‘Outlander’ Season 5, Episode 8: Learn the Real Fate of [SPOILER] After a Shocking Episode 7
Fans of Outlander are still trying to deal with everything that happened in episode 7 of season 5. It appeared that Roger (Richard Rankin) was dead from hanging and the main characters were more than a little devastated. Once episode 8 starts, fans learn almost immediately the true fate of Roger. Read on to learn what happened. There are major spoilers ahead.
Roger was hung in a tree to die in episode 7
Roger was told to deliver a message to Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) and the regulators on the eve before a massive battle. He suddenly finds a woman who just so happens to be his ancestor he’s encountered before. However, her husband assumes the worst and beats Roger. Next, fans learn that Roger and some other men were hung from a noose to die.
Episode 8 reveals Roger’s shocking fate
In episode 8, Jamie (Sam Heughan) orders Roger to be cut down and discovers that he is miraculously still breathing. His airway is having difficulty getting air to pass, so Claire (Caitriona Balfe) must use her surgical skills to open it up. She makes a hole and inserts something to allow air to escape from Roger’s lungs.
Fast forward to three months later and Roger is at home healing nicely. But it seems he’s afraid to speak. Claire assures him it will sound raspy at first, but get better over time.
He’s having flashbacks of what happened to him. One of his ancestors, a MacKenzie, puts him with the British military’s prisoners. Three of the prisoners are chosen to be hanged as an example to others, and of course Roger is one of those men before he is rescued.
Brianna is worried about her husband
Brianna (Sophie Skelton) recalls a friend of hers who dated a man who fought in Vietnam. He had been back almost a year from war after being hit by shrapnel. He had what her mother calls shell shock, or PTSD from the trauma. Bri is understandably worried that Roger has the same thing. He isn’t talking and doesn’t seem like himself at all.
The governor has granted Roger 5,000 acres for the mistake of hanging him, which isn’t enough when you think about all the stress and trauma it has caused. Bri is upset, and she says she just wants her husband back, not the land.
When Bri’s parent come to visit them, a child almost touches a hot tea kettle and Roger screams, “Stop.” It scares the child, but excites everyone else to hear him speak after so many months being silent. Brianna begs him to try and say something else, but he can’t. The silence is definitely causing problems for Bri and Roger. Everything seems to remind Roger of how he almost lost his life. He’s trying to move on from things, but it’s more than difficult.
Roger talks about things with Young Ian
Young Ian (John Bell) returns to Fraser’s Ridge and agrees to survey the gifted land with Roger. It turns out he’s going through a lot after leaving the Mohawk, but he isn’t saying much about it. When he tries to kill himself by consuming water hemlock, Roger stops him and they get into it. Ian asks Roger what he saw as he was dying and he tells him he saw Brianna’s face.
Apparently Ian lost someone when he was with the Mohawk. Roger asks if she’s dead, and Ian tells him no but she’s lost to him. He wanted his pain to end, just like Roger does.
“Who can say where your soul may go if you…You could be parted forever,” Roger tells him. “Not only from her but all who love you.”
They both return as new men. Roger tells Bri that a part of him died the day he almost died. He tells her he will always sing for her. And with that, Roger is talking again and it’s good to hear his voice.
