We’re back! In Outlander Season 7 Episode 9 ‘Unfinished Business,’ we return to the magic of Scotland in an emotionally charged and multi-layered episode that delves into family ties, personal reckonings, and the increasingly complicated threads of time travel. With several intersecting plotlines, this episode masterfully balances grief, revelations, and hope. Ready?
Here we go!
Reunions and Unexpected News in Outlander Season 7 Episode 9 ‘Unfinished Business’
Outlander Season 7 Episode 9 ‘Unfinished Business’ picks up where Episode 8 left off, with Jamie, Claire, and Ian returning to their Scottish home: Lallybroch. And just being there evokes in us those opening bars of the show, that magic that only Scotland can achieve in this series. And, while the reunion with Ian Sr. and Jenny is equal parts loving and nostalgic, the bad news is not long in coming.
Ian Sr. is very sick with tuberculosis and the disease is too advanced to do anything but wait. Thus, Ian Jr. faces the news that his father is about to die after meeting him again and this causes him a myriad of feelings. A part of Ian feels guilty for not having been there, for not having gone through his transition from boy to man with his father. Ian has so many things to tell him, so much to share with him… but Ian feels like he doesn’t have the time or the words to do it.
For Jamie, this news that he learns in Outlander Season 7 Episode 9 ‘Unfinished Business’ is also really hard. Ian is his brother, he always was, and he can’t imagine a world in which Ian is no longer there. And that feeling of guilt for not having been there when his brother needed him when Ian was always there for him, doesn’t leave Jamie alone.
On the other hand, Jenny is devastated, although she remains composed, as always. She is the one in charge of bringing the farm and her family forward, and she focuses on that because if she doesn’t, she will completely fall apart. And Claire feels helpless. She really loves Ian but, despite her medical knowledge, she knows she can’t do anything for him. It’s too late…
MORE: Here’s the review of Outlander Season 7 episode 1 and episode 2!
The Big Reveal
With the Fraser-Murray family reunited and amid so much tension, Claire feels the need to tell the truth. She is tired of lying and feels that her family deserves more than that… and she is right. Jamie’s cousin’s upcoming trip to France gives her the perfect excuse since telling the truth is the only way to make sure he is going to be okay.
And so, in Outlander Season 7 Episode 9 ‘Unfinished Business,’ we have a scene that is a turning point in the story. At last, Claire confides in her entire family who she really is. And, although the scene is much better developed than in the book, it still felt too fast, and rushed, and we missed some more reactions.
They barely focused on everyone’s shock and Jenny’s reaction but we expected more questions, more doubts, more time, just… more. After all, this scene is one of the most important in the entire story and that importance should have been noted.
Notwithstanding the above, Jenny’s reaction is perfectly developed. She is desperate and if Claire is a time traveler, she must be a witch, how else could cross the veil of centuries? And she needs Claire to heal Ian, she begs her to do it. The problem is that it is something Claire cannot do, as much as she would like to heal Ian no matter what. Claire would give her life to do it, but she cannot do miracles.
Jenny takes this as a personal affront in Outlander Season 7 Episode 9 ‘Unfinished Business.’ For her, Claire’s refusal is revenge…but she couldn’t be more wrong. Jenny’s pain simply doesn’t let her understand, it doesn’t let her reason, she needs to vent all her anger and pain on someone and Claire’s refusal is a catharsis for her to do it. Luckily, Jenny realizes the truth in time to be able to recover the sister that Claire always was for her.
MORE: Here’s the review of Outlander Season 7 episode 3 and episode 4!
Closing Unfinished Business
Ian’s impending departure has reminded Jamie in Outlander Season 7 Episode 9 ‘Unfinished Business’ that it’s never too late to finish unfinished business. America has become the new home for his family, so it’s time for him to finish the business he still has in Scotland and that means going to see Laoghaire, especially when Joanie asks for his help.
And we love the way they handled this. In the book, Jamie feels a mix of wounded pride and absurd, senseless jealousy of the man Laoghaire found happiness with but in the episode, this is not the case. Outlander Season 7 Episode 9 ‘Unfinished Business’ makes a point of showing us that Jamie is barely curious about this man, nothing more. Even the fights are better laid out here than in the book. They throw out all the things they hold in each other’s faces, but none of them lead to misplaced jealousy.
Laoghaire always dreamed of having Jamie for herself, of him being hers, but the point is that he never was. When she married him, all her youthful dreams were shattered, because Jamie was still in love with Claire, his heart and soul belonged to her. Jamie always chose Claire over her and that, along with the wounds Laoghaire had suffered in her previous marriages, made her hold more and more resentment towards Jamie.
Jamie, for his part, always felt guilty for marrying her when he didn’t love her and not being able to give her what she wanted from him. Claire was always a ghost between them and Jamie knows he hurt her… that’s why he gives her Balriggan, so she can finally find happiness.
MORE: Here’s the review of Outlander Season 7 episode 5 and episode 6!
Surprising Journeys and Changes
In Outlander Season 7 Episode 9 ‘Unfinished Business’ Ian Sr. and Jenny had to face the fact that their son had grown up without them seeing him. His eyes were no longer those of a child, but those of a man who had suffered too much, and Ian…he can barely speak. There are so many things he wants to tell his parents. He wants to talk to them about his experiences, his losses, about his son, about Rachel…but the words don’t come out.
Ian is afraid that his parents won’t accept the man he has become but in one of the most emotional moments of the episode, Jenny shows him that they were always in his footsteps, that they were always with him. They made a grave for their little girl. They never forgot him, his family was always there and they are tremendously proud of the man they see before their eyes today. And we’re sobbing!
On the other hand, in Outlander Season 7 Episode 9 ‘Unfinished Business’ Roger and Buck begin the search for Jemmy but the stones take them to 1739, far from their goal. There, they meet Jenny, Brian Fraser, Dougal Mackenzie, and Geillis Duncan.
This is a shock for both of them. Finding Jamie’s father and sister and having to lie to them isn’t something Roger expected…but Geillis was an even bigger surprise. Even though she looks innocent, Roger saw this woman kill her husband as a human sacrifice to travel back in time, plus everything he knows about her from Claire, he can’t underestimate her.
For Buck, it’s a different shock. Geillis and Dougal are his parents and seeing them in front of him affects him more than he can express. But he and Roger are there on a mission…and they’re willing to do anything to accomplish it.
MORE: Here’s the review of Outlander Season 7 episode 7 and episode 8!
Other Stuff in Outlander Season 7 Episode 9 ‘Unfinished Business’
- We missed Jenny asking Claire why she didn’t come back after Culloden and the tension between them lasting longer.
- We also wanted more of Claire’s revelation scene.
- Jamie asking Claire for permission to visit Laoghaire is poetry.
- We love how no matter how many years pass, they still love each other and flirt like the first day.
- Thank goodness they removed Jamie’s absurd jealousy over Laoghaire.
- Seeing how Jamie includes Claire in all the Laoghaire stuff, giving Claire her place is the chef’s kiss.
- Joanie is super sweet.
- Laoghaire continues to tick us off.
- We can’t assume that we’re going to lose Ian…
- The way they’ve set up Buck and Roger’s journey and then revealed where they’ve ended up has been great!
- Buck and Roger are going to give us some great moments, we’re sure of it.
- Scotland has a special magic that we’ve been missing for too long.
Outlander Season 7B airs on Fridays at 8:00 PM ET/PT on STARZ.
