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Outlander Episode 10 Recap: By the Pricking of My Thumbs
If I could, I’d like to take a few moments upfront to rhapsodize about the scene-stealer of this installment of Outlander: Claire’s winter coat.
When she’s not rolling around in the enthusiastic buff with her husband, Claire spends a lot of time traipsing about the woods, and she does so like that forest is her own personal catwalk, with an overcoat that can only be described as “ski bunny-chic.” The cuffs of her sleeves alone look like she’s wearing two angora rabbit handpuppets. It’s a statement ensemble for a bold woman. And in that respect, Claire is dressing for success, because she is a woman on a mission, making frenemies—and outright enemies—right and left.
Of the latter category, we first come to Laoghaire. Claire’s warpath begins with a confrontation with Laoghaire over the “ill wish” she left beneath Claire and Jamie’s bed. Laoghaire pulls the “tryna steal my man” argument, only to be told by Claire that Jamie is not, was not, and never will be hers. There’s some name-calling and slapping and just enough simmering hostility to indicate that this particular issue isn’t going away anytime soon. But the meat of this argument is a revelation: where did Laoghaire get the ill wish? None other than Claire’s BFF: Geillis Duncan.
Oh, snap. In her fabulous coat, Claire trots off to find that traitorous Geillis late at night in the woods. When she happens upon her, Geillis is in the midst of some sort of elaborate and erotic Earth Day ritual. While the two shoot the breeze, another important bombshell plot point is revealed: Geillis is pregnant, and it’s not by her gastronomically distressed husband. No, the father is Dougal MacKenzie, who seems to really thrive when he’s impregnating other men’s wives.
Geillis is out in the wilderness summoning “Mother Nature” to solve her problem—her husband, whose continual drawing of breath is a real nuisance. Oh, and there’s another problem: Dougal’s married too, apparently?
But don’t you go and get attached to that wife or anything. Just as quickly as we learned she existed, we learn she’s dead of a “sudden illness.” To anyone with a working noodle, that sounds like Geillis’ work. I’m sorry, Mother Nature‘s work. Seeing as Claire has just one such sharp noodle, she’s reevaluating her friendship. At the same time, who wants to go and upset the Highlands’ black magic woman? Claire has too many other people who don’t like her to worry about.
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But now let us take a break from voodoo and turn to legal documents. Remember when Colum, in a fit of wily strategy, invited the Duke of Sandringham to a banquet at Castle Leoch? Well, England’s finest dandy has made it to Scotland, and Ned Gowan’s cooked up a scheme. Like the rest of us, the Duke has a fond eye for Jamie and, thus, might be amenable to doing something about that nasty Black Jack Randall. So the gang has drawn up a letter of complaint against Randall for his obsessive interest in flogging and raping everyone he meets.
The problem with this, as we and Claire know, is that Sandringham is actually Randall’s benefactor. He’s also suspected of being a secret Jacobite (to whom Dougal has been funneling the money from his traveling roadshow). So, dude’s complicated. Still, can his fondness for Jamie’s physique overcome his willingness to protect his bloodlusty pet?
For now, it seems that way. After making Jamie serve as his beta in a duel with the McDonald clan, Sandringham totters off with the letter of complaint as Jamie deals with his stab wound. Sometimes I think he gets injured just so he can take his shirt off for Claire.
While it’s unclear yet whether we can count that as a problem solved, another issue has been heartily resolved. At the dinner in honor of the Duke, Geillis’ flatulent husband finally bites the big one, choking to death on his recommended daily dose of cyanide. As the goo-goo eyes Geillis makes at Dougal across the hall attest, this appears to be her handiwork as well.
I’m no expert on 18th-century public opinion, but this is a whole lot of conveniently timed, mysterious death happening all at once. And that would seem to be problematic for Geillis, who’s already got a reputation as a witchy woman. Maybe she’s counting on Dougal to protect her? But that’s a flawed calculation, because Dougal can’t even protect himself.
Also, in this episode, Colum MacKenzie refers to his brother as:
- Idiot
- Sotted fool
- Halfwit
- Numbskull
Colum is having none of Dougal’s ish anymore, and thus he banishes the big guy to the last place Dougal wants to be: his own home. But Colum’s wrath has another target. For his part in the bloody duel with the McDonalds, Jamie is sentenced to serve as Dougal’s babysitter—and he’s not allowed to bring Claire.
It’s unclear how this news will affect our per-capita sex scene quota in upcoming episodes, but it does at least give us a passionate goodbye from the two lovers (“I said kiss her, dinna swallow her”—Dougal “I’m Here All Week, Folks” MacKenzie).
Speaking of Claire, now that she’s extracted that promise from Jamie about never raising a hand to her again, she’s free to defy his wishes. In this episode, she manages the feat twice. First, she drops in on the Duke to threaten him with her knowledge of his relationships with both Black Jack and Dougal.
The second instance is the more troubling. Jamie’s farewell instructions to his wife include a plea to not pal around with Geillis anymore. But no sooner is Jamie off, than a note arrives for Claire. It’s from Geillis, asking for Claire’s immediate assistance. (Except that it’s actually not. Dang it, Laoghaire!)
Our last sight of Claire is of her peeking out of a paddy-wagon, as she and Geillis are hauled off for being black-hearted sorceresses. Jamie’s not going to be happy about this.
Stay tuned for next week’s episode (and recap!) of Outlander.
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