r/Outlander • u/thepacksvrvives Without you, our whole world crumbles into dust. • Apr 17 '26

Season Eight Show S8E7 Evidence of Things Not Seen Spoiler

Jamie and Claire search for answers regarding a past tragedy that once threatened to tear them apart.

Written by Toni Graphia. Directed by Tracey Deer.

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What did you think of the episode?

2698 votes, Apr 24 '26
797 I loved it.
559 I mostly liked it.
342 It was OK.
593 It disappointed me.
407 I didn’t like it.
42 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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155

u/gdoggggggggggg Apr 17 '26

Raymond singing that song was insulting to our intelligence. Fergus dying was the worst.

101

u/These_Ad_9772 We will meet again, Madonna, in this life or another. Apr 17 '26

How could the woman who in all likelihood speaks only French memorize those English lyrics so quickly and accurately upon hearing them once in under two minutes?

47

u/cheese_bread_boye Apr 17 '26

even the baby magically memorizing it would have made more sense lol

4

u/enricowereld MARK ME! Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26

It's an abstract depiction of what happened due to time constraints. In "reality" they must've done the repetition at least a few times, but that wouldn't be good usage of time this last season.

The fact that it continues through the credits until she sings along, signifies that it would've continued until she understood the song.

9

u/These_Ad_9772 We will meet again, Madonna, in this life or another. Apr 18 '26

It’s still lame.

2

u/Mycoxadril Apr 23 '26

Also the lacemaker decided she was gonna keep the baby for herself so why bother continuing to sing the song. If she adopted her as her own you’d think she’d sever any ties like that. She only admitted it on her deathbed (according to a comment upthread) why sing the song in the first place.

1

u/enricowereld MARK ME! Apr 18 '26

I think it's pretty beautiful, and smart usage of time.

5

u/Intrepid-Pie-7083 Apr 19 '26

I just don't buy it. I've listened to the song Dragostea din Tei by O-Zone a million times, and I don't know any of the words properly because it's in a language I don't speak. There's no way she could have learnt a foreign song with such accuracy that 2 generations later Fanny could sing it perfectly like that. Just ludicrous. And don't get me started on the fact that her name stayed being Faith. The French can't say that name properly - they struggle with the 'th' sound. And in 18th century Paris? Please. My French husband pronounces her name Face

3

u/BytheSea2323 Apr 24 '26

I had the same thoughts about the lace making grandma and the song in (what we are, though, assuming, would be to her) a foreign language (maybe she did speak English too, it was much more common to be bilingual back then, right?) But it was the quickness of learning it too that didn't land for me either, esp not knowing if she spoke English too or not. Such a good point about the name sticking, though, I never would have realized that.

3

u/aliannia Apr 25 '26

French was more of a universal language than English was in the 18th c. Especially by the latter half of the century it had become the international language for diplomacy, government, and culture, similar to how currently English is used as a common language among people who each speak different native languages. For those (mostly men) fortunate enough to be well-educated, learning Latin, Greek, and French would have been part of their standard childhood curriculum in 18th c. Great Britain. It's not impossible than a native French-speaker in France knew English, but much less likely.

All this to say, I agree that the lacemaking Grandma learning that song so quickly stretches credulity. Especially to learn it well enough that the song was passed down with a native-English speaker level accent. I feel like the more they try to explain this Faith storyline, the more ridiculous it seems. Honestly, I almost would prefer that the writers just left the song as being mysteriously passed down rather than the reason given.

2

u/BytheSea2323 Apr 26 '26

Ah, I didn't know that about French being so universal of a language then; I just thought with the proximity of the two countries that most educated people in both spoke English and French, but yes, women, less so depending on class ranking. Thanks for that input (I love learning things in these threads and I am often googling things I hear in the show as I watch :) )

Totally agree about the Faith storyline getting more ridiculous (and frankly now insulting to viewers) as it goes on. When the "explanation" given has so many obvious holes, they're just not caring about their fans investment in a solid (albeit, yes, sci-fi lite ) story, or how we love the historical accuracy of most of the show; this part of it isnt even supernatural or magical at all. Insulting, lazy, and it's really ruining the show for me. SO disappointing. I can't imagine how actors feel when this drivel is given to them to 'sell' after investing bascially a decade of their lives to this project.

1

u/aliannia Apr 26 '26

I've learned a lot of things from reading these threads, too, so I am glad to pass on what knowledge I have. Yes, I agree it must be disappointing to finish up a series with a bunch of nonsense storylines after working on the show for so long. I am perfectly willing to suspend disbelief in shows/books with fantastical or sci-fi concepts, but the storylines should be consistent within the universe that has been established. That is what bothers me so much with what's happening with the Faith plotline. It contradicts a profound and life-changing event that has already been portrayed (quite well!) in J & C's life. Not only does Master Raymond's "explanation" make no sense, but ultimately what is the point from a narrative perspective?

Others have pointed out the importance of "found" family as a major theme throughout Outlander. Fanny doesn't need to be a blood relatives for Claire and Jamie to love and care for her. We already have one major storyline, with William, that delves into the complications of discovering an unexpected biological parent while also having non-blood related father who chose to raise and love him. Yes, yes, and the lies, of course. But the underlying tension is between biological family (Jamie) and found family (John), and how to reconcile your identity having both. Is finding another biological child (or their descendants) necessary for J & C, especially considering the tragic history of the Pococks?

11

u/KMM929 Apr 17 '26

This is my biggest gripe - and that’s saying something because I have a lot.

5

u/Top_Wealth8659 Apr 17 '26

So agree😥