Outlander Recap: “Providence”

It’s almost hard to believe that another season of Outlander is nearly at an end, but last night’s penultimate episode found some of our characters finally converging in Wilmington for very different reasons while a lot of focus was on Roger’s ongoing ordeal with the Mohawk.

As has been the case, the latest episode opened right where last week’s episode ended with Roger being forced through the gauntlet of Mohawk braves. This was a test of his will and stamina, and while he was prevailing as best he could, he took a massive hit to his shoulder that knocked him to the ground and kept him there until one of the braves told him he would remain a captive and one of the young boys from the village called him a Mohawk name that had all of the men laughing [more on that name shortly].

Much like last week’s episode the story was broken down into three separate stories:

Brianna’s Decision

Brianna had landed herself a fiancé in the form of none other than Lord John Grey. She had saved herself from the advances (and unwanted proposal) from Gerald Forbes; but the news given to her by John that Stephen Bonnet had been captured in Wilmington – he had been wanted for smuggling, piracy and murder after all – she seemed to make yet another surprising decision: she wanted to see him.

Naturally, John was adamant that – given her condition – she could not go to Wilmington to watch his execution. Thankfully that was the furthest thing from Brianna’s mind even though she had previously shared with Jamie that she had been wondering if getting revenge on him would make her forget the ordeal she experienced. When she told John that she needed to speak with him, he was puzzled until she handed over the letter written to her by Jamie.

Daughter…the letter began…

and as Jamie’s voice over was heard as John read the letter viewers got to see the only glimpse of Jamie, Claire and Young Ian in the entire episode. They were still progresses across the country on the trail of Roger.

I canna say if I shall see you again. My hope is that it shall be so and that all will be mended between us. I’ve been thinking about your question of whether revenge would heal the wrong done to ye. I advise you now that you not seek it for the sake of your soul, for the sake of your own life. You must find the grace to forgive. Freedom is hard won, but it is not the fruit of murder. Do not feel that he will escape vengeance. Such a man carries within him seeds of his own destruction. If he does not die by my hand, it’ll be by another, but it must not be by your hand. Hear me for the sake of the love I bear you.

James Frazer

As the scene transferred back to John and Brianna on the veranda of River Run, viewers could see that Jamie also signed the letter Da – the name he told Brianna she could call him if she wanted.

It’s made clear to John that Brianna realized that Jamie was right. “Forgiveness won’t change what happened, but it can change what will be whether Roger comes back or not,” she said to John. She needed to say her piece to Bonnet and find a way to free herself of him for the sake of her baby. John could clearly see her resolve and agreed to help just as Brianna reacted to the baby kicking. With Brianna’s permission he placed his hand on her burgeoning baby bump, feeling the kick of the baby, commenting that “my God, he’s real” and Brianna agreed with him.

The couple was next seen arriving by carriage in Wilmington with Brianna looking a bit scared and apprehensive about being back in the place where she had been wed but also attacked by Bonnet. Bittersweet and horrible memories abounded obviously; and her growing size due to the baby was making things uncomfortable for her, but John (being John) was ever the gentleman, assuring her that her parents would bring Roger back to her. As he escorted her into the local tavern, she said “you are impossible not to like.”

It was then time for Brianna to face Bonnet at the jail. Lord John had made arrangements with Governor Tryon to meet with the prisoner and the militia men at the door allowed them entrance to the jail. Brianna then surprised John, again, telling him that she wanted to face Bonnet on her own. He, of course, didn’t like that idea, but seeing her resolve, he let her face down her own personal demon.

Brianna bravely stood before a chained Bonnet, who recognized her face (“and a few others things” – YUCK!) as she told him her name and that he knew her parents. He admitted that the jewels he took from Jamie and Claire had been used so he could purchase a ship; and then she surprised the vile man by saying she was there to forgive him and showed him her baby bump. He claimed that “whores” had tried to “force their spawn” on him before, but he didn’t believe her. She answered back angrily that she had “no reason to lie” but if “the knowledge that something of him” would be “on Earth,” then he could take that to the grave with him. He leered at her, saying that he would soon be gone, but not forgotten, which stopped Brianna short, causing her to turn and spew at him that he would be forgotten, that the baby would never know his name, never even know he had existed that “while you rot in the ground, I will raise my child to be a good person, to be nothing like you.” That seemed to stop Bonnet short, and as he awkwardly reached for something inside his mouth – that turned out to be a small gemstone hidden inside one of his teeth – he gave it to Brianna saying to use it as “maintenance” for the babe.

Roger’s Decision

With his left arm in a sling, Roger was still tying knots in strings to signify how many days he had been with the Mohawk – and there were A LOT of knots. But he was soon called by one of the women of the village to gather wood for one of the longhouses. As he struggled with the basket of wood, another women – with a baby in her arms – approached him, speaking French. Roger was visibly surprised to say the least, but when she offered him some herbs that would help with his pain, he was relieved. The woman – named Johiehon – displayed concern for his welfare and he commented on her baby – who has her father’s eyes [more on that shortly too] – before Kaheroton, the English-speaking brave who led Roger from North Carolina to the Mohawk camp yelled at Johiehon for talking to the captive and pointed out that he’s considered dangerous; “he can’t be good since his people sold him,” he told her. It was obvious given the brief conversation that Johiehon and Kaheroton had that the brave is very smitten with the woman.

Roger continued to struggle in the village not understanding the Mohawk’s customs and seemingly doing all the wrong things – pointing when he should not, talking when he should not and even smiling at Johiehon when he should not. Kaheroton took offense to everything Roger was doing, pushing him around causing him to fall to the ground. The chief then came to Roger’s side – and after Roger asked for help, saying “please, I’m hurt” – Roger was taken “to the hut” by Kaheroton. As they walked to the hut, the Mohawk asked Roger how he came to be an outcast among his people, asking where his loyalties lie. Roger stated that it was a mistake that he was sold, that his loyalties lie with a woman. Roger was then warned not to smile at Johiehon, and then he was tossed inside the hut where he was soon surprised to find a French priest. Father Alexandre Ferigault, who then explained to Roger the Mohawk name he had been given meant “dogface” because of his beard. The Father explained that the Mohawk do not keep their whiskers but that they are rather found of dogs. He also told Roger they were in the village known as Shadow Lake in New York. That revelation was not lost on Roger who could not believe how far from Brianna he now was.

The Father and Roger continued their conversation with the Father explaining that he came to the Mohawk camp as he was invited there by the chief. He lived among them in peace, converting some members of the tribe to his religion, but a year earlier he became very ill and was tended to by a woman from the village. Once he was well, he and the woman “sinned” – falling in love and having a child. While the Mohawk welcomed their union and the baby with open arms, the Father could not do the same, as he had broken his faith with God and his calling. He was being held in the hut because he would not baptize the baby. The Father was then taken from the hut – naked before his God – to face the chief.

It was then that Roger started looking for a way out of the hut and began digging a hole in the ground while he could hear the Father being hurt. It was some time later that the Father was tossed back inside the hut with his left ear cut off. Roger administered care as best he could with only water and an already dirty cloth as his only source of comfort for the injured man. As Roger began to pray over the man, the Father gingerly arose from the ground, telling Roger that his refusal to bless the child offended their captors. He further shared that he had until morning to decide his fate: bless the child or he would be bound over a flame where he would slowly die – a similar fate befell another poor soul being held captive, who had lingered for three days over the flame before dying. Again Roger tried in vain to convince the Father to do anything – say the Lord’s Prayer or a Hail Mary – over the child as the Mohawk’s would not be familiar with their customs, but the Father could not do it. He could not bless a child – even his own daughter – as it would be as if he were mocking the sacrament.

It was then that Roger called him an idiot and shared that he was an idiot too. He told the Father the story of his following Brianna through “time and space” and “across an ocean” to find her; to “prove to the universe” that he “loved her.” He explained they were hand-fast but then argued, “saying words of regret but words that couldn’t be unsaid.” That he had planned to leave but came back, yet again, this time to be attacked by the man he believed to be her father – being beaten nearly to death by this man and then being sold to the Mohawk. And when he was able to escape from the Mohawk, he had within his grasp a way to return home, but he hesitated – again – because of his love for Brianna. But he shared with the Father that he had changed, he had to “look out for number one” and from now on “that’s me.” He told the Father to do the same thing – telling him to take Johiehon and the babe with him, escape the village, find a priest and seek forgiveness. But nothing that Roger said to the Father would convince the man to save himself, but he did help Roger continue to dig the hole under the hut all through the night into the next morning. As the son rose, the Father had still not changed his mind and allowed the braves to take him from the hut to face his demise while Roger kept digging.

We next saw Roger pulling himself out of the hole dug beneath the hut, as the Father could be heard in the distance screaming, as he was obviously being burned at the small pyre. As Roger ran from the village, though, he berated himself about the Father – telling himself that the Father had made his decision – that he had to keep going, to not be an idiot yet again. But being the man that Roger has always been, he couldn’t let the Father suffer like that. He ran back into the village and as all of the tribe looked on at the Father slowly burning, Roger raced out of the trees, grabbed a barrel and tossed it at the slow burning pyre that quickly engulfed the man, ending his life immediately.

But what happened next was shocking. Johiehon, the Father’s Indian lover – laid her daughter down on the ground and with tears streaming from her eyes, calmly walked toward the pyre and climbed onto it, holding the Father in her arms as she burned along with him. This all happened so quickly that not even the nimble Kaheroton could stop her. The last scene was of visibly shaken Indian brave kneeling before the child, gingerly picking her up and staring at the pyre as tears fell from his eyes.

Fergus’s Decision

Meanwhile in Wilmington, Fergus was meeting with two of the regulators, advising them that Murtagh had been arrested by the militia just as they had captured the murderer Stephen Bonnet. It was the intent of the men to save Murtagh before Governor Tryon could arrange for Murtagh to be hanged – because of his being the leader of the regulators.

Later, Fergus was at the table in their home seemingly playing with cups, spoons and thimbles but since their babe was in his crib, Marsali had to wonder what in the world Fergus was doing. Being a perceptive woman, Marsali quickly realized that Fergus was figuring out a way to break Murtagh out of the jail. Her husband told her that the regulators had found men to help get Murtagh out, but that it was going to be dangerous. Marsali agreed that they needed to get Murtagh out; in fact, she said that he shouldn’t be in jail to begin with. The couple discussed that it would be so much better if Milord and Milady (aka Jamie and Claire) were there to help. It was almost a WWJACD (what would Jamie and Claire do) moment for them with Marsali saying “they’d find a way” (to help Murtagh) “and we will too.” Fergus then shared that perhaps it was time they left Wilmington, going to Frazer’s Ridge and Marsali agreed to find a wagon and begin packing their belongings.

While Brianna and John were entering the jail, Fergus and Marsali as well as the regulators were laying the groundwork for their jailbreak “mission.” Soon enough, the six men were facing the two militia men at the prison doors, demanding with loaded pistols in hand to be granted entrance. Of course, the regulators and Fergus came face to face with Lord John once they were inside the prison before releasing Murtagh from his cell. Of course, Fergus told the other men not to hurt John, but not let him leave either. During the melee, the keys to the cells were dropped within reach of Bonnet so naturally it will be a question of whether he was able to escape or not.

As the final scene at the jail played out, the regulators, Murtagh and Fergus ran for their lives while John helped Brianna get out of the main entrance as quickly as possible just as the gunpowder Fergus had laced around the building earlier in the episode exploded. Murtagh and Fergus jumped beneath the cover of the wagon, handled by Marsali as they raced away from the jail. Meanwhile, John escorted a shaken Brianna out of the area only to be approached by a redcoat officer who inquired if they were hurt, reported that he was unsure of how many were injured in the explosion and that Governor Tryon would seek vengeance on the regulators for the escape. Thankfully John did not relay what he knew about the prison break while Brianna simply looked on in silence.

The very last scene was of Roger being led away from the burning pyre, being taken back to the “idiot hut” as he called it before the scene went black.

How great was it to see Fergus leading the regulators in getting Murtagh out of jail? What are your thoughts on Brianna facing down Bonnet? Do you think he was able to escape during the jailhouse melee? What did you think of Roger’s decision to go back into the Mohawk village? Please share your thoughts in our comments section below.

The much anticipated (and dreaded) season finale of Outlander [say it ain’t so that Droughtlander is nearly upon us] will air next Sunday, January 27 at 8/7c on Starz.

[Photo Credit: Starz]

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