Why isn't Outlander on this week?

That's right – there's no new episode of Outlander coming to our screens this week due to a scheduled break.

You might remember that the first half of Outlander season 7 also had a scheduled skip week ahead of its mid-season finale and the same can be said of this latter half of the season.

That means that the final 16th episode of Outlander season 7 won't be released until Saturday 18th January 2025 here in the UK, where the series can be streamed on MGM+ (via Prime Video).

Things are most certainly veering towards a dramatic finale, especially as episode 15 left us on the edge of our seats after Claire (Catríona Balfe) was shot during the Battle of Monmouth.

Jamie (Sam Heughan) refused to leave Claire's side and resigned from his commission as Brigadier General, doing so in a poignant nod to the original novel by Diana Gabaldon and the episode title, Written in My Own Heart's Blood.

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Commanding one of his soldiers to remove his shirt, Jamie wrote his resignation on the soldier's back in Claire's blood and remained by his true love's side. Managing to regain consciousness, Claire ordered Jamie to find Denzell (Joey Phillips) as he could be the only doctor with the surgery skills to save her.

But will Denzell be able to? Well, that's a burning question for the final episode but it wouldn't quite be Outlander without Claire now, would it?

As revealed in a first-look image on TVLine, fans will be delighted to find that Claire does live – but that doesn't necessarily equate to smooth-sailing for the Frasers.

It also looks as though Lord John Grey (David Berry) is by Claire's bedside, which is set to be quite the awkward interaction for all involved. Lest we forget that Claire and Lord John married after believing Jamie was dead and Claire could be arrested for being a spy.

So, it's safe to say that Jamie walking into a conversation between the two may not exactly be the most easygoing thing. Add to that the fact that Jamie's resignation from the army likely won't go down well with George Washington and there are plenty of loose ends to tie up in the final season 7 episode.

But there's also plenty else for the finale to cover, not least the fact that Brianna (Sophie Skelton), Jemmy and Mandy all went through the stones to find Roger (Richard Rankin) in 1739. Will they find him?

As per the official finale synopsis: "Denzell must perform a dangerous operation with the skills he’s learned from Claire. William asks for help from an unexpected source in his mission to save Jane."

Outlander season 7 episode 16 will be available to stream on MGM+ in the UK on Saturday 18th January and will also be available to stream on Starz in the US. You can buy Diana Gabaldon's books on Amazon.

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