Denzell and Rachel Hunter Have Made ‘Outlander’ Season 7 Better

Outlander has never shied away from historic violence. From the very first moment Claire (Caitriona Balfe) traveled back to 1743 Scotland, she finds herself in peril. Over the course of the Starz‘s show’s seven season run, we’ve witnessed battles, sexual assaults, and murders a-plenty. It seems that violence isn’t just an omnipresent threat for our favorite characters, but it’s a tool that can be used to ensure survival. So believe me when I say I’m not just relieved, but I am inspired by the additions of Quaker siblings Dr. Denzell Hunter (Joey Phillips) and Rachel Hunter (Izzy Meikle-Small) to Outlander Season 7. Sure, Denzell feels a call to be a battle surgeon and Rachel justified William’s (Charles Vandervaart) use of violence in self-defense, but it’s nice to finally have some historic characters question the bloodshed in Outlander.

Outlander Season 7 throws Jamie (Sam Heughan), Claire, and the rest of their 18th century compatriots right into the heat of the Revolutionary War. While most of our favorite Outlander characters are staunchly on the side of the colonies, Jamie’s secret son William Ransome is a proud Redcoat. In Outlander Season 7 Episode 4 “A Most Uncomfortable Woman,” the eager young officer jumps at the chance to carry a message to a trio of spies, but meets with disaster in the Great Dismal Swamp when a snake spooks his horse. Alone, unhorsed and injured, William seems doomed until none other than his cousin Young Ian (John Bell) stumbles upon him.

As luck would have it, Ian is able to get William to a doctor just in the nick of time. That doctor? The kindly Dr. Denzell Hunter. Even better for both William and Ian? Denzell’s cute, spirited sister Rachel, whom both Fraser boys take an immediate liking to.

We quickly learn that both Denzell and Rachel are Quakers, which means they believe in pacifism and say thee and thou instead of you. Apparently they are rebel Quakers, though, because they’ve been ostracized from their local community for supporting the colonies in the War of American Independence. Denzell feels a calling from God to aid the soldiers fighting for American freedom while Rachel feels a calling to tag along and keep her brother out of trouble.

So far, Denzell and Rachel have only been a part of the action for three episodes of Outlander, but they’ve already established themselves as fan favorites (or, at least, two of my favorites). Denzell has already proven himself a staunch ally of Claire in the medical tents. Dr. Hunter, a nerd for all things medicine, isn’t taken aback by Claire’s knowledge, but curious about it. Together they team up to save my beloved Walter Woodcock (Tobi Bakare) before the show kills him off anyway.

Rachel has a sparkle in her eye and a steely composure that immediately reminds you of a young Claire. Some of my favorite scenes to watch this season are the way she gamely flirts with both William and Ian. The downside of the show’s main two happily ever afters — Claire & Jamie and Brianna (Sophie Skelton) & Roger (Richard Rankin) — is that it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a fiery flirtation. The fact that Rachel seems to be connecting with both William and Ian sets up a rather compelling love triangle. Whom will the feisty Quaker warm to first? The handsome young Englishman only just starting to challenge his pre-conceived notions of war or the charming Scot who has embraced Native American traditions as his own?

Denzell and Rachel Hunter both provide Outlander with a sunny, youthful bolt of energy it was sorely needing as the core characters face down yet another season of trauma and tribulations. When you think of all the ways in which the core cast has suffered over seven seasons, it should come as no surprise that the lot of them lean towards the cynical. With their Quaker faith and indefatigable positivity, Denzell and Rachel are making Outlander feel a little less dark in Season 7.