Outlander reunited Jamie with what’s left of his family tonight, and it was a “verra” bumpy road indeed.
Arrival at Lallybroch
Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) finally arrive at Lallybroch. The trip along the road there was peaceful, with Claire describing 20th century life to an awed Jamie. Upon arrival, the mood changes as Jamie remembers the events that lead to his imprisonment, torture, and banishment.
Jamie and his sister Jenny (Laura Donnelly) get off to a bad start, with Jamie assuming Jenny’s children are “Jack Randall’s bastards,” and Jenny accusing her brother of thinking she “played the whore” to Jack Randall, and possibly others. It escalates with Jenny calling Claire a trollop, followed by her threatening to grab Jamie by the balls to make him listen. Only the arrival of Ian Murray (Steven Cree), Jenny’s husband and Jamie’s best friend, puts things, for the moment, to rights.
Jenny recounts the Jack Randall story
Randall had every intention of raping Jenny when she agreed to go in the house with him, in her attempt to save Jamie’s life. Randall, on the other hand, was unable to get an erection because Jenny inadvertently laughed at him. When Jenny discovered this weakness she took full advantage. Though it saved her being raped, Randall knocked her unconscious in his fury. When Jenny awoke, she found Jamie taken and herself alone.
We later discover that Jenny was not the only member of the Fraser household Randall tried to have his way with. Randall offered Jamie an escape from being whipped a second time if he gave his body to Randall (called “being buggered” in 18th century terms). Jamie refused. On a certain level, Jamie blames his refusal to to accept Randall’s offer as the cause of his father’s death. If he had accepted the offer, his father likely would not have witnessed the whipping and died of a heart attack.
Claire is a fish out of water
Claire not only has to find her way around family relationships, but she also has to find her way around the intricate waters of being a Laird’s wife. Jamie doesn’t want a meek wife, but he doesn’t want Claire endangered either. It’s obvious that Jenny thinks that Claire is meddling and disrespecting her brother, but Ian is more accepting.
Laird of Lallybroch
Jamie makes a right mess trying to become what he thinks is the Laird of Lallybroch that his tenants want. Mistakes include not collecting rent, dealing with Ronald McNab beating his son Rabbie without consulting Jenny, being a drunken fool, and just generally being an ass. Jenny and Jamie grow ever more at odds over Jamie attempting to run the estate.
Stubborn Frasers
Claire has a discussion with Ian where he reveals that the Frasers have big hearts, but they are stubborn-headed. Ian tells Claire that in his experience, the only way to convince Jenny and Jamie of something, is to kick them in the head. After that, if they are still stubborn, it’s necessary to kick them even harder.
Claire acts on Ian’s advice by quite literally tossing Jamie out of bed, and all but physically kicking him in the head. She tells Jamie that he has been an insufferable ass ever since they came to Lallybroch, and that she hasn’t seen the Jamie Fraser that she married since they arrived. She furthermore tells him to get his head out of his ass, and to start acting like himself before he loses his family.
Reconciliation
Jenny and Jamie make amends at their father’s grave the next day. They air old grievances, misunderstandings, and hard feelings. In the end, they make their peace after Jenny states, “And if your life is a suitable exchange for my honor; tell me why is my honor not a suitable exchange for your life? Are you telling me that I may not love you as much as you love me? Because if you are Jamie Fraser, I’ll tell you right now, it’s now true. Welcome home, Laird of Broch Tuarach.”
Cliffhanger
As the episode ends, Claire awakes alone in bed. When she goes downstairs, she finds Jamie being held at gunpoint.