Every episode of Outlander season 5, ranked worst to best
By Ariba Bhuvad
Outlander Season 5 Key Art and Marketing Shoot – Sep 17-21 2019
We’re a few weeks into the Droughtlander now, and I have to admit, it’s been rough. As each Sunday comes and goes, I can’t help but briefly get excited only to realize there is no new episode of Outlander on the way. But if there’s anything I’ve learned from shows going on hiatus between seasons, it’s that we can always entertain ourselves by going back re-binging past episodes.
I’m sure I’m not the only Outlander fan out there who’s already rewatched the most recent fifth season of the show. And during my rewatch, it occurred to me just how special and riveting the season was. There was a lot of plot and character development, and a depth that we hadn’t quite seen before.
In my opinion, it was Outlander’s best season yet, and the rewatch inspired me to rank all 12 episodes! It was a difficult but exhilarating task, and only reminded me how much I love this series.
How did I go about this? Well, there were some standout moments from almost every episode, but I focused heavily on ones that really accelerated the story. Episodes like “The Ballad of Roger Mac” and “Famous Last Words” were huge ones for the Fraser/McKenzie family and helped shaped their journeys moving forward.
Then, of course, there were episodes like “Better to Marry Than Burn” that didn’t quite compare to the stronger episodes of the season and felt more like ways to bridge the gap between powerful episodes. I mean, the whole locust thing was crazy, but it slowed the momentum the show had begun to build.
Special character moments were taken into consideration, as were standout moments of adaptation from Diana Gabaldon’s books. Basically, there was maybe one episode that was just alright. For the rest, ranking them was a daunting task because of how great they are.
There’s a lot to discuss, so without further ado, let’s get into the (subjective) ranking of the episodes of Outlander season 5.