Outlander: On the Road

Last time on “Outlander”: Everyone gathers at Castle Leoch. Claire this decides this is a great time to escape, but finds many obstacles in the form of a lovesick teenager and several drunken men. When she gets out to the stables, Jamie informs her why this is the worst time to escape. He escorts her back to the castle but they are spotted. Jamie is forced to stand before Colum, where he could risk death by either taking an oath of loyalty or refusing to. Jamie manages to say the right things and gets to play in their reindeer Highlander games. After watching how she handled the death of a man on their boar hunt, Dougal tells Claire she’s coming with him to collect the rent.

CREDITS! What to say this week…Hmm, I guess not much. I think I’ve gushed over them long enough. Sorry, guys.


We open with a gorgeous shot of a lake. The camera pans back to reveal Claire sitting at its edge, quoting John Donne. 

(Look at that gorgeous shot!)/span>

Another man joins her, finishing the quote. It’s Ned Gowan, Colum’s attorney. He’s there to help collect the rent with Dougal and the other men. Who are horsing around by the fire. Ned tells Claire they are teasing a young lad named Willie, who is on the rent gathering journey for the first time. Apparently their teasing includes encouraging incest as Ned tells Claire they are telling the lad to have sex with his sister.

The two walk away from the lake, chatting. Ned explains what type of things people offer for rent: fowl, grain, crops, goats, and pigs. He’s put a moratorium out on live pigs. He and Claire share a laugh before he starts coughing. Claire shifts into nurse mode and asks him about it. He says it’s this part of the journey, it happens every year. He thinks there’s something in the air. Claire asks if he has a pipe and puts some thornberry in it. He smokes it and it alleviates what Claire suspects is asthma.

(Think of it as an early nebulizer)

Dougal announces that it’s time to go and everyone rides out. The men start singing and it’s all very road-trip like. All that’s missing is the game of Eye Spy. Anyway, they arrive at the first village. People pay their rents, including two live pigs. Guess that moratorium didn’t last long, eh, Ned? He looks less than thrilled to see the pigs.

Claire realizes there isn’t much for her to do, so she decides to explore. She follows the sound of women singing, running into a woman in the village. The woman explains that the women are singing a dyeing song and invites Claire along. 

(Claire's made a friend!)

Claire joins the women and helps them with their tasks. She even picks up the song they are singing. Later, she drinks with them and gets a little drunk. A baby cries and the first woman explains her child is teething, so she can’t nurse him. And she doesn’t have any milk for him because they had to give their only goat to pay their rent. Claire then asks about the standing stones. The women inform her it is about three days as the crow flies. Translation: Farther than she thought.

Anyway, the ladies need more urine for their dyeing and Claire’s volunteered to contribute first.  When she’s about to go to the bathroom, Angus comes to find her. He yells at her as he drags her back to camp. She argues back. 

(Claire's having none of Angus' lecture)

And then she sees a goat. She unties it and insists she’s giving it back to its family. Dougal now gets involved, telling her that it’s payment and now belongs to Colum. But Claire says there is a hungry child and he can’t ignore that. Dougal puts his foot down and says that the goat is staying.

At this point, a young man who is clearly British asks Claire if everything is all right. Dougal and his men tell him to move on but the man keeps talking to Claire. The MacKenzies insult and threaten him until he leaves. As the MacKenzies pack up—with the goat—the man puts on a red coat and leaves. Methinks this is going to come back to bite Dougal on his Scottish ass.

(Definitely going to be a problem for Dougal later on)

Don’t worry, Claire. I’m sure that the village will take care of that family. They may not ask for it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if milk just arrives on their doorstep until they are able to procure a new goat.
Outside town, they stop again and Claire sits off to the side, angry. Jamie goes over to talk to her about how she yelled at Angus. She starts to say something about where she comes from, but Jamie wisely points out that she’s no longer there. He tells her not to mess with things she doesn’t understand. It gives Claire something to think about.

(Jamie praying for patience with Claire)

That night, everyone gathers in a house and the ale flows. Everything laughs and jokes until Ned closes the door. Everyone goes silent and Dougal starts giving a speech. Except it’s in Scots, so Claire and the audience don’t know what’s being said. Unless you know Scots. Good for you. Anyway, he then rips open Jamie’s shirt to reveal his wounds. Claire is both sympathetic and indignant. Once Dougal stops speaking, the men start giving Ned money. After they leave, Dougal orders Claire to fix Jamie’s shirt. She tosses it back to him with a retort that has a strong “Screw you” undertone. Dougal is in no mood for her mood and Claire angrily agrees to fix it. But Jamie snatches the shirt and says he’ll fix it himself. He storms out.

("I must not kill him. I must not kill him. I must not kill him.")

By another lake, Claire tells Ned she’s figured out what’s going on. That Dougal is collecting money that won’t go to Colum. And Ned’s helping him. Ned says she has everything figured out and walks away. Claire seems quite pleased with herself.

Up around the fire, everyone eats and talks. And Claire sits off to the side like an outcast. In a voiceover (which we don’t have as many of this episode), Claire says she didn’t mind their lewd jokes or that her meal looked less than appetizing or that she was sleeping on the ground. What she did mind was that they were keeping her out of their club and not letting her play in their reindeer games. All except Jamie, who goes over to give her some bread and tries to talk to her.

And so it keeps going. They keep going to each town. Ned collects the rent, there’s drinking, Dougal keeps destroying Jamie’s shirt, and money gets collect. Lather, rinse, repeat. Then they come upon a group of people badgering some villagers. Claire is told that they are the Watch, a group who protects villagers from the British…for a price. Claire thinks that’s awful. Everyone is like “It’s just business.” She asks if the villagers can’t pay but it’s revealed that they are rumored to be working with the British. Claire is once again trying to figure out what sort of barbarians she has landed amongst.

In the next town, everyone pays their rent. But one man stays behind with his son. Dougal calls him up but the man has nothing to give. His house was ransacked by the British and everything was carted off. He couldn’t even feed his family. So Dougal grabs a bag of grain and gives it to the man. He says the man’s family will eat and the man will join them for a drink.

(The softer side of Dougal MacKenzie)

That night, Claire realizes that Dougal and Ned aren’t stealing money from Colum. As she listens, she recognizes a phrase. She realizes that Dougal is talking about the Stuarts, the deposed ruling family from Scotland. As Dougal talks, Claire remembers sitting in Rev. Wakefield’s study as he and Frank talk about the Highlanders and their attempts to return the Stuarts to the throne. Frank is surprised Claire doesn’t know about them but she quickly shows that she in fact does. As she looks about the study, she spies something hanging on the wall. It’s a clan motto—it’s the MacKenzie motto. I don’t think this is much of a spoiler to reveal that the Rev. Wakefield is descended from the Clan MacKenzie.

(Frank once again impressed by his wife)

After the meeting, Claire finds Jamie and Dougal fighting. Jamie doesn’t want to keep showing off his scars. Dougal’s like “Tough. You don’t get a say.” He reminds Jamie of the oath he made to Colum. And Jamie’s probably cursing Claire out for that. Dougal walks off and Jamie takes out his frustrations on a nearby tree. Claire talks him down and they part way with a promise that Jamie won’t beat up any more innocent trees.

(He's already a fool in love. Can't you tell?)

In the morning, Claire confronts Ned. She reveals that she knows the truth: Dougal and Ned are collecting money for the Jacobite cause. Ned is suspicious—Claire’s always said she doesn’t understand Scots. But she says she’s been around long enough to understand “Stuart.” Ned says that Prince Charles will reign as king again and he supports the cause. Claire tells him that the cause is a lost one. But Ned thinks she’s just being British. Claire can’t tell him that history says otherwise, that she knows the Jacobite uprising will fail and forever change the Highlands. All she can do is stress that they will fail. Ned says she’d make a good lawyer but it’ll be centuries before women are allowed to practice. As he leaves, Claire mutters that women only have to wait two centuries.

Alone, Claire recalls a trip to Culloden with Frank. He tells her about how hopeless the Jacobite cause was and how severe the consequences were. She looks at stones marking the clans that fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie. One bears the name “Clan MacKenzie.”

The party journeys until they spot something on a hill. As they get closer, they realize there are two dead men nailed to two pieces of wood. A “T” is carved into each other their bodies. It is determined the British did that as a warning. Ned says they should get a good Christian burial as Jamie crosses himself. Dougal orders his men to take them down and bury them.

That night, Jamie gets to keep his shirt on. There’s a stronger message about the evils of the British.
Claire sleeps in a room in a nearby tavern and hears a noise outside. She grabs a candlestick to use as a weapon and stumbles over Jamie. She asks him why he’s sneaking around outside her door but he reveals he was sleeping there. He explains that there are a lot of drunken men and he didn’t want one coming up to accost Claire. She says she doubts any of them want to deal with an Englishwoman after the events of the day but she thanks him anyway. She invites him to sleep in her room but he says he couldn’t tarnish her reputation like that. He compromises and lets her give him her blanket.

(*Swoon*)

Where’s that clue truck? Is it delayed due to the lack of paved roads in 18th century Scotland?

In the morning, Claire eats in the dining room with Ned Gowan. A young man at another table is laughing and talking loudly. Claire picks up on the tension coming from the MacKenzie men. With a “here we go,” she watches as the men start fighting with the young man and his party. Claire and Ned duck out of the way as people fly about and crash into the tables.

When the fight has broken up, Claire tends to their wounds and gives them a lecture. But she is told that they were fighting because of her. Turns out that young man was calling her a whore. So the MacKenzie men had to defend her honor. It’s pretty much a “No one picks on my little sister except me!” mindset. Claire is touched and continues tending their wounds. As she does so, she notices Ned and Dougal talking in a corner.

(Everyone reaches a turning point)

Outside, one man tells a story about how he had two women in bed at the same time. And then they started to fight over him. Claire says she believes his right hand gets jealous of his left. Nothing more. After a few tense seconds in which Jamie looks ready to defend her, the man bursts out laughing. The others join in. Claire has been accepted.

Claire goes down to a creek to refresh herself. Dougal follows and interrogates her. Is she a British spy? She denies it. But Dougal knows she has strong feelings about the Jacobites. Claire tries to get him to see it’s a lost cause and she just knows it. Dougal’s not buying it.

But they realize they are not alone. British soldiers appear around them, led by the man Dougal and his men had taunted way back in village #1. I knew he’d come back. Dougal realizes he’s outnumbered and no longer in charge. The soldier—Lt. Jeremy Foster—repeats his question to Claire: Is everything all right? Is she with the MacKenzies of her own free will?

(Look who's back)

The screen goes black before we learn Claire’s answer. Things are going to get interesting!

If you thought the last two episodes were slow, I’m sure you enjoyed the change of pace. A lot happened and the tensions in Scotland were well set up here. And don’t worry. That clue truck should arrive any episode now.

Come my next recap, Scotland could have voted for independence. Or it might not have. But I think this episode mirrors the climate over there now…or explains why this vote is so historic. We’ll see.

Next week: Black Jack returns!

Screen caps from here.