Outlander Episode 10 Recap: Prestonpans
Last week, Outlander largely focused its attentions on the anxiety and trauma of violence. This week, it’s wading into the horror of war itself as Prince Charles’s bonnie wee army meets the British at Prestonpans.
History tells Claire that the Jacobite forces take the day at Prestonpans. She knows that, or she knew that anyway. It’s moments like these when Claire’s meddling in time makes you wonder. Could her presence, and the actions taken because of it, affect the outcome of the day? Only time will tell, but Claire’s feeling generally listless about the whole war effort. “I feared in my heart that history would not be rewritten,” she says of the uprising in voiceover.
Still, Jamie’s doing his best to make sure it will be. He assumes the role of Voice of Reason among Charles’s high command, mediating arguments between the higher-ups about strategy. “Why must the Scots be such intractable people?” a beleaguered Charles asks Jamie. “Aye, we can be pig-headed on occasion…on many occasions,” Jamie admits, in that charming way only he can.
Outlander: Season One, Volume Two
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Outlander: Season One, Volume Two
Blu-ray
$29.45
$30.99
To be fair, the question at issue isn’t a small one. Should the Scottish forces charge across the meadow to meet the British army encamped there, or should they maintain the advantage of their higher ground? Jamie concocts a science experiment to divine the answer. Through some well-placed flattery, he persuades the ever-restless Dougal to ride out into the field and judge its general bogginess. Spoiler alert: it is very boggy. Dougal gets his horse unstuck from the marsh just in time to evade several British bullets. He is hailed as a hero, and you can visibly see his ego rising like a bombastic souffle.
“If I had a hundred men like you, this war would be over tomorrow,” Charles coos to him. Sure, I agree with that, but there’s no guarantee the war wouldn’t be over and you’d all be dead, Chuck. For my money, get 10 or 12 Murtaughs and you’ll have yourself a pretty swift victory.
With the muck of the meadow putting that option to bed, a Plan B falls into the laps of the Highlanders. A meek young man reveals he knows a hidden path that will bypass the bog and allow the Scots to sneak up on the Redcoats. Just like that, ladies and gents, the war is back on!
On the eve of battle, Jamie and Murtaugh ponder fireside at the scale of the fight to come. When these armies clash, one man’s death will mean nothing. A thousand or more must die to make a difference. It’s gruesome math, but true nonetheless. Most in this show have seen violence and death, but few have seen it on such grand scale. (Claire might have been the only one, in actuality.)
Claire, meanwhile, largely takes a back seat this week, but she does have her own all-female medical crew to command. She also has orders from Charles to treat the wounded British soldiers first and with great care, for they are also his father’s subjects. It’s easy to see what he’s trying to do here, and it’s wise to see the British as (hopefully) your soon-to-be subjects. But Charles grossly ignores the dynamic between his loyal Scottish troops and the Redcoats whom they absolutely despise. It all bodes well for his future reign.
Anyway, Claire’s talents will soon be needed.
To be fair, the question at issue isn’t a small one. Should the Scottish forces charge across the meadow to meet the British army encamped there, or should they maintain the advantage of their higher ground? Jamie concocts a science experiment to divine the answer. Through some well-placed flattery, he persuades the ever-restless Dougal to ride out into the field and judge its general bogginess. Spoiler alert: it is very boggy. Dougal gets his horse unstuck from the marsh just in time to evade several British bullets. He is hailed as a hero, and you can visibly see his ego rising like a bombastic souffle.
“If I had a hundred men like you, this war would be over tomorrow,” Charles coos to him. Sure, I agree with that, but there’s no guarantee the war wouldn’t be over and you’d all be dead, Chuck. For my money, get 10 or 12 Murtaughs and you’ll have yourself a pretty swift victory.
With the muck of the meadow putting that option to bed, a Plan B falls into the laps of the Highlanders. A meek young man reveals he knows a hidden path that will bypass the bog and allow the Scots to sneak up on the Redcoats. Just like that, ladies and gents, the war is back on!
On the eve of battle, Jamie and Murtaugh ponder fireside at the scale of the fight to come. When these armies clash, one man’s death will mean nothing. A thousand or more must die to make a difference. It’s gruesome math, but true nonetheless. Most in this show have seen violence and death, but few have seen it on such grand scale. (Claire might have been the only one, in actuality.)
Claire, meanwhile, largely takes a back seat this week, but she does have her own all-female medical crew to command. She also has orders from Charles to treat the wounded British soldiers first and with great care, for they are also his father’s subjects. It’s easy to see what he’s trying to do here, and it’s wise to see the British as (hopefully) your soon-to-be subjects. But Charles grossly ignores the dynamic between his loyal Scottish troops and the Redcoats whom they absolutely despise. It all bodes well for his future reign.
Anyway, Claire’s talents will soon be needed.
Outlander (Outlander Series #1) (Starz Tie-in Edition)
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Outlander (Outlander Series #1) (Starz Tie-in Edition)
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Paperback $18.00
Emerging from the dense fog, Jamie leads the Scottish army into a chaotic and bloody fight. (Even Fergus, looking more than ever like a Dickensian street urchin, charges into the battle.) They catch the British by surprise, and they win in an astounding 15 minutes, but the Brits still get in some devastation of their own. Rupert arrives in Claire’s makeshift hospital with a massive chest wound. Claire is able to sew him back up, but it’s a closer call than anyone’s comfortable with.
Though the battle is won, let us not forget one sterling fact: Dougal’s going to Dougal. Long after the fighting has ceased, the dignified second banana of Clan Mackenzie stalks the field, slaying wounded Redcoats. By the time he exuberantly bursts back into the Scottish encampment—interrupting an underwhelming speech on British-Scottish unity from Charles—his smock is covered in blood. Aghast, Charles wants to banish the “bloodthirsty barbarian” from his ranks. Instead, Jamie helps Dougal save some face, “promoting” him to a special ops team that has the convenient mission of getting as far away from the rest of the army as possible. Job well done, James. Job well done.
In other news, Claire was indeed able to save Rupert, but it seems Angus was the patient who truly needed her attention. He’d been stoic up until the end, but finally he breaks into a coughing fit. As he collapses, blood flowing from his mouth, Claire realizes he’d been bleeding internally. There’s nothing she could to do stop the damage. Rupert wakes up just in time to watch his friend die.
Angus’s death is shocking in its sudden nature, and it packs an emotional punch. Though he’d been offscreen for most of this season, Angus brought a little bit of joy every time he graced the screen. You and your ale-spitting shenanigans will be missed, friend.
“I expected the flavor of victory to taste sweeter,” Murtaugh muses in a particularly somber victory party. No, Jamie replies, “war tastes bitter, no matter the outcome.” Charles’s army may have won the day, but there’s still a long way to go, and no telling how many sacrifices to get there.
Emerging from the dense fog, Jamie leads the Scottish army into a chaotic and bloody fight. (Even Fergus, looking more than ever like a Dickensian street urchin, charges into the battle.) They catch the British by surprise, and they win in an astounding 15 minutes, but the Brits still get in some devastation of their own. Rupert arrives in Claire’s makeshift hospital with a massive chest wound. Claire is able to sew him back up, but it’s a closer call than anyone’s comfortable with.
Though the battle is won, let us not forget one sterling fact: Dougal’s going to Dougal. Long after the fighting has ceased, the dignified second banana of Clan Mackenzie stalks the field, slaying wounded Redcoats. By the time he exuberantly bursts back into the Scottish encampment—interrupting an underwhelming speech on British-Scottish unity from Charles—his smock is covered in blood. Aghast, Charles wants to banish the “bloodthirsty barbarian” from his ranks. Instead, Jamie helps Dougal save some face, “promoting” him to a special ops team that has the convenient mission of getting as far away from the rest of the army as possible. Job well done, James. Job well done.
In other news, Claire was indeed able to save Rupert, but it seems Angus was the patient who truly needed her attention. He’d been stoic up until the end, but finally he breaks into a coughing fit. As he collapses, blood flowing from his mouth, Claire realizes he’d been bleeding internally. There’s nothing she could to do stop the damage. Rupert wakes up just in time to watch his friend die.
Angus’s death is shocking in its sudden nature, and it packs an emotional punch. Though he’d been offscreen for most of this season, Angus brought a little bit of joy every time he graced the screen. You and your ale-spitting shenanigans will be missed, friend.
“I expected the flavor of victory to taste sweeter,” Murtaugh muses in a particularly somber victory party. No, Jamie replies, “war tastes bitter, no matter the outcome.” Charles’s army may have won the day, but there’s still a long way to go, and no telling how many sacrifices to get there.