5 Biggest Takeaways From 'Outlander' Season 4 Episode 5
Jamie and Claire fall into full married couple mode, Roger goes after Brianna, Muller takes drastic measures of revenge, and Murtagh returns!
After enduring many months of Droughtlander, Outlander, and everyone's favorite century-defying couple, is back. A lot has happened in the show's previous three seasons, and this new chapter is no different. So Marie Claire recruited a diehard Outlander fan to keep up with all the Fraser drama this season. Buckle up, Sassenach.
This week’s episode was just…great. Wonderful acting from Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe. Heughan is so nuanced and tender. He’s also cynical, strong and human. Balfe runs the gamut from caring to angry, frightened, tough, needy and joyful. A peacemaker who knows how to load and shoot a rifle. The shot of Balfe chewing beef jerky while holding a loaded rifle across her lap is everything. And…Murtagh’s back! Here, the most important takeaways from episode 5:
THEY’RE REALLY TOGETHER
The episode begins with Jamie and Claire packing to go in different directions–he to a nearby town to recruit settlers for his land and she to help deliver a baby. They are so married–he asks her where his hat is and she is like: Where’d you last see it? (Turns out the pig–the notorious white sow–is chomping on it.) But their whirlwind stops for a moment when he asks her if their daughter Brianna (who’s living in the future) has a birthmark on her neck. She does. It turns out Jamie’s had a dream about Brianna. They stop and hold each other, longing for their daughter, but so connected to each other they don’t need words. It’s a lovely, tender duet between two people very much in love.
MAYBE DREAMS DO COME TRUE
Meanwhile, where’s Brianna (Sophie Skelton)? Roger Wakefield (Richard Rankin) is on her trail after hearing from her roommate that “she’s gone to visit her mother.” He knows what that means. He discovers she’s taken a taxi to the Standing Stones and left a letter for him that says don’t follow me. Of course we know he will (they both apparently inherited the time traveling gene) and we can’t wait for Brianna to meet Jamie. I'm a little concerned she’ll get in trouble because of her 1970s version of colonial American dress which looks more like something you’d wear to the Grand Ole Opry, but she’ll figure that out when she gets there.
SAVAGES
The title of the episode raises the question of who is the savage here? The Native Americans who resent the European settlers for claiming land and resources that they believe belong to everyone? Or the Europeans, personified by the German settler Herr Muller who is afraid of the Indians? Claire has gone to deliver Muller’s grandchild and the family is so grateful they name the baby after her. While she’s there, she intervenes to stop a confrontation between Muller and the Indians who have stopped to water their horses at his creek. But it’s not enough. Muller believes an Indian curse has caused his family to contract measles. When his children and grandchild die, he goes berserk. He comes to Fraser’s Ridge to warn Claire and brings a gift. She is horrified when she unwraps it to find scalps inside–including that of the Indian healer who she befriended. The Native Americans then take their revenge, killing Muller and his wife and burning their homestead. When Jamie returns, he finds Claire still shocked and terrified. She clings to him as her safe haven after the storm she’s been through.
SEEDS OF THE REVOLUTION
Jamie is stunned to discover, as he recruits settlers, that no one wants to take him up on his offer of 100 acres of free land. Many of the colonists have already given up their land after being cheated and robbed by tax collectors for Governor Tryon, the man who granted Jamie his 10,000 acres. But it came with the proviso that Jamie would put down any rebellion by men who call themselves Regulators. It is a chapter in history that few Americans know about, and seeing the frustration and anger of the colonists, the only surprise is that the American Revolution actually started in Massachusetts, not North Carolina. And it turns out the leader of the Regulators is well known to Jamie Fraser.
IT’S MURTAGH!
He’s back! The wonderful Duncan Lacroix plays Murtagh, now a crusty old blacksmith who cheats Jamie’s nephew Ian of all their money. Jamie is so incensed he goes to demand the money back. The reveal when Murtagh hears Jamie’s voice, when Jamie realizes he’s found his godfather, is moving and emotional. And when Ian says that Jamie wants a surprise made for his wife, Murtagh is taken aback. If anyone knew how much Jamie loved Claire, it was Murtagh. “You married again?” Jamie tells him that Claire has come back to him (sidestepping the little fact that he had indeed married someone else in the meantime) and Murtagh is thrilled. Jamie invites Murtagh to come back with him to settle in Fraser’s Ridge, but Murtagh refuses. He has his business and he has his cause, the Regulators. So we, along with Claire, are surprised when he walks through the woods at Fraser’s Ridge, where Claire is gathering firewood. He’s whistling “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B” the song Claire sang while they were searching for Jamie together. Their joy when they see each other again and hug is so…okay I cried. I admit it. It was lovely.
Stay In The Know
Select the newsletters you’d like to receive. Then, add your email to sign up.
RELATED STORIES
-
Sofia Richie Pairs a Classic Fall Coat and Jeans With a Micro-Mini Loro Piana Bag
The model flaunted the tiniest bag during a mom's night out in Beverly Hills.
By Danielle Campoamor Published
-
Princess Diana's Former Dance Teacher Says the Late Royal Found "Freedom" During Their Secret Sessions
"I wanted her to feel the freedom that dance can give, and she did."
By Danielle Campoamor Published
-
Taylor Swift Is the Best Dressed Wedding Guest in a Glittery Silver Gown
The "Blank Space" singer attended her cousin's wedding in a glistening jungle print dress.
By Danielle Campoamor Published
-
The 30 Celebrity Memoirs That Are Actually Worth Reading
Britney Spears, Demi Moore, Jessica Simpson, and more drop some serious bombshells in these pages.
By Andrea Park Published
-
How Victoria Justice Learned to Use Her Voice on the Set of 'Victorious'
The former Nickelodeon star recalls what it was like to speak up to adults on set as a child.
By Sadie Bell Published
-
Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones Tease an Announcement: "We've Got Some News to Share"
The former 'Normal People' costars and IRL best friends seem to have a new project in the works.
By Sadie Bell Published
-
The Woman Who Inspired Martha in 'Baby Reindeer' Calls the Series "a Work of Fiction" In a YouTube Interview
A woman has come forward as the alleged inspiration behind Martha in the hit Netflix series.
By Sadie Bell Last updated
-
The Best 'Friends' Episodes of All Time
Could these BE any better?
By Katherine J. Igoe Published
-
‘Bachelor in Paradise’ 2023: Everything We Know
Cue up Mike Reno and Ann Wilson’s “Almost Paradise."
By Andrea Park Last updated
-
Who Is Gerry Turner, the ‘Golden Bachelor’?
The Indiana native is the first senior citizen to join Bachelor Nation.
By Andrea Park Last updated
-
‘Virgin River’ Season 6: Everything We Know
Here's everything we know on the upcoming episodes.
By Andrea Park Last updated