There have been some pretty bloody battles throughout the seven seasons of Outlander, and Claire’s voiceover at the beginning of “Written in My Own Year’s Blood” (Season 7 Episode 15) which accompanies a montage of some of these horrific losses, is ominous. The message is simple enough: “There’s always a war coming. War is inevitable, and death is too.” We’ve been waiting for this moment, as has the members of the Continental Army,
Neither Jamie (Sam Heughan) nor Claire (Caitriona Balfe) can sleep this close to battle, and they share a candlelight conversation about the trials ahead. Jamie has been thinking about his mother and seeing her dead in her coffin; she died at 38. Her hair had been braided, but Jamie’s father undid the braids and spread the hair across the pillow in grief. It was a moment that imprinted on Jamie’s young mind, especially since his younger brother climbed into the coffin to snuggle up to their mother, not caring that she was no longer there. I suppose when you know that your own death may be imminent, you do think of things like this. They have a cuddle in bed and share a final few peaceful hours together.
The following morning, it’s time for the Battle of Monmouth. Claire refuses to say goodbye or good luck, so instead they just proclaim their undying love for one another, which is better anyway. After a final kiss, Jamie climbs aboard his horse and begins to lead his men to battle. We’re also treated to a flashback conversation between them by the fire, in which Claire questions whether the price of freedom can truly be worth it. She likely knows deep down it is, but when the cost is so personal, it makes sense to change those beliefs.
Once they head off, Claire is desperate to help. She has some pretty serious medical skills, but a woman doctor? I think not! However, Denzell (Joey Phillips) vouches for her and insists they need her help. Claire’s never been one to take no for an answer, so she heads out to the medical tent and gets to work. She sees canons firing and hears the shots in the distance, and again we see a flashback of Claire telling Jamie that something “feels different this time.” Is she panicking unnecessarily? Time will tell.
Rachel (Izzy Meikle-Small) admits to Claire that she’s struggling with the idea of Ian (John Bell) fighting, and that she’ll be left alone so soon after they get married. However, Claire tries to offer her a bit of a reassurance and encourage her to be strong, and her surety seems to have the desired effects.
Meanwhile, Ian and Lord John Grey (David Berry) come upon the Hessian camp where William (David Vandervaart) is being held after being kidnapped, thanks to Captain Richardson (Ben Lambert). They claim that they’ve received new orders for William to be handed over, but the Hessians aren’t so sure. His hands are chained together and his mouth gagged, and the Hessian soldier refuses to let him go.
A quick but bloody fight ensues, and William is freed. The only Hessian soldier left standing tells Ian he’ll regret this one day, and those words appear to have struck something in him because he looks pensive as John and William head out. Incidentally, all he’s thinking about is finding the Hessian soldier he let go and stabbing him in the heart, which is exactly what he does. Turns out, what he would have regretted was letting the soldier live.
As for John and William, they finally have it out over the fact that John never told his son about his true parentage. However, John reasserts his role as William’s father. He also points out that Jamie is actually a pretty solid dude, even though he’s a Rebel Scot. William insists he’d never betray his king or country, but of all people, John warns him against taking such a rigid stance because you never know what might happen.
Later, young Frances comes to find William. She’s in floods of tears, and soon reveals that Jane was recognized by another soldier, who outed her as Captain Harkness’ killer and dragged Jane away to be hanged for the murder. He wastes no time before running off to try and find a way to save her.
At the American Army camp, the battle is drawing closer and everyone is told to evacuate. However, Claire has soldiers to treat, so she refuses to retreat even as the Red Coats get closer. Out in the woods, one of Jamie’s soldiers break the news that the British numbers appear to be surging, and indeed, they do soon come walking by the camp where Claire’s just performed surgery.
She wants news of Jamie, but the next American soldier who comes to her for treatment — minor, thankfully — doesn’t have any. However, she does take heart at the news that the Americans seem to be winning the Battle of Monmouth — at least for now. Jamie turns up soon after, safe and sound, but a shouting match starts up between the British and American soldiers, and who should get caught in the crossfire but Claire herself.
She’s shot in the abdomen, and the blood begins to pour down her apron as she collapses. For someone who’s normally so composed, even in the face of tragedy, the pain and shock are a bit too much for her to bear. Jamie is understandably distraught, not knowing who to call for help given that it’s Claire who’s the surgeon. Incidentally, the head doctor who doubted her skills all along is still inside and gets to work on her.
HIs skills, of course, are not as impressive as Claire’s, being a few centuries behind, of course. He insists there’s nothing else he can do for her and that the the bullet has gone too deep (and sadly, Claire’s a bit too incapacitated to argue). Jamie, doesn’t accept that, though he has little choice when the doctor leaves.
Claire does manage to come to enough to ask for water, and while General Lee has beckoned Jamie to return at once, he refuses to leave Claire’s side. Instead, he asks for one of his soldier’s shirt and jacket, and in Claire’s blood, he writes his resignation on the soldier’s back. Another soldier is sent to find Denzell, who might be the only one with enough skills to give her any chance of survival.
Finally, Denzell appears and Claire talks him through the delicate surgery she needs. Rachel comes too, and a basket of delicacies has been sent from the camp to help her get better. Guess what’s in it: Roquefort! Well, that’s fortuitous, because it contains penicillin, which she’ll likely desperately need. Will she survive? (Given that there’s a whole other season of Outlander to come, it seems a safe yes, but let’s suspend our disbelief a bit for now.)
Back in 1739, Roger (Richard Rankin) and Buck (Diarmaid Murtagh) have been doing a lot of wandering. They stop for a rest by a stream, and Buck questions what his own parents must have been like. For some reason, Roger decides now’s a good time to tell him that his actual parents are Geillis Duncan and Dougal MacKenzie. It’s a revelation he’s none too pleased about, especially since he was stood there in the presence of the people who created him. However, Roger points out they couldn’t risk changing the course of history.
Roger decides to write a letter to Bree (Sophie Skelton), letting her know that he kinda messed up and went to the wrong place looking for Jemmy. He doesn’t realise that Jemmy’s with his mother, safe and sound, and doing just fine. Buck also writes a letter to his mother in case he never sees her again. They pop the letter in a drawer in 1739, while Bree does the same with her own letter to Roger in 1980. But wait, Roger’s letter is there for her! It’s clear Rob Cameron’s men weren’t too thorough in their search of Lallybroch! (Also, suddenly Lallybroch is safe enough for Bree to hanging out and writing letters in?)
Anyhow, now that Bree knows where Roger is in history, she can scoop up Jem and Mandy and head through the stones to find them. She instructs Mandy to feel for her dad so that they know where to find him exactly, and she hands each of them a stone. There’s just one problem: Mandy goes rushing through the stones before her mom and brother!
There’s a lot hanging in the balance right now, but we’ll have to wait a bit longer for any answers since the season finale won’t air for another two weeks!
Jennifer Still is a writer and editor from New York who cares too way much about fictional characters and spends her time writing about them.
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