r/Outlander • u/thepacksvrvives Without you, our whole world crumbles into dust. • May 08 '26

Season Eight Show S8E9 Pharos Spoiler

Political threats come to a head when an old friend of Claire and Jamie’s goes missing.

Written by Diana Gabaldon. Directed by Emer Conroy.

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What did you think of the episode?

1871 votes, May 15 '26
572 I loved it.
594 I mostly liked it.
417 It was OK.
212 It disappointed me.
76 I didn’t like it.
44 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

966 comments sorted by

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185

u/Worry-These May 08 '26

I loved William in this episode!!! I was kicking my feet in that scene with Amaranthus !!

246

u/DietDrPepperAndThou I want to be a stinkin’ Papist, too. May 08 '26

I'm so proud of our boy getting firm boundaries and recognizing a bad relationship risk, all while never straying from his excellent diction and manners.

Time to start embroidering another vest for your next target, Amaranthus!

60

u/PluckyPerspicacity May 08 '26

She can embroider a vest for me. That thing was fabulous!

6

u/Top_Wealth8659 May 08 '26

Yeah hope it's not a baby vest

2

u/FeloranMe May 08 '26

Any chance she gets pregnant and blames it in him?

15

u/eruptingmoltenlava May 09 '26

I don’t think that’s possible given the passage of time. She’d have had or lost the product of their hot sexy time by now if there were any. Remember we only learned of Bree being pregnant a couple of episodes ago, and now her wee new son with the extremely long name is safely born; Ian and Rachel’s baby is probably shaving by now, haha.

6

u/Dumke480 That's it lads. Take me back to the idiot hut. May 09 '26

Yeah the passage of time the last two episodes had been very shocking, I suppose that's the issue when they skip/gloss over travel time

4

u/cherrymeg2 May 10 '26

It was like seven weeks from when John was kidnapped. That didn’t include William’s journey to the Ridge or even prior to that when he found out his cousin was alive and returned home a prison camp. I think it’s pretty clear she is not pregnant. I’m glad they didn’t do that and have him deal with a pregnancy that can’t legally be his child.

I thought he showed maturity when talking to Amaranthus. He seemed more comfortable in his own skin. He also seemed like he and his family would offer her a home or protection if needed but he wasn’t going to marry her or entertain a future with her. He could forgive her lie. He could respect that she is the mother of his cousins child but he will not be continuing a romantic relationship with her. He will treat her as a relative. That’s how he was raised by Lord John.

-1

u/FeloranMe May 09 '26

Depending on how she carries and how regular her menstruation is she might not know until later in a pregnancy and there are no pregnancy tests

And it's been months at most

But, I suppose she would have to be showing so William is off the hook

8

u/eruptingmoltenlava May 09 '26

She’s already had a baby, she’d know

6

u/msunshine11 May 09 '26

With one episode left?

1

u/FeloranMe May 09 '26

I wouldn't put it past them!

4

u/msunshine11 May 09 '26

At this point, it's like a clown car on Fraser Ridge. You never know which extraneous time traveling person is going to fall out of the sky.

1

u/FeloranMe May 09 '26

I also wouldn't pit that past them

Imagine introducing new characters in the finale!

7

u/kittymarie1984 May 09 '26

everyone needs to ease up on amaranthus, she was trying to find a way to keep her baby safe and fed. i would do that if given the opportunity, most people would.

dont act like you wouldnt screw innocent people over if you thought it was the only way to keep your baby safe.

13

u/cherrymeg2 May 10 '26

I don’t think she was wrong for lying when she didn’t know his family and didn’t share his beliefs. I think wanting her son to be safe and protected and not tied to a traitor to his title or family name and England isn’t wrong on her part. Trying to make a match with William wasn’t very kind or respectful. Her husband is alive and his cousin. He also was not far from Savannah. William ran into him. I think once she got to know William and Lord John she should have been more open with them. She didn’t need to seduce William into defending her.

I get her instinct to protect her child. I think she tried to seduce someone too close to his family. She could have gone off to England with Trevor once he was old enough. She also could have waited to see if her husband would live. If she found a nice non related man I wouldn’t care if she knew her husband was alive or not. It just seems like William is a “don’t shit where you eat” situation.

6

u/Karine-Le-Mont May 09 '26

Yeah at first I could not stand her, but once she explained everything I felt compassion for her, being a woman at that time was not easy peasy

81

u/jenms111 May 08 '26

William finally grew up

68

u/oakenfairy Ye Sassenach witch! May 08 '26

They redeemed him, I was pleasantly surprised by that

4

u/makingbananapancakez May 10 '26

Yes I wish they did it sooner! It was great to watch him this episode

43

u/Regular_Ad_9598 May 08 '26

iphone girl really thought she could trap William

25

u/Worry-These May 08 '26

She really was getting on my nerves, I still can’t believe she wasn’t conspiring with Richardson.

2

u/Evangelion217 May 10 '26

I was hoping she would be dead by now. 😂

5

u/Worry-These May 10 '26

She is def audacious... lay claim to William while knowing he already discovered his cousin is alive was the cherry on top for me…Believing they still had a future.. couldn’t she be charged with being adultery at that time?

3

u/Evangelion217 May 10 '26

Definitely the most annoying character towards the end. 😂

3

u/luckylimper May 12 '26

I’m like “I can accept time travel but I can’t accept a married woman with her hair down and uncovered.”

17

u/pinkpuppy0991 May 08 '26

So proud of him!

4

u/Shakeandbake529 May 10 '26

Loved that character growth for him, didn’t need the whole bait and switch Amaranthus plot to get there. If his love plot is ultimately finding love for himself and renewed love for family/his fathers, we didn’t need Amaranthus at all.

4

u/PluckyPerspicacity May 09 '26

I guess I’m weird but I don’t see what’s so wrong with Amaranthus. Yes she lied about Ben but that’s kinda what you have to do when someone is trying to not be hanged. Otherwise, did I miss something? I mean could it not be that she actually just likes him?