Ben Wasn’t Wrong on Outlander — But His Decision Was Shady AF!

William Ransom was shocked to find out that not only was his cousin alive on Outlander, but that he was also a traitor.

Benjamin Grey, who was originally declared dead, was found alive and well at the Continental Camp at the end of Outlander Season 8 Episode 5.

An episode later, William finally got all the details, and he was not ready for anything that he heard.

Benjamin Knew He Had No Choice on Outlander

Ben doesn’t believe in the Loyalist cause, and we all know that the Grey men are stubborn.

Once they have a cause that they believe in, they will stick with it, and that means that Benjamin Grey had to become a traitor to the crown.

He couldn’t just switch sides, though. Not only did he have his father to think about, but he had a son to consider.

Switching to the Continental Army would have brought the authorities to Amaranthus’s door.

Even if she had found her way to Lord John Grey by this point, it would have meant that everything would have happened at John’s home.

This man may have married Claire Fraser to protect her from the same authorities during Outlander Season 7, but he wouldn’t have married a woman he didn’t know and trust.

On top of that, he couldn’t have done. Had Ben not faked his death, Amaranthus couldn’t have (badly) played the grieving widow.

With Ben’s loyalties now known, the negativity would have trickled down to Ben’s son, Trevor.

For those who don’t know many of the storylines from the books, there is a discussion about fathers being traitors and what it means for their children after they pass in the Lord John Grey novellas.

So, Ben didn’t have a choice. The only thing he could do was fake his death.

It would be better for Trevor to grow up believing his father had died for the right cause than had turned his back on his country.

Of course, nobody except Claire, Jamie, Bree, Roger, and Young Ian knows exactly how the war is going to play out. The Greys have no idea that the Continental Army will win.

If they knew that, Ben wouldn’t have needed to fake his death. They’d ride the “traitor” wave until the very end, knowing that they would all be celebrated afterward.

Ben Should Have Still Got Word to People

While the decision to fake his own death is based on sound logic, it’s still a shady AF move on Outlander.

Lord John Grey and William were left grieving the loss, and John had no idea how to even tell Hal that he had lost a son.

William had to tell Ben’s brother, Henry, about it, which overshadowed his wedding day, and, of course, that is going to lead to everyone else learning about it.

Ben knew how much people loved him, and he still chose to hurt them by faking his death and assuming an identity.

Add to the fact that Amaranthus knew the full truth and went along with it, and you’ve got an even shadier move on Outlander Season 8.

His own wife dutifully played the widow and made it seem as if she were available to William, despite knowing all along that her husband was alive.

What exactly was she planning on doing after accepting William’s proposal once it got to the wedding day?

And how will William react to her now that he’s learned the full truth? Can he really even consider being with her, knowing that she is still legally married?

Then there’s the question of whether Ben even thought everything through.

He’s in the Continental camp outside Savannah, knowing his uncle is living there right now. He must know that his wife and son are there.

So, he must have known there was a chance he would run into someone in his family.

He may have heard that William had resigned his commission — if he was paying any attention to his family, because it doesn’t seem like he was — but he should have also known that John was pulled back into the Army.

There was always a chance that they could come across each other on the battlefield.

He could have found someone in his family whom he could trust, such as his brother. After all, Henry married Mary Woodcock, who was the wife of a Continental soldier.

It’s likely that Mary is a Rebel, and that would make Henry sort of on that side, and they have plenty of Rebel friends.

Ben must have heard about this, so he could have gotten word to Henry about the whole plan. This way, Amaranthus and Trevor could have been fully cared for, and the entire family wouldn’t have had to endure that grief.

Ben could have still faked his death in case anyone ever came looking for him, but the whole family wouldn’t have needed to find out the full truth until it became necessary.

Sure, Ben wasn’t wrong in his statements about Trevor going up with a traitor for a father, but he went about the switch to the Continental Army in a shady way.

This is where we turn to you!

What did you think of Ben’s story to William? Did he do what he had to, or was there a better way to go about it? Sound off in the comments below to keep the conversation flowing.