Outlander (The Morning After) Recap: “Castle Leoch”

Arriving at Castle Leoch on horseback rather than by a 1940’s automobile (not to mention being in 1743 rather than 1945) is an all-too-new (and rather unpleasant) experience for one Claire Beauchamp Randall (series lead Caitriona Balfe); but in order to find her way back to Craigh Na Dun in the hopes of returning to her husband Frank, Claire will have to win favor with the people of the castle as quickly as possible.

But first, an introduction is in order as Claire encounters Mistress Fitzgibbons (aka Mrs. Fitz) (recurring guest star Annette Badland), who heartedly greets the returning MacKenzie men from their long and arduous journey. But, to say the least, Mrs. Fitz is perplexed by Claire, not only because of her highly unusual attire but also the fact she knows how to treat Jamie’s (series lead Sam Heughan) injuries, once explained to her by a very knowledgeable Claire.

Before Claire will take care of herself, however, she insists that Jamie’s wounds must be attended to; and Mrs. Fitz is quick to oblige (she obviously has a fondness for young Jamie and seems to be quite taken with Claire or perhaps it is more out of curiosity than anything else). Mrs. Fitz takes them to one of the many chamber rooms inside Castle Leoch; and there, with the rudimentary remedies available to her, Claire treats Jamie’s gunshot wound and redresses the sling to his injured arm.

While doing so, Claire discovers Jamie’s badly scarred back from several floggings he received in the recent past – most of them at the hands of Black Jack Randall (the ancestor of Claire’s husband Frank both of which portrayed by series regular Tobias Menzies). As Claire listens to Jamie’s story of his first fateful encounter with Black Jack and the ensuing rape for which Black Jack committed against Jamie’s sister Jenny (guest star Laura Donnelly), Claire gains some insight into the young man; and quickly comes to the realization that her husband – for all intents and purposes – is dead. The pain she feels cannot be hidden any longer as she breaks down crying with Jamie consoling her in a warm embrace.

After getting some much needed sleep, Mrs. Fitz awakens Claire, provides her with some much needed sustenance and helps dress her properly (at least according to 1743 standards), making her presentable for “himself”, who turns out to be Colum MacKenzie (series regular Gary Lewis), the Laird of Castle Leoch and older brother of Dougal (series regular Graham McTavish), who already holds Claire at arms’ length.

Taking a page out of the covert operations from which Frank had regaled Claire and Rev. Wakefield (guest star James Fleet) during their second honeymoon, she provides Colum with just enough truth about who she is and where she was going when the MacKenzie men found her to make it believable; and she learns that in five days’ time, a tinker [a mender of pots, kettles and pans] will come to Castle Leoch who can provide her passage to Inverness, getting her one step closer to Craig Na Dun.

Claire then attends a dinner in the grand hall of Castle Leoch, walking past all of the villagers gathered for the meal; and is invited to sit with the brothers MacKenzie. She meets Colum’s wife Letitia and is then somewhat interrogated by the brothers. Not necessarily heeding the helpful words of her husband Frank during their conversation with Rev. Wakefield before her disappearance, Claire allows the brothers to ply her with food and drink – and she tells them a tale of her plans to visit distant relatives (for which they don’t truly believe) and misidentifies a young boy she saw playing wooden swords with Dougal as his son when the young lad – Hamish (guest star Roderick Gilkison) – is, in fact, Colum and Letitia’s son.

In order to keep herself busy for the next few days, Claire first pays a visit to the stables where Jamie is tending to the horses so she can redress his bandages and learns more about him; namely that he is not only wanted for a murder he did not commit but also that he is going by a different name so the English won’t know where he is, putting the MacKenzie clan in danger. She also learns that Colum and Dougal are Jamie’s uncles on his mother’s side of the family; and they are fully aware of his being wanted by the English. And now she knows too because she not only asked him but he also decided to trust her. It is at this time that she discovers that Rupert MacKenzie (guest star Grant O’Rourke) has been ordered to follow her everywhere she goes, working as Dougal’s “spy”.

Claire also takes on the task of harvesting food for the kitchen for Mrs. Fitz, finding joy in her love of botany once again. It is on one of these treks that she meets a local village woman named Geillis Duncan (series regular Lotte Verbeek), who shares Claire’s interest in herbal medicine. Later on at the village gathering inside Castle Leoch, Geillis assists Claire in understanding what the villagers are asking of Laird Colum. It is during this gathering that Claire witnesses Jaime stepping in to take a beating meant for a young village girl, Laoghaire, who Claire soon learns is Mrs. Fitz’s granddaughter (recurring guest star Nell Hudson), whose father believes has been a little too loose with her behavior. Once again, Jaime is injured – thanks to the fists of Rupert, which was Jamie’s choice rather than the strap – with Claire tending to his wounds and building a bit more trust between her and the young Scotsman; and he learns that she is to leave the next day for Inverness with the tinker.

But trust is not so easily garnered with the brothers MacKenzie, as Dougal is confident that Claire is not what she claims; in fact, accusing her of being an English spy and despite stating she could leave with the traveling tinker, Colum (with Dougal in tow) tells Claire – just as her freedom from Castle Leoch seemed to be at hand – that she will remain as their “guest” (or “prisoner” as Claire spat at Colum) inside the walls of the eerie basement room where she and Frank had visited no more than a week earlier; the same room that seemed to fill her with such foreboding in 1945. According to Colum, she will be put to work as the new healer of Castle Leoch, putting her skills to use whether she likes it or not. She has secrets that he needs to determine are just the type that women have or if they are secrets that will threaten Castle Leoch and the MacKenzie clan. She will be a “prisoner” there only if she tries to leave.

Best Exchange of the Episode:

Jamie: You need not be scared of me nor anyone else here as long as I’m with ye.
Claire: And when I’m not with you?
Jamie: Just never forget that you’re English in a place where that’s not a pretty thing to be.

Don’t miss out on Outlander on Starz, as the third episode of the debut season will air on Saturday, August 23 at 9/8c.