Summary of Season 7, Episode 13 of ‘Outlander’: “Greetings and Farewells”

With only four episodes left until Outlander is off our TV screens for a while —except for when we all go back to Season 1 and binge watch from the beginning, that is— it seems like more should be happening. Sure, we’ve been slowly inching our way towards revolution, but the stakes should be incredibly high here for everyone. Why don’t they feel that way? 

Since we didn’t see Roger (Richard Rankin) or Bri’s (Sophie Skelton) side of things last week, it only makes sense that “Hello, Goodbye” is largely focused on updating their storyline. We’re back in Scotland in 1739, and Roger and Buck (Diarmaid Murtagh) are still on the hunt for Roger’s dad, Jerry, who he believes must hold some special key to finding Jemmy. Of course, Jemmy’s not in the 18th century, but he doesn’t know that. 

They do eventually find the stone circle through which Jerry must have come, so that’s progress. Jerry’s bag from the Air Force is stowed there, as well, so they know they’re on the right track. They also come upon a young boy who happens to have some of Jerry’s things. He saw Jerry run into the woods, so off they go.

Roger and Buck do actually find Jerry in the end. He’s pretty shaken up, but is relieved to know that he hasn’t lost his mind — time travel is real and he’s done it. Learning that he’s landed in 1739 doesn’t go over very well, but Roger is overjoyed to have come face to face with his dad at long last. Of course, there’s no time for a tearful reunion. Roger doesn’t reveal who he is, and they have to rush Jerry back to the stones to send him to the 20th century again. 

Meanwhile, Bri has Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) locked up in the priest hole at Lallybroch, but he’s not giving up where he’s hidden Jemmy (Matthew Adair). We do get to see him, however, in the dark in what looks to be a very dank, damp cave. He shouts for help, but of course there’s no one around to hear him. He does, however, eventually find a helmet and flashlight and begins to explore. Remembering something Bri told him previously, he flips all the switches on the breaker box he finds on, and there’s light! 

Incidentally, Bri and Mandy happen to be driving down the road, and Mandy (Rosa Morris) can suddenly feel her brother’s presence, so Bri knows he must be closeby. However, Jemmy’s too busy hearing his dad shouting for “Jeremiah” through the portal at that exact moment. Before he can do anything silly, Bri manages to find her son… by nearly running him over. Yikes — but yay! He managed to get out by remembering how his mom did. Smart kid! 

When she gets back to Lallybroch, police in tow to arrest Rob, he’s… not there. He somehow managed to escape the priest hole — uh oh! The police don’t get how that could be possible because there’s no sign of forced entry. They also don’t seem all that interested in the kidnapping. Instead, they insinuate that Bri might have been having an affair with him, but she’s rightfully offended. The officers just suggest Bri and the kids stay somewhere else for the night. Helpful. 

She eventually decides to take the kids to Fiona’s (Iona Claire) house to keep them safe, and she brings the box of letters with her. Bri knows that Roger will never come home without Jemmy, which is a bit of a problem given that, you know, he’s not in the 18th century. However, Roger does have a bit of an epiphany: He thought of his dad while touching the stone, and he believes the stones brought them there to save Jerry. If that’s the case, maybe Jemmy isn’t there after all. 

Back in Philadelphia a good 40-ish years later, Young Ian (John Bell) is getting ready to tie the knot with Rachel (Izzy Meikle-Small), and Jamie (Sam Heughan) is glad he’s around to witness it. He also gives Ian a bit of advice: go slow and enjoy his wedding night, wink wink nudge nudge. Claire (Caitriona Balfe) helps Rachel prepare for the nuptials, which appear to be a rushed affair given that both Jamie and Ian have orders from the  Rebel army and are due on the battlefield. 

Even Denzell (Joey Phillips) is there to see his sister say “I do.” He reveals to Jamie that he’s seen Lord John Grey (David Berry) and that he was badly bruised, but that he helped heal him. However, Grey was meant to be hanged, and Denzell couldn’t stand for that, so he helped him escape, which is a relief to Jamie despite the bad blood currently between them.

It’s a Quaker wedding, which means both Ian and Rachel stand in silence for a very long time — as do their small number of guests — as it’s customary to wait until the spirit moves someone to speak. Jamie and Claire remark on this and is compelled to make a speech by Denzell, and he has kind words to share about Ian, which is sweet. 

Denzell also shares his disappointment of being cast out of the Quakers because he wanted to join the Continental Army, mostly because it meant Rachel was kicked out, as well. She’s not bothered, however — and is this really the time to be talking about this, anyway? Thankfully, the spirit moves the young couple to make their vows soon after. I’ll spare you the description of their wedding night — consider it an early Christmas gift.

Another couple who’s definitely not sleeping is Jamie and Claire, though for different reasons. Jamie is still tortured not only by what he did to John, but what John did to Claire, if you get my drift. He insists he doesn’t hold it against Claire, but he does still hold a grudge against John. Then there’s the whole issue with William, who basically has to live a lie because no one can know he’s really Jamie’s son. He hates that he lied to William all his life, but Claire insists William will get over his anger in the end. 

As for John Grey, he’s been sleeping in a frozen ditch, and he’s found by a Red Coat. He tells the soldier that he was taken prisoner after being mistaken as a spy, and they just… take his word for it. 

The following morning, Jamie’s ready to head off and take up his new position in the Continental Army, and while Claire wishes they could escape it all, she respects why he has to do it and professes her undying allegiance to her new General. The battle is imminent, that much is for sure. 

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.