Outlander Season 7 Episode 6 “Where the Waters Meet” finally reveals the identity of the Nuckelavee. The final moments of this week’s installment of the Starz hit sees Roger MacKenzie (Richard Rankin) finally catching the lurking interloper. Turns out the “monster” who has been haunting little Jemmy (Blake Johnston Miller) and Mandy (Rosa Morris) is none other than a big blast from the distant past. Roger immediately recognizes the “stranger” as a character he ran afoul of way back in Outlander Season 5. While book readers might have successfully predicted the identity of the Nuckelavee, show watchers could be a little confused. That’s because original Outlander star Graham McTavish is not reprising his cheeky Season 5 cameo as William Buccleigh MacKenzie…

**Spoilers ahead for Outlander Season 7 Episode 6 “Where the Waters Meet,” now streaming on the Starz app.**

Outlander Season 7 Episode 6 “Where the Waters Meet” confirms that William “Buck” MacKenzie is in fact the Nuckelavee. We first met Roger’s distant ancestor — and Dougal MacKenzie’s (Graham McTavish) bastard son by scheming time traveler Geilis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek) — back in Outlander Season 5 Episode 7 “The Ballad of Roger Mac.” Back in colonial America, Buck caught Roger embracing his wife Morag MacKenzie (Elysia Welch). Roger was just catching up with his great-great-granny (not sure how many generations are removed there), but Buck took offense. He beat Roger, hung him up in a noose, and left him for dead. Roger only narrowly managed to survive the ordeal.

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Is ‘Outlander’ About to Reveal William Buccleigh MacKenzie as the Nuckelavee? What We Know

Will the show hew close to the books with this... By Meghan O'Keefe @megsokay

So what’s the deal with the new Buck MacKenzie? How could he be the Nuckelavee? And why was the role recast? Here’s everything you need to know after the events of Outlander Season 7 Episode 6 “Where the Waters Meet” on Starz…

Look, Outlander is a show that does its darnedest to stick close to the source material. So it should have come as no surprise to fans of the Gabaldon series that the Nuckelavee pestering the grounds of Lallybroch and stealing all the lemonade was none other than William Buccleigh MacKenzie, or Buck to his friends.

We have confirmation of this through Roger’s reaction. Roger isn’t a particularly violent man, but when he sees the ancestor who almost murdered him in the 18th century, he’s going to throw a punch. (Also the end credits of the episode confirm this is William Buccleigh MacKenzie.)

Roger might have recognized Buck, but it’s okay if you did not. That’s because Outlander recast the role…

When Outlander cast Graham McTavish as William MacKenzie in Outlander Season 5, it was a fun cameo that kept casting in the family, so to speak. McTavish had played Buck’s father, Dougal, and was now popping up as Buck himself. However, there’s a bit of a time-traveling hiccup now that might preclude McTavish from continuing with the role. In a future storyline in Diana Gabaldon’s books, Buck will get to interact with a younger version of his father thanks to the magic of time travel. So that could explain the recasting! Or perhaps McTavish was a bit too busy to squeeze Outlander Season 7 in. After all, he’s got to find the time to also work on The Witcher Season 3, House of the Dragon, and his own Starz travel show with Sam Heughan, Men in Kilts (which returns next month).

Enter the new Buck MacKenzie: Diarmaid Murtagh.

Diarmaid Murtagh is a 40-year-old Irish actor who has appeared in Vikings, Dracula Untold, and A Christmas in Royal Fashion. You can follow him on Instagram @diarmaidmurtagh for updates on his life, including selfies with Jamie Dornan.