Outlander (The Morning After) Recap: Rent

Staring out at a beautiful loch in the Highlands of Scotland, Claire (series lead Caitriona Balfe) recites a poem:

Absence, hear thou my protestation
Against thy strength,
Distance and length
Do what canst for alteration;
For hearts of truest mettle
Absence doth still, and time doth settle.

Claire is joined near the end of her recitation of the John Donne poem by Ned Gowan (guest star Bill Paterson), the lawyer who keeps the records and helps with the collection of rent for Dougal (series lead Graham McTavish). In fact, according to Ned, he is the “only one who Dougal trusts with the money”.

As the episode unfolds, Claire observes Dougal, Ned and the MacKenzie men gathering the rent from all of the villagers who reside on MacKenzie land. Rent for them is not just what few, available funds each family has but also comes in the form of grain, fowls, goats and even pigs (even though Ned had given strict instructions that live pigs would no longer be accepted). But what she learns at night when Dougal convenes in the village tap rooms (taverns or bars to us) to talk to the men (and even some of the women) of each village is quite a surprise. He is collecting money for what Claire first assumes is to line his own pockets, using the horrific flogging scars on Jamie’s (series lead Sam Heughan) back as incentive. But as the days turn into weeks, she quickly realizes that Dougal is attempting to raise funds for political reasons, hoping to put a Stewart back on the throne in their country.

Through flashbacks (or flashforwards if you will) , though, [and as a great history lesson for those – like me – who were not that great as history students in school] Claire recalls what she already knew from her time under the care of her uncle as well as Frank’s (series regular Tobias Menzies) vast knowledge (he was going to be a professor after all). One pivotal remembrance of Claire’s was when they visited Culloden Moor where the most bloody battle between the British and the Highlanders took place in 1746 – only three short years from the time that Claire stumbled into after touching the standing stones at Craigh Na Dun.

Frank recounted to Claire that the Highland Army was completely exposed on that very flat location, but they chose to charge at the Redcoats, running into musket fire, cannons and mortars with nothing more than broadswords. It was a quick victory for the Redcoats, lasting about an hour with thousands of Highlanders losing their lives. In the years that followed the battle chieftains’ homes were blundered and sold, the government banned the wearing of tartans, carrying swords and they even banned the Gaelic language. In essence, the battle at Culloden Moor ended the clans and the Highlander way of life.

Throughout the entire episode, Claire challenged Dougal and the MacKenzie men, risking their ire and outright anger; and during one particular incident a young man attempted to come to her aid, but – at the time – he was severely outnumbered by the MacKenzie men. At the end of the episode, though, that same young man, who turned out to be Lt. Jeremy Foster (guest star Tom Brittney) of His Majesty’s Army, arrives upon Claire and Dougal as they are arguing. Dougal is warned that if he is holding her against her wishes, he will be dealt with; and as the Lieutenant asks Claire if she is with the MacKenzie men by her own choice, Claire takes several moments to answer before the scene comes to a close. Viewers will have to wait until next week to find out what Claire’s answer will be.

Some of the lighter moments of the episode include:

• Claire cracking a joke at Rupert’s (recurring guest star Grant O’Rourke) expense, which works in her favor, for once, as he and the other men actually laugh over her comment;

• Claire spending a short amount of time with women of one of the villages “walking wool”, talking about Craigh Na Dun, having a drink and feeling like she is somewhat accepted;

• Claire hearing strange noises outside her room at one of the village tap rooms only to discover Jamie sleeping outside her door to protect her from the drunken men downstairs. When she insists he should sleep in her room as it will be warmer (because of the fireplace), he is incredulous, worrying about her reputation despite the fact that she has been sleeping under the stars with him and 10 other MacKenzie men for weeks; and,

• The MacKenzie men starting a fight with some of the village men because they called Claire a whore. Murtagh (recurring guest star Duncan Lacroix) tells her that she is a guest of the MacKenzie; they can insult her, but God help anyone else who does.

Next week’s episode of Outlander will be interesting to say the least, as it will be a turning point for Claire – especially dependent on what answer she gives to the young Redcoat Lieutenant – and there is a certain “ceremony” that will be coming up in two weeks that greatly affects her and Jamie; an event that countless fans of the book have been anticipating for a very long time.

The next episode of Outlander will air on Starz on Saturday, September 13 at 9/8c. Don’t miss out!