No! Just NO! This is the exact opposite of Book Claire's reaction, where she was quite upset at the thought of him taking this post. Why is Claire so matter-of-fact about this?

"All I’ve wanted, since I found out you were alive, is to take you home. But yes, I understand."

I for one don't understand, at all, why she acquiesced to this without so much as a syllable of protest. That's not remotely the Claire I know from the books, and I really did not like it, at all. So she's fine with Jamie going back into the Army, putting himself in danger, as long as she gets to go with him? She's not upset that they didn't even talk about this ahead of time? (Evidently not.) In the book, Claire's reaction is very different. The realization that they won't be going back to Fraser's Ridge hits her very hard, and she starts to cry.

"I—I—oh, Jamie, when I knew you were alive--I wanted so much to go home. To go home with you.”

His arms tightened hard round me. He didn’t speak, and I knew it was because he couldn’t.

“So did I,” he whispered at last. “And we will, a nighean. I promise ye.”

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 47, "Something Suitable in Which to Go to War". Copyright © 2024 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

That promise, the hope of being able to return some day to Fraser's Ridge, is what sustains Claire in the months to come. It's missing here, and I think that makes a big difference.

In the next scene, we're back in 1980. Bree has brought the kids to Inverness to stay with Fiona and her husband Ernie for a while. Bree gives Fiona the box of letters, for safekeeping. I thought that was a good idea.

Fiona wonders about Roger. He doesn't have any way to know that Jem is safe. Will he keep searching forever?

"I know Roger," Bree says. "He will never come back without our son. Never."
"Dia eadarainn's an-t'olc." (That's Gàidhlig for "God between us and evil." Very appropriate!)

The next scene, with Roger and Buck riding through the woods, is not in the book. Roger thinks his father may not have made it back. He remembers that brief image of the little boy, but he doesn't know if it's a real memory or not.

"I wouldn't put much stock in memory, for ones such as us," Buck says. I see his point. When you're a time-traveler, living your life in non-linear fashion, so to speak, memory is complicated. It's quite possible to remember things that haven't happened yet.

Roger says that he was thinking of his own father just before he went through the stones from the 20th century in search of Jem. The stones brought him here, to where Jerry was. Is it possible that Jem isn't here in 1739 after all? Before Roger can voice that thought out loud, the episode ends.
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I hope you enjoyed this recap. Look here for my recaps of all of the OUTLANDER episodes, and please come back next week for my recap of Episode 714.

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