‘Outlander’ Recap: ‘A Hundred Thousand Angels’

1/18/2025

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Charles Vandervaart and Sam Heughan as William Ransom and Jamie Fraser in Episode 716 of ‘Outlander’ – ‘A Hundred Thousand Angels’. (Photo Courtesy of STARZ.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season Seven Finale of ‘Outlander’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

We often view ugly moments in this life, as nothing more than tragedy, and it makes sense as to why. After all, ugly moments produce a bevy of negative emotions for us. Since they can induce fear and worry, and potentially make us angry in a manner where we scare ourselves. Not to mention, they can change our lives in a sour way and force us to forge ahead, into a future, where nothing is the same. But we cannot always view ugly moments as the absolute worst. Because sometimes they are a wake-up call for us, or an opportunity to make stunning changes to our lives, and they can even bring us places we never thought we would find ourselves, as evidenced by the season seven finale of Outlander on STARZ.

For ‘A Hundred Thousand Angels’ saw everyone find light in the dark. For instance, Roger managed to reunite with his family in the 1700s, since the thought of him did bring everyone to him through time, and that allowed for this couple to catch their breath and find joy after dealing with harrowing events this season. To the point where Brianna found gratitude for the opportunity that Brian offered them regarding safety and shelter and where… she and Roger began to ponder upon their future. Because while they had built a life in 1980, it was clearly more trouble than it was worth and they began to wonder more so… where they fit in, in the timeline, and that’s a fair question to ask and it all came forth out of darker times.

As for young William, well, he learned of the power of being brave, because of love, in this story. Since he learned that Jane was going on trial whether she liked it or not, and the chance of her having any measure of freedom was slim at best. For she committed a crime and would pay the piper and that prompted him… to seek out his father and use his skills with guile to try and break her out. Granted, that sadly went nowhere since Jane checked out of this world of her own accord. But William grew on this day, and found a level of bravery he had never known, through heartbreak no less, and it even pushed him to confront Jamie about how he came to be and declare how he would never let his father in.

Caitríona Balfe as Claire Fraser in Episode 716 of ‘Outlander’ – ‘A Hundred Thousand Angels’. (Photo Courtesy of STARZ.)

Speaking of Jamie, well, his ability to help his son regardless of the outcome, was made possible by wondrous news. In that, Claire was going to be okay. Granted she was in rough shape because of the surgery that was performed, but pain or no… she would live. She merely needed to heal and that allowed for this power couple to spend endless hours together and reaffirm their deep-rooted love for one another and decide… they wanted a different life than the one they were currently leading. In fact, they were both ready to return home to the Ridge and just live and love and enjoy the majesty of the moment, since they had both survived scary scrapes with death. Which was wonderful to learn and wonderful to hear and oddly, the peace they found in their love… and the close brush that Claire had with the end, seemingly brought her to a unique place in this tale.

In fact, one could easily call it fate, really. Because in the wake of Jane’s death, they agreed to take care of her tiny sister, Fanny. Simply because she obviously had no one, they had the room and had always wanted a daughter of their own, so why not open their doors to a little one in need. Which led to some beautiful moments where they quickly filled in the parenting roles she needed. But before returning to the Ridge, with Young Ian and Rachel no less, little Fanny stunned Claire, by singing the song that Claire once imparted upon Faith. Leading Claire to believe that all along, their daughter may have survived. If anything, it was as though, fate needed them both to go through some ugly moments to prepare them for this one.

As to whether or not Fanny is Faith, only time will tell. But that moment was a neat little bow on a supremely thoughtful and moving season finale. One that forwent tension and worry to just… let these characters heal in just about every way imaginable, and they outright deserved that. Because they’ve all been through hell this year, courtesy of the war and courtesy of just… life. Because it can be quite cruel, and it does send ugly moments our way. The question always is, how we respond to those moments and what we take from them, and seeing everyone’s strength here, regarding that… was inspiring. Not to mention, by wrapping all these plot threads up, the series can now… offer up its proper farewell to the many fans that have supported it for years on end, when it returns for its eighth… and final season. Until next time.

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