We’re back! Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth” is one of the best episodes of the show. The episode moved us to tears, to the point of having us on the ground. The show never lost its magic but this is one of those episodes that goes beyond and leaves your skin crawling with emotion. This is one of those episodes that reminds us why we fell in love with this series. Ready?
Here we go!
Learning to Survive in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth”
In Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth” we finally discover Malva’s true fate and it’s more horrible than we imagined. We understand her behavior now. Malva was intimidated by the abuse of her brother. She needed help but no one heard her silent cry.
So Malva did what she had to do to survive. Allan’s abuse and the lack of protection from her father showed her that she was not worth more than her body and victimized her, making her feel that everything about her was her fault when she never was.
As we discover in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth,” Malva learned to survive with abuse, violence, secrets, and loneliness that came with it. Only one person really cared for her: Claire.
More than once, Malva thought about confessing everything to her… but she never dared to do it. Deep down, Malva always wondered what Claire would have done but she knows that she would, without a doubt, have protected her. Claire would have saved her.
That’s why betraying Claire, the only person who took the time to care about her, is too much for Malva. As we see in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth,” she was thinking of confessing and Allan made sure she didn’t.
So all things considered, Allan didn’t deserve to live. And frankly, we don’t understand why Claire tells him that Tom sacrificed himself for him, too. To Tom, Allan was not someone worthy of such a sacrifice. Tom gave his life for Claire and her alone.
But the point is, we’re Team Ian on this. Allan is a monster and he is better off dead, although we would have liked to see him take at least a tenth of the damage he did to Malva.
History Always Repeats Itself
After the joy of Mandy’s birth in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth,” Claire soon realizes that something is not right with her. Her little heart has a flaw that in her own time would be very easy to fix but in this century it’s a death sentence.
And Claire can’t believe this is happening. She’s a healer and she’s saved countless lives, but she can’t help her own granddaughter. But sometimes, as much as we want to, the ones we can least help are our beloved ones.
It’s funny how Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth” shows us how history repeats itself. Claire had to leave Jamie, her home, to get Brianna to safety. And now that Brianna and Roger have found a home with their family in the 18th century, they must leave it to save Mandy. And it breaks our hearts.
The Family United in the Distance in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth”
But before Brianna leaves, Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth” set out to make us cry even more when she meets her brother William and Lord John. It’s the first and last time that Brianna has the opportunity to speak face to face with her brother and she wants to hug him, she wants to tell him so many things… but she has to settle for looking into his eyes, loving him from a distance.
Just like Jamie. He never thought that he would see his two children together. He dreamed of it, he prayed for it, but he never thought that his eyes would see it beyond the world of dreams. The emotion that runs through him is indescribable. And that emotional, grateful nod to Lord John for making it possible is all Jamie can handle. But it’s the tears in his eyes for us.
Jamie is proud and grateful, especially the latter. His two children, together. Part of his heart heals and breaks at the same time with this vision in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth.” It’s healing to see them together and to have a real image to replace the dreams, but Jamie’s heart breaks because he knows it will only be a one-time thing and he can never call one of them his son.
The Meaning of Truth
Brianna knows her father and knows what he is feeling. Her heart breaks for him but she also feels that it’s unfair to William not to know the truth about his origin. She was in the same situation as him and yes, at first it was horrible. There was a lot of confusion, a lot of anger, a lot of denials, and a lot of fear of betraying the only father she had ever known.
But time and Jamie’s love made Brianna open up to the truth. And, as she confesses to Lord John in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth,” now Brianna can’t conceive a life without Jamie, without her Da. She loves him so much that leaving him behind her is tearing her apart from the inside out.
So Brianna knows that William will need time, but he will also come around and he has a right to know and love his real father, just like Jamie has a right to have his son love him.
As we see later in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth,” this opinion is not one that Jamie and Lord John share. Lord John is too afraid of breaking William’s life apart beyond repair and Jamie knows better than to dream of the impossible. That’s why Jamie thanks Lord John for doing everything possible to bring William into his life, he can never repay John for what he’s doing for him.
A Friendship to the Test in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth”
And if these two already had me in tears in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth,” seeing them say goodbye was the end for me. Lord John can’t believe they are enemies and that even William fighting with the British won’t change Jamie’s allegiance. John can’t believe Jamie is on the losing end of the war again. And he can’t even conceive that this is going to be the cause of the end of their friendship.
He won’t allow it. For Jamie, breaking up with Lord John is painful because he is a dear friend and his only tie to his son, but for Lord John, breaking up with Jamie Fraser is like ripping out a piece of his heart.
Jamie is the love of his life. An unrequited love, a quiet love, a love in the distance. A love that accepted the only thing Jamie was capable of offering: his friendship. And he doesn’t intend to end it, not even for the crown.
Lord John Gray is the most loyal man but if he must choose between being loyal to the crown or his heart, he chooses his heart. Despite his sense of duty telling him otherwise, Lord John will be loyal to Jamie Fraser before he is to the crown. Until the last consequences.
As a sign of this loyalty, in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth” Lord John gives Jamie a gem so that Brianna and her family are safe. He may not understand the magic that surrounds the Fraser family, but it doesn’t matter, he loves them and will protect them however he can.
Fireflies, Stars, and the Happiest Place on Earth
The imminent goodbye is a weight that the entire Fraser family feels like a mass in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth.” That’s why Jamie wants to rush his last moments with Brianna. She will go forever to a place unknown, a place that will take blood, sweat, and tears to build.
But Jamie Fraser will always fight for his family, so his drive is to fight for Brianna’s happy place, to know that she’s safe and happy and that he contributed to it in some way. But Brianna would blindly give up that happy place to keep her parents safe. Losing them just isn’t worth it. It’s selfish, it’s irrational, but that’s what she feels.
However, Jamie feels a little apprehensive hearing her talk about her own time so wistfully in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth.” He is afraid that this time, that he, has been a disappointment to her. Nothing could be further from the truth. That time, that place, is her home because Jamie and Claire are there. And he… is his Da. And Brianna loves him so much that knowing she won’t see him again breaks her heart.
This scene with the fireflies is…goddess, it’s one of the best in the entire show. Is beautiful. And it’s all they should have given us since season 4. We’re not going to lie, a small part of us can’t shake the frustration of knowing we could have had these kinds of scenes for years, but it doesn’t tarnish the way we feel to see quality time between father and daughter. Not the tears that our eyes shed.
The Freedom to Choose
With his family saying goodbye to him in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth,” Jamie feels that he should give Claire a choice to go with them. He was saving a gem for Claire in case he died in the middle of the war, so Claire could go back to her time to be safe. But with Brianna’s departure, everything changed. Jamie finds it unfair that Claire has to give up her daughter twice for him.
Claire decided to leave Brianna to go back to him when she found out that he survived Culloden, maybe it’s time for him to let her go so mother and daughter can be together again. But Claire won’t let him.
Jamie once forced her to leave his side, just before Culloden, and she only did it because she was pregnant and she promised Jamie that she would take care of that baby. And she hated every second. Claire would have accompanied him to die at Culloden. She wanted to do it.
Claire hated Brianna for separating her from Jamie and she hated Jamie as well for making her leave him. Now, in hindsight, Claire knows that it was worth it but, as we find out in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth,” she also knows that she would never do it again, no matter what. There is nothing that separates Claire from Jamie. Nevermore. If they have to die in that war, they will do it together.
Jamie lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding right at this moment in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth.” He was offering Claire a way out if she wanted to take it because he loves her enough to do so, but the truth is that he couldn’t live without her, not anymore. If Claire had left…he would have died alive. So it’s a good thing she doesn’t.
Never Say Goodbye to a Fraser…
In the end, what everyone is fearing in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth,” arrives: the farewell to the Fraser family. The tears don’t stop coming out of our eyes with each goodbye, with each word, but the most special of all is Jamie’s goodbye with Roger and Brianna.
Roger and Jamie came a long way to get here. They didn’t start on the best foot, and at first, Jamie thought Roger wasn’t going to be able to protect his family, not in the eighteenth century.
And Roger thought Jamie was a violent savage. But now, Jamie knows there’s no one better to entrust his family to than Roger, and Roger is proud that Jamie is his family. Jamie inadvertently became another father to him. And he can hardly conceive of not seeing him again.
If this scene already has us in tears, Jamie and Brianna’s in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth” has us screaming. Jamie always loved her and Brianna thought she could never love him and see him as a father but here they are.
A proud father, heartbroken to have to see his daughter go, and a daughter who can’t even imagine what it will be like to never see his Da again. We only needed the tender scene between Jamie and his grandson to end up crying on the floor…
An End is Always a Beginning in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth”
Once the Fraser family is separated in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth,” the Big House awaits them. That Big House and Fraser’s Ridge feel emptier than ever but the routine helps them. Until that routine is broken. The appearance of the Wendigo wretch changes everything.
The very coward seeks to flee again and we didn’t expect anything less from that pig. You all know that we never agreed to the assault on Claire, neither in the book nor in the show, so such a sudden reminder didn’t please us at all. However, Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth” was the end of that story with the death of the Wendigo and we do like that.
We don’t know how, but we know Jamie and Claire are okay. Wendigo was the only loose end left from that night and he’s gone now, so we can call that storyline done for good. Although we are very saddened by the loss of the Big House, Jamie and Claire’s first true home. But they will build another one for sure.
And it doesn’t escape us that the explosion in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth” was different from the one that took Brianna back in time, so her presence did change something. She saved her parents. We’re proud!
Other Stuff in Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth”
- Mrs. Bug helping to bury Allan is the plot twist I wasn’t expecting.
- Jamie is at Mandy’s birth! This episode is really paying off all the debts. I love it!
- Jamie and Claire’s hug at that moment gives me life! What they always wanted was to be together, surrounded by their entire family. And here they are.
- Amanda Claire!! I’m a stream of tears right now, nobody bothers me. Thank you.
- Jamie is being a grandfather like he never could be a father. DO YOU HEAR ME SCREAM!? Outlander 7×02 “The Happiest Place on Earth” chose violence and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
- Brianna broke my heart on this one and the full cast did it masterfully.
- Although praying is not my thing, I really liked this shared moment between Jamie and Claire. Praying is very important to Jamie and it helped him through his darkest moments, for him to share it with Claire is…beautiful.
- That connection between Jemmy and Mandy makes us think…
- Brianna’s smile when talking about hers Da. I love them so much!
- Lord John knows it!!!
- Jamie talking to Claire about the electric light is not just a super cute scene, it’s also a callback to season 1 and Jamie’s ghost staring at Claire in the middle of the night, even before he met her.
- If we learned anything from the Frasers, it’s that you should never believe that goodbye is definitely goodbye. So even though Brianna, Roger, Jem, and Mandy aren’t home right now, they will be back…and may be reunited with the Ninth Earl of Ellesmere.
- I missed physical intimacy between Claire and Jamie but I understand why it couldn’t be. It was time to mourn the absence of a part of them, an absence that left a void in their hearts.
- It seems that the Bugs have a lot to hide and are not as accommodating as they seem…
Outlander season 7 airs Fridays at 8PM ET on STARZ.
