Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Outlander Season 7 Episode 9.

Well, sassenachs, it’s been over a year, but the Droughtlander has finally ended — and with it, the bittersweet knowledge that we’re in the final stretch as far as Starz’s decade-long adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander is concerned. It’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that this show is coming to a close, but that won’t happen without the 18 episodes that still remain to tell the conclusion of this sweeping historical, romantic epic. The show finally returns this week with Part 2 of its seventh season, with Episode 9, “Unfinished Business,” written by Barbara Stepansky and directed by Stewart Svaasand, feeling more like a quieter prologue that allows both us watching at home and the characters themselves to catch our breath before the real drama begins — but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of twists in store.

‘Outlander’ Season 7 Episode 9 Opens With a Return to Lallybroch
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It’s 1779, or thereabouts, and Claire (Caitriona Balfe), Jamie (Sam Heughan), and Young Ian (John Bell) have returned to Scotland — partly to escort Brigadier-General Simon Fraser’s body back to his homeland — but also to touch base with family still living on the Fraser estate of Lallybroch while they’re in the area. It’s not a permanent stay when we already know that Claire and Jamie have every intention of going back to Fraser’s Ridge and building themselves a new home to replace the one that burned down in the fire, but this episode allows the three of them to tie up some very important loose ends.

Their arrival at Lallybroch isn’t the warmest on all fronts, even if it’s been some time since Young Ian has seen his family. He earns a warm hug from Jenny (Kristin Atherton, taking over in the role from Laura Donnelly) and similar greetings from his older siblings — but the situation with his father is much more complicated, as Ian’s (Steven Cree) health has worsened significantly since we last returned to Lallybroch. Claire astutely diagnoses the man with consumption at a glance, but there’s little that can be done apart from making Ian comfortable in his final days.

It’s not the only rough reunion that plays out in Outlander’s return, as Jamie reluctantly calls on his ex-wife, Laoghaire (Nell Hudson). Since he considers America his home now, everything here in Scotland is unfinished business that’s yet to be resolved — including giving Laoghaire the apology he believes she’s long been owed. The reaction Jamie gets isn’t the one he’s expecting; after he and Laoghaire rehash the reasons their marriage ultimately failed — and not just because he only wed her after Claire temporarily traveled back through the stones — Laoghaire rightfully points out that Jamie’s feelings for her were always rooted in pity, not love, before getting furious enough to throw a pot at him, and then swing at him with a pitchfork. It’s not the resolution that Jamie had been hoping for, but, as Claire tells him later on that night, “some things can’t be mended.” That doesn’t mean he won’t find some way to deal with the persistent Laoghaire problem, though…

Related Is ‘Outlander’ Season 7, Part 2 Streaming? When Can You Watch Jamie and Claire’s Epic Return to Scotland The beloved pair is heading back to Lallybroch soon.

Claire Reveals the Truth in ‘Outlander’ Season 7 Episode 9

Amid their conversations with the family — during which Young Ian’s brother Michael (Angus Miller), recently arrived from Paris, reveals that the wine business is still doing well despite new tensions between England and France — Claire realizes that she has to divulge what she knows about the future and the impending revolution that will take place in 1789. In private with Jamie, she concludes that she needs to tell the Murrays the truth about her being a time traveler, especially since Ian is nearing his end. They may not be able to stop major historical events that are meant to take place, but they’ve still achieved small victories — like Jamie surviving Culloden when he was originally meant to have died. Sitting around the table with the Murrays, Claire warns Michael about remaining in Paris past 1788, and when the truth is finally out, the family seems to have trouble grasping the concept of time travel. Is Claire a fairy woman? Is she an Old One? Maybe it doesn’t really matter, but it does lead Jenny to think that Claire could somehow cure Ian of his illness. There’s no way for Claire to concoct any solution by medicinal means, though, in this time, and contrary to what the Murrays believe, she’s not magic either. The mood between the two women is distinctly frostier after that, although Jenny does attempt to make amends for literally calling Claire soulless after a much-needed pep talk from her brother.

Meanwhile, Jamie takes steps to legally provide Laoghaire with some independence of her own, as well as help her daughter, Joan (Layla Burns), achieve her dreams of becoming a nun. He’s tapped Ned Gowan — albeit a very toothless and wrinkled Ned Gowan — to draft an amendment to their existing contract, which will allow Laoghaire to both legally wed her new beau, Joseph Boswell Murray (Sandy Jack), and retain primary ownership of the Balriggan estate, which had formerly been counted among Jamie’s properties. Meanwhile, Laoghaire’s new marriage means that Jamie is no longer required to provide alimony, but he is willing to provide a small amount of gold for Joan’s time at the convent of her choosing. It’s an agreement that Laoghaire is willing to consent to, to Joan’s delight, but more importantly, it seems that Jamie and Claire can finally wash their hands of Laoghaire’s meddling for good.

But their time in Scotland is ultimately shortlived; Claire receives a letter from Lord John Grey (David Berry) informing her of his nephew Henry’s grievous injury in battle. Physicians have attempted to remove the musket balls that are still lodged in Henry’s abdomen, but failed; John insists that Claire is the only one who can successfully perform the operation in Philadelphia, where his nephew is currently convalescing. Her departure, however, means she and Jamie will have to split up for a time while Jamie stays behind in Scotland. Similarly, Young Ian wrestles with whether to remain with his family for his father’s final days before being encouraged to accompany Claire to Philadelphia, by both Jenny and Ian, so that he can pursue his Quaker lady love, Rachel Hunter (Izzy Meikle-Small). As Jamie and Claire say their goodbyes by the wagon, Ian realizes his father has mustered up enough strength to come outside and send him off — and both Ians share a meaningful, tender embrace with the knowledge that it will be their last.

Roger Ends Up in an Unexpected Place in ‘Outlander’ Season 7 Episode 9
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Outlander’s return brings with it something that the show has never done before: a Roger (Richard Rankin) voiceover! We’ve been privy to Claire’s inner thoughts before, and occasionally Jamie’s musings via letter, but this choice puts us in Roger’s head in a completely different way. There’s no time for either him or us to dwell on that major change, though, now that he and his ancestor, Buck MacKenzie (Diarmuid Murtagh) have successfully traveled back through the stones in pursuit of Roger’s son, Jeremiah. As far as Roger or any of us know, Jemmy’s been kidnapped by Brianna’s slimy coworker Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton), who intends to take the boy to America, where he can successfully acquire a buried cache of Jacobite gold. While Buck’s come through the stones a little worse for the wear, clutching his chest and wheezing, he and Roger agree to split up so they can search more ground, with Buck heading towards Inverness and Roger trekking to the past’s version of Lallybroch, assuming Jem would still know the way back to the home they own in the present timeline (well, the 1980s, that is).

The episode does something else particularly tricksy at the halfway mark, initially convincing us that Roger has gone back through the stones to the same time as Jamie and Claire — but when the door at Lallybroch opens, it isn’t Jamie or Claire who answers it, but Jamie’s father, Brian Fraser (Andrew Whipp)! Roger is in the wrong time, since we know that Brian died two years before Jamie first crossed paths with Claire in 1743. That doesn’t confirm exactly which time this is just yet, but it does narrow things down, especially when Roger meets a younger version of Jenny who has yet to marry Ian Murray. Word of a strangely dressed man has also apparently spread through the village, but Roger’s inquiries are cut short when he learns that Buck fell ill on his way back from Inverness. There’s no healer within a close distance, but there is a herbalist who might be able to lend a hand. That herbalist? None other than Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek), and Roger’s voiceover reaction is all of our reactions when he lays eyes on his much more diabolical fellow time traveler: “Oh, Christ.”

New episodes of Outlander Season 7 premiere Fridays on the Starz app and at 8 PM ET on Starz.

Jamie, Claire, and Ian return to Lallybroch, while Roger gets a blast from the past in Outlander Season 7 Episode 9.ProsIt’s good to be back in Scotland, even if our time here is probably short-lived.Kristin Atherton skillfully steps into the role of a more mature Jenny Murray.Jamie and Claire’s marriage has been through the wringer, so it’s nice to see them earning some lighter moments this week.John Bell and Steven Cree tug at the heartstrings during the Ians’ final scenes together. ConsBrianna’s screentime only amounts to one dialogue-less scene this week.

Claire Beauchamp Randall, a nurse in World War II, mysteriously goes back in time to Scotland in 1743. There, she meets a dashing Highland warrior and gets drawn into an epic rebellion.Release Date August 9, 2014 Main Genre Drama Seasons 8 Studio Starz

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