**This is not a spoiler-free review of this episode. This review is also from a non-reader, and any comments revealing spoilers from the books will be deleted.**
Jamie discovers closure is a gift you give yourself
Episode 709: “Unfinished Business”
Written by Barbara Stepansky, Directed by Stewart Svaasand
There I was, knee-deep in the latest Outlander episode, eager to write my latest review, when I realized, to my horror (and hilarity, in hindsight), that I had accidentally been rewatching an old episode.
You got me good, Droughtlander. With that in mind, let’s go home, to the actual new episode, Lallybroch, and a very sassy Claire (Caitriona Balfe).
Claire is READY for that Laoghaire tea
Jamie (Sam Heughan), Claire, and Youg Ian (John Bell) have returned to Lallybroch in one piece without a single kidnapping attempt. A marvelous feat for Outlander!
It won’t last long, will it?
Jenny 2.0 (Kristin Atherton, doing a lovely job taking over for Laura Donnelly) and Young Ian’s brothers welcome the trio back with open arms. For the sake of this review, I’ll be referring to Young Ian’s father as Papa! Ian (Steven Cree).
Sadly, Papa! Ian has found himself in a situation that only modern medicine could remedy. More on that in a minute. Let’s check on Roger (Richard Rankin), shall we? 
This is what happens when you don’t stop and ask for directions, Roger!
Look, Roger’s grown on me as a character, but he really sucks at the whole time-traveling thing. Sometimes, the concept of the stones still puzzles me — are time-travelers thrown to a different era if they aren’t concentrating hard enough on their intended destination? That would explain Roger’s current dilemma.
After all, Roger’s son, Jemmy, has been kidnapped.
I think we can all collectively agree that anyone who kidnaps a CHILD is the embodiment of pond scum.
Said pond scum, AKA Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton), played on Roger and Brianna’s (Sophie Skelton, who only briefly appears in this episode) trust in the first half of the seventh season. Discovering that Roger and Brianna were time travelers, Rob kidnapped poor Jem in hopes that the boy would lead him to the Jacobite gold in the past.
Oh, how I missed trying to untangle all of Outlander’s timelines in coherent sentences.
Somehow, Roger (and his time-traveling buddy/ancestor, Buck MacKenzie (Diarmand Murtagh), who accidentally traveled forward in time when we last saw him. So now that they’re in the past, does that make Buck, an 18th-century man, a time waster?)
I’m sorry, I make dumb jokes to keep all the timelines straight, don’t tar and feather me, Outlander fans! 
Claire’s Colonial curly girl haircare routine remains unmatched
While Roger and Buck split up once they’re back in the past, Jamie makes the wise decision to inform Claire he’s off to see her old nemesis, his ex-wife, Laoghaire (Nell Hudson).
Jamie is basically like, “I need to do this for closure, Claire.” Sensing a bit of jealousy from his spitfire English wife, Jamie assures Claire that it’s the honorable thing to do, given how he left things with his spitfire Scottish ex.
Claire gently reminds Jamie (and forgetful audience members like me) that Laoghaire literally tried to shoot him.
Evenly matched in a game of stubbornness, Jamie sets off to see Laoghaire, determined to find closure. Amused, Claire sends Jamie off with one request.
Find out who Laoghaire is sleeping with.
Time-traveling female protagonists! They’re just like US!
Jamie promises to return — with a type of tea his fellow colonists can’t toss into the Boston Harbor.
Five minutes into, “I’m going to see my ex-wife who tried to shoot me once for closure,” and he gives you this look.
Jamie’s reunion with Laoghaire actually goes off without a hitch.
That is to say, Laoghaire only tries to attack him with farm tools, as opposed to a pistol. She’s in her healing era now!
Jokes aside, the scene was a good example of why closure is always a gift you give yourself. Jamie clearly only wanted to meet with Laoghaire to soothe his conscience. For once, during my entire Outlander viewing experience, I was on team Laoghaire. His visit isn’t doing anything to help her be with her new man, the farmhand!
Back to Papa! Ian for a sec. Jenny is clearly distraught, watching her beloved spouse waste away from consumption. The scene where she begs Claire to save Papa! Ian, after Claire reveals she’s from the future, was easily the most heartbreaking moment in the episode.
Once again, Claire is hindered by a lack of modern medicine. While Jenny rages in grief, Papa! Ian has made peace with his fate, focusing on Young Ian’s future.
Encouraging his son to return to America to win Rachel Hunter’s (Izzy Meikle-Small) heart, Papa! Ian is cool as ever, even as he battles consumption. While Young Ian hesitates to leave his ailing father, he fails to realize his mere presence is the best gift Papa! Ian could’ve asked for.
Young Ian reunites with his father.
This episode is all about fathers, with Roger coming face-to-face with JAMIE’S DAD (Andrew Whipp).
Realizing to his horror that he ended up in the wrong timeline, Roger accidentally gives Jamie’s dad the impression that he’s smitten with Young! Jenny. I love how protective dads can be over their daughters, no matter what century.
At this point, I’m just as lost as Roger is when it comes to determining what year he’s actually in at the moment. However, what sets Roger back on track is his determination to bring Jemmy home.
He can’t return to the present without his son.
Meanwhile, young Joanie (Layla Burns) provides a way for Jamie to ACTUALLY help Laoghaire marry her farm man, Joey. Naturally, Joanie has something to gain from wanting to help her feisty mother. If Jamie can rearrange their initial contract, wherein Jamie provided alimony as long as Laoghaire never remarried, Laoghaire can take over sole management of her property, marry Joey, and release Joanie’s dowry so she can fulfill her dream of becoming a nun.
Thankfully, old Ned Gowan is still practicing law. A new contract is drawn up, and alls well that ends well — for Joey, the farm man, anyway.
The episode ends with a massive cliffhanger. Welcome back Geillis (Lottee Verbeek)!
Geillis Duncan has never looked younger. Nothing provides better anti-aging better than time travel!
Until next time, Outlander fans!
THIS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, AT 8 PM ET: EPISODE 710: “BROTHERLY LOVE”
Synopsis: “Claire and Ian arrive in Philadelphia to help the ailing Henry Grey. Roger and Buck receive an unexpected clue in their search for Jemmy.”
