Outlander Season 8 Premiere Review: Questions, Reunions, and Love

Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

4.5

Whether we’re ready for the final season of Outlander or not, it’s begun, and what a way to start!

With the way Outlander Season 7 ended, there have certainly been plenty of questions and theories floating around, and if you were like me, you’d have been worried that the season would have focused heavily on those questions and theories.

Instead, the Outlander Season 8 Premiere opens with some thoughts, but it quickly moves on to the reunions, the love, and the threat of what’s to come during the American Revolution.

Faith Is Handled Quickly and Respectively

The end of Outlander Season 7 brought up a story that is, arguably, in the books.

There is a point during — I believe — Written in My Own Heart’s Blood when Claire questions whether Faith had survived somehow.

That is quickly brushed to one side, and it’s easily forgotten in the grand scheme of things.

However, Outlander, the TV show, has run with that storyline, and it’s taken on a life of its own, as so many other storylines have.

Rather than delving into all of the theories and speculations, Claire and Jamie simply accept it as possible.

Sure, it may not make sense, and sure, there are a lot of questions about why someone like (potentially) Master Raymond kept Faith from them, but it doesn’t really matter.

Claire and Jamie are parents in this moment. They are just happy to know that maybe their daughter survived, and maybe had children of her own.

They’re happy to be grandparents to Fanny, and they have this opportunity that they never thought possible.

There’s no point in focusing on the hows and whys, and I adore that way of handling it.

Whether it comes up again during Outlander Season 8 is another thing, though. Brianna gets to learn the truth, and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Franny does.

Honestly, with how William handled things, maybe it would have been better to say something to Franny, but I also understand why they didn’t.

Brianna can keep a secret, and she’s sure to love having a niece.

There’s no need for anyone else to know — although Roger will, but he can also keep a secret — and that should prevent the secret from coming out.

Speaking of William…

Since I mentioned William, there is no way that I can cover the Outlander Season 8 Premiere without looking at his and John’s storyline.

I had wondered how the Amaranthus story would play out on the show, given the length of the season.

I knew there wouldnt’ be the time to follow the exact way Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone handles it, and I was quickly proven right.

There’s a lot of information at once, with Ben’s baby, Amaranthus, and the possibility of Ben being killed in action. 

William is too drunk at first to even think about anything that he’s being told, and it’s only when he’s sober that he realizes John said he was holding William’s cousin’s baby.

It’s hard not to feel for William. This is a man finding out that his whole life is a lie, and now he’s learning that his cousin may be dead and that this said cousin had a secret wife and baby.

He is understandably shaken as he tries to take it all in, and it’s not a surprise that trying to renounce his title is something that he focuses on.

This is the one thing that he can control and maybe do something about.

I am looking forward to William and Brianna coming across each other again, because I think Brianna is the one who can help see things from William’s point of view.

She has been there, finding out that her father isn’t actually her father.

Sure, we love Jamie, but that doesn’t mean everyone has to. Brianna had no idea who Jamie was at first, and William doesn’t either. Not really.

William needs someone in his corner right now because everyone else is brushing over his anger and pain like it means nothing. As if he should just get over it.

That’s not the way this sort of betrayal works. And that’s what William likely feels has happened.

That being said, he also has something else to focus on: his cousin.

Knowing that there is so much more to this makes me excited to see how Outlander will play it all out, because it offers William a huge journey.

Amaranthus’ introduction certainly gave us an idea of her character. She is a woman who doesn’t like to be questioned and isn’t afraid to speak out about it.

Of course, this could be because she is lying and is worried about being found out.

It’s also possible that she’s telling the truth, and I’m watching the storyline closely to see how it develops.

Outlander Always Handles the Reunions with Care

Let’s talk about the reunions during the episode, because there are a few.

First of all, we get to see Marsali, Fergus, and their children. I’m worried about how Outlander Season 8 will handle that particular storyline, but it’s so heartwarming to see Fergus and Marsali doing well.

It’s clear that the Outlander Season 8 Premiere is setting up for trouble, though.

While the story has already put the family in Savannah, Georgia, it’s kept the fact that Fergus and Marsali are on the side of the Americans — because, of course, they are!

However, it’s a dangerous time to print anything salacious, and that’s what Fergus is willing to risk.

As soon as Jamie started tapping the walls of the print shop, I knew what he was doing. Fergus learned from the best when it came to sedition and items that needed to be hidden from the Red Coats.

As much as Jamie is right in that Fergus has a family, Fergus is also right that they all need to stand up for something that they believe in.

Those who sit back and just accept a fate are dooming themselves to whatever happens. Fergus is fighting for freedom and liberty, even if it means putting himself at risk.

I think we all know that Marsali is sure to know exactly what Fergus is doing, as well. These two don’t keep secrets from each other.

The problem for me is that I know what this could lead to, and I’m not sure my heart can take that ending.

Seeing Fanny being so welcomed by Marsali and Fergus meant the world, though. 

I never doubted that they would, considering their own upbringings, but it’s always heartwarming to see. There were no questions about her, and there was no grilling.

Maybe some of that happened off-screen, but with the way Fanny just fit in, I doubt there was. She was relaxed among this family, a family she’s starting to call her own.

That just continued for Fanny as they made it back to the Ridge.

A lot has changed there, and we just get a glimpse of it with the Trading Post and Captain Charles Cunningham, but there is still the same family and acceptance (among most of them).

There’s a quick reunion with Young Ian and Rachel, who is now heavily pregnant. 

With how long it took Claire and Jamie to return from Philadelphia, Young Ian had a chance to start work on the new house, giving us this feel of a new beginning on the Ridge.

There wasn’t much need to focus on this small reunion, but it was wonderful to see that Claire would take Rachel and her unborn child as her first patients.

Like with Fergus and Marsali, there was no question about it, but just seeing the connections and bonds made over the seasons is important. It’s that reminder of everything they are all fighting for.

Of course, the biggest reunion was Bree and Roger’s return.

If you realized that the Outlander Season 8 trailer had some great cutting and Claire was actually shocked to see Bree and Roger return, you’d be right. That moment was never going to be her father or brother or anyone else from Outlander: Blood of My Blood.

Instead, it was all about her daughter and grandchildren returning, just as Roger utters the iconic line of “Hello, the House,” from the end of Written in My Own Heart’s Blood.

I was disappointed that there wasn’t a mention of Buck and what happened to him, but there wasn’t enough time for it during the premiere episode.

Instead, the focus was on the many items Brianna had brought back, including The Lord of the Rings for Jamie and Frank Randall’s final book, which tells everyone that the war will come to the backcountry and Jamie will die in it.

There is an element of guilt in bringing this book back, as Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin discussed in their interview with TV Fanatic, but there is also a need.

How much can Frank be trusted? We all know that Frank wouldn’t make something up, but can Claire and Jamie change this, armed with knowledge?

Within the reunion, we get to see how the family unit splits off. It was a rocky start for Jamie and Roger during Outlander Season 4, but they have come to a place of respect, trust, and love.

Out of everyone, Jamie trusts Roger to make an assessment of Charles Cunningham — although they might want to look into his mother, Elspeth, after that first interaction! What a B-word!

Meanwhile, Claire and Brianna have a mother-daughter moment that they desperately need.

We don’t get to see many of them throughout the series, so including one with the reunion was a powerful way to reignite that bond.

Overall, Outlander Season 8 brought back some of the magic that had been lost with stories told in three different timelines.

There is a sense of hope, but there are also questions with danger just lurking around the corner. This episode certainly sets high expectations for the rest of the season.

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