Misdirection, Marriage Proposals and Making Up.
Contains SPOILERS.

This week’s episode opens with a sneaky bit of misdirection in the teaser before the opening credits when we are first led to believe that Roger (Richard Rankin) has headed back through the stones and is enjoying the advantages of 20^th century indoor plumbing. It turns out it is mere wishful thinking on his part, as poor Roger has been recaptured by the Mohawk.  On the plus side, at least they have given him something different to wear. Other pluses in this episode are that we get to spend some time with Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix), Fergus (César Domboy) and Marsali (Lauren Lyle).

If I have one complaint about this episode it is that there is too little Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) action.  I’m the first to admit that watching three people ride through a forest is not necessarily a televisual treat but it did feel as if you were missing out on the Claire and Jamie storyline somewhat.

A few Jamie and Claire scenes were interspersed, however, to update us on their progress. Firstly, thanks to Ian’s (John Bell) relationship with the local Cherokee, the Frasers find out the exact Mohawk village where, in all likelihood, Roger has been taken to, and despite it being on the other side of America and without the assistance of Google Maps, a satnav or presumably any other signage, Jamie, Claire and Ian head towards it. You have to admit the navigational skills of the Fraser family are second to none. On a more serious note, Jamie, only too aware of how it feels to not know if the person you love most in the world is either alive or dead, is determined to curtail such a prospect for his daughter as soon as he can.

While on their travels they discover the decomposing body of the man who was a fellow prisoner with Roger. Stumbling upon the corpse seems to give both Claire and Jamie pause for thought. This leads to a lovely moment between them when Claire takes the first step towards mending bridges between them, admitting that now they have a child it may be impossible for her to be as honest with Jamie as she used to be, given that her love as a mother may come before her love for him as her husband. Jamie seems to understand the predicament Claire was in over not telling him about Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speleers) and he too opens up about his fear that he will never be a father to Brianna (Sophie Skelton) as well as admitting his jealously of Frank’s relationship with Brianna and his fear that not only does Brianna think Frank is the better man but that Claire is beginning to think so too. It is perhaps ironic that Jamie is now jealous of Frank, a man who spent the last 20 years of his life being jealous of Jamie.

It is, however, the fact that Jamie allows himself to be so vulnerable with Claire that makes him so damn loveable. A sentiment Claire clearly shares as they make amends the best way they know how – with Claire on top.

As for Brianna, she’s still angry with her father both for what he did to Roger and for what he said to her. To make matters worse, Aunt Jocasta (Maria Doyle Kennedy) organises a soirée which is nothing more than an upmarket meat market with Brianna as the piece of meat.  Jocasta is aware that giving birth to a bastard is social suicide in 18^th century colonial America and, understandably, she wants Brianna hooked up as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the eligible bachelors on show at River Run would have any sane woman wondering if being a social outcast might not have its advantages after all.

Thankfully Lord John Grey appears as one of the guests and, as always, it’s a treat to see David Berry back as his lordship. Not so thankfully there’s some psychological mumble jumble at the dinner table as a rather cack-handed way of crowbarring in that one of the eligible bachelors might play for the other side (something Lord John picks up on rather sharpish with his own internal gaydar) and that Jamie has sent Lord John to River Run to keep an eye on his daughter who is still fuming about Jamie’s sense of honour, much to the consternation of Lord John.

When one of her would-be admirers makes a move, Brianna handily faints and Lord John is asked to escort her into the parlour, where Lizzie “I can’t keep my mouth shut” Wemyss (Caitlin O’Ryan) makes it clear in front of Lord John that Brianna is with child. How Brianna managed to cross the Atlantic Ocean without throwing Lizzie overboard is one of Outlander’s biggest mysteries.

Brianna fills Lord John in on the basic details – pregnant, handfasted, my father sold my beloved to the Mohawk – all facts that Lord John takes in with the stiffest of British upper lips. He then hands Brianna a letter that Jamie sent him to give to her which Brianna can’t bring herself to read. Then later that night, unable to sleep, Brianna toddles off for some food only to hear a bump in the night, which, on further investigation, turns out to be Lord John getting very close and personal with Judge Alderdyce (Andrew Steele).

The next morning Brianna wakes up to the news that Mr Forbes (Billy Boyd) has arrived to ask for her hand in marriage. On hearing the unwelcome news, Brianna, just like her parents do when faced with adversity, immediately comes up with a plan and asks Lord John to marry her. Considering he’s known her for less than 24 hours, he’s taken aback somewhat so Brianna decides to blackmail him by saying she’ll out him if he doesn’t agree. When she goes on to threaten to tell Jamie about his preferences, it’s clear from Lord John’s response that it’s not something he’s too worried about. The blackmail threat once dismissed, Lord John lets Brianna know how much he values the love and connection that Jamie and Claire feel for each other, and implies that given his feelings for Jamie he can’t possibly marry his daughter. Nevertheless, he reassures Brianna that he has faith that Jamie and Claire will bring Roger back to her.

Faced with such openness on the part of Lord John, Brianna opens up about her rape and the fact that even should her parents find Roger he may not want to be with her. She is thus faced with the dilemma of choosing between hope – Roger and her united once more – and a broken heart – a loveless marriage for the sake of her unborn child.  No wonder she’s desperate. And like many a mother before her, Brianna decides she must do what is best for her child and accept Forbes marriage proposal.

Luckily for her, Lord John saves the day and announces their engagement to all and sundry. Let’s hope Jamie doesn’t find out about the engagement before learning the reasons behind it or there could be another big punch up at Fraser’s Ridge.

Lord John then helps Brianna take the first steps on the road to forgiving her father and to open his letter.  He does this by first mentioning his own son and with a dollop of dramatic irony, Brianna points out if his son is anything like his father he must be a gentleman, little realising that when Lord John wistfully replies that he is very much like his father that he is, in fact, referring to Jamie.  Lord John does admit, however, that he’s not the boy’s natural father, but that he loves him more than life himself and reassures Brianna that should she and Roger find themselves in the same situation as he did that Roger will feel the same way.

He then goes on to express what many would say encapsulates the American dream – that America is the land of hope, and hope, according to Lord John, is at the very heart of love. It’s a lovely little scene, and yet another reason why Lord John is firmly becoming one of my favourite Outlander characters.

Meanwhile in Wilmington Murtagh is still a wanted man and in between hunting down Bonnet for Jamie, he is conspiring with fellow regulators. Fergus is looking for work, but as a one-handed man he’s not having much success. On hearing this, Marsali shows her true mettle by getting Murtagh to ask Fergus to fight by his side. Marsali knows that the mere fact Murtagh has asked Fergus to join him will make all the difference to how Fergus feels about himself. While Fergus is indeed chuffed to have been asked, he realises that his place is with Marsali and his son. It’s a nice bit of business which neatly fills us in on the dynamics of Marsali and Fergus’s relationship.

Murtagh, as ever Jamie’s trusty right-hand man, captures Bonnet but sadly, without avoiding getting caught himself by a couple of armed officials who haul both him and Bonnet off to jail. A loyal comrade-in-arms to the end, Murtagh ensures that Fergus doesn’t get caught up in it all. If they end up hanging Murtagh before the season’s end, I for one will be fuming. I appreciate that it must be hard for the writers to know what to do with the character but if they do feel the need to kill him off, please make him go out with a bang. It’s the least Murtagh deserves.

The episode ends with Roger arriving at the Mohawk village at long last and running the gauntlet of some rather terrifying Mohawks.

All in all, it was an engrossing episode even if the storyline felt rather rushed at times, particularly the Lord John/Brianna engagement storyline. After all, no sooner has Lord John arrived then he’s feigning falling in love and announcing his engagement to Brianna.

Shout out again to the casting department who are so adept at casting the smaller roles so well. Natalie Simpson is a delight as Phaedra while Colin McFarlane brings an enormous amount of dignity and grace to the role of Ulysses.

My only hope for next week is that Murtagh stays alive and for once can Roger get a break? He must be the unluckiest traveller since Jonah.

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