Outlander Recap: “The Birds and the Bees”

Last night’s episode of Outlander picked up where the previous episode left off with Brianna reeling from the attack perpetrated by that evil Stephen Bonnet, as she walked into the chamber room she was sharing with Lizzie, who was clearly concerned for her mistress. Lizzie attempted to help her undress, but Brianna jerked away, slowly removing her clothing layer by layer as Lizzie watched, seeing her blood-stained petticoat and the numerous bruises on her back. Brianna cleansed herself as best she could, donned a new petticoat and gingerly laid herself in bed while Lizzie again attempted to appease her with kind words only to be told to “please go to sleep” by her mistress.

The next morning found Roger returning to the tavern, looking for Brianna only to encounter Stephen Bonnet eating breakfast with most of his crew standing or sitting nearby. Bonnet informed Roger that he was pleased that he showed up, as it saved him from having to send out men to track him down. Bonnet laid things out to Roger in very simple yet terrifying terms: he needed to complete his work on board the ship, hitting the port of Philadelphia and then he could do as he liked. He had the choice of losing a limp or keeping his lass. Since he had no other option, especially given that Bonnet’s men were surrounding him, Roger left the tavern with the men.

A few hours later, Lizzie entered their chamber room, awakening Brianna who was shocked to learn that it was well past noon. It was then that Brianna realized that Lizzie had cleaned her soiled clothing from the night before [to which she said she would not be wearing them again] and that they needed to find their way to Cross Creek in order to get to her Aunt Jocasta who could lead them to her parents on Fraser’s Ridge.

After Brianna had dressed, she went downstairs to the tavern, inquiring of the shopkeeper if the Scotsman she had been with the day before had been there. Surprisingly, the man actually told Brianna that Roger had been there, asking about her, but that he had left with the crew of the Gloriana. This, of course, caused Brianna to race – as best she could given her injuries – toward the port to see if the ship was still there; but unfortunately it wasn’t. The look in her eyes was palpable, as she seemed resigned to the fact that Roger had sailed back to Scotland.

Moments later, Lizzie came racing up to Brianna with exciting news. While preparing their provisions to leave Wilmington, she spoke to a Scotsman right there in the street about other Scotsman in the city. Lizzie was told there had been an incident at the theatre where the wife of a Scotsman had acted as a surgeon, healing a man – Brianna exclaimed that it sounded like her mother – and then Lizzie confirmed that the man’s name was Mr. Fraser and that the incident had happened the night before right there in Wilmington. And best of all, Mr. Fraser was at a nearby building.

Once again, Brianna raced off to find Mr. Fraser; and was told that the tall red-headed Scotsman she sought had gone round back of the building. Sure enough there was Jamie taking a wheeze against the building as Brianna walked up toward him. When he heard her footsteps in the muck, they shared a very interesting conversation:

Jamie: “What do you want here, lassie?”
Brianna: “You!”
Jamie: “I’m sorry, lass. I’m a married man.”

As she laid a hand on his chest to stop him from passing her by, he remarked:

Jamie: “I meant it. I have a wife.”
Brianna: “You’re. You’re Jamie Fraser, aren’t you?”
Jamie: “I am. Who asks?”

As she stared at him, he asked,

Jamie: “Do you have a message for me, lass.”
Brianna: “My name is Brianna. I’m your daughter.”
Jamie: “Brianna (he whispered), is it true? It’s you?”
Brianna: “It’s me. Can’t you tell?”
Jamie: [With tears in his eyes] “Aye. Aye, I can.”

They shared some more words before she threw herself into his arms, crying in what he thought were tears of happiness at finding him (if only he knew just how deep her hurt goes, though). He comforted her and tenderly wiped the tears from her face, asking if she had seen her mother yet, which naturally she hadn’t. He commented that Claire would be “mad with joy.”

Sure enough that was very true when Claire came out of their temporary residence, hearing Jamie call her Sassenach. She quickly turned toward him and there Jamie sat with Brianna right by his side. Claire was naturally in shock at seeing her daughter, dropped her basket as Brianna raced into her arms and the mother and daughter clung to each other as Jamie looked on happily.

It was then that Brianna warned them of the fire, showing them the copy of the Wilmington Gazette article that started her (and Roger’s) journey back to them. “I just knew I had to warn you as quickly as possible,” she said to them since she didn’t know if the fire was 10 years or 10 months later. Jamie then told her that she would come to Fraser’s Ridge with them – to which Brianna told them very briefly about Lizzie – and then they were joined by Young Ian, who was surprised but pleased to meet his new cousin.

On the journey down the river to get back to Fraser’s Ridge, Lizzie was visibly smitten with Young Ian, who upon hearing Lizzie say “so handsome” thought that she meant his dog Rollo who was sitting between them. And then it was Claire and Brianna’s turn to talk about Roger. Brianna shared that she was upset yet happy that he followed her, as she had wanted to make the journey on her own. Claire remarked, “You’re in love with him” to which Brianna agreed and shared that they were hand-fast [Claire seemed very pleased by that news, by the way]. Brianna then told her mother the abridged version of her argument with Roger, which caused him to leave, and that she believed he was on his way back to Scotland and to the stones in order to go back to their own time. She also expressed regret over their fight and her mother comforted her, allowing Brianna to see the new ring on her mother’s finger [which kept Brianna from telling her mother more about what happened that night.]

It was a short time later that Young Ian and Brianna were talking on the barge when he shared brief details about what had happened to them the first time they traveled that area. He explained that a man named Stephen Bonnet, who had been saved by his Uncle Jamie, attacked them, killed their friend Leslie right in front of Auntie Claire and stole her wedding ring. Of course, it was at that moment that Brianna realized that the man Young Ian spoke of and her attacker were one in the same, and she was visibly shaken. Young Ian expressed his regret at scaring her, but he stated that “I’m sure it’s only in our nightmares that he can trouble us now.” Brianna had a brief moment alone to look at Claire’s “rescued” ring before hiding it in her pocket [yet another missed opportunity at telling the truth.]

The family was then seen working their way home with Lizzie and Brianna in the wagon with Young Ian while Claire and Jamie were riding on horseback. Claire and Jamie were able to share a conversation about what Brianna had told Claire regarding Roger, hoping that once they were home that Brianna would tell Claire the whole story. And then they discussed what they should do about the fire with Claire making a slight joke about making that day – the Sunday before January 21 – a holiday. But Jamie shared that they have not had much luck changing history in the past, which is very true.

They arrived home to discover that Murtagh was there after fleeing the failed robbery in Wilmington; and he was introduced to their daughter Brianna, saying “what took you so long, lass?” And then it was time for a little family dinner at the Fraser’s Ridge cabin with Brianna telling Young Ian that she only met his father during her brief “visit” to Lallybroch, that they would have to teach her all of Young Ian’s siblings’ names and that his mother requested that Young Ian write home more often. It was then that Murtagh shared a funny story about Jamie when he was 14 years old, getting his first kiss and the aftermath of that experience. It was then that Claire told Brianna that she had met George Washington, and while Brianna wanted to hear more about that encounter, she was exhausted and needed rest. While Claire walked Brianna out to the shelter [and also to take time to check on an ill Lizzie], Jamie and Murtagh shared a conversation where Murtagh told Jamie he was happy for his godson after all the hardships that he had faced in his past; and Jamie hoped that Brianna could come to see Fraser’s Ridge as her home.

The next morning Claire shared that she believed Lizzie had malaria and that she could help her with a mixture of herbs. It was then that Brianna admitted to her mother that “daddy knew” that Claire had gone back to Jamie [before he had ever asked Claire for a divorce]. Brianna shared that she had seen the obituary on his desk years before, but – of course – didn’t realize what it was at the time. Claire shared that, “Frank was an astute man. He always knew my heart belonged here” to which Brianna agreed, as she could see that was the truth after watching her mother and Jamie together.

When Brianna accidentally dropped a basket of herbs on the floor and overreacted to that small incident, Claire knelt down beside her daughter, telling Brianna “you know you can talk to me about Roger” to which Brianna reacted, saying “He’s gone. (There’s) nothing I can do about that now.” The scene then jumped to the Gloriana – obviously at port in Philadelphia – as Roger was receiving his final payment [in the form of a gemstone instead of coin] from Bonnet, and hoping to find the next available ship to get back to Wilmington.

Then there was a montage of the family going about their daily lives on Fraser’s Ridge: doing laundry, feeding the goats, having meals together [while Jamie looked on lovingly at his daughter], gathering water and churning what could possibly have been butter. While Claire tended to her herb garden, Jamie and Brianna were target practicing with rifles; in fact, Brianna surprised her father at being a better shot than him. She shared that “her father” taught her; that they would go camping and he taught her how to shoot.

They were then shown working on their still – where they make whiskey (of a sort) – and Brianna asked Ian if he had always been called Young Ian; he joked that when he was a bairn, he was called “Wee Ian” and Brianna shared that she had always just been called Bree, which stopped Ian, Murtagh and Jamie for a moment, making Bree question if that meant something in Gaelic. Jamie assured her that it was a Scot word that didn’t translate, but later that night Jamie admitted to Claire that “a bree” meant “a disturbance.” Claire told Jamie that he could have simply told Brianna what it meant, but Jamie didn’t want to hurt the girl’s feelings as she was obviously heartsick over Roger. Claire shared with Jamie that it was the same for Brianna, she didn’t want to hurt Jamie – they had obviously been tiptoeing around each other about Frank. Claire then suggested that Jamie take Brianna on a hunting trip so they could spend some time together.

Jamie then went out to the shelter, seeing Brianna smile in her sleep [something Claire had always told him Brianna did just like Jamie did in his sleep] and after waking her up, he invited her on the hunting trip. They spent some time going out in the forest to hunt bees with Jamie explaining to her what birds were drawn to certain flowers and how to track down the beehive, which fortunately they found in a tree [which was easier to capture then if the hive had been in rocks.] It was during their hunting trip that Jamie explained the two names that he had been calling her: Gaelic words that she didn’t understand. One of the words meant “My Darling” [which, ironically is what Claire would call Brianna from time to time] and the other word meant “A Blessing.”

While waiting for night to fall in order to capture the beehive, the father and daughter talked about the bees being content in their new home – a double meaning to Bree trying to be happy in her new home – and how Brianna felt that she was being disloyal to Frank by merely being with Jamie. She joked with him about being a disturbance [Murtagh, of course, told her what “a bree” meant] and that she wasn’t sure what to call him. Jamie suggested that she could call him “Da,” sharing that it’s not a Gaelic word, it’s just “simple.” As they came home to Claire with the beehive intact, they shared a precious moment of eating honey together.

That night Jamie was sitting up in bed not being able to rest, thinking about a “foolish regret.” He had so enjoyed having Brianna with them for the past few weeks and Claire agreed that they both wanted her to stay, but knew she would eventually have to leave; that she needed to return to her own time. Jamie then shared that he recalled how his sister Jenny would watch over her newborn bairns for hours as they slept and that he could do the same with Brianna and never tire of it. He shared that “she’s a gift from me to you and you to me,” and that he was so happy that she called him “Da.”

The next morning, Brianna was watching a mother bird feeding her babies when Lizzie interrupted her, asking her why she was up so early and about the nightmares that she seemed to be having so many of anymore. Brianna, once again, claimed that she was all right; and Lizzie changed the subject, sharing that she was going to the mill with Young Ian. Brianna was fine with that as she would be picking herbs with her mother. While they picked herbs, Claire could tell that Brianna was missing Roger but that she knew there was something else. Brianna commented that she wondered if her mother “could still do that, read her mind.” In mere seconds of simply looking at her daughter, Claire asked “how far along are you?” with Brianna saying “about two months.” But soon enough, Brianna was finally telling her mother that she was raped and that the baby probably wasn’t Roger’s because he had used the “withdraw method” during their wedding night.

Claire, of course, then had to share the shocking news about Brianna’s rape and pregnancy with Jamie; but at first, he naturally thought that she wanted to leave. It was clear that both of her parents were very worried for her.

The final scenes played out as such: Roger was finally near Fraser’s Ridge, hoping to find Brianna; Lizzie and Young Ian were walking along when Lizzie saw Roger – believing him to be the man who attacked Brianna; Claire found her wedding ring among Brianna’s clothing [as she collected items to be laundered]; Lizzie and Ian raced to Jamie in order to tell him about the man along the road and Lizzie told Jamie her perspective of who she thought Roger was; Claire confronted Brianna about the ring, learning that it was Bonnet who raped her – and that Brianna had kept quiet about it in order to keep Claire safe and keep Jamie from hunting Bonnet down [“you know what he’s like,” said Brianna to Claire]; Jamie telling Young Ian and Lizzie to not say anything to his wife or daughter about the man and then Jamie cold-cocking Roger before the poor man could even get more than a few words of greeting out of his mouth and then Jamie nearly beating Roger to a pulp before being stopped by Young Ian because other settlers riding by on a wagon; and lastly, Jamie demanding that Young Ian “just get him out of my sight” before the screen went black.

It was a rough episode to watch because of all the secrets that were kept that caused more problems than necessary. Despite all that, how did you feel about Jamie and Brianna finally meeting and Claire’s reaction to Brianna’s appearance in 1761 Wilmington? How bad did you feel for Roger because of that whoop-ass he received at the hands of Jamie? How precious was it to see Jamie and Brianna share time together on their hunting excursion? Please share your thoughts on the episode below.

The next new episode of Outlander will air on Starz on Sunday, January 6 at 8/7c.

[Photo Credit: Starz]

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