On last week’s episode of “Outlander,” we saw Jamie become a reluctant business partner with Le Comte St. Germain. To save Frank’s future, Claire urged Alex Randall to end his relationship with Mary Hawkins. How did everyone fare this week?
Jamie tells Murtagh that the duel is off with Jack Randall. He can’t give his friend the reason why he promised Claire he would allow the scoundrel to live for one more year. Aggravated Murtagh has had enough of secrets being kept from him.
Claire continues to work at the charity hospital. The executioner turned makeshift doctor has been ordered to dispatch people involved in the dark arts. He would prefer to hang them but the king orders them drawn and quartered instead. He gives a grisly description of the procedure, and Claire fears for her friend Raymond.
Claire rushes to visit Raymond at his shop. She tells him the king plans to drive practitioners of the black arts out of Paris and she advises him to leave as soon as possible. Her friend is not concerned about the possible threat, as he has seen this happen before. Claire tells him the king’s executioner is preparing to put to death several people somehow involved with the perceived crime. Raymond assures her that he will leave the city.
Meanwhile, in another poignant moment between the couple, Jamie insists that Claire promise that if something were to happen to him, she and their child should be with someone who will love and take care of them. Jamie would like her to return to Frank, and she agrees.
Murtagh still wants to kill the prince while Claire concocts a potion to make it seem that St. Germain’s crew has smallpox, with Jamie the guinea pig for his wife’s creation. If they succeed, the wine shipment will be considered tainted and must be destroyed, and with it the hope of securing more funds for the Jacobite rebellion. Murtagh is frustrated with the Frasers’ smallpox idea, and Jamie and Claire decide to let the angry Scot know the secrets they have been hiding from him. He believes Jamie’s wild tale, but lets him know he doesn’t appreciate being kept in the dark for so long.
Claire tells Murtagh that she knows when the rebellion begins, but it doesn’t end well. The fate of anyone she knows is unclear. The Scot feels sorry for Claire having the knowledge that she does, and how troublesome it must be.
Fergus helps Jamie spike the wine of St. Germain’s men before riding back to Jared’s. With Claire’s concoction having the desired effect, the prince tells Jamie that St. Germain’s men have been stricken with illness, but have, for now, been kept hidden. Since they can’t be kept secluded forever, the prince wants Jamie to deliver the wine shipment before word of a crew sickness gets out. Jamie tells the prince he has no buyers as of yet, but claims that he will move the shipment to his warehouse. Not sure that Jamie will do as he says, St. Germain plans to accompany him when the wine is moved.
Jamie knows he needs to thwart his partner’s plans to oversee the wine delivery. They hatch a scheme to have highwaymen prevent the shipment from moving. Murtagh will be disguised as one of the robbers. It’s a risky endeavor, but the wine cannot make it to the warehouse.
As their plan is put into place, Claire is with her lady acquaintances. While they are gossiping, Claire can’t help but wonder how well the plan is being carried out. Annoyed by the wagging tongues, Claire asks them if they ever think of the less fortunate. Her companions appear to lead frivolous lives, which bothers her.
She seeks refuge in her work at the hospital. Mother Hildegard notices that Claire is bleeding, but shows little concern. The old woman insists that Claire stay the night as a precaution.
Jamie, St. Germain, and the prince are discussing the hijacking of their wine shipment. St. Germain is very suspicious about how it happened. Prince Charles is distraught that all his hard work to fund the Jacobite rebellion has amounted to nothing.
When Fergus raises a question about Murtagh’s whereabouts, Jamie tells the boy that Murtagh is off in Portugal selling the wine, likely to be away a couple of months. Jamie receives word by way of Suzette that the prince has amassed quite a debt that he refuses to pay, and Madame Elise has threatened to notify the authorities if the debt is not repaid immediately. Not wanting the law involved in any way, Jamie and Fergus leave to tend to the situation.
Claire returns to Jared’s but Jamie is not there. Her maid Suzette tells her that he got into a fight with Jack Randall, and the pair can be found in the woods. Jamie left a note apologizing to Claire for what he plans to do next. Claire rushes to stop the duel, but it’s too late. She witnesses the two men in combat. Randall is wounded and on his back, and Jamie falls to his knees in exhaustion. Claire cries out to Jamie just before the authorities thunder in on horseback to arrest the combatants. Dueling is illegal in France, and there will be consequences. Claire asks to be taken to Mother Hildegarde, clearly having a pregnancy complication. She passes out amid the chaos.
Is Jack Randall mortally wounded, so Frank will never exist? Is Claire losing her unborn child in the woods? Is it time for the next episode yet?
Filed under: fantasy, Loretta Sisco, outlander, television Tagged: history, outlander, time travel
