We’re back! Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos,’ wrapped up some storylines and loose ends while giving us some tear-jerking scenes and setting the stage for the grand finale. Ready?
Here we go!
Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 Finally Restores Jamie and Claire
Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos,’ is lovingly crafted, and it shows. Honestly, this was probably the first episode in a while that made us stop thinking about pacing problems or story decisions and just get pulled into Outlander again. The hour actually moves things forward, which sounds basic, but this season has struggled with that at times. A lot of emotional beats that had been sitting there for episodes finally go somewhere here.
It also helps that Caitriona Balfe finally gets scenes that feel substantial again. Claire has spent too much time reacting to everyone else lately, so watching her emotionally engage with what’s happening instead of standing on the sidelines made a huge difference.
And maybe that’s why the episode worked for us overall. It reminded us of older seasons because the characters actually felt connected to each other again in a meaningful way.
This episode proves that everything works best when Jamie and Claire work together and are the focus. Unfortunately, this final season quickly forgot that, and after episode 3, Claire was relegated to the background—if we’re being generous.
Basically, she was only there to comfort Fanny and not to lead this series as she did in the previous seven seasons. However, Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos,’ was written by someone who clearly knows these characters inside and out and loves this story, so she knew how to make it actually work and make sense, while giving each character their moment to shine.
They just had to treat the protagonists as the leads and make the story revolve around them, not run them over like a steamroller—who would have thought?. And we wish they had given Gabaldon the opportunity to write more scripts. We’re sure that if they had, that episode 7 nonsense would never have happened.
But it did. So we appreciate even more what Gabaldon managed to do in Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos.’ Thanks to her, we’re reminded why we love this show. So this episode isn’t just important for the season because of how it wraps up most of the storylines, but also because we can watch it and recognize our favorite show, something that was becoming increasingly difficult this season.
That said, it’s time to dive into Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos.’
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Percy’s Choice Breaks Everything Between Him and John
We can’t deny that our hearts broke a little for Percy and John in Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos.’ Percy looked remorseful, and we truly believe he loves John. Just not enough. He chose himself over him. And when you truly love someone, you would protect them at the cost of your own life. When you love someone, you’re willing to die for them. No questions asked, no regrets.
But Percy isn’t capable of loving someone the way John does. Not really. He keeps trying to convince himself that he never wanted John to get hurt, that there was no other option, but that’s not entirely true. There was a choice. It just wasn’t the one that protected him. Percy picked survival over loyalty, even if he doesn’t want to admit it out loud. And he left John to his fate.
In Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos,’ Percy weighed his love for John against his own skin and chose the latter. And that decision sealed his fate. John would have expected betrayal from anyone but him. So when Percy chose to throw him to the lions to save himself, he shattered everything between them. And we’re not just talking about their relationship, but John’s trust.
John was never going to forgive him for that. He was never going to trust him again. Because of his cowardice, Percy lost him forever. And that’s what leads him to end his life. John treated him like a stranger and saw in his eyes that that coldness would never disappear, not even soften with time. To John, he’s worse than a traitor. He’s nobody.
And Percy couldn’t bear to live with that. The guilt of knowing that his cowardice had cost him the only person he truly cared about overwhelmed him. It’s sad…but it’s what Percy chose.
MORE: Outlander Season 8, Episode 7 Review: ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen’
Claire Faces the Weight of Jamie’s Future
Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos,’ gave us a clear picture of Richardson’s plan and, above all, why he wants to change history. And we understand his motive; it’s a noble one, in fact. Slavery is an abomination and should never have existed, so ending it sooner sounds like something worth fighting for. It’s logical that he would try.
But Richardson has two problems. One is that he doesn’t realize he’s hurting people, good people, to achieve his goals. He’s willing to do anything to get what he wants. Justifying that as fighting for a greater good is truly dangerous—though understandable, if we’re honest. Fighting for a fair cause doesn’t make Richardson a savior. He ended up becoming a kind of monster himself, fighting for a noble cause, but a monster nonetheless.
That’s not unusual. Often, it takes one monster to defeat another. The point is, as we see in Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos,’ Richardson doesn’t accept it. And deceiving oneself is the greatest folly.
The other problem is that Richardson is chasing a utopia. An impossible dream. He’s all ideals and rhetoric, but Claire has already been there. She’s already tried. She’s also seen others try and fail. If this show has taught us anything, it’s that time travelers can’t change history, no matter how hard they try. The only things they can change are small events within it, but the big ones are a different story. What must happen will happen, no matter what.
Claire knows this.
But she’s so desperate to believe they can change something right now. Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos,’ confronts her with her greatest torment these days: Jamie’s impending death. Part of her knows it’s impossible to change history. What is written will happen. But another part hopes that, at least, they can change something. This is their time, Jamie is her home, she couldn’t go on without him. So she clings to that hope with all her might.
That’s why she frees Richardson. It’s her hope acting on her behalf. Seeing him fall dead at her feet is that last hope abandoning her. She feels the inevitability of Jamie’s death in her bones more than ever. But the point is, Claire is wrong. Small things can change—and we’re sure Jamie’s death will be one of them—she just doesn’t know it yet. She’ll find out in the next episode.
MORE: Outlander Season 8, Episode 6 Review: ‘Blessed Are the Merciful’
Jamie and Lord John Finally Break Their Silence
In Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos,’ Jamie and Lord John finally had the conversation they so desperately needed. Jamie’s pride, as always, got the better of him at first, and he had the audacity to tell John he forgave him, after everything he put the poor man through. And we swear John was ready to k**ll him right there, and understandably so. But Claire, as always, managed to bring Jamie to his senses.
Jamie loves that man. He’s his best friend, and he still is, no matter what. no matter how much he tries to deny it. And the biggest proof is that in Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos,’ he swallowed his pride and went into that room to apologize to John, even though he barely knows how. And we love how Jamie opens up to John here and explains that, beyond jealousy, he felt what happened as a betrayal of their friendship. His best friend sleeping with the love of his life…and imagining she was with him.
Jamie isn’t indifferent to what John feels for him. He knew it all those years. And, after what happened with Jack Randall, it was hard for him to separate those memories from John and his feelings for him. But he did. Jamie also knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that John respected that he could only offer him his friendship, that he loved him as the best friend he could have.
Jamie was clear that his friendship was as valuable to him as it was to John. And that John would never cross that invisible line, the boundary Jamie drew. When John told him that the night he spent with Claire he was actually crossing that line, for Jamie felt like he’d suffered the worst betrayal of their friendship. He felt like he was being ra**ed all over again. And that’s precisely what he can’t forgive. That’s what he can’t forget.
Luckily, Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos,’ also gives John the opportunity to explain that he didn’t mean it that way. It wasn’t something that tarnished their friendship, it wasn’t a betrayal, it was pain, it was despair, it was love. Pure love…for him, from both of them. And Jamie has already made him pay dearly for it.
Jamie understands now. He grasps the chasm between what Jack Randall did to him and what John and Claire shared that night. So, no matter how long Jamie clung to his anger, in Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos’ he could no longer deny what John had done for him over the years. He was always there, even helping his son become the principled and honorable man he is today.
John sacrificed himself for Jamie, helping him countless times, and only when William said such horrible things about him in the previous episode did Jamie realize how unfair he was being and how he was letting a traumatic event from his past cause him to lose the best friend he would ever have.
Jamie acknowledges in Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos’ that he will never be able to repay John for everything he did for him. The point is that John never expected anything back from him anyway. Maybe he wanted Jamie to suffer for what happened, maybe part of him was still angry, but none of that erased years of friendship. John still cared about him. That’s why we couldn’t help but shed more than a few tears when we saw them playing chess like in the old days. Their friendship was finally restored, and that heals our hearts.
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Brianna Pleads Not to Lose Jamie Again
The moment Brianna learned the truth about Kings Mountain had to come, and OutlanderSeason 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos,’ is that moment. Brianna is so scared… she lost years with her father, and when she finally learned to love him, she had to leave. Now she’s just returned, just gotten him back; she can’t lose him again. She can’t. She can no longer live a life without her father in it.
When Brianna traveled back to the future, the way she missed her parents almost crushed her. That’s why she rationed those letters. They were her only connection to them. And at least Brianna had the certainty that they were together and safe on the other side of the stones. But now, the thought of her father going to that battle and never coming back tears her apart. So she begs him, pleads to him not to go, not to leave her behind, not again.
But Jamie has to. He knows it just as he knew it when the drums of war echoed across Culloden Moor. He has to do it for her. It’s the only way to protect her. In Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos’ Jamie makes it clear that it’s not just about keeping his word, it’s about keeping the war away from their lands for good, it’s about protecting her and the whole family.
And Jamie would gladly sacrifice his life for his family. Because, as we discussed before, when you love someone, that’s what you do. And Brianna understands. It breaks her heart, but she understands. And she knows he won’t change his mind, although we do wish she had tried much harder, if we’re honest.
MORE: Outlander Season 8, Episode 4 Review: ‘Muskets, Liberty, and Sauerkraut’
William Finally Understands Where He Belongs
William is dealing with something much messier in Outlander Season 8 Episode 9 ‘Pharos.’ Things with Jamie are good now, but that doesn’t magically fix everything else. If anything, William seems more lost once the anger fades. He cares about Jamie. He cares about John too. And he’s terrified of hurting either of them without even realizing it. A lot of that is because he still doesn’t know who he is.
William feels like he has to choose between being a Grey or a Fraser. And it’s normal for him to feel that way. But Claire helps him understand that it’s not like that. Many in the family had two fathers and didn’t have to be anything more than their children. Neither Jamie nor Lord John wants William to be anything else. And they would give their lives for him without hesitation. No matter what he does, he will never betray or hurt them.
That’s part of why the scene with Amaranthus matters. William finally sees things more clearly than before, especially when it comes to love and loyalty and the strange things people do because of them. Watching Jamie and John sacrifice so much for him changed the way he looks at everything.
So William understands more than ever why Amaranthus fought tooth and nail to protect her son—although we still think the problem here is that she went too far by playing with William’s feelings when she didn’t need to.
At the same time, he can’t keep pretending his relationship with Amaranthus was something it probably never was. She cared about him, sure, but it’s hard to ignore that survival played a role in her choices too. Protecting herself and Trevor came first. And honestly, William needed something from that relationship as well. After everything fell apart, being with her gave him something solid to hold onto, or at least something that felt solid for a while.
And they deserve more than that. They deserve happiness. And we’re so proud that William realized that.
MORE: Outlander Season 8, Episode 3 Review: ‘Abies Fraseri’
Final Thoughts on Outlander Season 8 Episode 9
- Claire is writing their story! Why does hearing the opening lines of the first book in the series make us so emotional?
- For Lord John, that hug William gives him means he loves and accepts him as he is. It means everything.
- Others would demand retribution with a beating, but Lord John resolves his problems by playing chess. That’s why we love him.
- That chess game was a masterful callback at Season 3.
- Just like Jamie looking back at William as he leaves. Now there are no more secrets or pain between them. Only love and acceptance. And we need to make sure this isn’t the last time we see each other.
- Cleveland is here now…and so is Kings Mountain.
- We loved seeing Claire say out loud that she doesn’t know what brought her there, but she’s where she’s meant to be, because that’s her time, her home.
- We won’t miss Richardson much, to be honest.
- John’s revenge against Richardson and Percy felt like justice.
- We needed to see William and Jamie spend more time together as father and son.
- Claire is an expert at dealing with the Frasers.
- Why doesn’t Brianna react to the fact that Frank knew Jamie was alive and never said a word? There should have been time for that…
- This is coming to an end, and we don’t want it to…
Outlander Season 8 air at midnight on Thursday on the STARZ app and Fridays at 8 PM ET on linear.
