OUTLANDER Recap: “The False Bride”

As episode three of the fourth season of Outlander opened, viewers finally got to see Roger Wakefield (nee McKenzie) at the manse in Scotland that he called home for most of his life. The moving vans in front of the building made it clear that changes were afoot. It was quickly revealed – as he was strumming on his guitar in the very empty living room of the manse – that he was heading somewhere and his former housekeeper Fiona Graham was moving in with her new husband.

Roger was indeed on his way out of town; in fact, he was heading to America to visit Brianna in Boston – or more to the point, he and Brianna were heading to a Scottish Festival in North Carolina. The reason for his trip wasn’t just to see his “girl,” but because he was invited to perform at the festival. Roger also revealed that he and Brianna had visited the previous summer when she traveled to Scotland to visit him and he returned to America for the Christmas holiday. [At least they are still a couple albeit in a long-distance relationship.]

Meanwhile back in time at River Run, Jamie announced to his Aunt Jocasta that he, Claire and Ian [who reasoned with his uncle that he was staying in America, not returning to his parents in Scotland] were leaving; that he would not be taking over the plantation as his Auntie had hoped. Obviously, Jocasta was not pleased with the news – especially given the words she exchanged with Claire before their departure – but she was, more or less, resigned to her nephew’s decision. So much so that she would not accept Jamie attempting to return the money she had given to him in last week’s episode, and providing him with a wagon and provisions, horses and a donkey and candlesticks owned by his beloved late mother.

As luck would have it, the Scottish backwoodsman John Quincy Myers, who helped Ian clean up the skunked Rollo, was heading in the same direction as the trio, and he offered to act as their guide. Their adventure into the mountainous region of North Carolina was rather uneventful until Myers and Ian headed off to deal with a trade with local Indians, leaving Claire and Jamie on their own. As the couple continued toward Woollam’s Creek, the couple was interrupted by trouble with a horseshoe and then an approaching storm, which startled their newly “acquired” donkey, who ran off into the woods. Since Jamie’s horse was temporarily lame, Claire rode off in the hope of retrieving the wayward mule.

Unfortunately, her best laid plans were ruined not only by a tree getting struck by lightning, which caused her horse to rear up, tossing her to the ground and running off but also leaving her unconscious in the woods. Waking up a bit lethargic from her fall and in the middle of a horrible storm, Claire had no other choice but to take refuge under a large fallen tree branch.

It was then that Claire found the skull of a victim, who had obviously sustained a horrible head wound, and a unique stone. During her unexpected and harrowing overnight stay in the wild, Claire saw a figure of a man walking toward her with a lighted torch in his hand and the unique stone around his neck; a man that she briefly thought might be Jamie except it turned out to be an Indian or more precisely the ghost of an Indian with the same head wound as that of the skull she found. [Cue the creepy music, right?!]

The following morning, Claire awoke to find that her boots, which she had taken off during the worst of the storm, were missing. But she quickly discovered clear boot tracks in the ground that ended up leading her to a nearby creek where she found Jamie, who had spent most of the night attempting to find her only to discover her boots by the creek. Could the ghost of that Indian been her benefactor in leading her back to Jamie? And what’s more could that skull have belonged to someone from Claire’s time? It certainly seemed that way since Claire discovered the skull had silver fillings in several of its teeth.

Regardless, the couple was reunited and as they discovered a field filled with strawberries overlooking a beautiful landscape, Claire realized quickly that Jamie had fallen in love with the area. In fact, they agreed that they could make a home there with Jamie saying they could call it “Fraser’s Ridge.”

Meanwhile in North Carolina, Roger and Brianna enjoyed their time at the Scottish Festival, getting a portrait done together and dancing together followed by Roger performing two songs on stage before a very appreciative audience. As night settled, Brianna and Roger retired to her cabin where they enjoyed a wee dram of moonshine, Brianna made her intentions clear to Roger – that she was ready for more than just kisses – and he professed his love for her by not only giving her a beautifully engraved bracelet but also by proposing to her. Sadly, Brianna was not ready for that kind of commitment (yet!), they fought and, even after trying to make up the following night at the Burning of the Stag ceremony at the festival, they couldn’t repair their relationship; and Roger discovered that Brianna had left while he was representing the McKenzie clan at the ceremony.

What did you think of the episode? Did you like seeing more of Roger and Brianna’s story? What are your thoughts on the ghost Indian that Claire saw in the woods? Any thoughts on Fraser’s Ridge? Please share your comments below.

The next new episode of Outlander will air on Starz on Sunday, November 25 at 8/7c.

[Photo Credit: Starz]

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