Outlander season 7 episode 9 ending explained- Did Jamie Fraser wrap up his unfinished business with Laoghaire?
Diana Gabaldon's TV adaptation returns to Starz and Netflix with Outlander season 7 episode 9, dropping on both platforms on Friday, November 23. The continued tale of the historical fantasy drama series sees Claire, Jamie, and young Ian head to Scotland and reunite with the family.
The latest episode, which marks the first episode following Outlander season 7 part 1, is titled Unfinished Business, teasing the characters tying up some loose ends in Lallybroch. That includes the unfinished business between Jamie Fraser and his ex-wife, Laoghaire. But, by the end of Outlander season 7 episode 9, Jamie and Laoghaire finally put their drama to bed by amending their previous agreement.
However, Claire also has some serious business she needs to attend to, and it means she has to leave Jamie behind in Scotland, at least for a little while. Meanwhile, Roger finds himself in the wrong timeline while searching for his missing son.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for Outlander season 7 episode 9. Reader's discretion is advised.
Jamie Fraser deals with his unfinished business with Laoghaire in Outlander season 7 episode 9
It's 1779 in Outlander season 7 episode 9, at least for Claire, Jamie, and Young Ian, who returned to Scotland and touch base with the Fraser family in their estate in Lallybroch. While the family is ecstatic to see Young Ian since it's been a while since he has seen his family, tragic news awaits the three.
Ian receives warm hugs from Jenny and his siblings, but the news that Ian Sr.'s health has worsened breaks his heart. Claire diagnoses Ian Sr. with consumption, but while there are cures for it in the new world, there is no way to recreate it at the present timeline. The Fraser family reunion, however heartbreaking it is, is not the only one in Outlander season 7 episode 9.
Jamie tells Claire that he needs to call on his ex-wife, Laoghaire. He considers America his home now, which means Laoghaire and everything in Scotland is unfinished business that he needs to resolve. During his reunion with his ex-wife, Jamie gives her the apology he thinks she's long been owed. While not warm, their conversation touches on deeper issues, like how their marriage didn't work out.
Laoghaire rightfully points out that Jamie had never loved her and that he married her out of pity. She also asked Jamie to clarify if he had always been in love with Claire, which he said he did. The deep conversation ended tense, with Laoghaire getting furious and throwing a pot at Jamie before swinging a pitchfork at him. At this point, the farmhand called Joe intervenes and attacks Jamie, leading the latter to retaliate.
Also read: Who did Brian McCardie play in Outlander?
Here, Jamie realizes Laoghaire's relationship with the farmhand, how she takes care of him, and what she says about Joe. She says that Joe always needed her like Jamie never did. The scene cuts off without any resolution between Jamie and Laoghaire, and when he relays what happened to Clair back at the house, she tells him that "some things can't be mended."
The turning point in Jamie and Laoghaire's unfinished business in Outlander season 7 episode 9 is when Joan visits his stepfather. She tells him about wanting to become a nun but that her mother won't release the dowry she needs for the journey. Moreover, she hasn't been allowed to pursue nunnery as long as Laoghaire lives in sin with the farmhand. She tells Jamie all this, hoping he will think of a solution to all their problems.
It turns out that Jamie has the perfect solution to keep everyone happy. She calls on Laoghaire, Joe, and Joan to the estate. Claire is also there because she's part of the family, and Jamie proposes an amendment to his and Laoghaire's previous arrangement. Once she marries Joe, she would be the sole owner of the Balriggan estate, which was put under Jamie's trusteeship after their annulment.
After that, Laoghaire would release Joan's dowry, and Jamie would stop giving her alimony. It appears that having her own freedom and getting the Balriggan estate is what Laoghaire wanted, including being with Joe, because she agrees with the amendment. With that, Jamie and Laoghaire's unfinished business and drama ends.
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Why did Claire have to leave Jamie behind in Scotland in Outlander season 7 episode 9?
At the end of Outlander season 7 episode 9, Claire receives word from Lord John Grey, and his letter comes bearing some bad news. He informs her that his nephew Henry has been injured in the battle. He was shot, and the musket balls are still lodged in his abdomen. While physicians have attempted to remove the balls, they were unsuccessful.
Lord John insists that Claire is the only person who can help Henry, so he's asking her to go to Philadelphia for his operation. With Ian Sr. gravely sick, Claire is reluctant to go. But Jenny, who had been somewhat icy with Claire after she said there was nothing she could do for Ian Sr., reasoned with her.
Jenny tells Claire that while she admitted she can't do anything to save her husband, she can still save someone else. So, Claire bid Jamie and the family goodbye to go to Philadelphia and help Henry. Young Ian goes with her despite being reluctant to leave Tallybrook because of his sick father.
Jenny, again, makes him understand that leaving is the right thing to do for himself and his life. She even shows him the grave she had made for Ian's dead daughter, making him understand that young Iseabail, as well as himself, will always have a place in Scotland.
Also read: Is Will Davenport planning to leave Grantchester?
Outlander season 7 episode 9 sees Roger end up in the wrong timeline than he expected
Another man making his way to Lallybroch in the first episode of Outlander season 7 part 2 is Roger MacKenzie, looking for his missing son. He's searching for Jeremiah, aka Jemmy, across centuries with the help of his distant relative Buck. They head back to the 1770s, thinking that Rob could have brought Jemmy somewhere around that time.
They theorize that if Jemmy had escaped Rob, he would head back to Lallybroch because Roger taught him the way. So, Roger heads to Lallybroch while Buck goes to Inverness in case Jemmy is still with Rob. Going into the location, Roger thinks he will also have a chance to meet his in-laws.
This scene in Outlander season 7, episode 9 plays out as Roger knocks on the door while Claire reveals her true identity as a time traveler to the family inside the house. But that isn't how things play out because, in Claire's timeline at the Fraser estate, Joan is looking for Jamie at the other side of the door.
In Roger's timeline, however, Brian Fraser is behind the door, which shocks Roger. In his mind, he arrives in a timeline where Brian was supposedly dead for several years already, but because he's alive, Roger realizes he must be in 1739 or 1740.
At the end of Netflix's Outlander season 7 episode 9, still without a lead about Jemmy, Roger finds Buck unwell, and they go to an herbalist "some distance away." But when they knock on the door, he gets another shock to learn who the herbalist is—the agent of chaos and fellow time traveler Geillis Duncan.
Catch Outlander season 7 episode 9 is now streaming on Starz and Netflix. The previous six seasons of the show and previous episodes of season seven can be watched on the platform with a subscription.
