10 Best 'Outlander' Episodes, Ranked (2025)

Based on the acclaimed novel series by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander has become a crowning glory of fantasy television, immersing fans into a world of wonder and romance that stretches halfway around the globe and across centuries of history. It follows Claire (Caitríona Balfe), a former WWII military nurse who finds herself transported back to 1743 where she meets and falls in love with Highland warrior, Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). Their ensuing adventure sees them travel to distant continents and throughout time in order to protect and nurture their family and loved ones.

Visually spellbinding and emotionally rousing, Outlander is defined by its greatest episodes, be they pulsating depictions of 18th-century warfare, dramatic meditations on loss and heartache, or triumphant chapters of true love. Unsurprisingly, the series' first three seasons feature prominently, but there have been highlights all across Outlander’s seven seasons and 83 episodes (up to the Season 7 mid-season finale) that are worthy of high praise.

10 "The Garrison Commander"

Season 1, Episode 6 (2014)

Season one of Outlander moves fast! So much so that by the sixth episode, Claire is already aligned with the Scots to the extent that she is being interrogated by English soldiers, including a British general. Standing alongside Dougal Mackenzie (Graham MacTavish), Claire’s questioning at the hands of the local garrison takes a dramatic and tense turn with the arrival of Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall (Tobias Menzies), a cruel commander and the ancestor of Claire’s partner, Frank, from 1945.

The episode is small in stature, yet mighty in terms of its impact. The bulk of it transpires in just one room and maintains its focus on but a few cast members. Revelations are made for many of the major characters, with Claire being forced to make a decision on who she will side with in the war, while Black Jack’s villainy is given a layered complexity that he lacked in the novels.

9 "Faith"

Season 2, Episode 7 (2016)

“Faith” aired as the single most devastating episode Outlander had unveiled up to that point in time and, eight years on from its release, it remains just as poignant and painful. The Season 2 episode sees doctors at L’Hopital des Agnes try in vain to save Claire’s unborn baby after she suffers a devastating episode when she sees Jamie and Black Jack fighting in the street, a brawl that erupted when Jamie discovered Randall molesting young Fergus (Romann Berrux).

Injustice can be a powerful catalyst for emotions, and “Faith” uses it to full effect repeatedly. Fergus’ suffering is rage-inducing, while Claire holding her daughter in her arms, knowing she will never draw breath, is as heart-wrenching a scene ever put on television. The episode is a masterclass in the series’ ability to depict such upsetting moments with sensitivity and tremendous insight. It also marks Balfe’s best performance in the series, and remains a somber yet important chapter in the context of Claire and Jamie’s marriage.

8 "The Wedding"

Season 1, Episode 7 (2014)

While Jamie and Claire’s wedding may not be the most romantic ceremony ever seen on television, it does become incredibly tender and tantalizing. Upon realizing they must consummate the marriage, Claire takes a drink, then another, and then another, all while asking Jamie about his past, his family, and his reasons for wanting to marry her. When she learns that he married her, in part, to keep her safe from Black Jack, Claire begins to relent to the romantic feelings she is developing for the Scotsman.

“The Wedding” is cautious to emit a certain melancholy, with Claire’s trepidation defined by her still existing desire to return to her own time and be with Frank. In fact, in this regard, the series surpasses the book, giving weight to Claire’s apprehension by starting the episode with Frank’s impromptu proposal, making Claire’s decision between Frank and Jamie immediately apparent. Intriguing and nuanced, “The Wedding” may be somewhat unorthodox as far as romantic weddings go, but it is as sweet and sincere an episode of Outlander given it sparks the twinkling of true love between Jamie and Claire.

7 "Freedom & Whiskey"

Season 3, Episode 5 (2017)

While many celebrate the first three seasons as being the peak of the series, the first half of Season 3 is a particular highlight of Outlander. Within that, one of the show’s best episodes comes in the form of “Freedom & Whiskey”, which sees Claire and her daughter Brianna (Sophie Skelton) feuding when Claire tries to tell her the truth about her father. They reconcile as Christmas nears, and Claire receives a pivotal update on Jamie Fraser which makes the prospect of her traveling back in time to return to him a reality.

The newfound hope is underlined by Claire’s growing anxieties, with twenty years passing leading her to wonder if she is still the woman Jamie fell in love with, and if he will still be the same man when she returns to him. Couple all the angst with Bri and Roger’s (Richard Rankin) developing love story, and “Freedom & Whiskey” is a sobering episode about the trepidation and torment of love.

6 "All Debts Paid"

Season 3, Episode 3 (2017)

Another episode from the early part of Season 3, “All Debts Paid” sees Jamie and Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) navigating life in Ardsmuir Prison under the Red Coats, but it is better remembered for Claire’s story 200 years in the future. The episode is a snapshot of Claire and Frank’s tumultuous marriage. While they are amicable, the arrival of Frank’s mistress at an event sees the couple’s harmonious agreement shattered.

It is an episode of high drama, with both Balfe and Menzies in scintillating form as the vexed couple stuck in a complicated marriage with only their shared love for Brianna keeping them civil. Just as their union is about to implode, Claire receives the shocking news that Frank has been killed in a car accident. The scene in which she visits the morgue and mourns her husband is perfectly bittersweet, as she reveals her true appreciation for Frank but too late for it to mean anything.

5 "The Devil’s Mark"

Season 1, Episode 11 (2014)

The dramatic high point of Season 1 and one of the most intense and emotionally rousing installments of the entire series, “The Devil’s Mark” is a powerful episode about injustice and misogyny that depicts just how twisted the judicial system on the 1700s could be. It sees Claire and Geillis (Lotte Verbeek) standing trial accused of witchcraft, with a court of skeptics and blatant liars damning the duo to the pyre.

Thanks to Ned Gowan’s (Bill Paterson) savvy representation and Geillis’ heroic self-sacrifice, Claire is able to escape, but not before receiving an abrupt lesson about the stark differences between her own time and the period she finds herself in. Culminating with Claire telling Jamie the truth about herself and the time that she is from, the episode is an emotional rollercoaster that delivers both devastation and triumph to be one of the most overwhelming and exhausting entries of the series.

4 "Of Lost Things"

Season 3, Episode 4 (2017)

While competition is fierce, “Of Lost Things” is the best episode of Outlander’s immaculate third season. It masterfully balances Jamie’s and Claire’s stories against each other despite the pair being 200 years adrift in time. In 1968, Claire is aided by Brianna and Roger as she tries to trace Jamie’s movements throughout history. Meanwhile, in 1756, Jamie struggles to maintain a low profile at Helwater as he is tasked with working as the groomsman to Lord Dunsany (Rupert Vansittart).

The episode is a glorious medley of defining character moments, from Claire and Brianna sharing a drink at the male-dominated whiskey bar, to Jamie leaving his son, Willie (Clark Butler), with John Grey (David Berry) and Lady Isobel Dunsany (Tanya Reynolds), and to Brianna and Roger’s blossoming romance. Culminating with a tear-jerking sequence, “Of Lost Things” presents the vast narrative scope and the immense fantasy power of Outlander at its very best.

3 "The Ballad of Roger Mac"

Season 5, Episode 7 (2020)

Having perished in the books during the Battle of Culloden, many fans knew that Jamie's beloved godfather, Murtagh, was on borrowed time when he survived past that point in the series. The inevitable finally happened in “The Ballad of Roger Mac”, with the deeply upsetting episode marking a definitive high point of Season 5. With the Regulator Rebellion intensifying, Jamie is torn between divided loyalties as the ensuing battle exacts a heavy toll on the Frasers.

Paramount to the cranage is the loss of Murtagh, Jamie’s greatest ally and his trusted protector since he was a child. Seeing him die in Jamie’s arms is one of the most hollowing scenes Outlander has presented, and it only grows more upsetting when Jamie takes Murtagh’s body to Claire, demanding that she save him. Ending with the image of Roger hanging in the tree, “The Ballad of Roger Mac” is a masterclass in heartache and devastation, even by Outlander’s illustrious standards in handling such moments.

2 "The Birds and the Bees"

Season 4, Episode 9 (2018)

Given Outlander maintains an intense and impassioned focus on the lives and romance of Claire and Jamie, it is interesting that one of the series’ best and most powerful episodes fixes its gaze firmly on the couple’s child, Brianna. She endures a torrid time throughout the episode, recovering in the immediate aftermath of being raped by Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speleers) while being given the false impression that her fight with Roger had effectively ended their romance.

She is forced to endure hardship aplenty even as she regathers herself to search for her parents. As brutal as the episode is, it all complements the soaring triumph of love and family when Brianna is reunited with Claire and meets Jamie for the first time. Within all the carnage and cruelty the episode depicts, the finale is one of the high points of the entire series, making for an exhausting emotional rollercoaster.

1 "Dragonfly in Amber"

Season 2, Episode 13 (2016)

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Season 2 finale stands as Outlander’s defining highlight. Rich with romantic angst, historical drama, and mesmerizing fantasy, it is the epitome of what makes the series so beloved by so many. The episode jumps back and forth in time, covering a newly introduced 20-year-old Brianna’s exploration of Scottish history, with Claire alongside her. All the while, Jamie strives gallantly to protect and rescue as many of his allies as he can as the Battle of Culloden begins.

With a whopping 90-minute runtime, “Dragonfly in Amber” was the biggest episode up to that point in the series, and it remains the series’ most gripping and pulsating entry. It plucks the heart strings on many occasions, causes audiences to hold their breaths even more frequently, and caps off Outlander’s second season in the most astonishing way possible.

NEXT: The 10 Best 'Outlander' Characters, Ranked