Outlander left us with an emotional cliffhanger last week that resulted in an entire box of tissues being needed to get through this week. Claire and Jamie are broken physically and emotionally, but in the end there’s hope that they have weathered the storm.
Flash forward
Well, now we know that the Claire who comes back to the 20th century gives birth to a daughter, and that they have settled in America. The child, whose name wasn’t yet revealed, has red hair just like Jamie’s.
Faith
Though Claire has another daughter with Jamie in the future, she has suffered a miscarriage thereby losing their first daughter who Mother Hildegard names Faith. Though Claire seems to have lost her faith in herself, Jamie, and their mission, Mother Hildegard has faith that things may be put right if only Claire can find a sea deep enough to drown her bitterness, anger, and resentment.
The mystery of Raymond
Claire coming back to the land of the living is managed by Master Raymond working some sort of mystic healing to cure her puerperal fever. He returns the life debt he owes Claire. After she questions him, he repeats her words from last episode to her, “But these are the things you do for your friends.”
Mystery still surrounds Raymond. We learn that he called Claire “Madonna” not because she was with child, but because she has a blue aura of healing that is like his own. Is he a time traveler? Are he and Claire related? We do not know.
The truth comes out
After several weeks of Claire wallowing in depression at L’hopital des Anges, and Jamie stewing in the Bastille at the king’s pleasure for dueling, things are at a stalemate. Fergus manages to get Claire to come back home to Jared’s house. The pain of her return is felt buy everyone. Fergus seems desperate to have her happy, and we soon find out why.
Black Jack Randall raped Fergus and Jamie challenged him to a duel when he heard Fergus’ desperate cries for help. Fergus blames himself for Jamie’s imprisonment, and is inconsolable despite Claire telling him it’s not his fault. Nonetheless, Fergus wails, “I didn’t know, I didn’t know he’d go to fight the Englishman. Now m’ilord is gone and he will never come back.” Everyone’s heart breaks with Fergus. If you are a parent, you’re opening weeping at this point. Big, wet, sloppy tears.
Speaking of fault, Claire now realizes that Jamie didn’t just randomly run off and decide to duel Jack behind her back, wantonly breaking his oath. Previously, she believed that, “Revenge mattered more to him than me, or his child. One year of grace is all I asked…He may as well have run his sword through me.” It was revenge, but not the coldly calculated revenge that Claire had assumed. It was the revenge of stoked in heat-of-the-moment rage brought on by witnessing the raping of a child.
Before the king
The only way to free Jamie is to make a request before the king. The payment amounts to business as usual in the sexual politics of the 18th century. Claire stoically tells Mother Hildegard that she has forgiven Jamie; she’s found her deep well. As for the price of his freedom, an emotionally numbed Claire states, “If it comes at the prince of my virtue, I’ll add it to the list of things I’ve already lost in Paris.”
What Claire didn’t bank on in this transaction, was having to be Madame Blanche before concluding the business of lying back and thinking of England.
Madame Blanche
Madame Blanche now has to decide if the heretics in the king’s star chamber, are (as they say in The Wizard of Oz) good witches or bad witches. The king has no issue with light magic, but dark magic that corrupts men for their own evil purposes is another matter. Claire now has to play judge and jury for the Comte St. Germain and Master Raymond.
Certainly, if there ever was a character deserving of revenge it is the Comte St. Germain. Claire attempts to repay him back in kind for poisoning her, and for the attack on Murtagh, Mary, and her in the street. Though she considers ending the Comte St. Germain’s life, in the end she cannot commit cold-blooded murder no matter what he did to her. She concocts a cup test where both men will drink “poison” yet live. The only thing is, Master Raymond doesn’t have Claire’s scruples. With a little slight of hand, he poisons St. Germain’s cup thereby becoming his executioner.
We will indeed, like the Scarecrow, miss Master Raymond most of all.
The reunion
Claire and Jamie finally reunite at Jared’s house before returning to Scotland. In an emotional scene that runs from anger, to regret, to blame and eventually forgiveness and acceptance, Claire recounts seeing their baby daughter and holding her. We are now openly sobbing as Catriona Balfe’s heartbreaking performance is what Emmy’s are made of.
Claire tells Jamie when he asks if she still blames him, “Frank is not here, and now neither is our daughter. It’s not your fault or Randall’s fault. It’s mine.” She counts her actions of pushing him to change history as the cause of all their misery.
Jamie then tells Claire, “I asked your forgiveness once you said there’s nothing to forgive. I already forgave long before today for this and anything else you could do.”
Though not quite fully healed, the two have reconciled. They visit Faith’s grave together before going home.
Outlander airs at 9 p.m. Saturday on Starz.
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