Outlander Recap: “If Not For Hope”

Last week’s episode of Outlander found Roger contemplating using the standing stone he discovered in the wilds of the Colonies to return to his time, but obviously as last night’s episode opened up, viewers learned quickly that Roger wasn’t actually showering in a 1970’s bathroom nor was he looking at himself in a mirror; but rather he was along a riverbank in the Colonies having been recaptured by the Mohawk.

The episode was then broken down into three separate parts:

Brianna at River Run

Since her arrival at River Run, and the fact that she has had so much time on her hands, Brianna has been spending a lot of her time drawing, focusing primarily on portraits of the people on the plantation. But the drawing she was completing when Lizzie walked into the room, bearing a tray of food, was disturbing to Brianna’s companion. In fact, Lizzie was sure that Brianna was possessed giving the gloominess of the faces, which of course Brianna’s not; to be more exact, she’s hurt and angry. Brianna assured Lizzie that she was not angry at her, but when asked if Brianna would ever forgive her father, she shared that even if she could forgive Jamie for what he did to Roger, she couldn’t forget the harsh words he said to her.

Later Brianna was found in her chamber room by Phaedra, who was tasked with helping create a new dress for Brianna because Mistress Cameron announced she would be holding a special dinner the following week. Phaedra shared that a Lord would be coming from Virginia [we can all guess who that would be, right?!] and other friends of Jocasta’s too. Brianna honestly had no interest in the dress or the dinner; in fact, she was more interested in drawing Phaedra’s portrait.

A short time later, Brianna was found by her Auntie, who pushed the dinner issue, giving Brianna earrings that would match the dress and informing her headstrong niece that the company of others would help take her mind of her worries over Roger. Aunt Jocasta also shared details about her sister, Brianna’s grandmother Ellen, who was an artist and quite stubborn much like her granddaughter. Brianna learned that Ellen was their father’s favorite, that she went unwed far longer than most women of her time and that their father wouldn’t force Ellen into a marriage she didn’t want – “how modern of him,” Brianna commented. Eventually, Brianna agreed to not only the dress but also the dinner much to her aunt’s pleasure.

It was then time for the dinner with all of the guest – save one – gathered awaiting Brianna’s arrival. It was almost like a grand coming out party as Brianna descended the staircase of River Run where she was introduced to the assemblage, mainly single men – several of whom were accompanied by a family member – all vying for Brianna’s attention. Among the guests were siblings Gerald and Prudence Forbes, Lieutenant Wolff and Mistress Alderdyce and her son the honorable Judge Alderdyce. Before the grand introduction of none other than Lord John Grey, Brianna and the dinner guests had been admiring gemstones owned by Gerald Forbes, who was seeking Brianna’s opinion over the sapphire, the emerald, the topaz or the diamond for which he was planning to make into a gift.

The dinner turned into an interesting affair, to say the least, with John telling tales of his time in Jamaica [with his retelling of the end of the story about the fortune teller Margaret Campbell] and then asking Brianna for a tale of her own. Instead of a story Brianna played a game of psychology – the science of the soul – with the dinner guests. She had them all close their eyes and imagine themselves in a forest with someone; once they could see that person, she told them they encountered an animal and then reached a clearing. At that point they could open their eyes and she would tell them one-by-one what the person and animal symbolized. Asking Judge Alderdyce first – instead of the very smitten Gerald Forbes – the Judge answered that he was walking with Christ and encountered a squirrel that daily frequented his mother’s garden. Brianna shared that his walking with Christ meant he was seeking either forgiveness or reassurance while the squirrel represented that he was keeping secrets since squirrels tend to horde things away. This analogy seemed to spark concern in the eyes of the Judge (who shared a glimpse with Lord John moments before the game was undertaken) and he walked outside to get some air.

As the dinner guests started to chat amongst their neighbors, Brianna asked Lord John who he saw in the forest. The man hemmed and hawed for a few seconds before sharing, “your father” and then telling Brianna that Jamie had written to him, asking him to pay a visit to River Run to make sure all was well with her. This revelation seemed to upset Brianna as she assumed that Jamie had told Lord John about her current circumstance. He hadn’t, which she soon enough learned after faking a small collapse after Forbes asked if she would accompany him for a walk to discuss her psychology game in private. Instead John escorted Brianna to the parlor and insisted on getting a doctor for her; that wasn’t necessary since she faked the collapse and with Lizzie letting it slip that she was worried about Brianna because of her condition, John quickly figured out that Brianna would soon be a mother. It was then that Brianna explained Roger’s circumstance and where her parents had gone. John also shared that Jamie asked him to bring a letter that he had written to daughter, making sure to place it directly in her hands.

Upon Jocasta’s arrival at the parlor with Ulysses at her side, John excused himself for the night and Brianna asked for a private and frank discussion with her Auntie. She asked her aunt why were the men at the dinner all unmarried men or had her Aunt merely “pulled them out of a hat” [which was a strange expression to Jocasta]. Being frank in return to her niece, Jocasta said that Brianna could not afford to be particular, as her bairn will be coming soon; that she needed to be wed or else her child would be a fatherless bastard. Brianna tried to defend her choice based on what her grandmother Ellen had done in her life, but Jocasta told her that “you canna live on hope,” believing that Brianna’s parents would not have success in finding Roger.

Late that night Brianna was unable to sleep so she ventured down to the pantry for some food only to hear a noise in one of the backrooms. She followed the noise, which was clearly two people moaning, only to discover that it was Lord John and Judge Alderdyce having sex against the wall. Brianna was able to hide before John saw her, but she was able to use that new found information the next morning – after being awakened by Phaedra, who was ordered by Mistress Cameron to prepare Brianna for a special conversation with Gerald Forbes. It was clear to Brianna what Forbes wanted of her – to marry her, of course – but she had other plans. She called for Lizzie to find Lord John, having him meet her at the large oak. Quitting with the pleasantries, Brianna asked Lord John to marry her – even threatening to write letters about what she saw Lord John doing with Judge Alderdyce – but he informed her that he could not marry her.

Their conversation continued with John telling Brianna that he had faith in her parents; that she should not give up hope [unlike what Jocasta told her the night before]; and Brianna apologized for her threat – she wouldn’t have done any of the things she said to him, of course – and then she explained to John about the unknown parentage of her baby. She said that “if I marry him (meaning Forbes), I’ll be exchanging hope for a broken heart,” but that she would do what she had to for the sake of her baby.

She returned to the plantation to deal with her Aunt and Forbes, but before the man could propose, Lord John walked in and asked if Brianna had shared their good news: that they were betrothed. You could see the deflation on Forbes’s face and the relief in Brianna’s. After Forbes left, Jocasta reached out to her niece, whispering in her ear that she “dinna ken how [she] managed it, but a McKenzie you truly are.”

The final scene at River Run was John and Brianna talking on the porch; she shared that she never thought she’d do any of the things she had done lately with John sharing that “sometimes people do the wrong thing for the right reasons.” He then told Brianna about his son William – admitting that he was not a father by blood but that he loved his son unconditionally. He assured Brianna that Roger would love her child no matter what. It was then that Brianna finally opened the letter from Jamie [although we didn’t get to see or hear what was contained in that letter.]

Murtagh (and Fergus) Hunting in Wilmington

Fergus was seen inquiring about Stephen Bonnet and his ship, learning that it was expected to arrive in Wilmington in a week’s time just before he found a broadsheet with Murtagh’s likeness on it. Murtagh was now a wanted man, who was hiding out at Fergus and Marsali’s home, while he was still working with the regulators as well as hunting down Bonnet. The other problem was that Fergus was having difficulty finding work given the loss of his left hand, which made Marsali worry about her husband’s well-being. She was worried so much about her husband that she interrupted their “guest” late in the night, rousing Murtagh from a deep sleep to tell him that she wanted Murtagh to ask Fergus to fight with the regulators. She wanted to have a whole man or none at all. [It was quite comical that Murtagh offered if she was turned off from her marriage to Fergus that he would take the young man out back, but Marsali commented that she would do that herself if she wanted to, she didn’t need Murtagh for that.]

When it came time for Murtagh to ask Fergus to join them, Marsali was watching from the next room. The relief that washed over her face when her husband received – and yet turned down the offer given to him by Murtagh – was palpable. She heard exactly what she wanted to her that Fergus knew his place was there with his wife and son. It was then that she informed the men that Bonnet and the ship Glorianna had arrived in Wilmington. They headed off to the local tavern to wait for the vile criminal to show up, and soon enough he did. As Murtagh hid himself from the redcoats – he’s a wanted man, after all – walking through the tavern, Bonnet was pointed out to them, and Fergus had a plan. That got Bonnet alone in one of the tavern rooms, Murtagh clobbered him with the end of his gun, and they dragged him out of the room.

In the alley behind the tavern, Murtagh was working on tying Bonnet up while Fergus retrieved a nearby horse. Unfortunately, Murtagh was caught by two armed men – not redcoats – who allowed Fergus to leave the alley – because Murtagh made it look like he was attacking Fergus – but arrested Murtagh since his face was on a broadsheet, and they’d be taking Stephen Bonnet in as well since he was a wanted criminal too.

The Adventures of Ian, Auntie Claire and Uncle Jamie

Young Ian was seen talking with the Cherokee about the necklace given to him by the Mohawk when he sold Roger to them while Claire and Jamie talked about what she knew of the Mohawk from her time. She shared with Jamie that it’s hard to separate fact from fiction, and what she knew about them was from movies – which she obviously told Jamie about in the past – and he wondered if he would be perceived as a fearsome brute if a movie were to be done about them. There was clearly a coldness between the couple given what had recently transpired.

Soon enough they learned from Young Ian that the Cherokee believed the necklace was from a Mohawk village known as Shadow Lake (which was at least a two month’s ride from their current location) but that the Cherokee would not lead them there. Needless to say, the trio was own their own to track down Roger, continuing their trek across the wilderness. As they set up camp for the night, Young Ian asked his Auntie to talk to Jamie as he hated seeing them both suffering, reaffirming what they had done to Roger had only been done because they thought they were protecting Brianna.

While there was still a coldness between Jamie and Claire, they were –a short time later – surprised when Young Ian was yelling at Rollo, who was holding on tightly to a bone, which turned out to be a human bone. Ian soon enough found the shallow grave of the man who had been with the Mohawk at the same time as Roger. It was determined the man had been dead for at least a month, and they all set out to see if there was any trace of Roger – but they found nothing – which lead Claire to share that there was “still hope that Roger was alive.”

After giving the dead man a proper burial, Claire went to Jamie that night to say that she was sorry; to say that she was upset, but not with him. She shared further that Brianna would confide with Frank and only sometimes with her, but when Frank died, any secrets were their secrets. Claire shared that if only she had told that secret to Jamie that it could have saved Roger’s life; in fact, she never thought she would keep a secret like that from Jamie but it was her and Brianna’s secret. In turn, Jamie shared that he didn’t think he could be a father to Brianna because he had hurt her with his words and made too many mistakes. Claire told him that wasn’t the case, and despite what Brianna had said to Jamie (and vice versa) that Brianna didn’t really mean the things she had said. “She’s just like you. She says things in anger that she doesn’t mean, commented Claire. “Trust me,” she said before she climbed on his lap so they could have sex.

The final scene was of Roger finally being led into the Mohawk camp where all of the braves were being called to the center of the village to form a gauntlet that Roger was forced to walk through. He was pushed and shoved, slapped, hit and knocked down to the ground. Despite the fear that was in his eyes as the gauntlet was formed, Roger stood up – showing courage to the braves – but he was forcibly punched as the screen, once again, went black.

How did you feel about the dinner party and the return of Lord John Grey? What did you think of Brianna’s last minute proposal to John? How did you feel about Murtagh getting caught? Did you think Jocasta was right in holding the dinner party? What are your overall thoughts on this episode? Please share them below.

As we head into the last stretch of new episodes for season 4 of Outlander, make sure to mark your calendar for the next episode which is set to air on Starz on Sunday, January 20 at 8/7c.

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