“Hello, Goodbye” is an emotional chapter of this season of Outlander as Young Ian ties the knot with Rachel. Meanwhile, Roger learns more about time travel and crosses path with someone he never imagined he would.
Every episode in this season of Outlander thus far has left us on the edge of our seats for one reason or another. Whether it was wondering if Jamie (Sam Heughan) has died in a shipwreck or wondering if Lord John Grey (David Berry) had died from a gunshot, there has been so much going on.
The creators and executive producers of the series had been alluding to a very emotional journey ahead, and they were not wrong. There has been so much action and drama, and this week’s episode continues to pack the punches in.
We have a lot to discuss, so let’s not waste a single second and get right into the chaos of “Hello, Goodbye.”
The past meets the present, er the present meets the past?
Buck (Diarmaid Murtagh) and Roger (Richard Rankin) open up the episode this week as they continue their search to potentially find Roger’s father. Based on the clues and hints they’ve found along their journey, it seems clear that his father has found his way to 1739 Scotland.
As Buck admires the mountains of Scotland, Roger recalls something Brianna said about how those mountains never change and realizes that they’re not where they need to be.
They’re standing not far from where Loch Errochty Power Station where Brianna works will be in the future, and I remind you that the station has a time portal in it. It would make sense that there were stones before there was a time portal. Perhaps they’re the same stones that his father ended up traveling through, because the dam would have been built years after his father’s plane crashed.
Chaos in Lallybroch
Back in Lallybroch, Brianna is holding Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) hostage. He is not budging on telling her where Jemmy (Blake Johnston-Miller) is. Rob truly doesn’t seem to care how this is impacting Brianna or the fact that he has kidnapped a child; he is double-downing on it all.
Meanwhile, Jemmy is seen under a tunnel crying out for help just as we cut to credits.
Happy wedding day to Ian and Rachel!
The day has arrived: the day that Young Ian (John Bell) and Rachel (Izzy Meikle-Small) get married! It’s quite a beautiful moment to celebrate, especially after everything he’s been through over the last couple of seasons. My heart is happy to see Ian happy with Rachel!
In an Outlander classic uncle/nephew conversation, Jamie asks Ian if he is feeling nervous about the wedding, but it turns out he is feeling less nervous about the wedding itself, but more so concerned about the wedding night. While he’s slept with woman before, he knows Rachel is a virgin. Good thing he’s got his Uncle Jamie to help him through this one, as he too was a virgin on his and Claire’s (Caitrion Balfe) wedding night. Gentle and slow is the key, Mr. Ian, according to his uncle.
Claire is busy getting Rachel ready; she looks like a doll and is ready to embrace what wedded life has in store for her. As a Quaker, she is hoping for the spirit to move her to speak and know when it is time for the nuptials to take place. Luckily, in this time, Rachel’s brother Denzell (Joey Phillips) shows up in the nick of time to take part in the wedding.
Denzell reveals to Jamie that he saw Lord John Grey at Colonel Smith’s camp. As we saw in last week’s episode, the plan was to kill Lord John Grey via the gallows, and Denzell was asked to treat him so he could be sent there. However, thanks to Denzell, Lord John Grey escaped and is very much alive. His path is now crossing with American soldiers, so we’ll have to see what happens with him in the coming episodes.
Anyway, back to the wedding! Everyone gathers for the ceremony, which runs into an awkward stretch of silence as Rachel waits for the spirit to move them. Jamie and Claire get hilariously impatient during this time, which they all take to mean the spirit has moved them to speak. Jamie shares a few kind words about his nephew and his soon-to-be wife, followed by Denzell, who shares regret for bringing his sister into a violent world but has peace knowing Ian is by her side now.
The past and present collide once again
We cut back to Jemmy in the tunnel as he hears Brianna’s voice guiding him through it. As it turns out, this is the same tunnel that she got locked in by her coworkers when she discovered the time portal. He recalls his mother telling him how she got out, including shifting all the breakers, turning right at the fork, and finding her way to what was the time portal.
As he is making his way through the tunnel, Brianna is trying to find him with Mandy’s (Rosa Morris) help. The scene overlaps with Roger and Buck making their way towards the stones, perhaps taking the same route Jemmy is in the present. Jemmy runs into the time portal just as Buck and Roger find the stones. For a moment, it’s as if Jemmy can hear his father’s voice, but that is fleeting as Jemmy makes his way not through the portal but outside where his mother finds him on the road.
Roger and Buck come across a young boy, who we for a split second think is Jemmy himself, but is just a kid in the area. He does, however, have information about Roger’s father, or who we think is Roger’s father. After some persuading, they get the information they need and they set out to find him…
And find him they do! It’s a bittersweet, beautiful moment for Roger who never got to meet his father as he went missing when Roger was a baby. Seeing him now is a shock, but something Roger has been waiting for ever since he realized he could be in this time.
Roger calls out to his father and shares that he too is a time traveler and proves it by sharing historical information only someone of that time would know. It’s hard for his father to believe at first, but it cannot be denied.
Roger learns that his father was in charge of flying over Nazi camps in Poland to capture aerial footage, but his plane gave out before he could succeed. One thing led to another, and he ended up going through the stones to 1739 Scotland.
Unfortunately, the father and son do not get too much time to catch up as more people show up. Roger and Buck take Jeremiah to the stones, hand him a gemstone, and tell him he is headed back home. The only advice that Roger gives to his father before his departure is to think of his wife. Just like that, his father departs through the stones, leaving Roger with a fleeting image of him sitting with his father as a kid.
What else happened in Outlander Season 7, Episode 13?
There are a lot of other big moments that take place in this episode, including Ian and Rachel’s wedding night, which is a resounding success! Jamie also opens up to Claire about being frustrated sleeping in the same bed that she and Lord John Grey slept in together. It’s not an easy pill to swallow, but his animosity only seems to be towards John rather than Claire. But even with that anger, he does not want John to die at the gallows and is hoping he is okay. Oh, and William too, who he knows is extremely angered to learn the truth about his parentage. Claire reassures him that because he is his father’s son he will come around to understanding one day.
On Brianna’s end, things are complicated as she tries to get the police’s help after learning that Rob Cameron has escaped. The police make insinuations about her and Rob and don’t really seem to care for her safety.
In order to keep the kids safe, Brianna has their friends Ernie and Fiona take them. They’re aware of all that’s happened, including where Roger actually is, and are quick to protect the family. However, there is concern for Brianna’s safety because Rob Cameron is out there and has keys to their house. Moreover, she’s worried about Roger returning home because clearly Jemmy isn’t in the past, and as we all know, he isn’t coming back until he finds him.
Ending of Outlander Season 7, Episode 13 explained
As the episode comes to a close, Roger begins to think about how time travel is likely based on where the person may want to go or needs to be rather than the 300-year window. Roger recalls that when they were at Craigh Na Dun getting ready to travel, he was thinking only about Jemmy and how scared he must be without his parents, which made him think of how scared he was without his father.
And if that is the case, does this mean that Jemmy isn’t in this timeline? It’s a big moment because we’ve all wondered how time travel through the stones works. If it is based on the person you are hoping to get to, or thinking of, then this is a big game changer. More importantly, it means that Roger may be realizing they need to travel through the stones with Jemmy in mind because it could lead them right to where he is: at home!
Ahhh, I can’t wait for the next episode of Outlander! This season continues to shock and surprise us, and I look forward to what is in store as we inch closer to the end of this chapter. Until next week!