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Outlander Episode 9 Recap: The Reckoning
Have ye all been good wee lads and lassies? It would seem you have, because in Outlander‘s triumphant return from midseason hiatus we’re treated to an opening voiceover by Jamie Fraser right off the bat, indicating we’ll be seeing things from his perspective in this episode.
We find the Incredible Hunk Hogan skipping stones on a river. Jamie’s pondering his life choices, which is sensible for a man who just entered a marriage contract with a mysterious Englishwoman who may or may not be a spy.
“Every day, every man has a choice, between right and wrong, between love and hate, sometimes between life and death,” he says, before he’s jerked back to reality. You see, it turns out we were in Jamie’s mind palace, to borrow from Sherlock. In the real world, Jamie and the gang are meeting with the English deserter, Horrocks, who is supposed to have information that could get Jamie off the legal hook. (If you’ll recall, this occurred concurrently with Claire’s desperate sprint to Craigh na Dun at the end of the midseason finale.)
Horrocks lets slip that the man who shot the sergeant Jamie is accused of killing was actually—drumroll—Captain Black Jack Randall. That Randall would shoot one of his own men fits squarely into his character history, but it’s bad news nonetheless: no one is ever going to believe this.
But that’s a crisis for another time, because young Willie comes bounding up the hill with news that his charge, Claire, has once again disobeyed a direct order (to stay put) and has been abducted by those rascally English. You had one job, Willie.
Welcome to the start of Jamie’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Episode.
His troublesome bride has been taken to Fort William, a dark, gloomy, imposing hunk of rock. Here, Jamie and his band of Merry Men quickly and effectively gain the whereabouts of Claire by threatening a befuddled redcoat with a forced, um, circumcision.
It must suck to be a watchman at any fortress, because any time the camera is on you it means only one thing: some ruffian is about to sneak up on you. Which, of course, is exactly what happens to a bunch of English guards who are as bad at guarding as Willie was. Following this commotion, Jamie goes full action hero and scales down the stone wall, only to find Randall on the verge of ravaging his screaming wife.
As we see the familiar and creepily delighted face of Randall, we find ourselves back to where the last episode left off. Besides wanting to ruin lives, Randall also wants a little artistic appreciation. Translation: the thug wants to look at his handiwork on Jamie’s scarred back. Claire, being Claire, gets mouthy, urging Jamie to kill Randall, and ends up with the villain’s knife to her throat. Jamie lowers his gun and backs away. Randall, in full sneering villainry, picks up the pistol, and are you ready for the plot twist? It’s not loaded.
Capitalizing on the successful bluff, Jamie enters beast mode, incapacitating Randall. But he stops short of putting the man out of our misery, saying it never occurred to him to kill a helpless man. Meanwhile, everyone and their mother shouts at the television, “KILL HIM, JAMIE. KILL HIM.” Where we’re going you don’t need morals, you great big Scottish ninny.
At least others among Clan MacKenzie are thinking big. As Claire and Jamie flee, there is a giant explosion, surely triggered by the rest of our bearded heroes. The ensuing chaos among the rubble allows Jamie and Claire to make their exit, via a long jump into some cold, cold water.
Then it’s time for a nice horse ride through the Highlands. When the gang stops for a rest, the menfolk are shifty-eyed, apparently curious about how young Jamie plans to handle his burdensome lady-wife. Not that this is the first time Claire’s been on the outs with the clan, but it’s disappointing to watch tension creep back in just as she’d proved herself to them.
Jamie escorts Claire to a little forested privacy to double-check that she is indeed all right. Once confirmed, Jamie lets loose. He’s rather perturbed to have once again come to Claire’s rescue because she failed to listen to him. He’s also tired of people trying to rape her. And really, who isn’t?
Claire, however, does not back down for she is a fiery 18th-century Beyonce. Jamie tells her he knows that she got captured on purpose as revenge for his failure to protect her from the last group of Englishmen who tried to rape her. She finds this theory as ridiculous as it sounds, and reiterates that she was just going for a walk. Of course, we know that “walk” was actually a full-throttle run back to the sorcery stones that will send her back to her 1940s husband. It will be interesting to see when Claire finally decides to reveal this little nugget of information to her second husband.
But back to the fight: Jamie and Claire both proceed to say a lot of things they can never take back, presumably because copies of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus have not found their way through the stones of Craigh na Dun. Soon everyone feels bad about everything. For his part, Jamie wants to prove that he’s man enough for Claire. But that issue is irrelevant, because you are man enough for me, Jamie Fraser. Claire stops cursing long enough to try to undo the wounds inflicted and asks for his forgiveness. Jamie obliges and apologizes in turn. The newlyweds are seemingly healed.
But not everything is. The crew stops at an inn, and everyone’s ignoring Claire. It would seem Jamie’s not the only one who’s a bit tired of Rescue 911: Sassenach. Claire excuses herself and goes to bed. When Jamie joins her, it’s clear not everything is back to normal. Jamie’s forgiven her, sure, but he still thinks she needs to be punished, and, oddly enough, he uses an equal-rights argument to get there.
Jamie reasons that if a man had acted as Claire had, he would be beaten. At first, Claire doesn’t get where he’s going with this, and where he’s going with this is that he wants to tan her hide. She, predictably, does not take this news well.
Remember when Frank and Claire jumped on the bed to scandalize Mrs. Baird with the sounds of passionate love-making back in Episode 1? Here’s an echo, except this time a band of Scottish bros at the tavern below gets to listen as Jamie and Claire spar over the proposed punishment. “I’m not sure who’s punishing who,” Angus quips.
Ships in 1-2 days.
The men are all appropriately not charming the following morning when Claire descends, giggling at her sore bottom and amused at the tension between the couple. She eats her breakfast sulking in the corner. If Jamie thinks Claire is going to forgive him anytime soon, he’s in for a rude awakening.
The homecoming at Castle Leoch is similarly strained. So much action has taken place, we’d almost forgotten that Colum has yet to give his blessing to Claire and Jamie’s union, which he kind of does in an address to the hall. But not before he and wife Letitia throw some major shade. It seems lairds get a might testy when they’re left out of major wheeling and dealing.
You know who else hasn’t given a blessing to this union? Poor, pitiful Laoghaire, who finds Jamie in the corridor and demands to know why he married Claire, but also really any woman who is not her. Jamie, like any good middle-manager, passes the blame up to “Dougal’s arrangement,” and promises an explanation later. Laoghaire does not push the issue, but there is a distinct look of mischief in her eyes as Jamie walks away.
Also feeling his oats is Colum who gathers his three “weasels”—Dougal, Ned Gowan, and Jamie—and demands answers for the brouhaha at Fort William. Being assured that the clan will feel no further repercussions, he then makes poor old Ned soil his breeches when he asks about the money the rent-collecting crew has been gathering in the name of the Jacobite cause. Some little birdie has been whispering in his ear apparently; a few scenes later we find out it was Willie, now shunned by his comrades.
Dougal takes to his soapbox to say that the cause of House Stuart ranks higher than Colum and the clan itself. It’s a bold statement on its own, but this whole exchange gets at a much bigger issue between the brothers—that of Dougal’s loyalty. And in the heated back-and-forth, Dougal really hits Colum where it hurts with the exclamation, “I’ve even assured your bloodline!” And so is solved the question of Hamish’s parentage. Jamie later tells Claire that it was the first time Dougal has publicly admitted that fact, even though everyone has “known” for years.
“It’s getting a wee bit uncomfortable around here for my taste,” says Murtaugh, poignantly speaking for us all as he and Jamie pee on a wall.
Jamie takes it upon himself to persuade Colum to make peace by giving Dougal a gift of the Jacobite gold. “Let your brother play the rebel, as long as he does it quietly,” Jamie tells him, adding that Colum could then bide his time and see if Bonnie Prince Charlie could indeed make a play for the throne. Colum agrees and has Jamie get Dougal and Ned. There is no possible way this plan could fail.
After some menacing reminders of Dougal’s oath of fealty to him, Colum tosses the bag of coins to his brother, who looks aghast that it is not in fact a live hand grenade. Colum then instructs Ned to invite the Duke of Sandringham to Castle Leoch for a dinner in his honor. As Ned explains, this may be a way of sizing up the Jacobite cause from the English perspective. Well played, Colum.
Meanwhile, Jamie is skipping stones once again, lamenting that while he’s repaired the rift between Colum and Dougal, he’s still on the rocks with Claire. The silhouette of a woman walks up to meet him at the river, but it’s Laoghaire. Everybody groan. She’s back for answers from Jamie and fesses up to her longtime schoolgirl crush. Jamie, in true neanderthal fashion, starts to realize he might have given her some mixed signals. He’s almost seduced by Laoghaire’s advances, but at the last minute he sends her scurrying off.
Another situation deftly handled, Jamie returns home to Claire, who at least annoyedly listens as Jamie monologues about what he’s learned from the rigid Colum bending with tradition to make peace. He whips out a dagger and swears fealty to Claire, which on a scale of apology strength sits at about 129.
Claire, the master of dramatic pauses, teases out her response as Jamie’s heart slides into his stomach. It’s then that we learn what key Claire’s wedding ring was made from: it’s the key to Lallybroch, Jamie’s ancestral home. It’s also the key to our hearts. And Claire’s too, thankfully.
That means it is time for this episode’s hanky panky! And boy is it…aggressive, with Claire stopping mid-thrust to pull a knife on Jamie and threaten, “If you ever raise a hand to me again, James Fraser, I will cut your heart out and have it for breakfast.” Sexy.
As the two wind down, Jamie coughs up a sentence that is going to prove very important in this relationship: “I am your master, and you are mine.”
I’m sure those are just the words Frank Randall wants to hear back in his own sad-sack 20th-century existence. Since the last episode, I can’t stop thinking about his misery. Maybe we could send Laoghaire through the stones to comfort him. She’s got a lot of time on her hands…or does she?
Basking in afterglow, Claire happens to find a bunch of twigs, dead flowers, and bric a brac tied together under the bed. Jamie explains that it’s an “ill wish,” meant to bring harm. Who could’ve left that there? Jamie knows: Laoghaire.
OK, so maybe homegirl has been rather busy after all. But that’s a disaster for another episode.