‘Outlander’ Season 5 Finale Recap: “Never My Love”

Outlander has had no shortage of uncomfortable and difficult-to-watch scenes over the years, but the Season 5 finale, “Never My Love,” was perhaps the most devastating in its entire run. As Claire (Caitriona Balfe) herself pointed out later in the episode, she has lived through World War II, lost several husbands, lost a baby, been beaten and betrayed, and yet this — the brutal treatment she endured at the hands of Lionel Brown (Ned Dennehy) and his crew may well have been the final straw. To have been beaten and tortured was bad enough, but to have been effectively gang-raped and left for dead while tied to a tree in the middle of the woods? It’s a miracle she even had the strength to make it through.

It’s unclear what Lionel believed his kidnapping of Claire would have achieved in the long run. Creating a diversion to distract Jamie (Sam Heughan) and the men of Fraser’s Ridge was temporary at best and there was no question that Jamie would come after his wife and seek the ultimate vengeance on (read: kill) anyone who hurt her. Of course, the level of arrogance Lionel possessed likely kept him from thinking too deeply on his grand plan to drag Claire to Brownsville to “repent” for spreading her modern medical knowledge, among other things.

While hog-tied and beaten, Claire is approached by a member of Lionel’s gang who’s just like her. Wendigo Donner (Brennan Martin) has a hunch that Claire might be a time traveler due to all of her Dr. Rawlings stuff and tests his theory by asking if her if the name Ringo Starr means anything to her. It’s disappointing to see that Wendigo, who’s friends with Robert Springer AKA Otter Tooth, decides not to help Claire and instead advises her to pretend to fear men as other women of the time, but not particularly surprising — especially considering what he ends up doing in the books in A Breath of Snow and Ashes. Needless to say, Wendigo is pretty self-serving.

It was absolutely heartbreaking not only to see Claire’s experience at the hands of Lionel and his cronies but to see the aftermath, the way she cowered in Jamie’s arms, the way she almost couldn’t bear her own survival once she was back home, the way she was so tempted to end Lionel’s life herself but her Hippocratic oath denied her the privilege. You couldn’t not be moved by the trauma she experienced and think of how disgusting it is that crimes like these still go on today.

Speaking of ending Lionel’s life, however, it was a pleasure to see that instead of Jamie doing away with him after getting his questions answered (which likely would have been fruitless anyway), it was Marsali (Lauren Lyle) who released him from his mortal coil via a 1700s lethal injection. Yes, she did it because Lionel hurt Claire and Marsali herself, who thankfully didn’t lose the baby, but she also did it on behalf of all women in a pretty modern feminist awakening. She hated that Lionel saw her and women in general as the dirt beneath his shoes and refused to let his cruelty continued. She did everyone a favor, frankly, though hopefully, the guilt that inevitably hit her afterward makes a hasty retreat. He had to go, Marsali!

Of course, we also got an answer to what happened with Brianna (Sophie Skelton), Roger (Richard Rankin), and Jemmy when they traveled through the stone: they went absolutely nowhere. They woke up on the ground only to find themselves exactly where they were before, with Young Ian (John Bell) confused but overjoyed by their rather immediate return. The fact that it didn’t work because they were both thinking of home and Fraser’s Ridge clearly fits the bill these days was a sentimental but sweet touch, and I suppose I’m glad they’re sticking around for a while longer, if only for Claire’s sake.

The final scene of a naked Jamie and Claire lacked all of the sensuality of their earlier intimacy this season (and rightfully so) and was instead full of a sad sort of foreboding. Asked how she feels, Claire simply responds, “Safe.” Given that they’re both well-aware that peace is likely to be short-lived, this is even more ominous than any other cliffhanger “Never My Love” could have offered up. Frankly, I can’t wait for Season 6.

A few other notes:

• Claire’s strange visions of herself and her family — Jamie, Young Ian, Marsali and Fergus, Jocasta and Murtagh, etc. — in the 1960s while captured by Lionel Brown seemed slightly bizarre and a little confusing to me. Perhaps she was just picturing better times? Imagining a place where she believed herself to be safer?
• Young Ian has gotten pretty good at axe throwing while living with the Mohawk, it seems!
• I honestly can’t imagine how Season 6 is going to play out at all. I’m assuming it’s nearly time for the Revolution, but I can’t wait to see either way.

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.

Watch the Outlander Season 5 finale ("Never My Love") on Starz