Spoilers ahead for the midseason finale of Outlander Season 7, called “Turning Points.”
The first half of Outlander‘s super-sized Season 7 has officially come to a close with a midseason finale that involved some big twists, some reveals that most fans probably saw coming, the introduction of a famous traitor from American history, and a surprisingly peaceful ending. With no word of when the Starz drama will return with the second half of Season 7 other than that it won’t be before the end of the year, let’s look at what happened in “Turning Points,” what has been revealed about what’s still to come, and what we can safely guess is on the way.
Now, as somebody who is several books behind in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander novel saga and enjoying the unspoiled ride of the show, this will be entirely spoiler-free for the events of the books.
The Biggest Midseason Finale Takeaways
The reveal that undoubtedly came as a surprise to nobody was that Jamie was still very much alive, despite looking like he was on death’s door when last seen in the previous episode. Once he was somewhat recovered following one of the episode’s several time jumps, he went back into battle against Simon Fraser and his men. Rather than kill his own cousin, Jamie deliberately fired wide… and shot the hat off of William, nearly killing his own son. Simon would die anyway by the end of the hour, which would set up Jamie, Claire, and Young Ian to finally return to Scotland.
Simon’s request for his remains was that they be taken back to his home country, and Jamie was given the mission of conveying his late cousin across the pond as part of the terms of British surrender on their front. Young Ian was a little reluctant to leave Rachel behind (and couldn’t take Rollo with him), but he, Jamie, and Claire sailed to Scotland and set eyes on land before the final credits rolled without any further catastrophe. Even another bout of seasickness didn’t ruin the emotion of setting eyes on Scotland again for Jamie!
Catastrophe may be on the way for other characters, though. None other than Arch Bug reappeared for the first time since shortly after Young Ian accidentally killed his wife. Revenge is clearly still on his mind, as he spotted Rachel with Rollo and realized that Ian must truly love her to be entrusted with the care of the dog. That love triangle heating up may backfire for her! At least she has her brother.
Plus, Roger and Buck are on the mission to save Jem from Rob Cameron in the 18th century, while Brianna stayed behind in the ’80s with Mandy. Rob has a big head start on them, while they have the advantage of familiarity with the time period.
So, the midseason finale ended with Claire, Jamie, and Young Ian safely arrived back on their home shore; Rachel blissfully unaware that she could be the target of Arch Bug’s revenge on Young Ian; William safe for the moment due to British surrender; Roger and Buck traveling back in time to chase after Jem and Rob; and Bree alone except for Mandy in ’80s Lallybroch. With that, let’s look ahead to the future!
A Fraser Family Reunion Is Coming
Jamie intends to make good on his promise that he would one day bring Young Ian back to Jenny, and casting news suggests that there’s going to be a big Fraser family reunion back at Lallybroch. A number of actors whose characters were still alive when Outlander was last set in Scotland will be back: Steve Cree (Ian Murray), Nell Hudson (Laoghaire), and Layla Burns (Joan MacKimmie). Kristin Atherton of Shakespeare & Hathaway will also appear in the role of Jenny Murray, replacing original actress Laura Donnelly. I’m a little sad that Marsali and Fergus won’t be part of the big reunion, but there will be some familiar faces!
Long-Dead Characters Will Appear (And Launch The Spinoff?)
Other family members of various Outlander characters will appear, but their roles are harder to explain outside of flashbacks. Graham McTavish will be back as Dougal MacKenzie, who was killed by Jamie way back in Season 2. Lotte Verbeek returns as Geillis Duncan, whose demise came violently at Claire’s hand in the Season 3 finale to set up Season 4.
Plus, Andrew Whipp will be back as Brian Fraser, who was dead by the time the show picked up in Season 1. That said, Starz is moving forward with the Outlander: Blood of My Blood prequel spinoff centered on Jamie’s parents, so perhaps Brian’s appearance in Season 7 – presumably via flashback – will be in service of setting up the spinoff beyond what we know so far.
Arch Bug Still Wants His Revenge
Arch Bug returned for the midseason finale, and although he only appeared in one brief scene with Rachel, that one scene was enough to prove that he definitely hasn’t let go of his vow for revenge against Young Ian for Mrs. Bug‘s death. When actor Hugh Ross spoke with CinemaBlend earlier this season, he previewed that while “it doesn’t happen overnight,” Arch Bug “gets his vengeance.” At the time, he wasn’t sure if he would appear again in the first half of Season 7, but shared that he would be back “certainly a little bit more… in the second part.” This seems like bad news for Rachel, but surely Arch wouldn’t do anything while Ian is across the ocean… right?
There was a brief promo for the second half of Season 7 that released after the end of “Turning Points,” and can easily be revisited if you watch Outlander via a Hulu subscription and jump ahead to the last 16 seconds of the episode! The footage shows some vague shots, like Claire, Jamie, and Young Ian on horseback and a tearful Bree in the car with Mandy.
But there’s also the reveal that David Berry will return as Lord John Grey, and that could be especially interesting after how he and Jamie parted early in Season 7. There may also be a funeral happening in Scotland, if the monument, stone slabs, and bagpipe player are any indication! Jamie has a voiceover saying that “A storm is coming,” but when isn’t a storm coming for the Frasers on Outlander?
Questions That Still Need Answers
For all the bits and pieces of information that we can glean for the second half of Season 7, there are still plenty of questions. Will Jamie, Claire, and Ian encounter Roger and Buck now that the latter two have traveled back in time and the former three are in Scotland? How the timelines match up at this point is a little unclear, but could they join forces to find Jem before he’s taken to America? Or does Rob Cameron have too much of a head start?
Will Jamie, Claire, and/or Ian return to America before the end of the season? Arch Bug still has his vengeance to pursue, after all, and there are several series regulars who were left behind to continue the Revolutionary War. Could they come back even if they wanted to, presuming a blockade? American history (as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton) tells us that the French are going to support the Americans against the Brits with guns and ships. And what kinds of time jumps are still to come, with Outlander ending in Season 8?
The answers to all these questions (and more) won’t come before the end of the year, so we can only speculate for the time being… and hope that the second half of Outlander Season 7 arrives earlier rather than later in 2024! Even though there are plenty of interesting options still left in the 2023 TV schedule, I’m already ready for more Outlander.