Warning! Spoilers for Outlander season 7, episode 13, and the Outlander book series ahead.
Roger helped his father, Jerry MacKenzie, go back through the stones to his own time in Outlander season 7, but did the man make it? The fantasy time-travel series left Jerry’s ending ambiguous, and Roger himself will never fully know what came of the man. Roger had hoped that once Jerry went through the stones in 1739, he would be suddenly flooded with memories of growing up with his father. Instead, Roger only had a single vision that left him and Outlander audiences with more questions than answers—so what exactly happened to Jerry MacKenzie?
Growing up, Roger believed that his father had died when his plane crashed during World War II. He was only a baby when Jerry MacKenzie’s plane went down, so he never really knew that man. Roger’s mother, Marjorie, on the other hand, died during the Blitz when she was taking refuge with her son in the London underground. Roger was barely five when this happened, and he went to be raised by his great uncle, Reverend Reginald Wakefield. Roger believed this was the whole story for years, but Outlander season 7 saw him discover that Jerry MacKenzie hadn’t died after his crash landing.
The Outlander Books Reveal Jerry MacKenzie Returned To His Time
Jerry Has His Own Spinoff Novella In The Outlander Book Series
When Roger and Buck went back to 1739 to search for Jemmy in Outlander season 7, they found Jerry MacKanzie’s dog tags—evidence that Roger’s father had traveled back in time rather than dying when his plane crash-landed. Naturally, this discovery led Roger to search the 18th-century Scottish Highlands for Jerry, and once he found him, the man was sent back through the stones to his own time. It’s unclear in Outlander season 7, episode 13, where Jerry MacKenzie landed. However, the fact that Roger was raised an orphan indicates that Jerry’s journey ended tragically.
Unfortunately, the Outlander books confirm that Jerry truly did die when Roger was little. However, it didn’t happen as Roger had thought, and his interaction with Jerry in 1739 made all the difference. In Outlander author Diana Gabaldon’s short story A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows, it’s revealed that, after Roger sent Jerry through the stones, the man emerged in the 20th century, a handful of years after his initial disappearance. Jerry heads to London to find his wife, but it just happens that he arrives during the Blitz. He is briefly reunited with Marjorie and little Roger in the underground when the tunnel collapses.
Jerry Saved Roger During An Air Raid But Died In The Effort
Roger’s Father Is The Mysterious John Doe Who Saved His Life
In A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows, Marjorie has enough time before the tunnel collapses to toss little Roger, about five, to Jerry before she is lost under the rubble. Upon catching Roger, Jerry falls backward onto the track and hits his head. All of this happens in a matter of moments, and if Marjorie hadn’t thrown her son and Jerry hadn’t caught him, the boy would have been killed by the collapsing tunnel. Thankfully, little Roger lived to grow up, meet Brianna, and have a happy life as a family. Unfortunately, Jerry died from his injuries and never got to know his son.
Jerry wasn’t wearing his dog tags when he saved Roger’s life in the tunnel, which meant no one was ever able to identify his body.
Jerry wasn’t wearing his dog tags when he saved Roger’s life in the tunnel, which meant no one was ever able to identify his body. Growing up, Roger knew a soldier saved his life, but he had no idea that the man who held him out of harm’s way and died in the effort was his own father, who had disappeared years earlier. In the Outlander books, Roger never learned the truth. He believed that something else terrible must have happened to Jerry when he sent him through the stones. However, Roger’s vision in Outlander season 7 may indicate that this character will eventually get some answers.
Roger’s Vision In Outlander Season 7, Episode 13 Explained
Outlander Has Made a Subtle Change To The Story
Roger received a sudden vision after Jerry MacKenzie went through the stones in Outlander season 7, episode 13. He saw his younger self sitting in the London underground next to Jerry, who smiled down at him comfortingly. Roger had no idea what this vision meant, but Jerry’s fate in A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows provides audiences with further context. In the Outlander TV show’s version of events, Jerry’s time with Roger must have lasted longer than in the book. The father and son spent a moment of comfort together before the tunnel collapsed and Jerry was killed.
Roger was a baby when Jerry MacKenzie disappeared, so he wouldn’t have recognized his father when he saved his life during the Blitz in A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case in Roger’s vision in Outlander season 7. The little boy looks up at his father and leans into him lovingly, so it may be that Jerry had a moment to tell Roger who he was before the tunnel collapsed. Roger evidently forgot all about this, but meeting his father in 1739 and seeing him go through the stones must have triggered the memory.
As time passes in Outlander, Roger may remember more of what happened during the Blitz.
As time passes in Outlander, Roger may remember more of what happened during the Blitz. He was very young, and it’s no surprise that details of that traumatic day would fade away. However, now that the door has been opened in his mind and Roger better understands what happened, further memories of this moment with his father may come back to him.
Roger Would Have Died As A Child If He Hadn’t Saved Jerry In The Past
Roger’s Trip To The Past Was No Coincidence
Whether Roger never learns what happened to Jerry MacKenzie in Outlander, it is unfortunately clear that he didn’t save his father’s life in the long term. However, this isn’t to say that Roger’s journey back to 1739 was a waste. He had initially gone through the stones to find his son Jemmy, but it turned out the boy hadn’t been taken back in time after all. Still, it’s no coincidence that Roger happened upon his father at this point in the past. It was his destiny to find Jerry and guide the man back to the 20th century. If Roger hadn’t done this, he himself would have died as a child.
Related
Roger’s Discovery In Outlander Season 7, Episode 10 Proves That Time Travel Is Never A Coincidence
Roger made an intriguing discovery in Outlander season 7, episode 10 that further proves that time travel in this fantasy world is never an accident.
Outlander utilizes a paradoxical model of time travel. Anything the characters do in the past only ensures the events of their own futures. Roger didn’t realize it, but his father had saved his life during the Blitz. Had Roger not gone back in time to find Jemmy, this never would have happened. Characters in Outlander can’t change the course of history, but that doesn’t mean that their roles in the past aren’t important. It’s a bit mind-bending, but the heartwarming reality is that Roger and Jerry were meant to save one another’s lives. One couldn’t exist without the other.
Outlander follows Claire Randall, a married nurse from 1945, who is transported back to 1743 Scotland. Amidst political intrigue and danger, she navigates life in the past and becomes torn between loyalty to her husband and the love for a dashing young warrior.
- Release Date
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August 9, 2014
- Main Genre
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Sci-Fi
- Cast
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Caitríona Balfe
, Sam Heughan
, Sophie Skelton
, Richard Rankin
, John Bell
, Duncan Lacroix
, Tobias Menzies
, César Domboy
, Caitlin O’Ryan
, Lauren Lyle
, Grant O’Rourke
, Graham McTavish
, Paul Gorman
, Charles Vandervaart
, Stephen Walters
, David Berry
, Sarah Collier - Character(s)
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Claire Randall Fraser
, Jamie Fraser
, Brianna Randall
, Roger Wakefield
, Ian Fraser Murray
, Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser
, Frank Randall / Jonathan Black Jack Randall
, Fergus Claudel Fraser
, Lizzie Wemyss
, Marsali MacKimmie Fraser
, Rupert MacKenzie
, Dougal MacKenzie
, Josiah / Keziah Beardsley
, William Ransom
, Angus Mhor
, Lord John Grey
, Mrs. Bug - Seasons
-
7
- Writers
-
Ronald D. Moore
, Matthew B. Roberts - Directors
-
Metin Hüseyin
, Jamie Payne - Showrunner
-
Matthew B. Roberts
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