Outlander Recap: “Vengeance Is Mine”

In last night’s Outlander there was so much happening story wise that one almost needed a play-by-play manual to keep pace. But when the episode is written by none other than “herself” – Diana Gabaldon – it’s to be expected that there would be a lot of story crammed into one episode. From the “previously” scenes to the final moment when the scene “faded to black”, it was a rollercoaster ride.

The episode opened with another Claire voice over, explaining it had been months since the short battle at Prestonpans that took the life of men on both sides but, most specifically, the life of Angus.

Prince Charles, Jamie and the rest of the army were now in Northern England, 5 days from London with the hopes of finally winning the battle. But the problems were these: there were three British Armies between them and London but they had no idea where those three armies were located. No biggie, right?!

Well, it was a HUGE issue to the Prince’s advisors, all of whom told him they needed to turn back, head back to Scotland (basically with their tails between their legs). But Jamie was willing to stand by his side. That wasn’t enough though, as it seemed they were heading back to Scotland.

That night we finally got to see Jamie and Claire in a beautiful, tender moment together – that was far too short. A shirtless Jamie is kneeling at the edge of their bed as his wife Claire slept. He whispered Gaelic over her prone body – and for once we got to see the subtitles of what he was saying:

“God, shield my beloved, my white dove. And the child that she may one day bear. Preserve her from violence and from harm. In this place and every place. On this night and on every night.”

That one scene alone easily sent shivers down the spine of all shippers all over the world. I know it certainly did that for me.

Unfortunately, that bliss was short-lived as the following morning Dougal stormed into Claire and Jamie’s room with a missive from the Prince, who basically exiled them to Inverness; sending them ahead of the rest of the Army to procure provisions (somehow).

While on their long journey, however, Jamie and his men were besieged by the British as they camped along the river, losing several men in the process; and being divided – the fighting men standing ground (and to circle around to meet Jamie and the rest) of them at a nearby crossroads.

Meanwhile, Jamie, Claire, Dougal, Rupert, Murtagh and Fergus took off on the horses, but they were soon discovered by a small group of British who took chase, firing upon them as they raced for their very lives. In the process Rupert was shot in the eye and almost lost to them if not for the quick movement of Dougal who saved Rupert before he fell off his horse. Also, thanks to the quick wit of Jamie, they were able to lose the British (albeit temporarily) and find solace at a small church where they discovered some of the Lallybroch men had done the same thing. The main reason to stop at that church was for Claire to render aide to Rupert before the bullet that was lodged in his eye could slide into his brain and kill him.

Of course, the British found them in the church and it was a tense (albeit short) stand-off with Jamie and the men trying to find a way out before the British smoked them out of the church and shot them one-by-one. At first Jamie said he would sacrifice himself to save the rest of them, but then Claire screamed out that she was an Englishwoman. She figured that the ruse they used on the young British soldier who had infiltrated their camp many months before would work on the soldiers. Jamie was none too pleased with this idea, ensuing in yet another argument between them, but – once again – Claire won out.

The scenes that unfolded after this were plentiful, indeed:

•   Claire was given to the British, allowing Jamie (who had to hide inside the church because of his being a wanted man) and his men to escape unharmed
•   Claire being taken to a local village, where Jamie’s friend Hugh Munro (the begger they met last season) sees her; and the next morning learning where the British were taking Claire (that was in a much different direction than where Jamie and Dougal thought she’d be taken);
•   Claire being taken by the British to the home of a wealthy Englishman – the Duke of Sandringham (of course) – who played along with the ruse pretending he didn’t know Claire at all;
•   Claire discovering that Mary Hawkins is staying at the Duke’s home because she is the Duke’s god-daughter (really?!) and he has promised her to yet another unwelcome fiancé;
•   The Duke turning Claire and Jamie over to the Redcoats to ensure his safety, setting a trap for Jamie who would be coming to the rescue; and Claire learning that the Duke was behind the attack of her and Mary in Paris by his valet (that birthmark on his hand was a dead giveaway);
•   Mary learning that the Duke’s valet was her rapist and her gutting him like a pig; and,
•   Murtagh, after he learned that the Duke was the one behind it all (in order to pay back the Comte St. Germain a huge debt he owed – how two men could even think that the rape of two women could settle a financial debt?!) – beheading the Duke in front of an extremely shocked Mary and Claire (and a none too surprised Jamie), laying his head at their feet, saying “I lay your vengeance at your feet.”

What an episode, right? Such momentary tenderness; such wonderful (or not so wonderful) reunions and justice being served on two men who deserved a fate even worse than what they received. What did you think of last night’s episode of Outlander? Please share your thoughts below.

Remember the penultimate episode of Outlander will air on Starz next Saturday, June 25 at 9/8c and just a reminder (or heads-up for some) the season finale of the show is an extended airing of 90-minutes set for Saturday, July 2.