“And somehow, life goes on” A recap of season 3 episode 2 by your Aussie Blogging Lass

Outlander Homepage originals by Susie Brown

Yield, submit, succumb, crumble, sacrifice. All these are synonyms for the word “surrender” and all are on display in this aptly titled second episode of season 3. Each of the main characters must make a personal surrender at some point during the hour and as always, it is powerful stuff.

The episode opens with a wanted flyer being nailed to a door. This is the third time that viewers have seen a picture of Jamie as a wanted man: in episode 8 of season 1, he was the mysterious highlander in the 1940s, suspected of abducting Claire Randall; in season 2, Claire noticed his poster whilst in the company of the English soldiers prior to meeting Hugh Monroe. Now it is a wild version of Jamie with long hair and a beard, but this figure is known only as the “Dunbonnet.” It is a brief but effective reminder that Jamie has been hunted for many years, with the British in both centuries eager for his capture.

It is 1752 in Scotland now and Rabbie McNab, Jamie Murray and Fergus are stealing towards the Dovecote looking for a hidden pistol. This scene serves to show the false bravado of the now teenage Fergus. With the occasional Scottish “Aye” creeping into his French accent, he boasts to the other boys of his time before Culloden, regaling them with the story of how he once killed another man with a knife. Far from the traumatised, white-faced youngster we saw in season 2, this Fergus declares that he wishes he hadn’t been sent home, so that he could have fought at Culloden as well. While teenage boys are known for their exaggerated bragging in each other’s company, this scene is important foreshadowing of what is to come later in the episode, when Fergus’ over confidence leads to his ultimate sacrifice. 

The sound of redcoats in the courtyard results in the hasty re-hiding of the pistol and the boys rush back towards the house, just in time to see Ian Murray being dragged down the stone steps by an unnecessarily aggressive Corporal MacGregor. The officer in charge, one Captain Samuel Lewis, interrogates Ian and a heavily pregnant Jenny about the location of the “Dunbonnet”, hinting that he knows the notorious figure to be none other than Jamie and reminding them both of the severe penalties that come with knowingly concealing a fugitive. 

Despite their assurances that no sign of Jamie or any other Jacobite is to be found at Lallybroch and after refusing the offer of a substantial reward for information leading to the capture of “Red Jamie”, the officers leave with Ian in custody, but not before Fergus insults Corporal MacGregor for being a redcoat and betraying Scotland. 

As the redcoats and Ian leave, Jamie appears. But this is not a Jamie we have seen before. With long hair and beard hiding much of his face, this Jamie does not speak. Having hunted and killed a deer with his bow and arrow, Jamie brings the animal to Lallybroch for the family. As he enters the courtyard, the deer slung over his shoulder, his gaze falls on the woman facing away from him. In his mind it is Claire and he stares at her as she turns around. In reality, it is Jenny who speaks to him, shocked at his sudden appearance. Jamie’s gaze drops - Claire has gone. Defeated, he nods imperceptibly as Jenny gives him the news that the redcoats have again taken Ian away.

The conversation continues in the next scene while Jamie carves up the now skinned deer. Fergus tries to stir Jamie up with a plan to free Ian, while Jenny tries to joke that people will soon be singing ballads about the Dunbonnet. Neither approach works: Jamie is still mute and remote.

Jenny comments that she hasn’t been lying to the redcoats at all: so changed is his personality that Jamie Fraser hasn’t been at Lallybroch for a long time. Still Jamie will not look at her but merely hacks at the deer’s corpse as the scene ends, lost in his tortured thoughts. 

Back in Boston, Claire is also lost in her thoughts, but hers are more erotic. She pleasures herself in bed next to a sleeping Frank, who she imagines to be Jamie smiling back at her. 

The next morning, Claire reads the paper, as baby Brianna defies Dr Spock’s developmental milestones by turning over by herself at least a month early. Clad only in a towel after the boiler cuts out mid shower, Frank hears this news and we see a brief family scene, with Frank kissing Brianna and Claire laying a hand on Frank’s bare chest. It is the first gesture towards intimacy between the two that we have seen and we witness both Claire’s disquieted look and Frank’s hopeful one.

Jamie is gutting fish in his cave when the secret whistled signal announces the arrival of Fergus. Brandishing the pistol from the Dovecote, Fergus tells Jamie he wants to learn to shoot, so that he can be ready for the next rebellion. Jamie speaks at last: saying that there will be no rebellion and no fighting. This angers Fergus, who pushes Jamie and accuses him of being a coward. But Jamie will not rise to the bait. He hands the pistol back to Fergus, reminding the teenager that weapons are outlawed, and telling him to put it back and not touch it again. After a long look of disgust, Fergus leaves the cave. The scene further emphasises how removed Jamie is from the loved ones who remain in his life. He has surrendered to the loss of Claire and is merely going through the motions of living.

In the next scene, Jamie encounters Mary McNab taking clothes from the line. He walks slowly and uncertainly, refusing to meet her eye. His arrival is unexpected, she says, and Jamie mumbles that he has come to look at the ledgers, as Jenny had requested. Speaking is almost painful for him and we can clearly see the effect that his solitude has had on him. Once confident with man, woman or child alike, this Jamie is a shell of the man he once was.  A groan from inside the house indicates what is happening before Mary announces it - the baby has decided to come early. Jamie heads inside to wait, while Fergus, Rabbie and young Jamie work in the yard. As Jenny’s screams are heard by the boys, a raven appears on the roof. Superstition states that ravens are messengers of death, Rabbie says, predicting that the baby will die as a result. Immediately the boys head to the Dovecote, where Fergus loads the pistol the way he had seen Murtagh do with the Highland soldiers. Running back to the courtyard, Fergus takes aim and fires. For one who didn’t know how to shoot, his aim is good and the bird falls. Jamie stalks from the house and takes the pistol from him, admonishing Fergus for disobeying his orders. As Fergus stares him down defiantly, Mary McNab appears to announce the arrival of a healthy baby boy, gentling taking the pistol from Jamie’s hand. As Jamie returns to the house, it is Mary’s turn to admonish Rabbie, asking her son, in a far sharper tone than she uses with anyone else, what he was thinking and telling him not to cause any more trouble. None are aware that the shot has been heard by the nearby redcoats.

Inside Jenny’s room, Jamie is holding his baby nephew. Jenny announces that the baby is to be called Ian, named for the man who sired him and comments that Jamie has always looked good with a bairn in his arms. (The last time we saw this was in season 1 and it is confusing that there is no sign of the little girl who Claire helped Jenny to deliver. 

Maggie should now be around 8 years old, but she has not been mentioned and her non-appearance is never explained. In the book, Jenny and Ian have 5 living children and have also lost one by the time young Ian is born. While most of the Murray clan were born after Culloden and it is conceivable that they are not needed for the series, the absence of Maggie still seems strange.) Jenny tries to engage Jamie in conversation about love and marriage, suggesting that Mary McNab would be a good woman and “young enough for bairns”. She wants to see her brother happy, she says, and that his own lack of children is a tragedy. But Jamie is having none of this. Using her formal name of Janet, he shuts down any such talk, saying that he will never marry again. He takes young Ian from the room, suggesting that it is time the baby met his brother. But as he walks down the corridor, he hears the redcoats entering the house, demanding that the weapon be found. 

The fear in this scene is palpable. Downstairs, the boys are rendered mute at the sight of the redcoats charging up the stairs. Jamie hides desperately in an adjoining room, willing young Ian to be quiet. Meantime Jenny, with amazing composure given the fact that she has just given birth and knowing that her brother and son are hiding nearby, confronts the redcoats searching her room. Denying that there is any weapon in the house, she tries to convince Captain Lewis that his officers are mistaken. The redcoat notices the bloodied sheets on the floor and asks if Jenny has recently given birth. 

With appropriate emotion, in reality from fear rather than grief, Jenny lies and tells the men that her child was born dead and that the midwife has taken the body away to prepare it for burial. Next door, Jamie holds the very-much-alive baby in one hand, and his dirk in the other, as the shadow of Corporal MacGregor can be seen on the wall. Captain Lewis sends MacGregor in search of the midwife to verify Jenny’s claim, and just as she calls out desperately to stop them, Mary MacNab walks into the room, holding the pistol. She hands it to the officers, saying that it belonged to her late husband and that she had kept it to give her comfort. Quickly following Jenny’s lead that the baby is dead, Mary also claims to be the one who fired the shot, taking the blame for shooting the raven because of the highland superstition. MacGregor grabs her roughly, asking Captain Lewis if she is to be taken into custody. But the Captain refuses. They have the weapon, he says, and the officers leave, but not without a warning that if there are any further violations, there will be no mercy shown. Everyone begins to breathe a sigh of relief, but as Jamie moves, a creaking floorboard gives way. MacGregor hears it and is about to investigate, but is called away by Captain Lewis. The danger is over for now. Jamie returns the baby to Jenny, who tells him that the officers won’t rest until he is swinging from a rope. She asks him to go to the cemetery to dig a mock grave for the baby, in case they come back to look. Once again, Jamie doesn’t speak, but the look of pain on his face gives away his emotions.

Claire is watching Frank sleep. A decision made, she edges towards him and strokes his face. When he wakes, he asks what her the matter is. Her answer, “I miss my husband” is deliberately ambiguous, but Frank chooses to ignore this and they begin to make love. Claire has always been a sexual woman and she finally surrenders to this need. But her eyes are closed throughout their lovemaking and we are left in little doubt as to who she is imagining beneath her. 

Back at Lallybroch, Fergus is in the yard tending the goats when the redcoats return with Ian. Corporal MacGregor is at his obnoxious best, threatening that they will find “Red Jamie” and then return for Ian and his whole family. Ian doesn’t rise to the bait, but MacGregor sneers at Fergus as he leaves. It is enough to send Fergus off towards Jamie’s cave, and the redcoats watch him leaving from their hiding place in nearby bushes. But Fergus is aware that he is being followed and leads MacGregor and his companion in circles, until at last he confronts them, telling them that they are harrassing his family and to leave them alone. Hunting rabbits nearby, Jamie hears the confrontation getting more heated. Fergus is swearing at the soldiers now and making insulting gestures. Jamie mutters warnings under his breath, begging Fergus not to antagonise them, but it is to no avail. Fergus is enjoying himself, until a third redcoat arrives on horseback and, thrown off balance, he falls to the ground. 

As a horrified Jamie watches, the men hold Fergus down and Corporal MacGregor cuts off his hand, ignoring the pleas of his companions that Fergus is “just a lad”,  then insisting that they leave the boy, not caring if he dies or not. 

Within seconds of the soldiers’ departure, Jamie is by Fergus’ side. Taking off his belt, he uses it as a tourniquet, reassuring Fergus that he watched “Milady” do the same thing many times. It is the first time we see the decisive Jamie return, caring for Fergus as he scoops the boy up into the arms and heads for Lallybroch. 

It is night time and Jamie paces the floor downstairs. Jenny soon joins him, telling Jamie that his quick action saved Fergus’ life. But Jamie is distraught. He should have stopped the soldiers, he says. Jenny reminds him that had he done so, they would all be dead, but the weight of what has happened is the final straw for Jamie. He surrenders at last to the grief that he has been keeping out for so long and collapses, sobbing to the floor. Jenny holds his head and strokes his hair, and finally Jamie allows himself to be comforted. It is beautiful work by both Sam Heughan and Laura Donnelly. The bond between the two is as strong as ever and we see the strength that the Fraser siblings draw from each other. 

Shortly afterwards, Jamie comes to see Fergus, who apologises to him, saying that he had tried to lead the soldiers away from the cave. But Jamie responds that it is he who is sorry, telling Fergus that he has now been reminded that he has something to fight for. Despite the pain, Fergus sits up at this, a ghost of a smile on his face. “There you are, Milord,” he says. Jamie is coming back to them at last and the two share a look of understanding. Fergus reminds Jamie of the bargain they had made in Paris and what would happen should he lose a hand whilst in Jamie’s service. But Jamie hasn’t forgotten. He had promised to support Fergus for the rest of his life, and, handing Fergus a glass of whisky vows that Fergus can trust him to keep the bargain. “I have always trusted you, Milord,” Fergus responds, adding that he is lucky, having become a man of leisure in one stroke. The two smile at each other, their relationship mended. 

In Boston, Frank and Claire are hosting a dinner party for Millie and Jerry Nelson. Lighthearted small talk about desserts give way to innuendo and once the guests have gone, Claire takes the innuendo a step further. With a nod to the opening episode of season 1, where “Mrs Randall had forgotten her underwear”, Claire removes hers provocatively. It has the desired effect and the two begin to make love on the floor in front of the fire. But this time, Frank wants more. Claire’s eyes are tightly shut once again and he demands that she look at him. When Claire doesn’t, he stops, demanding to know why she won’t open her eyes. Claire tries to placate him, saying that it doesn’t mean anything and that she is enjoying it, but Frank is not convinced. Annoyed now, Claire sits up, bringing things to an immediate halt and saying that if Frank wasn’t in the mood he should have said. 

But Frank is determined to bring the problem out into the open. “Claire, when I’m with you, I’m with you,” he says. “But you’re with him.” Claire cannot disagree. Both have surrendered to the truth: the ghost of Jamie is ever present.

By another fire, in another century, Ian and Jamie are having a heart-to-heart. Ian talks of his missing leg and how it still pains him, sometimes waking him in the middle of the night. He remarks that Fergus will no doubt feel the same, feeling a pain in a part of him that is lost. But then Ian gets to the truth of what he wants to say. “That’s just a hand,” he says. “Claire was your heart.” The two share a long look, Ian raising his glass of whisky to his brother-in-law. It is a lovely moment of understanding between them. Wandering the halls shortly afterwards, Jamie notices a deep gash in the family crest that hangs on the wall. He asks Mary McNab, who is passing by with a blanket for Fergus, who is responsible. Mary tells him that the soldiers did it when they were searching the house. At last Jamie voices what they have all known for some time: the redcoats are not going to stop until they have found the Dunbonnet. It is time for another surrender.

In the next scene, an incredulous Jenny is resisting Jamie’s plan. He wishes her to turn him in, so that she will get the reward money. The soldiers will leave the family alone then, believing them loyal to the crown. “To hell with the Crown,” Jenny retorts. But Jamie will not be deterred. He tells Jenny that she is to contact Captain Lewis, and tell him that she has heard from her brother. When Jamie arrives for a visit, the soldiers will be there to arrest him. Jenny tries to dissuade him, saying that he will be hanged. But the determined Jamie of old will not let them risk their lives for him any longer. Ian tries for a moment of comfort, saying that British are no longer executing Jacobites and that Jamie will probably only be imprisoned. But Jenny is not convinced, remarking to Jamie that he must surely have seen the inside of enough prisons in his lifetime. Jamie’s reply is heartfelt and poignant. “Little difference to the prison I live in now,” he says. We are left in no doubt that Ian was right - Claire was indeed Jamie’s heart and without her, life has lost its joy. 

With Jenny unable to persuade Jamie to change his mind, plans for his capture begin. Mary McNab arrives at the cave, bringing Jamie a final feast from Jenny. She asks Jamie if he minds the company and he replies that it will be welcome. She enters the cave and here begins one of the most beautiful scenes in the episode.  

As Mary removes six years of beard and hair growth, Jamie praises her act of turning over the pistol to the redcoats, telling her that she was brave to do so. “It was the only thing I could do,” she replies. Next, he thanks her for the barbering and after telling her that he will leave the cave the next day, goes to wash up by the river. 

When he returns, he finds Mary dressed only in her shift. Immediately suspicious, he asks whose idea it was, Mary’s or Jenny’s. Mary asks if it matters. Jamie answers that no, it doesn’t matter, as nothing is going to happen. If Mary won’t leave the cave, he says, then he will. But Mary stops him, with a hand on his back. She tells Jamie that no one had told her to do what she is doing now. She knows what it was like between Jamie and Claire and she doesn’t want him to think that he is betraying that. She reaches gently for his hand and Jamie begins to turn, warily, towards her. Mary wants to share something different, she says, possibly something less, but something they both need. Jamie looks at her now, as Mary speaks of them both needing something to keep them whole, as they each move forward in their lives. She touches his cheek and this time, Jamie doesn’t pull away. Instead, he moves towards her, but he is uncertain. He hasn’t done this in a very long time, he tells her. “Neither have I,” she replies, letting her shift fall from her shoulders. They kiss briefly, his eyes closed. Mary tells Jamie that he can look at her if he wishes. With tears welling up, Jamie says that she is a bonny lass, but it is something that he always does. Finally, he allows the tears to fall and he surrenders to his own needs. It is a truly beautiful scene, full of tenderness, vulnerability, sorrow and release. There aren’t really enough accolades for Sam Heughan and Emma Campbell-Jones here. The whole scene is pure perfection. 

Claire’s voiceover is back! As Claire pushes a slightly older (and gorgeous!) Brianna in the pram, we hear her thoughts. Although she has thrown herself into her role as a mother, she needs something more. Once, she says, she had loved a man, borne a child, healed the sick and been part of something greater than herself. It is a lifestyle that she wants again and the small knife from the kitchen morphs into a surgical scalpel. As a new scene begins, Claire Randall, medical student, introduces herself to Dr Simms, the first year anatomy professor. But her enthusiasm is soon halted by Dr Simms’ condescending tone. He has been told there is both a woman and a negro in the year’s intake, sarcastically musing as to how modern the university has become. Soon other students begin to enter the lecture theatre, looking suspiciously at Claire. She moves to take her seat, but her first attempt is blocked by a young man who childishly refuses to let her pass. 

Undeterred she moves to another row, ignoring the whispers and hostile glances from the others. At last another man enters, who momentarily takes the focus off Claire. Soon enough, the aforementioned “negro” sits next to Claire, introducing himself as Joe Abernathy. The two shake hands and smile. An alliance is formed, one which book readers will be looking forward to immensely. With a final deliberate insult to Claire, Dr Simms invites the “gentlemen” to begin the lesson. 

Preparing for bed, Claire and Frank briefly discuss Brianna’s lost bunny rabbit before bidding each other good night with a friendly smile. Claire turns out her bedside lamp and we watch Frank watch her, his smile fading. The camera pans back and we see two single beds. Frank too has surrendered to the inevitable. The “new beginning” that they had hopefully spoken of at Brianna’s birth has ended. There is to be no great rekindling of the romance between them and they will now be parents, not lovers. 

But the final surrender of the episode is twofold, occurring back at Lallybroch. Jenny is scattering seed to the chickens when Jamie suddenly “appears” in the courtyard, announcing that he has come home. He walks towards her, smiling, arms outstretched, playing the part of the prodigal son to the letter. Jenny is not smiling, the tears falling as the soldiers appear to arrest him for high treason. Jamie keeps up the pretence, playacting at being outraged that his sister would betray him. Jenny’s voice breaks as she plays her part, telling Jamie that it is his own fault and that he has brought it on himself. Captain Lewis presents her with the reward money, congratulating her on her service to the crown. Responding to Jamie’s cries of “blood money”, Jenny calls after him, “You gave me no choice, brother. And I’ll never forgive you.” It is true, of course. 

Jamie has surrendered to the English, to save his family from persecution, while Jenny has surrendered to Jamie’s wishes, although it has broken her heart to do so. They share one last look, before the soldiers wrestle Jamie into the back of the wagon and Jenny runs inside. The forgotten “dunbonnet” lies in the mud in the courtyard, as a now manacled Jamie begins the journey to his next prison. He looks outside, as bagpipe music seems to play in the distance.

The music is not from the eighteenth century, but the twentieth. Claire is walking over a bridge, when she sees a lone piper. He is playing, aptly, Scotland the Brave. Overcome, she pauses. The longing is clear on her face, as she reaches into her purse and makes a donation, before continuing her own journey.

This episode covered so much ground and was beautifully written, acted and directed. We are left under no illusion as to the personal surrenders that each of the main characters have made and it remains to be seen what will happen to them as a result.

This recap was written by Susie Brown, a writer and teacher-librarian who lives in Australia. She hesitates to say that she has seen the name “McGregor” on her own family tree, but hopes that the spelling of Mc rather than Mac renders those ancestors Irish, rather than Scottish, as she wants no connection to the horrible Corporal MacGregor whatsoever!!