Outlander Homepage Originals
Some alliances are based on love, others on duty. Some alliances come naturally, while others are forced. No matter the alliance however, honesty and trust form the vital cornerstones on which a relationship will succeed or fail. Rollercoasters of emotion are on display in this episode, as the action weaves between characters and time periods once again.
As the episode begins, Claire, as if in a trance, is marrying John. It is an emotionally charged ceremony. John stares at Claire intently, who can barely speak. She does not meet his gaze, but mutters her vows in disbelief, stumbling over the words “to love and to cherish, till death us do part”. Even saying them is painful, as it reminds her that she has indeed been parted from Jamie. John puts his hand over hers, trying to give her strength. She raises her eyes, but it is not John that she looks at, but rather William, the only living reminder she now has of Jamie. An uncomfortable William walks forward and hands John the ring, which he places over the top of Jamie’s. The ceremony over, Claire climbs the stairs and enters her room. Immediately taking off the ring, she lies down on the bed and stares blankly ahead.
It is somewhat ironic that the only marriage that Claire had wanted to participate in was her first, to Frank. Her next two marriages were not of her choosing, but both husbands were honourable men. She married Jamie so that she was protected from the English, and once again she has married John for protection, so that she won’t be arrested as a spy. Three very different men, but all wanted to keep her safe.
As the Autumn leaves fall, Ian is making his own tribute to Jamie, in the form of a cairn and a Gaelic prayer. Rachel approaches him and asks what he has said. He tells her that it is a prayer for his uncle’s soul since he doesn’t have a grave to rest in. Ian asks if Quakers believe in Heaven. Rachel explains that life on earth is seen as a sacrament, and while there may be an afterlife, belief in one is a matter of personal choice, given that no-one has ever returned from the dead to prove it. Ian remarks that if there is a Heaven, he takes comfort from thinking that Jamie is there with his father. Rachel asks if Old Ian had known about her and the fact that she was a Quaker.
“He kent that you were a Quaker, and that I loved you,”Ian tells her, taking her hand. “That seemed to be enough.”
“Thee has lost so much,” Rachel replies, stroking his cheek.
In 1739, Roger and Buck are discussing Roger’s father, a man of whom Roger has little memory. He tells Buck that his father’s plane disappeared, shot down over the English channel on the way to Germany. Buck wonders why his mother would have lied about what had actually happened and Roger replies that it’s what she had been told at the time. The plane and the body were never found.
“What’s that got to do with your wee lad though?” Buck asks and Roger replies that he doesn’t know. There must be a reason though, he muses, for them to come through the stones to the wrong time, where they have found no trace of Jem, but have arrived in a place where his father is. The identification tags are the only lead they have to go on, so they have to follow it.
“Find the tinker, find my father and if we do, maybe we find Jemmy too,” Roger says.
Back in the 1970s, Brianna tucks a doll beside a sleeping Mandy. The sight of Jem’s plane affects her and she leaves the room, heading for the kitchen where she grips the sink in despair, before wandering aimlessly about. She throws a knife into a drawer, which then jams. In frustration, Brianna smashes the drawer repeatedly, succeeding only in injuring herself.
Rachel and Ian are walking. Ian says he needs to tell her something, before admitting that he has been married before. Rachel asks if he is still married and he replies that he wouldn’t have asked her to marry him if he was. Rachel points out that he hasn’t actually asked her.
“Are you sure?” Ian says and Rachel assures him tat she would have noticed if he had.
A bit of playful banter ensues, where they talk about declarations of love. They are about to kiss, when Rachel suggests that Ian tell her more about his not being married before they go any further.
“Who was thy wife?” she asks. “What happened to her?”
So Ian begins to tell her about Emily and uses the present tense when he mentions her name, which shocks Rachel.
“Your wife is alive?” she asks.
“She was, when I last saw her,” he replies.
Rachel demands to be told more about Emily, but Ian questions her motives. Does she want to know about her, or is it more about whether Ian loved, or indeed still loves, her?
John is drinking - a lot - when William enters the room. He asks John why he went through with the wedding. He has no qualms about John remarrying, or even about Claire’s forthright nature. He tells John that he has a great deal of respect for Claire’s qualities and her skill as a physician.
“But she is a rebel,” William says. “And by tieing your name to hers, you are putting that name in jeopardy.”
“James Fraser was my friend,” John replies, “and he loved his wife more than anything in this world. I owe it to him to protect her.”
“At the expense of your reputation and your own happiness?” William challenges. He then proceeds to give his own opinion of Jamie, describing him as a groom and farmer who took up arms against the crown.
“Papa, I know you cared for him, but how could you possibly owe him that much?” he asks.
His eyes shining with tears, John smiles at William, commenting that he thinks his reputation will survive more or less intact. Then he reaches forward and cups William’s cheek with his hand.
“And as for happiness, my dear boy, I have all that I shall ever need.” He pulls William into an embrace.
Ian is explaining the story of his first marriage. He tells Rachel that Emily had been his refuge when he first left his family and joined the Mohawk. He tells of the loss of two babies and that since he couldn’t give her children, he was told to go. Emily took another husband and Ian didn’t see her until he travelled to her village with a message from a general. It was then that he had learned that the son Emily had after his departure was actually his, but he couldn’t take his child from the home he knew.
“He has a father, “Ian adds. “A good man.”
Turning to Rachel he tells her that Emily had chosen him, a fact for which he was grateful.
“But Rachel,” he says, “with my whole soul, I choose you. I hope you will choose me.”
“Oh Ian,” Rachel responds, “I do love thee.”
It is night. Claire is lying in bed, grief and anger overwhelming her. She hits at the wall, before getting up and pacing the room, picking up her medical box. We see her wrestling with what to do, considering both swallowing ether and also ending her life by cutting a vein.
“Blood of my blood,’’ she says, looking at the scalpel, going as far as to put it to her skin and begin to cut. But Jamie’s voice comes to her, reminding her how small a thing death is between them and saying that when his body dies, his soul will still be hers. Nothing is lost, he reminds her, only changed.
When Claire remembers him saying that he couldn’t think of her as dead, she cannot bring herself to complete the cut. She screams in pain and loss, a guttural, angry sound. Seeing a decanter on the mantle, she grabs it, drinking as much as she can.
Downstairs, John hears Claire’s anguish. He drains his own glass, as his gaze falls on the chess board. Thinking of Jamie, he tips over the King - an admission of surrender. But on hearing Claire’s screams, he reaches a decision. Unsteadily he walks from the room and makes his way to her.
“I will not mourn him alone tonight,” he declares.
The next scene is brief and powerful, as both Claire and John give in to the pain they feel. Initially slapping him and screaming that Jamie is not his to mourn, Claire is soon clinging to John. Both are sobbing and tearing at each other’s clothing, taking release from their grief physically. The scene is almost dreamlike in its presentation, with a soaring musical score that adds drama. The whole scene is little more than 30 seconds long, but full of intensity. It is testament to the trust that Caitriona Balfe and David Berry have in each other to create the rawness of emotion that they do.
The next morning, both awaken in the same bed, naked and embarrassed. Claire comments that she had thought she must have dreamt the encounter, asking John how long it has been since he was with a woman.
“15 years,” John answers. “At least that.”
John apologises to Claire, for not being gentlemanly. In turn, she acknowledges the fact that she had not been ladylike herself.
“Besides,” she adds, “it wasn’t me you were making love to. We both know it.”
“Nor were you, I think, making love to me,” John replies. “Were you?”
“No,” Claire confirms.
John recalls the time when Jamie had offered him his body and Claire asks why he didn’t accept. John explains that it was not just Jamie’s body that he had wanted, but that he had wanted “all of it”. Being young and proud, he had felt that if he couldn’t have it all, he would accept no less.
Claire asks if he regrets not accepting the offer and John gives a wry smile.
“Ten thousand times,” he answers, before adding that his refusal marked one of the few acts of nobility to which he would lay claim. He tells Claire that selflessness did have its own reward, explaining that if he had taken Jamie’s body it would have forever destroyed the friendship that they did have. “In the end,” he tells Claire, “it was the friendship that I valued most.”
Claire is feeling more generous now, telling John that his friendship had been one of the most important in Jamie’s life. She asks if John has been alone all the time since his wife had died. John admits that he does in fact have a liaison with the cook at Mt Josiah, ensuring Claire that it is not just a relief of natural urges, but that there is a true amity between them, with no sense of possession. Each man is free to pursue other relationships.
John then uses a poetic analogy to explain to Claire about his relationship. At Mt Josiah, he tells her, deer will often come out of the woods at night. Now and then a white deer comes out, although it looks silver, a sight of rare beauty. It comes for two or three nights, before disappearing for weeks or months. When it reappears, he is enchanted once more.
“I do not own this creature,” John says, “and would not if I could. Its coming is a blessing that I accept with gratitude, and when it is gone, there is no sense of abandonment.” It is a gift that he is grateful to have had for as long as it chose to remain.
Claire asks if Manoke feels the same way about John and the replies that he has no idea.
“You don’t talk to each other in bed?” Claire asks, incredulously, asking if he has ever had a lover with whom he could talk.
John confirms that he has, although perhaps not as frankly as he finds himself talking with her. This prompts Claire into an apology for prying, but John says that he is flattered that she should take an interest. He knows of other marriages where each partner remains in ignorance of the other’s past and Claire comments that all three of her marriages have been unconventional.
John says that he will take his leave of her and send Mrs Figg up with some tea. As he dresses, Claire looks over at him.
“John,” she says. “What happens now?”
John smiles at her. “Think of the deer, my dear,” he says, gently.
This was the perfect scene to follow the intensity of the previous one, allowing honesty and empathy to soften the anger and pain. Again, Caitriona Balfe and David Berry are to be congratulated on the atmosphere that they created.
Roger and Buck have found the tinker, who remembers Jeremiah McKenzie’s military ID and the items that he traded for it. Roger asks for more details about the man the tinker got the tags from, wondering if he was strangely dressed and how he came to meet him.
“He sought me out,” the tinker replies, “same as yourselves.”
Roger pushes further, wanting to know if he was dressed strangely or used strange words. This makes the tinker suspicious and Buck diffuses the situation by saying that Roger merely has an eye for jewels. The tinker is all too pleased to show off his wares and Roger soon selects a gem that could be used for future travel. For a further coin, the tinker tells them that the man was probably a crofter, wearing a coat that he had gotten from a man wandering the glen on the opposite side of the village.
Brianna has taped her injured fingers and is pouring wine when she is shocked to see Rob Cameron appear in the kitchen. She asks what he is doing there and Rob holds up a letter with a seal.
“I came for you, Hen,” he says. “And for the gold.”
Rob tells Brianna that he has asked Jem where the Spaniard is, but the boy has played dumb. He wants Brianna to go with him and tell Jem to do what he says.
Brianna asks where Jem is.
“He isn’t in the past, if that’s what you mean,” Rob replies.
Brianna realises that Rob had deliberately planted Jem’s scarf near the stones and Rob confirms this, saying that he couldn’t have Roger mucking up his plans. He assures Brianna not to worry and that Jem is unharmed.
Brianna demands to know where Jem is and a scuffle ensues. Brianna attempts to grab a knife, but Cameron overpowers her, soon holding the knife at her throat and telling her that he calls the shots. He tells her that she is going convince Jem to tell him where the gold is, or he will come up with more creative ways to make Jem talk. He tells Brianna that they are going to get on a plane and go to America or wherever the gold is. Once he has it, they will be free.
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” Brianna asks, and Cameron replies that she doesn’t have much of a choice as no one is coming to help her. Handing her a glass, he tells Brianna to pour him a glass of wine too, to toast their good fortune. But when Cameron turns away briefly, Brianna picks up a pan from the sink and knocks him unconscious.
Ian has come to see Claire and is relieved to see her up and about. Claire is making a tincture for Henry, which Ian offers to deliver, but Claire declines. Mercy Woodcock has been tending to him, but he is her patient, she says. Ian comments that she doesn’t know how Claire is carrying on, remembering a time when she had once told him that all he had to do was breathe. Claire answers that that is all she is doing. It’s all she can do. Ian says how much he misses Jamie, saying that Jamie was like a father to him and he now feels like he has lost two fathers. Claire goes to him and they embrace. Ian says that he is leaving to take Rachel to Denzell at Valley Forge. He wanted to see her, he says, in case she is intending to return to her own time. He didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.
Claire replies that she doesn’t feel that the future is her time anymore. She and Jamie had built their lives in America, wanting to be part of creating the new nation. Jamie might not have a chance to finish the fight, but she can see it through for Jamie, Bree, Roger and the children.
“I’m glad you’re staying Aunty,” Ian says. “I couldn’t bear to lose you both. You’re my family, too and always will be.”
John and Claire leave to visit Henry and John notices that Claire is not wearing her wedding ring. At Mercy’s, Claire checks Henry over. The pain has subsided and Mercy has followed Claire’s instructions to the letter. Claire compliments Mercy on her care. John is relieved at Henry’s recovery, and tells the young man he will write to his father to inform him that Henry will be well enough to travel in a few weeks. But Henry has other ideas. He intends to stay, expressing the desire to stay in America with Mercy, whom he wishes to marry.
John is shocked. Henry continues, entreating John to write to his father to confirm Mercy’s good character. John asks to speak with his nephew privately, but Mercy refuses, reminding John that since they are in her home, any conversation will be had in front of her.
John informs the couple that he will not write a letter of support, as mixed race marriages are illegal. Moreover, he says that the situation is impossible, quoting Henry’s lengthy - and undeniably English - list of titles.
“You will not engage in a marriage, secret or otherwise,” he says. “You will return to England, your title and your father’s name.” When Henry retorts that his duty is to the woman he loves, John tells him not to be a fool.
In the carriage afterwards, Claire is disapproving.
“I would never have taken you for a bigot,” she tells a shocked John.
John tells her that he is merely protecting his nephew from making a grave error. Claire reminds him that it is due to Mercy that Henry is alive, but John says that Mercy is also the widow of a traitor to the Crown.
“Did you not just marry a widow of a traitor to the Crown?” Claire asks him.
“I am not my brother’s son,” John responds, adding that Henry will be risking rejection if he goes ahead with his plan to marry Mercy. All titles and properties will be forfeited, but Claire says that tit is a decision that Henry must be allowed to make. One day, she tells John, people will be able to marry who they choose and that it is such people who will usher in change.
“Sacrificing themselves to be martyrs to a cause?” John asks.
“Would you not have sacrificed everything for love?” Claire retorts.
“Perhaps,” John replies, adding that he should be grateful that Jamie’s heart never belonged to him.
Claire reminds John that he had once spoken of unbearable loneliness.. She can’t believe that John would wish that on his nephew, when the woman that he loves wants to spend the rest of her live with him. But John has the winning hand in the argument, saying bitterly, “Because I know what it is like, Madam, to have your love be a crime, to live in fear of discovery and violence.” He will not allow Henry and Mercy to risk imprisonment or worse.
Later, in the house, John presents Claire with a large box and asks her to open it. Claire does so, revealing a gown that John has had made for her. He seems nervous that she should like it, telling Claire that Mrs Figg can make alterations before Thursday. They need to host a supper for General Hough, he tells her, complete with dancing, in order to raise funds for the loyalist cause. As his wife, Claire needs to accompany him, although he knows it might be painful. People need to see them together, he entreats, to present a certain face to society to dispel any whispers that linger regarding the state of their marriage.
“I don’t give a damn about whispers,” Claire says, and John loses his temper.
“God’s blood, Claire!” he yells. “You don’t have to love me or share my bed, but you need to decide to be my wife!” Here in the house, he continues, they need to survive. “What we have is each other. And if we have each other, then we have him.”
Roger and Buck are wondering why no one has seen Roger’s father, given that a man in a military uniform would attract attention. Buck thinks that folks have seen him, but don’t want any trouble, particularly when they must appear as strangers, asking after him. Roger comments that at least they have one gemstone now, although they need to find two more. Suddenly, they come across a military coat hanging from a tree. A man appears, and Roger asks about the coat, saying that it belongs to someone they are looking for. But the man is not interested in talking and tells them to begone. Roger tries again, saying that it is important, but the man picks up a weapon and calls for friends to assist. There is nothing Roger can do, but to follow Buck’s instruction and leave.
Later, they are camping and Roger tells Buck that no military man would sell his coat. Buck says that perhaps the man had traded the coat for food. It doesn’t mean that Jeremiah has been harmed. They will just need to keep looking. Roger says he can’t change the feeling that everything is connected and predestined.
“You have to have faith,” Buck says.
The supper is underway, but Claire is not there to greet the guests. Captain Richardson appears, ostensibly, he says, to offer his congratulations. If John has married Claire, he tells John, then he must have misjudged her, and that Claire poses no threat. He has merely come to support the cause. At this moment, Claire appears, wearing both the gown and her wedding ring. John flashes her a grateful look and presents Claire to the latest guests.
William is also in attendance and is standing with Claire when a young woman approaches. William introduces her as Peggy Chue and deftly deflects her attempts to get him to dance with her. When a rather deflated Peggy leaves, Claire asks William why he wouldn’t dance. William replies that he doesn’t feel inclined to do so since Rachel left.
“Sometimes when the heart and mind are restless,” Claire says, “A dance can be a nice distraction.’
They are words that William then uses against her, when Captain Richardson appears and asks Claire to dance. Given no choice, Claire agrees.
On the dance floor, Richardson wastes no time in explaining his reason for his invitation. He confesses to Claire that he is a rebel working as an American agent in the guise of a captain in the army. He knows that Claire is also a rebel, and tells her that it was he who had warned John of her imminent arrest, leading to her being kept safe from the gallows. Richardson says that the letters Claire had delivered were of vital importance to the American campaign and that Claire’s life was worth saving. He had not, he tells her, anticipated that Lord John would accomplish the task of saving Claire by marrying her.
“Lord John is a very gallant man,” Claire says.
“And because of it,” Richardson tells her, “we find ourselves in a fortuitous situation.”
Richardson says that the war will be won on intelligence and politics. Claire’s position in John’s household makes her uniquely suited to be of use on both fronts.
“You want me to spy on my husband?”Claire says.
Richardson says that he also wants information on John’s brother, who has been making speeches in the House of Lords that will prove detrimental to the cause.
While all this may be true, Claire tells Richardson that she will not deceive either John or his family. Richardson then tells Claire then she needs to keep his identity secret. There are many people, he says, who are now questioning John’s loyalty after his marriage. Claire tells him he can save his threats.
“I will keep your secrets,” she tells him. “While I may not agree with your methods, we are nevertheless on the same side.”
The next day, John enters Claire’s bedroom with a handful of invitations . They need to attend at least one function, he tells her and she nods. John also has a letter from Colonel Graves, which he is beginning to open, when a familiar voice calls out Claire’s name. To both Claire and John’s shock, Jamie strides into the room, hotly followed by Mrs Figg, who has been trying to stop him.
Claire runs to him and kisses him.
“There it is,” she murmurs, “my blood.”
She asks Jamie to kiss her again, but Jamie replies that there are a number of soldiers looking for him. John, meanwhile, asks how Jamie is still alive. Jamie explains that the captain of the Uterpe had taken advantage of a good wind and set sail early. While his luggage was on board, he was not.
Claire and Jamie kiss again, but John interrupts them, telling Jamie that his son would soon be home.
“William?” Jamie says. “He’s here?”
When John confirms this, Jamie says that he had better go, telling John that it is good to see him, if only for a moment. But on opening the door, he discovers William standing there. He has overheard and is staring at Jamie in shock.
“Son?” William says. “You’re…”
“James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser,” Jamie replies.
“And who the bloody hell am I?” William asks.
“You’re a stinking papist,” Jamie replies, “and your baptismal name is James. It was the only name I had a right to give you, and I’m sorry.”
But rather than a tearful reunion with the groom of his childhood, William is cold. “God damn you Sir,” he says. “I don’t want your name.” Taking the rosary beads from inside his uniform , he gives them back to Jamie, telling him that he doesn’t want anything of his. He then turns his anger on John.
“You knew, didn’t you? You lied to me. God damn you too.”
The altercation is interrupted by a pounding on the door, followed by soldiers running up the stairs, pointing at Jamie. As William moves to the soldiers, asking what the meaning is for their appearance, Jamie grabs John, pretending to take him hostage. Everyone disperses, leaving Claire alone. Despite the high drama, she can’t help but to smile. No matter what might lie ahead, Jamie is back by her side.
This was a highly anticipated episode by book fans, who knew that Claire would become Lady John Grey and wanted to see how “that scene” would be handled. The fandom has been almost universally positive about the way this particular storyline has been handled so far - and of course, there is much more to come on that front. The series is moving at a cracking pace - with plenty more familiar and dramatic scenes ahead.
This recap was written by Susie Brown, a writer and teacher librarian who lives in Australia. While “that scene” took a while to grow on her, she is nevertheless full of praise for the talents of Caitriona Balfe and David Berry.
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