Outlander season 7 episode 10 takes the story to places I didn't think it would (Review)

It's time for Outlander season 7 episode 10, "Brotherly Love," this week. And boy do things escalate very quickly. The second half of the season on Starz is already hitting us with so many feels and plot points. But did we really expect anything less with the epic historical drama? Let's get into the review. I'm a show only fan, so my views reflect that! SPOILERS BELOW.

Gosh we all saw this coming, but it's still so heartbreaking that Ian is gone. He was such an important and beloved character on the show. Truly one of the best! I got so teary-eyed watching Jamie and Ian as young lads, and then spending time together. Episode 9 mostly focused on Young Ian with his parents, as it should have. So it was nice to see Jamie and Ian together here. I do wish we had a few more scenes though. The couple we got definitely weren't enough.

Claire and Young Ian arrive in Philadelphia, and the two certainly have their hands full. Let's start with Claire who is the amazing doctor she is. Lord John Grey and all of us know she's the best out there, and she is able to help his nephew, Lord Henry Grey. My one point of confusion is, how was he able to hold on for five weeks until Claire arrived? I know they established that he's done three surgeries, but they were all unsuccessful. I don't know, this seemed like a bit of a stretch to me and not very realistic if his state was really as bad as Lord John said it was in his letter.

I did enjoy seeing Claire interact with Denzell and the two discussing all the medical talk. We don't get to see that often for Claire, and I appreciate when it's sprinkled in. And I love how eager Denzell is to learn from her too. Him fangirling during the surgery is the best. I laughed at the fact Lord John had to look away during the surgery. Perhaps he should have waited outside with Rachel and William. Speaking of these two...

They've formed a close friendship, and William clearly has feelings for her. It's written all over his face. But Rachel is only thinking about Young Ian. Thankfully the two are reunited, but not in the best terms at first. That nasty Arch Bug shows up and threatens Rachel. You get your hands off of her. She is pure and lovely! I will fight anyone who touches Rachel. Young Ian is there but stuck not able to do much without Arch hurting Rachel. But William comes in for the rescue. Applause, applause. Goodbye Mr. Bug. Glad we'll never see you again.

Young Ian and Rachel are so adorable, and they confess their love for each other. They're going to find a way to make this relationship work despite Young Ian being a Mohawk warrior and Rachel a Quaker. It doesn't matter. It's obvious these two are crazy about each other, and I'm sure they'll figure something out. I'm shipping them so hard!

Let's jump to Roger and Buck for a moment. Geillis Duncan and Dougal MacKenzie are back, and the two are just as we remember them. Before he arrives, Geillis flirts with Roger, obviously not knowing who he is, and it's the funniest thing to me. Especially in these scenes, it was good to be able to hear Roger's inner thoughts. They elevated the moments, for sure. Poor Buck. He and Geillis sense something about each other. But Roger doesn't reveal the truth to him. Which might be a good thing after the information dump he provided about Geillis' blood sacrifices and being disturbed.

I didn't realize Geillis was married to Arthur Duncan for so long. Remember, Roger and Buck are in 1939 while a young Jamie is studying in France. But yup. And even so, she and Dougal are immediately drawn to each other. And despite them meeting for the first time, already start heading towards the bedroom. LOL. You've gotta love Geillis and Dougal. However before that, the war chief gives Roger military dog tags, which turn out to be for Roger's father. WHAT? So, is he a time-traveler too? What a twist! Why didn't he ever go back to his time and family? So many questions!

Ok, it's time for the political side of this episode and as always, it causes trouble for Claire and Jamie. And in this instance, Claire ends up in big trouble. Mercy Woodcock, who is a free black woman, is Walter's wife, the man Claire tried to help heal at Fort Ticonderoga but ended up dying. RIP. She's a spy but has been caught, and needs Claire to deliver a letter to someone who will take it to General George Washington. Claire accepts, she's a rebel herself after all. But if she only knew what trouble this would have caused.

That dreaded moment that's played out in the Outlander season 7 part 2 trailer and the promo for episode 9 unfortunately arrives. Lord John and Claire get the news that the ship Jamie boarded on his way to Claire and America sunk and has been lost at sea. And they know Jamie was on it since his name is on the manifest. There were no survivors.

Claire doesn't believe it, and knows she would have felt something because her heart would have stopped too. Yes, Jamie and Claire are so connected, we all know she would have felt something. And look, we all also know that Jamie does not die based on the promotional images and trailer and everything Sam Heughan himself has teased about the couple's journey in this half of the season.

But oh, my, goodness. What is with the montage of Claire and Jamie memories and this utter heartbreak. I mean, obviously we're seeing Claire processing this. Though I did not to see all of that, ok. Just as Claire was yelling, I was yelling too. That broke my heart in half you guys. One thing though - the ocean wave graphics were not the best. It was a little distracting and unnecessary.

Anyway, in case things couldn't get any worse. Remember Claire accepting to deliver that letter? Well, she definitely should not have done so because the British officers caught her and want to arrest her for it. Lord John tells her she could be hanged as well.

At first she doesn't care. What's life without Jamie? Though when he tells Claire that Young Ian, Rachel, Denzell, and even Mercy would be charged as well, that gives her the push to maybe accept a certain proposal. For all of their protection, Lord John is willing to marry Claire. Once again, she's stuck being forced to get married to protect herself. And this time, people she loves as well.

But, what!? I was not expecting that at all! What is happening? This is going to be so bad and so messy when Jamie comes back eventually. Because like I said, we all know he's not really dead. Oof, this is going to be so dramatic. And, I am just not processing what is about to happen. Thankfully there's a week until a new episode comes out because I'm going to need time to think about what's about to go down. Ughhh.

Outlander season 7 episode 10 is a real powerful episode that gave us all sorts of feels, broke our hearts, provided political intrigue and the consequences of those decisions, and even provided a new mystery when it comes to Roger and Buck's storyline. Honestly I'm a bit confused why it was called "Brotherly Love" since we didn't see as much Jamie and Ian as I would have hoped. This episode had a lot going on and is taking the story to places I didn't think it would. Sigh. Deep breath. I'm so nervous for what comes next. Episode grade level: B.

Outlander season 7 part 2 releases new episodes Fridays on Starz. Be sure to check Show Snob weekly for episodic reviews as the rest of the season unfolds, and visit our Outlander page for interviews with the cast and more!