We’re back! Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen’ adapts a heartbreaking storyline from the book far too late, with a change that makes no sense, while giving us some unsatisfying answers about Faith and pitting William and John against each other in their biggest fight yet. Ready?
Here we go!
Unexpected Death in Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen’
After watching Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen,’ we are mad. Very mad. Like mad doesn’t even begin to describe how we feel. Part of us is still in shock—though not a good one. And the other part of us wants to burn the world down in the name of Fergus, Marsali, and the entire Fraser family. In the name of a story that was not done justice.
Reading this story in the books was devastating, hard, and felt so unfair that it left an even more bitter taste. Especially since the one who dies in the book is Henri Christian, an innocent child who ends up dying due to the ignorance, anger, and fear of people who behave worse than animals. But this? This is even worse. The story doesn’t have the same depth or meaning as in the book—because the show didn’t have time for it.
But, furthermore, the fire happens in book 8, which meant that when we get to this point in the story—books 9 and 10—the family hadn’t gotten over it, since it’s not something that can be overcome, but they had learned to live with the pain. But with only two episodes left in the series? Nope.
It’s impossible that, with so little time remaining after Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen,’ the show can do justice to the grief of Marsali, her children, and the rest of the family, and show us how they learn to live with Fergus’ loss. It’s impossible for them to show us this story with the respect and time it deserves.
So why adapt this story? Especially since it wasn’t included in Season 7—which mostly adapted Book 8. As with Claire’s gang ra**e, they had the option here to make the right decision. What is that? Well, the decision that felt fairest to the show’s plot and the time they had left.
And, with that in mind, they had three options: adapt this story exactly as it is in the book, include the fire but without any deaths, or not adapt the story at all. Of all the options, they chose the worst possible one. They killed Fergus. Fergus! Jamie and Claire’s first son, their protector, who literally lost a hand protecting his father.
We can’t bear it. We can’t comprehend it. And we can’t accept it.
MORE: Outlander Season 8, Episode 6 Review: ‘Blessed Are the Merciful’
Nonsensical Changes
We can understand that Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen’ didn’t want to include the death of a child, especially without having enough time to portray the family’s grief, and therefore discarded Henri Christian’s death. But killing Fergus makes no difference. The show also doesn’t have time to portray the family’s grief in a way that feels real. And we feel just as sad to see Fergus die.
But worse. Because sadness is compounded by anger.
We would have understood if they had adapted this story exactly as it is in the book. We would have considered it unnecessary, yeah, but, after all, is the book. But who thought that changing Henri Christian’s death to Fergus’s in Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen’ benefit the story? Not at all. On the contrary, it’s disrespectful to the story and all the fans. It adds nothing to the story, only more trauma to characters who have already been through a lot.
Fergus deserved more. César Domboy deserved more. And we deserved more.
So yeah, we’re mad about this change. We’re mad that they decided to ruin this beautiful relationship of a found family, a family of the heart, and a character we’ve loved since he was a little thief in Paris who unexpectedly found his home. And we’re mad because, with that, they decided to ruin the show just two episodes from its finale.
So, what should have happened in Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen’? Well, if you ask us, we think that, since the show needed Fergus and Marsali to return to the Ridge, the fire had to be there, but no one should have died. Everyone should have survived. And so, without a home to go to, they all would have returned to their true home: Fraser’s Ridge. This way, our wish to see the entire Fraser family together before the end would have been fulfilled.
But that will no longer be possible. And we can’t even begin to describe how mad we feel about this. For us, Fergus is still alive. For us, Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen’ didn’t happen. And we’re ready to read all the fanfics that fix this mess. The fans will surely do justice to Fergus and the Frasers. We said what we said.
MORE: Outlander Season 8, Episode 5 Review: ‘Send for the Devil’
Unsatisfactory Responses to Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen’
That said, Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen’ didn’t just make us feel mad about Fergus. It also made us feel mad about Faith. We didn’t like this storyline from the very beginning. This is a point the books handle better. In them, Jane and Fanny have nothing to do with Faith—at least, not yet. And that’s how it had to be in the series. But the show revived Faith only to k*ll her off the next second with a backstory of suffering and violence, for her and her daughters, of course.
Aren’t you tired? It seems like every character with the Fraser surname has to have a tragic and violent backstory. It’s such a tired trope. And completely unnecessary. Because the show didn’t need to make Fanny and Jane Jamie and Claire’s granddaughters, nor did it need to resurrect Faith just to tell us she suffered a horrible death while searching for Jamie and Claire.
Faith had been dead for a long time, and that wound had already healed. Why reopen it just to rub salt in it and stitch it up again as if nothing had happened? It makes no sense and is a waste of time. Jamie and Claire don’t need Fanny to be their blood granddaughter to care for her and feel like one.
But also, even though Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen,’ gave us almost the complete puzzle, it’s one that doesn’t quite make sense. Although the show does try to fit all the pieces together, which is appreciated. And the worst part is that, as with Fergus, this adds nothing to the story other than traumatizing characters who have already been through so much.
Now, Jamie and Claire feel like they’ve gained a granddaughter, yeah, but they also feel like they’ve lost Faith again, and this time they know they were so close to having her by their side. Furthermore, Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen,’ fails to says us why. Why did Master Raymond save Faith? Why did he never tell Claire? Neither Jamie nor Claire would have left the city without Faith.
So all of this serves no purpose other than to complicate matters and waste time in a season that doesn’t have much time to offer. The best part is that it seems that OutlanderSeason 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen’ wrapped up the plot. And we’re also ready to read fanfics that fix this mess too.
MORE: Outlander Season 8, Episode 4 Review: ‘Muskets, Liberty, and Sauerkraut’
Childish Behavior
We have to confess that we really wanted to slap William during Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen.’ Hard. What kind of way is that to talk to and treat his father? Spoiled brat. And you know what makes us want to shake him even more? That he gives Amaranthus a chance. William gives her a chance to explain herself. And not only does he listen to her, he protects her.
After she admitted what she did, and even after William realized that she was just playing with him and that she doesn’t love him, William still wanted to protect her by preventing her from telling Lord John the truth. He even defends her, for God’s sake. And that woman doesn’t deserve that. Where is that understanding and willingness to listen with Lord John and Jamie?
Amaranthus is a woman he barely knows and who used him. While John is his father. And yet, in Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen,’ William shows more consideration to her than to him. We can’t stand him. Not in this.
And yeah, we understand that precisely because William loves John, his lies hurt him more, and that finding out who his father is at this point, discovering yet another lie, only added insult to injury. Thus, William feels increasingly lost and knows less who he is. His life crumbles more and more. And in Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen,’ everything exploded in the worst possible way.
But enough is enough.
John was patient with William. He endured his silence, his stoicism, his outbursts, his bad manners, and the fact that he simply sat on the sofa with a bottle of whiskey, watching life pass him by. He even brought Brianna to his home so William could begin to open up and realize that he wasn’t alone, that it wasn’t the end of the world, and that his family was worth giving a chance. And he genuinely thought, like we did, that he was doing better.
But clearly, he wasn’t.
And William needs to grow up. He can’t keep acting like a child and running away from things. And, above all, he needs to love his father enough to listen to him, to understand him, and to accept him as he is, without insulting him or making prejudiced assumptions about him.
John—and Jamie, for that matter—sacrificed their lives to take care of William. And they loved him with all their hearts. Only for him to behave horribly toward them in OutlanderSeason 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen,’ because he’s having a tantrum. And to tell John he doesn’t have a father. That’s what hurt John the most. Because William doesn’t have one, he has two. And both of them would be willing to give their lives for him. It’s time William got his head out of his a**ss and realized that.
MORE: Outlander Season 8, Episode 3 Review: ‘Abies Fraseri’
Other Stuff in Outlander Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen’
- Fergus’s last smile…
- Henri Christian and Germain are the cutest kids in the world.
- Jamie sensed something was wrong with his son…
- Marsali is lost. But she’ll pull through. Lauren Lyle is brilliant; she deserves all the awards.
- Jamie and Claire’s reaction to the news…
- Fergus’s memories only made us even more mad than we already are.
- We’ll always be mad at this show for what it did to Fergus.
- Well said, Roger! This time and the Ridge are your home. The home of the five of you. Brianna is pregnant!
- We know how Faith learned the song!
- Our hearts ache for Fanny. It’s understandable that she reacted that way. She loves them and is happy to have a blood connection with them, but for her, family means loss. However, the Frasers aren’t going anywhere.
- It was so sweet that she was the one who made a place for Jamie to talk to Fergus, just as he made that special place for her to talk to Jane.
- We love Fanny and how she keeps her sister’s memory alive.
- Jamie at King’s Mountain…
- He and Claire are realizing that Frank’s book might not be about revenge.
- The victim role doesn’t suit Amaranthus; it’s understandable that she didn’t tell the Greys the truth, but not that she used William.
- We already know things about Richardson…
- We don’t like the change they made regarding Hal and his speech from the book.
- Percy and John…we like them together.
- We hate that John is so ashamed of who he is just because William is acting like a brat.
- “I don’t have a father.” We want to k**ll you right now, William.
- We want William to beg John for forgiveness on his knees.
Outlander Season 8 air at midnight on Thursday on the STARZ app and Fridays at 8 PM ET on linear.
I agree completely. I couldn’t even watch past the fight between William and John. With every character hiding things and having traumatic and violent back stories, the show has turned into a terrible soap opera. There is too much going on, which makes the fact that they included storylines that are not in the books even worse. Th whole Faith story is a distraction and whenever Claire and Jamie talk about it, their anguish seems fake. Then the focus on Henri Christian when that plot was not part of last season felt trite and forced. I won’t even watch the
Rest to see Fergus die. Then, William walking in on Percy and John kissing was totally gratuitous. We didn’t need to see that to make William suspect that John is gay. John has always been collected and reacted thoughtfully, even under duress. Now he comes across as a melodramatic soap opera character, yelling and kissing and yelling again in the space of a few minutes. This part should have been left out, since the show will end in a few more episodes and we still have to see Jamie die and be saved. Too much!!!! Who wrote this? Who directed it? My all-time favorite show lost its way right at the end!