This article contains spoilers for Outlander season 7 episode 8, "Turning Points".
The first Battle of Saratoga left James Fraser unconscious on the battlefield. This week's new episode of Outlander season 7 — the last one we're getting until the series returns from it's mid-season break at a later date — picks up right where we left Jamie... and that's only the very beginning of what the cast has to face in "Turning Points".
So, what happened in the latest episode of Outlander? Let's recap.
Recovering from battle
In Outlander season 7 episode 7, Claire told Jamie she would come find him if he didn’t return from battle, and that is exactly what happened. Fending off a mother and child who are robbing the dead on the battlefield, Claire finds a barely conscious Jamie.
He is alive but Claire discovers he has a nasty cut on his hand. As Jamie awakens, his wife lets out her fury on him: she’s been looking for him all night, terrified of what she might find, and she is beside herself to observe that he was in the midst of the battle rather than in the back as riflemen are supposed to be.
Blaming his “stupid hero complex,” Claire admits she is mad at him because she was scared, and reminds him that they should be in Scotland, and no longer fighting this war.
After the opening credits, we find Claire and Jamie back at camp as she is patching him up. Reassuring him that Ian was unarmed in the battle, she tends to Jamie’s hand while explaining the British claim to have won the battle when in fact they faced many losses. Jamie expresses his concerns about William but Claire points out that his son being at Ticonderoga doesn’t mean he now is at Saratoga.
Whilst Jamie rests, Claire goes off to care for the other injured soldiers. Denzell Hunter eventually comes to see her, the weight of the war casualties burdening him. He has never lost so many patients so quickly, and he questions whether he can handle it, not only as a doctor but also as a Quaker.
Asking Claire if all this death and suffering is even worth it, she assures him she believes it will be. It helps, of course, that she knows the future and the outcome of this war.
When Claire goes back to tend to Jamie, she gives him the last few drops of laudanum she has to help with the pain and inquires about a visitor she saw coming out of their tent earlier.
Jamie explains it was Colonel Johnson and that he came to say that Jamie’s actions during the battle allowed his company to breach the British line and ensured their survival. Soon after, Jamie falls asleep mid-sentence as he tells Claire about how good men are worth losing a finger or two, and she sutures his hand before lying down by his side.
Preparing for another conflict
Two weeks later, Jamie’s hand is healing quite nicely, but that doesn’t necessarily make Claire happy as she knows he'll rejoin the fight. Telling Ian she expects another battle — one that will be decisive in drawing the French into the war — Claire changes the subject when she sees Rollo gulping down some goose grease she had set aside for Denzell’s patients. Ian volunteers to go get more grease and she asks him to bring it to Rachel Hunter.
Feelings have been growing between Rachel and Ian. When he brings her the goose grease, their hands touch and the attraction between them is palpable. Ian even dares to kiss her, but if she seems to return the kiss at first, she then slaps him for it.
He apologizes, but the desire is strong. He argues she loves him and Rachel is defiant, but it is clear they are both fighting their feelings. Ian is worried, because of the threat of Arch Bug, that loving him would mean death for Rachel, and she has concerns that being with him is incompatible with being a Quaker. When she discusses the subject with her brother later, Denzell warns her that she would definitely be rejected by their community if she married someone like Ian.
Meanwhile, a soldier comes to trade supplies with Claire. They have a nice chat and he gives her laudanum before Jamie joins them and Claire inquires about the gentleman’s name. It turns out he is none other than Major General Benedict Arnold and Claire is stunned.
Soon after, she tells Jamie that Arnold plays a key role in the war: he will eventually turn toward the British, betraying the Continental Army and be remembered as a traitor, but she explains that it will actually help their side.
We later find General Daniel Morgan reading an update about the conflict and the position of the British army to his men, and Claire and Jamie watch as he details why he hates the British. Taking his shirt off, Morgan shows a completely scarred back, the result of a harsh lashing by the Redcoats, very similar to what Jamie’s own back looks like.
The Second Battle of Saratoga
The episode continues and takes us to October 7, 1777, the day of the second battle of Saratoga. This time, Jamie is fighting alongside the other riflemen. Spotting General Simon Fraser on the British side, Morgan orders him shot but Jamie is clearly hesitant as Simon Fraser is his cousin.
Instead of firing at Fraser, he shoots the hat off of a soldier’s head, and when the soldier turns, he is revealed to be William. Jamie is shaken off and while he gathers himself, another rifleman shoots Simon Fraser. Ordered to follow after the British who are falling back, Jamie dodges explosives and climbs barricades as he frets about William.
The battle won for the Americans, we later find Claire tending to an injured Benedict Arnold. He shares with her his frustration with Morgan and other generals who keep leaving him out and diminishing his contribution to the war. He wonders if history will remember him and Claire reassures him, although she leaves out the traitor bit.
Afterward, Jamie tells Claire he nearly shot William and that it shook him up when a British soldier comes to find him: General Fraser is dying and is asking to see him before it’s too late. When they get to Simon’s side, Claire confirms nothing can be done and Jamie goes to talk to his cousin. They reminisce about the last time they saw each other. While Jamie is sorry that his cousin is dying far away from Scotland and his family, Simon says he is okay with being surrounded by him as kin and by his comrades.
Outside the tent, Claire runs into William and they talk about war being a terrible business, as she can see the young man has been changed by the conflict. After Jamie pays his last respects to Simon and the latter dies, Claire tells him William is here. Jamie then goes to his son and gives him a hat, admitting that he is responsible for shooting his other one-off during the battle. As hard as it is for Jamie to see William, he tells Claire he wanted to try to speak to him once in case it would be his only chance. William watches as Jamie walks away, pondering the actions of this man he knows and yet doesn’t know, and another soldier comes up to him to tell him he has been made captain.
As the terms of surrender of the British are being negotiated after the battle, Jamie finds out that part of the conditions is that the soldiers who participated in that combat are no longer allowed to fight in this war, which means William will now be safe. However, Jamie is informed of another specific term that changes things for him and Claire: Simon Fraser had requested that, in the event of this death, his body be taken back to Scotland, and a colonel comes to ask Jamie if he will make the journey with his cousin.
Arrangements are made for Claire and Jamie to go back to Scotland, and it means Ian will be going too. He asks Rachel if she can watch over Rollo while he is away and she agrees because it means he will come back for him. Later, we see Rachel walking with Rollo and she runs into Arch Bug, who recognizes the dog and understands that if she is taking care of him, it must mean Rollo’s owner must love her very much. Given that he has threatened Ian to kill whoever he loves, their encounter doesn’t bode well for Rachel.
Towards the end of the episode, we find Claire, Jamie and Ian aboard a ship traveling to Scotland. The latter misses his dog while Jamie is seasick but before they know it, a bell rings signaling land. They all go on deck and tear up at the sight of a place they have all dearly missed: Scotland.
Meanwhile, in the 1980s
Just like the previous episode of Outlander spent a lot more time with the Mackenzies than with the Frasers, this episode reverses things and gives us just a little more of the plot in the 1980s.
After trying to get to Rob Cameron before he went through the stones with Jemmy at Craigh na Dun, Roger comes home to tell Bree he was too late. She’s figured out Rob’s motivations are related to the Spanish gold and tells Roger the letter from Jamie that mentioned it is missing. Roger is beside himself and as Bree asks what they should do, he announces he is going back to chase after Rob. Buck volunteers to go with him, because he wants to help his kin, and Bree gives them gems she has been setting aside in case they would ever need to go back to the 1700s.
We later find Roger, Bree, Mandy and Buck going up to Craigh na Dun. The Mackenzies share a tearful goodbye as Roger promises to get Jemmy back. Mandy and Bree watch as Roger and Buck go through the stones and can only hope for their safe return.
Will Roger run into Claire and Jamie now that everyone is in Scotland? What will happen to Jemmy? We’ll have to wait and see as the first half of Outlander season 7 is now over. In the meantime, you can rewatch past seasons on the Starz app and Lionsgate Plus.
