OUTLANDER Recap: “Blood of My Blood”

The sound of sawing wood was heard as the latest episode of Outlander opened last night followed by the surprise appearance of Lord John Grey on Fraser’s Ridge as he approached Jamie and Claire’s cabin where Jamie was hard at work.

It was quickly revealed that John was paying the Frasers a visit because of a letter Jamie wrote to John, describing his land and that John also had business in Virginia. Naturally, Jamie joked that Virginia “is some way North” from North Carolina. John answered that he sent his men on to Woolam’s Creek for provisions as they head to Virginia AND that he brought William [Jamie’s biological son who John and his wife Isobel were raising as their own] with him, leaving him briefly at the stream until he and Jamie could speak in person first.

At the stream, Claire and Murtagh were gathering water when they encountered a young boy dealing with some leeches who had latched onto his legs. The obviously pampered young boy – given his clothing and demeanor upon meeting Claire and Murtagh – wanted the vile creatures removed. Claire, of course, helped him and brought him back to the cabin.

Meanwhile, Jamie and John talked about young Willie (who preferred to be called William now), who was only 6 years old when Jamie left Helwater, the elaborate estate where Jamie worked off his prison time after Ardsmuir Prison closed. John shared that it was possible William would not remember Jamie. The two men agreed that it was probably best that the boy didn’t remember him. It was also during this conversation that Jamie learned that John’s wife Isobel died on the ship traveling from England to Jamaica.

It was then that Claire and Murtagh came into the cabin with William. It was only natural that both Claire and Murtagh were a bit taken aback to see Lord John Grey standing there with Jamie while it was clear by Jamie’s facial expressions that he was overwhelmed and delighted to see his son after all this time. As Claire tended to William’s leg wounds, the three men agreed not to tell William how they all came to be acquainted.

Skip to dinner later that night during which a rather awkward conversation happened once John revealed that he had stayed at Governor Tryon’s (the man who offered the land) palace in North Carolina. This news, of course, didn’t sit well with Murtagh, who unbeknownst to John is the undeclared leader of the regulators; those men who are opposed to Tryon’s unrealistic taxes. Needless to say, Jamie and Claire did their best to assuage any trouble, but Murtagh left the dinner rather abruptly.

When Jamie had to show young William to the privy, he spoke to the horses in Gaelic to calm them down, causing a trigger of remembrance for William. He called out “Mac,” and asked if Jamie were the groom at Helwater. “Do you remember me?” the young boy asked. “Fondly,” replied Jamie. It was then that Jamie asked if William still had the wooden snake he gave him all those years earlier, but William stated he was too old for toys.

Meanwhile, Claire and John were left alone inside the cabin, and she decided to grill John about why he was really in North Carolina, given the fact he has known Tryon for many years prior. She basically accused him of being a Tryon spy to make sure that Jamie was loyal, to which John emphatically denied. But bigger issues were at hand: they needed to sort out sleeping arrangements.

While John and William had the luxury of sleeping inside the cabin, Claire and Jamie were left outside. Despite that the couple shared a tender moment where Jamie recalled a memory of little Willie being scared of horses when he was 3 years old. Jamie told Claire that he put the little boy on his shoulder, allowing Willie to speak with the horse eye-to-eye, and from that moment on they couldn’t keep the young boy away from the horses. Jamie then told Claire he had been dreaming about a moment alone with her for weeks, but now was not the time for them because of their guests. She countered, “as soon as our guests leave I expect your full attention.”

Before Jamie joined John inside the cabin for a game (or two) of chess, Murtagh berated his godson over his friendship with the former Redcoat, suggesting that Jamie grill him for details that would help the regulators. Jamie stood firm, telling Murtagh that he would not betray his friendship with John. It was then that Murtagh got upset with Jamie, asking why John, and William for that matter, were so important to him. Jamie attempted to keep his secret, but it was clear by the look on his face, allowing Murtagh to fit the pieces together that William was actually Jamie’s son. Murtagh said, “Don’t worry about your secret, I’ve kept them, every single one.” But Murtagh did sleight Jamie as he left, saying that maybe Jamie would tell him about William’s mother, “if that’s not a secret too.”

John and Jamie shared several games of chess and some poorly tasting whiskey while talking about being content with their lives. But it was the next morning as John and William prepared to leave that Claire saw that John was unwell. She quickly determined that John contracted the measles while traveling through nearby Cross Creek [just how the measles had affected the Mueller family in last week’s episode]. It was going to be necessary for Claire to tend to John for at least the next 6 days with the hope that he would recover. But that meant Jamie and William would have to stay away from the cabin, as William had never had the disease (but thankfully Jamie had it when he was a young boy).

It was decided that Jamie would take William on a tour of Fraser’s Ridge, which was not what the young boy wanted at all. He, of course, wanted to stay with his father. He gave Jamie a bit of hard time before they left, but eventually they were on their way into the back-country. During the tour, Jamie warned William what boundary line not to cross between the land that belonged to the Natives and the land that belonged to the King. They fished, hunted and gutted a deer and William worried about whether his father would die. Early the next morning, William was missing from their campsite with Jamie finding him on the wrong side of the boundary line spearing a fish. Unfortunately for them, members of the Cherokee found them, threatening William’s life for taking what did not belong to him, but Jamie yelled “he is my son,” taking his place in what – for a few moments – felt like a death-is-coming instance for Jamie.

However, William showed real bravery standing in front of Jamie, yelling that Jamie was not his father and that it was his fault for taking the fish. Oddly enough, one of the Natives only struck William in the hand with his knife, leaving Jamie and William basically unharmed, and able to return to the cabin. On the ride back, William asked Jamie why he didn’t look back at him when he rode away from Helwater, with Jamie sharing that he didn’t want to give William false hope.

Meanwhile, Claire was dealing with John being very sick from the measles. Thinking that he might die, John shared with her that he came to Fraser’s Ridge to see if he could still feel because he felt nothing when he learned of his wife Isobel’s death. Claire was “devastatingly straightforward” with him, asking why John would torture himself because he could never have Jamie, but John told her that wasn’t true. In fact, Jamie offered himself to John in trade (so to speak) for John’s willingness to step in as father to young William all those years ago. Of course, Claire was taken aback by that revelation [obviously that was something Jamie never shared with her], but she urged John to sleep.

The next morning John was much improved and begged forgiveness for all the things he said to her the previous night. Claire admitted that she was jealous of the amount of time John got to share with Jamie while she and Jamie were separated. John further admitted that he still had feelings for Jamie, but had nothing of Jamie to hold onto, but Claire corrected him sharing that he has William, so he does have something of Jamie in his life. As the father and son finally set off for Woolam’s Creek, Claire and Jamie watched them depart with William turning back to look at Jamie, giving the Highlander hope that he just might see his son again.

The final scene finally had the couple alone together with Jamie bathing Claire’s back. During their conversation, she told Jamie that she didn’t need a ring to tell her how much he loves her; but that was when he presented her with the surprise gift: a new Celtic wedding ring with an inscription [made by Murtagh from Jamie’s mother’s candlestick]. The inscription read “Give me a thousand kisses” and that’s when Jamie lifted her out of the tub, carried her to their bed and began giving her a thousand kisses.

What are your thoughts on last night’s episode? Were you surprised to see John Grey arrive at Fraser’s Ridge? What did you think of young William? What did you think of Claire’s and John’s conversations while he battled the measles? Please share your thoughts below.

The next new episode of Outlander will air on Starz on Sunday, December 16 at 8/7c.

[Photo Credit: Starz]

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