Summary of Episode 11 of Season 7 of ‘Outlander’ Titled “A Hundredweight of Stones”

There is a lot of tension in Outlander currently, which is why “A Hundredweight of Stones” is a fitting title for this installment (Season 7 Episode 11). Jamie (Sam Heughan) is believed to be deceased — but is he really? Claire (Caitriona Balfe) is on the verge of being arrested and executed for espionage, Roger (Richard Rankin) is frantically searching for his missing child in the wrong era… it’s safe to say that things are not going smoothly for many of our favorite characters.

There is no room for celebration, not even at a wedding, as this marriage is arranged between Lord John Grey (David Berry) and Claire in a last-ditch effort to safeguard her life. Claire appears as though she wishes she had perished at sea with Jamie, and William (Charles Vandervaart), who is present as a witness, also seems despondent. While it is a kind gesture towards Claire, it appears more to be an act of loyalty towards Jamie on Grey’s part, given his sentiments towards him.

When William questions him about the decision, Grey confides in him. Concerned that his father is jeopardizing his standing and happiness for Claire, William receives a straightforward response. Grey explains that Jamie was a loyal friend and that he cared for Claire, hence it was only right for him to ensure her safety. Although William may not fully grasp the situation, he appears to come to terms with it.

Even Young Ian (John Bell) can’t be happy. He may have been reunited with his love, Rachel (Izzy Meikle-Small), but not only has he lost his father, but now he’s lost his uncle, as well (or has he?!). Nevertheless, the love they share admittedly provides him with a bit of comfort, so that’s one small miracle. Her Quaker faith isn’t one he shares, but there’s something he seems to find peaceful about it. 

While at a makeshift gravestone put in place for Jamie, Ian tells Rachel that he’s been married before, a conversation that eventually leads to a pretty casual proposal between the pair. Rachel isn’t thrilled to hear that Emily is still alive, but Ian’s intentions are pure, and he tells her everything she wants to know. 

He’s open about the miscarriages Emily experienced, and the fact that she basically got rid of him and took another husband. He also reveals that the son Emily gave birth to after essentially divorcing Ian is actually his, but he’s accepted that he will never be the boy’s father. His honesty goes over well, and just like that, Ian and Rachel are engaged. 

The next day, he goes to see Claire to let her know he’s off to Valley Forge with Rachel to go see Denzell and the fighting Quakers. He thought Claire might be headed back to her own time now that Jamie’s gone, but she doesn’t feel like the future is her time anymore — her life is here, and she’ll have to stick around to see the new nation being built. Noble — I’d be out of there like a shot.

Back in Scotland in 1739, Roger and Buck (Diarmaid Murtagh) seem to be having a grand ol’ time riding horses in open fields. There’s no sign of Jemmy, but now that Roger has his father’s military tags, Roger is convinced that’s some kind of lead that will help him find his son, and that they came to that specific time for a reason. It’s a tenuous connection at best, but it’s not the weirdest thing to have happened in these people’s lives, so I can see why they’re willing to entertain literally any possibility. 

They do manage to find a man wearing Roger’s dad’s RAF jacket, but the man his shifty and chases him and Buck off with weapons before they can find out any more.

Bri (Sophie Skelton) is back in the 20th century worried sick and looking after their other child. Being a single parent is hard, obviously — she’s slamming her hand in drawers, cracking open the wine, and… wait, what’s Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) doing here? Is he… not in the 18th century? 

Rob wants the gold, and he’s hanging onto Jemmy until Bri convinces him to tell Rob where it all is. Once he has it, he claims he’ll let Jemmy, Bri, and Roger go back to their normal lives. She doesn’t believe him, but she doesn’t have much of a choice when he puts a knife to her throat. Luckily, she’s resourceful enough to knock him out cold when he’s not looking. She truly is Claire’s daughter! 

Back to Claire. To say she’s not doing well is, perhaps, an understatement. She’s downright suicidal, and goes rooting through her kit of potions in the night, looking for something that will end her misery. She eventually settles on a scalpel, but before she can make the first cut, she hears Jamie’s voice in her head, telling her she must continue living. It’s a pain she can’t bear, but she knows she has to. And so, she drinks, cries, screams to the heavens while Grey sits by the fire downstairs with tears of his own rolling down his face. 

He eventually goes to her, finding her drunk and sobbing on the floor. They mourn together, though Claire repeatedly reminds him that Jamie wasn’t Grey’s to mourn. However, in their rage and sadness, they… sleep together? Yikes! Well, that was unexpected. Claire certainly feels awkward when she wakes up naked in bed next to Grey the following morning — she thought she dreamed the whole thing. Her biggest question, however, is how long it’s been since he’s slept with a woman. At least 15 years, if you’d like to know. Things must have gotten pretty raw, so to speak, and both admit neither are making love to each other, but to Jamie, which… is a tad weird. 

One small bright spot: Henry Grey (Harry Jarvis) has nearly made a full recovery thanks to Claire’s surgical skills, and he’s doing well. John is happy and wants to send him back to England, but Henry isn’t planning on leaving — he’s staying and wanting to marry Mercy Woodcock (Gloria Obianyo), which is pretty sweet. Of course, John puts the kibosh on the whole thing and insists that it can’t happen because Mercy is Black, and that Henry has a duty to uphold. We’ll see how that goes. 

John later tells Claire that his real problem isn’t Mercy’s race, but the fact that she’s the widow of a traitor to the Crown. Claire points out that, oops! He just married the widow of a traitor to the Crown himself. How could he wish loneliness on his nephew? John knows what it’s like to have his love be a crime, and he can’t watch the younger man suffer or potentially even die over it. 

Later that night, John brings Claire a dress and tells her she’ll have to wear it for the fancy dinner he’s hosting to raise money for loyalists. Claire insists she’s not going, but John points out that they have to play the part of husband and wife if they want to stay alive and keep the memory of Jamie alive. There might be more than a memory of him soon! 

Claire does indeed play the part at the next evening’s gathering, and is asked to dance by Captain John Richardson (Ben Lambert). It’s an excuse to lay his cards on the table: He’s a rebel, he claims, working undercover in His Majesty’s Army. He saved her life by warning John that Claire was in danger — he felt her life was worth saving. He believes she’s in a good place to help the rebel cause and tasks her with spying on Grey and pass on information that might help the movement for freedom. She refuses, but promises to keep his secret even though she doesn’t agree with his methods.

The following morning, something miraculous happens. As John brings her invitations to social engagements and insists she’ll have to pick one to attend, who should come barging through the door but Jamie! He’s alive! He missed passage on the ship that sank, and he’s very much not dead – though there are soldiers looking for him. 

Sadly, the happy reunion is short-lived. John warns Jamie that his son will be home soon, and as it turns out, William is just outside the door and hears every word of it. Instead of being horrified at the truth coming out, Jamie almost seems relieved, unlike John, who can’t believe how swiftly his entire world is falling apart. He doesn’t get much time to process it, however, as soldiers soon march in demanding Jamie turn himself over. Instead, he points a gun at John and threatens the soldiers not to come any closer. Claire doesn’t seem to mind – she’s got a smile on her face as the episode closes.

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.