Outlander (The Morning After) Recap: The Garrison Commander

The Starz drama Outlander has been on the air now for six straight weeks, playing out the elaborate story of Claire Beauchamp Randall (series lead Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (series lead Sam Heughan) as depicted in the best-selling novel of the same name by author Diana Gabaldon.

In that time, Claire has been reunited with her husband after five long years apart due to World War II only to be separated by 200 years because of her touching the mystical standing stones at Craigh Na Dun in the Scottish Highlands. She then wakes up in 1743 Scotland, surrounded by Redcoats and the Clan MacKenzie, trying her best to adapt to her new reality in a strange, alien world for which she only knew about through books and tales from her soon-to-be professor husband Frank Randall (series regular Tobias Menzies).

As the events of episode six entitled “The Garrison Commander” get underway, Claire and Dougal McKenzie (series regular Graham McTavish) are led back to a local village where a legion of Redcoats have taken up residence in the English Army’s attempt to curb the locals under the ruling King. There Claire is led into a dining room where Brigadier General Lord Thomas (guest star John Heffernan) and a group of other ranking Redcoat officers are enjoying an elaborate meal. With the hope of getting away from the McKenzie clan, Claire sits down for a meal with these men and anxiously awaits their help in getting back to Craigh Na Dun. Just when that over-riding goal of hers seems imminent, enter Captain Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall (Menzies in a dual role), who derails – in more ways than one – her hoped escape.

After assisting the Army Surgeon with an amputation of a Redcoat soldier’s arm due to a skirmish with local Highlanders (none of whom were Dougal’s men), Claire (as well as the viewing audience) is subjected to 10 minutes of pure torture as Black Jack recounts the flogging of a “young man” for which Claire mentioned she was told stories about during her time with the MacKenzies at Castle Leoch. That “young man”, of course, is Jamie – who suffered at the hands of the sadistic bastard Randall twice in one week, being flogged (aka whipped) nearly to death, his back reduced to a bloody pulp. In short, this was the most excruciating scene that the series has shown to date, making even the strongest of willed people cringe and tear up. [I was a blubbering mess, I must admit, at the hideous brutality inflicted on Jamie.]

The assault, however, did not end there as Claire tried to believe that Black Jack could somehow be redeemed – after all how could her wonderful, loving husband be a decedent of someone so vile and sick – but that was all for naught. As Black Jack reached for Claire’s hand to help her out of her chair, he punched her as hard as he could in the stomach, dropping her to the floor in agony. And, to make matters worse, he ushers in meek-mannered Corporal Hawkins (guest star Edmund Digby-Jones) to be an unwilling, but forced, accomplice, ordering the young soldier to kick her. The young man complied begrudgingly, but upon the order to kick Claire a second time, Dougal storms in the room and comes to her rescue. While Claire may be a strong-willed woman, even she can justify the need for Dougal to step in, showing that he may be a War Chieftan of the clan MacKenzie, but he does not approve of violence against women.

The duo is able to depart from the village and away from the Redcoats – especially Randall – but they still have a problem. Claire has to be returned to Fort William – as ordered by Captain Randall – but that could be a terrible fate for her. The only way to eliminate the threat is to turn Claire from an English woman into a Scottish woman by marrying her off to a Scotsman. At first Claire believes that Dougal wants that “honor” for himself, but as much as he would like to “grind her corn”, he has another man in mind: Jamie.

The last scene of the episode says it all in a nutshell – and quite frankly helps to erase the horror of the rest of the episode:

Claire: “Dougal wants us to be married”.
Jamie: “I know”.
Claire: “And you’re willing”?
Jamie: “Well, you’ve mended my wounds more than once. I feel I owe you somethin’ for all that. Besides, what kinda friend would I be if I left you to that mad bastard Randall?”
Claire: “But surely a young man like yourself {pause} well, isn’t there someone else that you’re interested in?”
Jamie: “Och, am I promised? Huh. No! No, I’m not much of a prospect for a wife. I mean I have nothing more’n a soldier’s pay to live on, and there’s the minor difficulty of the price on my head. No father wants his daughter married to a man who might be arrested and hanged any time. Do you ever think of that?”
Claire: “So that’s it then? As far as you’re concerned, we just start the honeymoon tomorrow?”
Jamie: “Aye, whatever suits you”.
Claire: “Well, doesn’t it bother you that {pause} that I’m not a virgin?”
Jamie: “Well, a… No! As long as it doesna bother you that {pause} I am. Reckon one of us should kin [sic…know] what they’re doin’.”

Needless to say, Claire is between a rock and a hard place; and for those who have read the book, we know the resolution to this new quandary in her life. But that will play out in next week’s episode aptly entitled “The Wedding” – an event that the fans of the book have been waiting in anticipation to see happen.

The next episode of Outlander will air on Starz on Saturday, September 20 at 9/8c. Don’t miss it!