Guest Post by Cameron Hogg
After last week’s episode, I was especially excited for this week to see the truth about Roger’s disappearance come out, and this episode did not disappoint!
As a devoted Daddy’s girl myself, I love the dynamic building between Bree and Jamie. This episode starts with a heart to heart between the two of them, but it becomes clear that this is not an episode of “Father Knows Best.” Jamie does some pretty slick reverse “psychologizing” on Bree here. He smoothly goes from reassuring Bree that no one thinks less of her “for something {she} didn’t do, but was done to {her},” to turning things around and suggesting that maybe she was “playing with the truth” to cover a mistake. But it doesn’t take long for Jamie to bring on the brawn to show her there was no way to have prevented what Bonnet did, no matter how strong Bree feels she is or feels she should have been. Man, does this guy know how to create a great teachable moment, or what? Then the two discuss how Jamie has dealt with his own experiences with BJR at Wentworth. Scenes like this help show Jamie’s depth and complexity, and I think Sam Heughan plays it beautifully every time.
You may be wondering what poor Roger is up to right about now. Oh right, he’s being dragged through the mountains by the Mohawk. Our writers and producers do love a good slog through the wilderness, now don’t they? At least these treks seem to be getting shorter, and this one had more plot relevance than 15 minutes of Claire hacking through the jungle or Bree limping through the highlands, but I digress…
Meanwhile, back on the ridge- Claire and Bree have an emotional talk about what Bree plans to do regarding her pregnancy. They discuss all the options, and both are essentially contemplating the loss of a child- Bree is deciding on the future of her pregnancy, and Claire is facing the possibility of losing Bree a second time if Bree chooses to go back to her own time. Could someone please pass the tissues?
On a lighter note, I loved the exchange between Claire and Bree lamenting all they miss from the future. From cheeseburgers to Led Zeppelin, toilets to aspirin, this was a sweet moment for the two of them displaying how much they’d missed each other when separated by 200 years also.
In a nod to Jamie’s nightmares season 2, Bree’s dream sequence includes a loving visit from Roger, showing how incredibly understanding he is and how much he loves Bree but quickly turns terrifying when he is replaced by Stephen Bonnet and we get a taste of the violence Bree likely experienced during her attack, but was mercifully left out in the original scene of their first meeting. When Lizzie tries to comfort her, Bree realizes that Lizzie has been keeping something a secret and begins putting together that Roger isn’t really missing or back in the 60’s after all. Side note- does anyone else want to smack Lizzie right about now? Maybe she needs a Jamie-style teachable moment about not jumping to conclusions.
Now that Bree knows what’s up, stuff is about to get real… Bree storms in to confront Jamie about his part in the mix up that sent Roger packing. If that weren’t enough to make you mad at Jamie, then he turns around and accuses Bree of actually lying to cover her pregnancy and claiming to be raped when it was really consensual. Well now, Jamie deserves slapping too… and Ian doesn’t get left out for his part and gets slapped… hey, Lizzie’s there, can we slap her now too? Here we really see how Bree is just as fiery as her parents and all heck breaks loose when Jamie gets all indignant again, when Bree calls him on it saying, “you don’t get to be more angry than me!” Go, girl! During this exchange, Jamie learns that Bonnet was the real rapist when Claire slams the retrieved ring on the table, and the change (from the book) of which ring was taken by Bonnet pays off!
Now comes the time when Jamie and Young Ian acknowledge their mistake and promise to get Roger back. It’s also here that we learn that Bree is planning to keep the baby, if there’s even the slightest chance that the baby is Roger’s. But Bree doesn’t trust the menfolk to get it right after all that happened, so she tells Claire she has to go to supervise. Understandably Claire balks at this as it means she can’t be with Bree when the baby is born. Bree tries to convince her she’ll be fine… because she has Lizzie. Is that supposed to be reassuring at this point? Thank goodness Jamie suggests sending Bree off with Murtaugh to Jocasta’s. Murtaugh certainly doesn’t seem to mind a visit to Jocasta, and knowing his fondness for Jamie’s mother, could this be foreshadowing of their relationship to come?
Jamie and Claire argue over the situation and it occurs to me that Claire doesn’t really have a lot of right to be so mad at Jamie for it when she knew it was Bonnet all along. But Jamie entrusts Murtaugh to find Bonnet after seeing Bree safely to Jocasta’s so that Jamie can kill him, as he’d persuaded Bree not to do when they were recounting the attack at the beginning of the episode…the phrase, “do as I say, not as I do,” comes to mind, but you have to love the protective instinct Jamie has for those he loves.
Fast forward to the painful goodbyes- Jamie, Claire, and Young Ian are about to ride off on their quest to find Roger, and Bree, Murtaugh, and Lizzie are headed for River Run. Leave it to Young Ian to provide a bit of levity here, vowing to marry Bree if they can’t find Roger, only to be called an “idjit” by his uncle. Jamie reassures Bree that there will be no need for that, as he won’t rest until Roger is found.
Bree arrives safely at River Run, and meets Jocasta, who reacts especially well to a previously unknown pregnant niece appearing on her doorstep, in my opinion. Maybe Murtaugh being there softened the blow. Can you tell, I’d love to see him find a little happiness after all this time?
Talk about a cliff hanger! While Jocasta welcomes Bree into her home, Roger is still with the Mohawk when he falls and dangles from a rope over a rocky ledge until the rope snaps and he can finally attempt his escape. He manages to elude the Mohawk recapturing him and finds himself near a buzzing stone structure. He has the jewels he received as payment from Bonnet, he’s right there, he reaches out, but does he go? We’ll have to tune in next week to know for sure!
Cameron Hogg is a North Carolina girl currently living in northern Virginia. She is a mom to twin boys and works in nursing education and clinical practice, which may explain the draw to Claire and the medical aspects of the books and show. She enjoys history and loves to explore the notable sites wherever she goes, but especially those that have a tie to NC and more recently those related to Outlander. She is also a moderator for the Outlander North Carolina Facebook Group.
