When the “Blessed Are the Merciful” episode of Outlander aired today, it was the halfway mark for the eighth and final season of the hit STARZ time-travel series, based on the bestselling novels by Diana Gabaldon.

In it, Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) has decided to evict all the men on Fraser’s Ridge who took part in Captain Cunningham’s (Kieran Bew) scheme to kidnap Jamie, hand him over to Captain Ferguson of the King’s army and have him hanged for treason.

Hiram Crombie, Geordie Hallahan, Ewan Adair, Robert McCanahan, Connor MacNeil, Lachlan Hunt, Holman Leslie, Joseph Baird and William Baird comprised Cunningham’s posse, so the Ridge was about to lose a good portion of its population when Jamie gave them 10 days to pack up and leave.

Claire tried to intercede on behalf of the women, but Jamie wanted the men who were traitors to him off the Ridge. And then all their wives and children showed up at his home to entreat him for compassion. At first, he was having none of it, but then he came up with a plan.

“This is more or less per book, but simplified to the point that it doesn’t make nearly as much sense as it does in the book,” Gabaldon exclusively tells Parade. “Per book, the women are a) distressed by Jamie’s edict, but b) much madder at their men-folk for putting them in this position.

“They come to beg mercy from Jamie, showing up en masse with their helpless children (for heart-wringing purposes), and start by offering deep and humble apologies for their husbands’ stupidity, moving slickly along to guilting Jamie for putting helpless women and children out of their homes…after all, they didn’t betray him. But then very delicately remind him that by doing so, he’s also exiling these women’s (adult) brothers, sons and nephews who weren’t involved in the betrayal, but whose support he’s obviously going to need, urgently.”

At first, Jamie resists their entreaties, but then he comes up with a plan that he knows won’t go down well with the men.

“Jamie may be furious, but he’s not a fool, and gets the women’s point at once,” Gabaldon continues. “He takes a deep breath, revokes the edict of banishment for their husbands–but tears up the deeds to their land, and says he will write new deeds giving the land explicitly to the women, alone; their husbands are not to have any legal share in the farms…though if the women choose to feed their husbands, that’s their own concern.

“This neatly solves both the problem of throwing innocent (more or less; as he notes to Claire later, the women plainly knew what their husbands were up to, and didn’t tell him) women and children out to starve, and losing a substantial chunk of his potential military forces. Beyond that (we’re getting all this both through what Mrs. MacIlhenny tells Jamie, but more explicitly through Claire’s thoughts (which, of course, the show can’t do). Her thoughts also include the fact that Jamie really doesn’t want all that land lying vacant, not being farmed — which would put a substantial dent in his own income, as he takes a landlord’s share — but also being a temptation to outsiders who might see the decimated Ridge as easy pickings.

“So he bites the bullet and gives the land to the women. He’s not out anything, the Ridge will continue to be occupied and productive, the brothers and sons will owe him, and the women now have the power to control their husbands, at least to some degree.”

It isn’t just Jamie who shows mercy in this episode, but also Rachel (Izzy Meikle-Small), who experiences some jealousy when they learn that Ian’s ex-wife, Works with her Hands, survived the massacre, but then rises above it. When Ian gets turned away from seeing her, Rachel takes it upon herself to make it happen, even agreeing at the end for his son to come home to the Ridge to live with them. Rachel says to Works with her Hands, “He will always be your son, but I will love him as my own.” And Works with her Hands names their baby Hunter, which Rachel says resonates with her.

“This is showing Rachel’s deep patience and Ffiend-like love (for her fellow woman, in this case, as well as for Ian and the little boy). The show tends either to shy away from or to misunderstand Quaker principles (such as when Denzell [Joey Phillips] confessed to Claire [Caitríona Balfe] (last season) that he (thought he) took the death and bloodshed they encountered in dealing with battle casualties much harder than she (and by extension, the other male) surgeons did, because he was a Quaker.

“In fact, the converse would be the case. Friends are very calm about death, because they consider it a natural and holy transition, and a natural part of life. (Which, in all truth, it is.) They don’t hold any set views on the afterlife, figuring that if there is one, God has it figured out. And Denzell is just not a wuss.

“As for Rachel, she (like her brother) values each life as a God-given thing, and thus treats even bad people with respect and concern. She’s naturally a bit taken aback to meet Works with her Hands unexpectedly–especially with what (the show has decided) is presumably Ian’s son by her. Per book (and history…), adoption of both children and adults is/was very common. But Native Americans also have a lot more flexibility about life, death, and birth than Western Europeans do. So, if Works with her Hands says that this child is Ian’s, it doesn’t necessarily mean he was the sperm donor, but that’s not a distinction that Ian’s non-Indian family would make. And for purposes of the story, it’s better if Rachel just accepts wee Hunter as being Ian’s.

“As for his name, Rachel is pleased about it because her and Denny’s family name was/is Hunter, and she might well have named her own child that (and does…).

“Per book, the boy’s name is Swiftest of Lizards (in Cherokee). And once adopted back into Ian’s life, he’s referred to as Totis, which is a shortened form of the Cherokee name. The child Rachel gives birth to is named Hunter (though he’s known within the family as Oggy).”

And then, there’s the conflict between William (Charles Vandervaart) and Ben, where no mercy is shown. Ben, now General Bleeker (Alex Bhat), throws William in the stockade after they tumble around on the ground, beating on each other over Amaranthus (Carla Woodcock). And why on earth would William goad him about Amaranthus?

“Well, William is both shocked and very angry, both because Ben (whom he’s been idolizing), has turned his coat, thus giving the finger to the King, Ben’s father and brothers, and William himself,” Gabaldon explains. “William taunts him with Amaranthus because he’s trying to rub Ben’s face in her betrayal.  (Per book, we have good reason to think that it’s not Ben that Amaranthus is betraying, but the show hasn’t got time or space to introduce that one…)  It also gives William the excuse (he thinks) to punch Ben, which he badly wants to do. (Per book, when William finds Ben and finds out what he’s been up to, they retire to a private spot and try to kill each other. Ben succeeds in temporarily knocking William out and takes him prisoner, and a lot of other stuff that the show can’t do then happens.”

Outlander will air new episodes each Friday at midnight ET on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms; and at 8 p.m. ET/PT/7 Central on the linear network.