Previously on Outlander: Everyone found out that Brianna was raped, but there was a misunderstanding, with Lizzie believing it was Roger, so Jamie and Ian beat the crap out of him and sold him to the Mohawk. As one does. Brianna slapped everyone when she found out and finally told her father Stephen Bonnet was to blame. Jamie had Murtagh take Brianna to stay with Aunt Jocasta at River Run, and told him to then go find Bonnet. Jamie, Claire, and Ian went off to rescue Roger.
Don’t forget, you can drink along with us, with the new and improved FYA Outlander drinking game!
Brief fakeout of Roger under the spray of indoor plumbing, but JUST KIDDING, he did not go back through the stones and is once again a prisoner of the Mohawk, but at least they finally let him bathe in a river.
Brianna easily forgives Lizzie for her part in the whole mistaken identity shenanigans, but she’s not ready to forgive Jamie for his part, as well as the awful things he said to her when he thought she’d lied about being violated. Jocasta attempts to distract her with a fancy dinner party for a visiting lord, and Phaedre is excited to fit her for a new dress that will hide her condition. Brianna doesn’t want a new dress and just wants to sketch and hide alone in her room. Jocasta talks her into it, but it becomes obvious very quickly that Jocasta has invited all the unmarried men in the area to meet Brianna, including the swooniest man in the land, Lord John Grey. Brianna entertains the dinner guests with some Psychology 101, but when she finds out Lord John was asked by her father to check in on her, and bring her a letter, she assumes he knows about her condition. He does not, but after Brianna nearly faints at the table, Lizzie spills the beans in front of him. The next day, when Phaedre informs Brianna that one of the suitors at the dinner has secured Jocasta’s blessing to propose, Bree hatches a terrible plan to blackmail Lord John into marrying her instead (after she witnesses him in flagrante the night before). He explains all the reasons why that is a terrible idea, but takes pity on her situation and announces their engagement before she’s forced to accept one of the other suitors.
Murtagh has Fergus asking around about Stephen Bonnet in Wilmington when Fergus sees a wanted poster with Murtagh’s face on it. He and Marsali are letting Murtagh and his Regulators meet in their home, while poor Fergus is having trouble finding work in town due to lacking two hands. Marsali wakes Murtagh in the middle of the night to insist that he take Fergus along to fight with the Regulators, so he’ll feel like more of a man. Fergus declines, but the asking seems to have done him good. Murtagh and Fergus track Bonnet to an inn, where they surprise him alone in his room and coldcock him. The next morning, they’re surprised by some Militiamen, and the quick thinking Murtagh punches Fergus, so they won’t think they’re together. Murtagh turns in the escaped murderer, Bonnet, but they recognize his face as well.
Ian finds out that it will likely be a two-month journey for them to catch up to the Mohawk and Roger. Things are still tense between Jamie and Claire over the secrets they kept from eachother about Stephen Bonnet and Roger, and Ian unsuccessfully tries to get Claire to be the one to end their standoff. At least a month into their trip, Rollo finds the buried remains of Roger’s companion in captivity, and Ian recognizes the clothing as having belonged to a man that had been with the Mohawk. So, they know they’re on the right path, but at least a month behind them, and conditions do not seem great. When Roger finally arrives at the Mohawk settlement, the tribe comes out to welcome him by beating him with sticks. Bet he’s wishing he’d gone through that humming rock after all.
Kilt Drops: 2
- Get you some, Lord John!
- And, of course, Jamie and Claire finally make up, and have steamy tent sex, as is their way.
Wit and Wordplay
Marsali: “If I wanted him shot, I’d do it myself.”
Now that sounds like Laoghaire’s daughter.
John Grey: “Though that is a story for another glass.”
It comes as no surprise that Lord John is the best dinner party guest.
“May I speak frankly?” – Brianna
“Of course. You’ve been doing so all evening.” – Jocasta
Sasse-WHAT?
- Was Marsali not the greatest? A toast to somebody bringing their A game this week!
- This episode is one long ordeal of BRIANNA, GIRL. (Shots for everybody!) It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel like attending a party, your great-aunt is hosting your knocked up ass without complaint. Quit being ungrateful, and put on a dress. There were many times in the books when I found Brianna to be an insufferable pill, but this was one of the worst. I can understand some residual anger at her father, but to be rude to Lord John by proxy? NOPE.
- And could you believe Brianna was going to let Jocasta maneuver her into marrying a stranger? MacKenzies gonna MacKenzie, but you don’t have to go along with it.
- It’s been a while since I read Drums of Autumn, but I definitely don’t remember Brianna stumbling upon Lord John having a tryst. Do you? And if so, please share the page number.
- Assuming Roger is eventually rescued, will he want anything to do with the Frasers ever again?
Next week: Brianna finally reads the letter from Jamie and he warns her against seeking vengeance. Do we think she heeds that advice?
