Outlander went on the road tonight after the action has been set for weeks at Castle Leoch and the nearby village.

Dougal collects rent and a war chest

As Claire goes on the road with Dougal and the men, she realizes that they are doing more than just collecting the rent on the lands owned by Dougal’s brother, Colum. Although at first Claire mistakes Dougal’s motives, Dougal has two collections: one for the rent, and the second for funding the return of the Catholic Stewarts to rule Scotland. Beyond that, there’s even hope of the Stewarts again ruling the entire U.K. rather than the German born, Protestant king who currently sits the throne. To inflame the cash-strapped locals to give generously, Dougal, much to Jamie’s dismay, uses Jamie’s whipped back as a sort of show-and-tell to demonstrate the atrocities that the English are capable of.

Claire’s mixed emotions

Claire finds herself growing attached to the locals despite rough treatment at the hands of her captors. Once she realizes that they are collecting for the Jacobite cause of bringing a Stewart back to rule, she tries to stop what she knows will end in disaster. She realizes from history that in three years time, thousands of Highlander warriors will die on Culloden Moor facing the British army, and after the battle thousands more civilians will die due to disease and starvation. As she tires to convince Ned Gowan of the folly it only incurs Dougal’s ire.

Love hate relationships

Angus seemed a bit rougher on Claire than usual, which may be payback for drugging him last week? The men go out of their way to exclude Claire by only speaking in Gaellic while on the road. It’s obvious they are often speaking about her, and in an unflattering way. Only Jamie, and to a lesser extent Murtagh, seem not to take part in bawdier references to Claire. Claire and the men come to an uneasy truce after she binds their wounds following an inn fight. She discovers they were defending her honor against the locals. Murtagh explains the somewhat backwards chivalry, “You’re a guest of the MacKenzie. We can insult you, but God help any other man that does.” Both Claire and the Highlanders look somewhat abashed after Murtagh’s explanation. Afterwards, Claire starts to joke with the Highlanders as some mutual respect is established.

Jamie and Claire

Jamie continues to be attracted to Claire, while Claire seems to be somewhat oblivious to his attraction. He goes out of his way to explain local customs to her and tells her not to interfere in what she doesn’t fully understand. He also seeks to shield Claire from the men’s bawdy humor while on the road. The high-point is Jamie attempting to sleep on Claire’s threshold to protect her from possibly unwanted attention from the men in the inn. The look on his face when Claire invites him in, not realizing what she is suggesting, is a priceless series of mixed emotions from fear to desire to resignation.

Getting back to the stones

Along the way, Claire attempts to learn where the stone circle is in relationship to her current location. When opportunity presents itself for Claire to leave the Highlanders and travel with English troops, we are left with a cliffhanger. Will Claire go with the troops, and then be able to travel as she likes to the stone circle? Or will she stay with the Highlanders, preferring to stay with the “Devil she knows” having seen the atrocities the English soldiers are capable of?

Don’t forget to join us tomorrow afternoon on Talking Outlander. Our post-show Google Hangout that we do with That’s Normal.