OUTLANDER Recap: “Do No Harm”

The second episode of the fourth season of Outlander opened with Jamie worriedly contemplating the aftermath of the brutal attack conducted by psychopath Stephen Bonnet and his men. Jamie, of course, was upset with himself for being taken in by Bonnet’s charm especially at the expense of his dear friend Lesley not to mention the harm that befell himself, his wife Claire and his young nephew Ian. Worse still he was upset by the fact they had to bury Lesley in a shallow grave along the river. Naturally, Claire tried to reason with her disheartened husband, and while he heard her reasoning of the situation, it was clear the incident would not be leaving Jamie’s thoughts for quite some time to come.

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But they were quickly distracted by their arrival at River Run, the impressive plantation owned by Jocasta Cameron (guest star Maria Doyle Kennedy of Orphan Black fame), Jamie’s aunt, sister of his beloved late mother. The appearance of Jocasta, who was escorted down to the river’s edge by her man servant Ulysses, was as expected – grand to say the least – but also filled with much glad tidings of her family’s appearance. While Jocasta joked that her nephew was a giant of a man, his bearing implied that he felt very much like a young boy in his aunt’s presence. It was also revealed that his aunt’s eyesight was gone except for some shapes and shadows, but her other senses – including hearing and smelling out the truth of things – have heightened.

With introductions of his wife, young Ian and even playful Rollo out of the way [how funny was the skunk scene with Rollo and Ian, not to mention Ian’s conversation with the witty John Quincy Myers, by the way?], the family was welcomed into the grand home and made very welcome. They were also surprised by the news that Jocasta planned to hold a “wee gathering” in their honor, inviting all of River Run’s more notable neighbors; and the fact that she was aware of his various business doings in the past.

While both Jamie and Claire were obviously happy to be in relative safety – given their recent encounter with Bonnet – there was still a sense of unease especially within Claire, who has made it clear to Jamie – and even more so made her beliefs clear to a surprised Jocasta – that she has an immense distaste for slavery. That hostility would come back to haunt them both as the episode planned out, of course.

During the gathering, Jocasta made an unexpected announcement to the assemblage that she was making her nephew Jamie her heir – more precisely the Master of the Estate of River Run. This was the first time that Jamie and Claire were made aware of her intentions, and while it meant prosperity for them – it came with the horrors of being slave owners: something that neither Jamie nor Claire were comfortable with becoming. In fact, Jamie announced they wanted to free all of the River Run slaves and provide them with a fair wage. Unfortunately given the laws of the land at that time, that would be nearly impossible, incredibly expensive and incredibly dangerous in the eyes of the other plantation owners. Others who have shared Jamie and Claire’s views; in fact, have disappeared, never to be heard from again.

Their unease was even more apparent as the remainder of the episode played out with Jamie and Claire dealing with an overzealous overseer – who impaled Rufus, a young slave, after that young boy clipped off the overseer’s ear. Given the law of the land, the young slave was to be hung as a warning to the rest of the slaves. As horrible as that situation was, Claire was determined – because of her being a doctor, of course – to save the young boy. However, saving him brought great peril to River Run because the local overseers created a mob that bore down on River Run to uphold the law.

Despite her intention to “do no harm,” Claire had no other choice – even after conducting a dangerous surgery on the young slave (with a great assist from young Ian, I might add!) – to end his life [much like what she did for a dying Colum way back before the Battle of Culloden] before the mob of men not only took the young boy’s life but also wreak havoc on River Run and potentially take other lives on the plantation as well.

It was a heartbreaking scene to watch as Jamie gave over the dead body of Rufus to be hang by that horrible mob, but to save the lives of his family and all those at River Run, they had no other choice.

What are your thoughts on all the events that took place during the episode? Please share them below.

The next new episode of Outlander will air on Starz on Sunday, November 18 at 8/7c.

[Photo Credit: Starz]