Outlander Recap: “The Company We Keep”

In Sunday night’s episode of Outlander, Roger and the growing militia arrived in the settlement of Brownsville to muster more men, but their arrival was interrupted by gunshots aimed at Isaiah Morton, the first man to step forward when Jamie lit the fiery cross in the season premiere.

It was quickly explained that Isaiah “took advantage” of young Alicia, the daughter of one of the town’s leaders, and to say the least her immediate family were none too happy about her deflowering by a man who wouldn’t even “do right by her.”

With few options available, Roger stood up, telling his men to “stand down,” offering Isaiah up to the Browns as well as a keg of whiskey to placate them. That decision may have been right for that brief moment, but it didn’t stand well with some of the men, who departed the militia because they lost faith and trust in Roger.

Needless to say, Jamie was none too happy with Roger when he and Claire arrived in Brownsville – with Fanny’s baby [and the goats] in tow – and learned the extent of the problems: not only Isaiah’s actions toward Alicia but also the loss of the men.

Jamie made the decision to first free Isaiah from his bindings, telling him to leave Brownsville and never come back; and then try to deal with Roger’s decision. While Claire reasoned with Jamie that Roger made the best decision he could make under the circumstances, Jamie felt that Roger should have sided with the men no matter what.

When Claire discovered that Keziah, just like his twin Josiah, also has infected tonsils, she knew that she had to take them back to the Ridge to treat them both – but she can only do the surgeries there IF she has indeed found penicillin from her experiments. The fact that Claire had to get the twins back to the Ridge, Jamie ordered Roger to escort Claire back home; and while he saw it as a punishment for his decision where Isaiah was concerned, Claire pointed out that Jamie had entrusted Roger with “the one thing that he loves the most.”

Meanwhile back at Fraser’s Ridge, Brianna returned from town with much needed supplies. While going through Jemmy’s baby basket, she learned from Mrs. Bug that an Irish gentlemen had paid some interest in Jemmy. This man not only gave Jemmy a coin but also asked Mrs. Bug if the babe favored his mother or father. That encounter started Bree’s mind to spin, making her think that it was Stephen Bonnet. She had no proof that it was Bonnet, but her fear got the better of her. In fact, when Jemmy went missing briefly – while Brianna was outside collecting more firewood – she panicked, saying “he took him.” Thankfully, Marsali went to her son, asking where Jemmy went and they easily found Jemmy retrieving his favorite toy just outside the back door.

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With Lizzie taking Jemmy to bed, Marsali and Brianna shared a drink in the kitchen with Marsali asking what demon Brianna conjured in her mind. While Brianna wouldn’t tell Marsali the truth, Marsali shared that she killed her father. In truth, Marsali didn’t kill him by her own hands, but she sure did wish for his death because he was very abusive toward her and her family. He was eventually arrested for being a Jacobite and died in prison, allowing her wish to come true. So while she didn’t take the man’s life, her mind certainly made her think that she did: no different than whatever was driving Brianna to panic over Jemmy.

The end of the episode found Isaiah coming back into Brownsville in the dead of night because he couldn’t leave Alicia – even though he is married to another woman, who he hasn’t lived or taken to bed for the past two years. He loves Alicia so much that he would risk the wrath of her entire family to be with her. He even pointed out to both Jamie and Roger that he would gladly leave if either of the men could admit they could leave their wives if they were told to go. Neither of them could so they devised a plan to help the lovers run away. In the morning, Jamie led the lovers out of town on horseback, and then he released all of the town’s horses in the opposite direction to give Alicia and Isaiah time to get away.

The highlight of the episode was watching Jamie dance a jig over two interlaced swords, a traditional Scottish dance that we haven’t seen in quite some time. It was quite fun to watch the expression on Claire’s face as she watched her husband show off an unexpected ability. There was also that sweet moment between the couple, as they walked out in the woods for some quiet time with Jamie asking Claire if she wanted to keep Fanny’s baby. It would allow them to raise a child together – since they were denied that both times in the past – but Claire told him that she was happy with their life, and shared that the young Brown couple – who had recently lost a baby – wanted to take the babe in as their own.

[Photo Credit: Starz]

What did you think of Sunday night’s episode of Outlander? The next episode airs on Starz on Sunday, March 15 at 8/7c.