Outlander Season 7 Episode 11 Review: A Hundredweight of Stones

Outlander Season 7 Episode 11, “A Hundredweight of Stones,” is conflicting. Like a rollercoaster, it has some epic highs and lows, but the lows threaten to derail the momentum of this second part.

Episode 11 is the unfortunate fall guy. This installment takes one for the team and gets all the unpleasantries out of the way so we can move on to greener pastures.

Alas, Claire and Lord John do their best to make their brief marriage digestible to the audience.

The highlight of the episode is easily the final act, as Jamie bursts through the door and sends this sombre, dense episode into an epic tizzy of chaos.

The pirate-esque music escalates the scene as he kisses Claire like a wild man and takes Lord John hostage with utter glee as they flee. Even Charles is forced to join in on their antics.

We share in that final beat as a grin of pure joy lights up Claire’s face.

It was only an episode spent humouring a world where Jamie dies, but boy, oh boy, was it dull and bleak. The energy that follows Jamie into the scene is proof enough that this show is nothing without both its partners in crime wreaking havoc.

Outlander delivers two juicy back-to-back surprises, with William discovering Jamie is his father at the worst possible time. It’s unfortunate for him, but I couldn’t be happier to get this cat out of the bag.

A close second has to be Brianna’s confrontation with Rob Cameron. It is a fleeting moment in this busy episode, but Sophie Skelton makes it memorable.

There’s a split second as Rob overpowers her and starts making demands that I get mad. How can Brianna, who faced the wicked Stephen Bonnet, be forced into submission by a weak man like this? Thankfully, Outlander chooses a path that suits Brianna much better as she humours Rob with a knife long enough before nailing him with the frying pan.

This is the character development you love to see. Brianna is Claire and Jamie’s daughter; she won’t be held hostage by any man, and this scene delights in that.

As echoed in previous episodes, Roger’s search for his father continues to be a delightful side quest. The little breadcrumbs leading the men through the highlands from a more modern time is a fascinating visual tale.

Sadly, this second part still struggles to balance Roger and Claire’s separate journeys through the stones without feeling off-kilter.

Sadly, it goes downhill from there, and I can’t quite decide how to explain my distaste for the Claire and Lord John storyline — because we are meant to dislike it.

Their marriage is intentionally polarizing and born from grief. It is not intentional to be joyous or tolerable, but it is difficult to digest this concept altogether.

Particularly when Lord John and Claire claw at each other in a drunken stooper of anger. Outlander coming off cringe is a rare occurrence, and yet the desire to turn the entire episode off at this moment is all too strong. The dialogue and artistic shots do nothing to help these two sell the uncomfortable moment.

Much of this episode pigeonholes Berry and Balfe’s potential by contorting their platonic chemistry into scenes far too dull or emotionally detattached to leave a mark.

Ultimately, we know Jamie is coming to break up this union, and Outlander does little to pretend there’s urgency or stakes in this “what if” scenario.

The show leaves these two expert actors to fumble through the conviction as Lord John and Claire attempt to make us believe this marriage is something of substance for the brief time we have to humor it.

The relief of Outlander finally giving up the ruse and letting these actors fall back into the patterns they know best is resounding.

That said, when Claire and Lord John strip back all the melodrama and bask in their shared love for Jamie, the episode captures an exceptional snapshot of what excellence this pairing offers when given the material.

This was a fun experiment, but let’s not do it again any time soon.

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Outlander airs Fridays at 8/9c on STARZ.

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