Outlander Recap: Good Things Come…
Need to catch up? Check out the previous Outlander recap here.
Well, that was a nice little surprise at the end of the episode, wasn’t it, Outlanders?
This week’s episode is a Claire-tastic affair that takes place almost entirely in 1960s Boston, as Dr. Randall grows accustomed to the idea that she’s going to travel back in time again and (hopefully) reunite with her long-lost love. So there’s a lot of hand-wringing, emotion-processing and raincoat-mangling before Claire gets her Joe Abernathy-approved rear in gear, and good lord I start to think I’ve fallen through the stones because WHY IS THIS EPISODE TAKING TWO HUNDRED YEARS TO FINISH. But then, suddenly, the world is verra bonny indeed.
The proof? Claire does go back to 18th-century Scotland, where she winds up at the door of Alexander Malcolm’s long-heralded print shop by the hour’s final moments. And then, because Ron Moore loves us, she walks right through — no teasing fade to black here — and we get the first few minutes of the reunion scene we’ve been waiting for.
But there’s a whole lot of Claire stuff before Jamie needs smelling salts, so let’s quickly recap the highlights of “Freedom & Whisky.”
BACK TO REALITY | Via a few brief scenes, we get an update on the Randall women’s lives in late 1960s Boston. Claire is a kickass surgeon. One night, she confesses to Joe that while abroad she had been toying with the idea of getting back together with an old flame. “I had hoped that we would be able to find each other again, but fate had other ideas,” she says sadly. “F—k fate,” Joe replies. (Ha.)
Meanwhile, Brianna, thrown by everything she learned while in Scotland for the Rev. Wakefield’s funeral, is failing out of Harvard. And it’s Christmastime, which makes Bree miss Frank all the more. With both mother and daughter emotionally adrift, it’s no wonder that they wind up having a huge argument about Bree’s decision to withdraw from college and move out. Too bad that’s the exact moment Roger decides to show up at the house, unannounced.
“Clearly I’ve come at a bad time,” he says, looking sheepishly from Claire to Bree as they try to pretend that they weren’t just screaming at each other. But it doesn’t take long before they’re back at it, “I need a break! You expect me to just come back to Boston and be who I was? I tried, and it’s not working,” Bree says, abruptly leaving and telling Roger she’ll see him the next day.
GOT ‘IM! | After Bree’s hasty, huffy exit, Claire urges Roger to stay. They bond a little over how it’s their first Christmas without a loved one — Frank for her, the reverend for him — but then he gets down to the real reason he’s traveled all the way from Scotland with no notice: “I found him.”
Roger produces a copy of an article written in 1765. The subject is restrictions on the import of spirits to Scottish highlands. But what is most intriguing is that the anonymous author quotes the “freedom and whisky gang thegither” part of Robert Burns’ poem “The Author’s Earnest Cry and Prayer” (the one that the performer was reciting at the bar in the previous episode)… even though “Burns was only 6 years old in 1765,” Roger points out. What’s more, the Edinburgh-based printer of the journal is Alexander Malcolm — “Jamie’s middle names, no?” Roger asks.
Young Rog doesn’t exactly get the reaction he’s expecting. “I never asked you to do this!” Claire says, angry as she cries. “I could’ve lived the rest of my life not knowing.” But now she does, and as she begins the earliest stages of seriously considering returning to Jamie, she instructs Roger not to say anything to Bree about finding her father, because “it will only confuse matters.”
RETURN OF LA DAME BLANCHE | Later, Claire enters her office at the hospital to find Joe examining a very old skeleton. With just a touch, Claire somehow infers that it’s a 150-ish-year-old murder victim, and Joe looks at her very oddly as he remarks that she’s “only off by about 50 years.” He adds that the female in question is white, is “from a cave in the Caribbean” and that someone tried to take her head off with a dull blade. He wonders how Claire could’ve had any inkling about the woman. “She just felt like it,” Claire says, seemingly not understanding herself. BUT WE DO, right, fellow book readers? (And if you haven’t read the novels, dinna fash: All will be revealed soon.)
A MIND MADE UP | The Randall ladies eventually make up after a ceremony at Harvard in honor of Frank. Bree wonders who the blonde woman is talking to/glaring at her mother at the reception, and Claire confesses that Frank “loved her. It went on for many years, and he was planning on marrying her.” There’s some sweet back and forth about Bree feeling guilty for keeping her mother from Jamie for such a long time, and Claire absolving her daughter of any responsibility, because “I love you for you, Brianna, not for the man who fathered you.” Then Claire finally tells Bree about what Roger found. (Side note: Here and later in the pre-departure scene, Caitriona Balfe and Sophie Skelton do some very nice work.)
“It’s possible we may never see each other again. Can you live with that? Because I don’t know if I can,” Claire explains to Bree at home, but you can practically hear her mentally humming “Sing me a song of a lass that is goooooone” in her mind: Guys, she’s totally going back.
Bree repeatedly reassures her mom that she’ll be fine. “But I’m the one who knows you better than anyone,” Claire whispers, about to cry. Then her worries turn to Jamie (“What if he’s forgotten me? What if he doesn’t love me anymore?”). But Bree is supportive and loving, reasoning, “You gave Jamie up for me, now I have to give him back to you.”
GOODBYE FOREVER | So Claire gets down to the business of preparing for her big trip. Make sure she’s still sexually desirable? Check!, courtesy of Joe, who reassures her, “You’re a skinny white broad with too much hair but a great ass.” Celebrate Christmas with Roger and Bree? Check!, and they gift her with items useful for her upcoming endeavor: old coins, a slim book of Scottish history, and a topaz pendant on a chain. Make a functional-yet-stylish period costume partially out of raincoats? Check! Dye away the gray in her hair? Check! Put the deed to the house in Bree’s name? Check! Make sure all the messy goodbyes take place in Boston and not abroad? Check!
“I can’t believe you’re not letting me come with you to Scotland,” Bree says, hugging her mother. Be grateful, kid — in the book, you got a letter and a midnight ghosting! Claire gifts Jamie’s mother’s pearls to Bree, then hugs her tight. And before you know it, Claire is waving goodbye to Roger and Bree (who has an understandably emotional meltdown after Claire’s out of eyesight) and stepping into a cab.
Alone, Bree gives Roger the American Christmas dinner he’d earlier said he wanted to try — a lobster roll and Boston cream pie — then they snuggle on the couch as he reads aloud from his gift to her: A Christmas Carol.
YEARS IN THE MAKING | The next time we see Claire, time and distance have passed, and Claire is back in ye olde Edinburgh, stepping out of a coach. A young boy gives her directions to Carfax Close, where the print shop is, and she tears up when she sees the sign bearing Jamie’s alias.
You think the hour is going to end as she enters the building, but as the bell (aw, the bell!) rings, a voice from the next room calls, “Is that you, Geordie?” It’s Jamie, and his back is to the door as he lightly chides whoever this Geordie person is for taking so long with his chore. “It isn’t Geordie. It’s me, Claire,” she says from the balcony overlooking the press. Below, Jamie freezes, then slowly turns around. It seriously takes him longer than #Droughtlander to do it, but I’ll cut the guy a break. His brow is furrowed. He looks at her, cry-smiling down at him, in sheer disbelief. And then an overcome James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser faints.
He falls rather gracefully for such a large man.
Now it’s your turn! What did you think of the episode? Are you dying to see the next episode? Hit the comments and let us know!
Wow! A great episode for sure!
Perfection. And ever so grateful it didn’t end with her entering & the sound of the bell.
Cait & Sophie were magnificent with the Mother-Daughter bond, and Bree urging her Mom to go back so that Jamie could know & hear about her was a teary-moment.
Great episode. That ending…hilarious and unexpected. Too bad we have to wait two weeks for the next episode.
Amen
Two weeks is forever! Fantastic episodes and season so far! Can’t get enough of the Frasers!!
Read Voyager and I am hoping that the tv series will be able to match the vividness and raw emotions of the characters and the setting.
Yes, 2 weeks may be too long of a wait…. but as long as its done magically…. i am happy to wait.
Two weeks! I watch on my Amazon Prime app and didn’t see that it wouldn’t be on next week. WHY?!?!??!?!?!
Check the calendar. Next weekend is a three day holiday weekend, Starz usually does not air new episodes on those weekends. On the other hand episode 3.06 is an extended episode.
Three day weekend for whom? This is my three day weekend.
What is the holiday weekend next weekend? Where? In the US, this is a three day weekend for some and they aired a new episode.
today is Columbus Day that is a Federal holiday so banks and government offices and schools are closed but many other private businesses don’t have it as a holiday… Not sure why next weekend would be any different other than that Starz needed to space out the show to make the 13 episodes last the fall.
I found the Batman theme song great to lighten up an intense and emotional goodbye to Bree and her life in the 20th century.
Very strong episode and kudos to management for not fading to black before we see Jamie like crappy commercial TV would do since that is their book of tricks rather than telling a story that people will watch.
Why two weeks? I scrolled ahead and they are just playing a rerun next week. There is no reason for a two week delay. It totally stinks to do this to fans.
That is very strange because according to IMDB and a spoiler site it is supposed to be on October 15th, which is next Sunday. I wondering if maybe the guide hasn’t been updated yet?
Stars said two weeks at the end of the episode! Ugh!
2 weeks is not cool at all to do to all of us diehard fans. We had to wait longer than usual between seasons and now we are made to wait again. What we have all wanted to see since Claire went through the stones to Jamie surviving the Battle of Culloden..and living in a cave….and prison. Now another damnable gap of time. With all the sad stuff & natural disasters it’s my fantasy release. Ugh and double Ugh!
It’s about time! So many times I thought the episode would end, so unexpected! I appreciate the writers
understanding we are ready to move on to the reunion. Thank you!!
I agree. It’s pretty messed up to make us wait and it makes me feel like they’re doing it on purpose 😕
I just savor this story. Loved it! So glad they are back together.
I’ve read the book series. I’ve seen season 1 and 2 of Outlanders. I subscribed again to Starz for $17.95 a month. Can anyone tell me WHY I have to wait 2 weeks to see the next episode!?
Really, what a tease. MY GOD I CANT WAIT. Loved it. This season has been nothing short of OUTSTANDING. Love u all. Great job. Finally these two r together. But I can’t wait till next season. It had always been my favorite book. Everyone is finally there. Thank you to all for bringing these books to life.
Loved it! Raincoat terrific idea. Frank’s former student really makes you wonder how chicks like her tick?! Hop Claire didn’t forget to bring pictures of Bree to show jamie
OMG I can’t breathe!!! Both from laughing at Jamie fainting and at the sheer anticipation .
I’m hooked and so curious about those two if their love is as strong as the past. Binged watched all the episodes, and now caught up. I’m impatient to see the next episode.
I’m sooo glad they left the fainting moment in the show. It’s so sweet and funny in the book, and I literally laughed out loud when Sam Heughan toppled over. He does fall rather gracefully for a large man.
I thought the moment with Sandy the mistress was longer than expected. I can’t decide if I did or didn’t want Claire to lash back at her and say ‘I offered him a divorce after you showed up at our door, and he turned it down.’ Part of me wants that only because Sandy chose that moment to vent her frustrations with Frank onto Claire.
Also…..meant to mention…….can we just talk about how fantastic the change in expressions on Jamie’s face was to see? It was so subtle yet so telling and well done. They even changed the lighting a bit so it appeared the color had drained from his face.
I thought it was such a good episode. At first I was annoyed after about 15 minutes in when I realized that their reunion wouldn’t be until the very end and no Jamie until then either. As the episode went on though I found myself being completely sucked in. I loved the sewing scene to the Batman theme song. Roger and Bree were adorable and I can’t wait for more of their story. I’m glad they didn’t end the episode when she entered the print shop. They did give us them laying eyes on each other for the first time in 20 years. Jamie’s reaction was priceless. I didn’t remember him fainting in the book but it has been awhile since I’ve read it. It’s going to be a long 2 weeks.
He faints when she reaches out and touches his nose, which he said he broke a few minutes after he last saw her. ‘You’re real!’…….****THUD**** LOL!! He wakes looking up at her with his head in her lap, and she says the same thing to him that he said to her when she fainted on their wedding day. I was wondering, since they left out her fainting at the wedding, if they would eliminate his fainting spell in the reunion.
Kim, don’t you mean 18th-century Scotland?
Loved the show, again making us wait for two weeks to see more. Thanks for the return of the show. At end of season, don’t make us wait so long for series to return.
Loved the last minute. The rest of the episode, however, was poorly paced and frustrating, even bordering on ridiculous (the Batman theme song as Claire stays up all night sewing her raincoat dress? Seriously?). If this ep was 99% Claire, then last week’s ep should’ve been 99% Jamie. I griped at the time that I could’ve done without the Claire interruptions last week, and this ep proved they were unnecessary because all of Claire’s post-Frank’s death story could’ve fit in tonight’s ep. Jaime’s life without Claire is much more compelling than hers without him. Regardless of that imbalance, are we supposed to believe that Claire abandoned her entire life, including her daughter, in a matter of days? In the book her preparations for time traveling seemed much more involved and meticulous. That’s what I expected tonight’s episode to focus on, the difficulty (physical AND emotional) of Claire trying to return to Jamie. It all seemed so sudden and so painfully drawn out at the same time. Also awkward was Bree tearfully saying goodbye to her mother forever and then immediately putting on a Santa hat & having a cheery dinner with Roger. What?! I would’ve preferred Claire sneaking out in secret to that emotional whiplash. I had high expectations for this ep and they definitely weren’t met. Having to wait 2 weeks for the REAL reunion adds insult to injury.
Bree wiped her tears and tried to put on a brave face to enjoy Christmas. Hardly emotional whiplash.
The book is more thought struggle and it was more than a few days, but we are in a TV schedule do the impact was done emotional. I understood the change and loved it
Agree didn’t care for the absurdity of how a mother of her only child could leave her. Not being a part of her adult life, graduation, marriage, grandkids etc. there is nothing and I mean nothing in this world that could ever separate me from that, only death. I have loved deeply and lost so I get it however no man would ever separate me from my child. That being said I thought her decision to go was way too fast and she should have taken her daughter with her. Why not?
They could’ve at least had a conversation about it, right? Since Claire *didn’t* leave in secret and went with Bree’s blessing, there was opportunity to discuss the possibility of Bree leaving *with* Claire. The whole mother/daughter thing felt off and, frankly, made me kind of angry.
Bri heard the buzzing of the stones, so it is possible that she too could travel back. It would be nice if she did.
What an episode! This season is on fire. One of the best things on TV!
What brand bottle of soda did Bree hand Roger during Christmas scene??
I cried like a wee lass. I can’t believe I have to wait 2 weeks to see this long awaited reunion.
Great ending, although I hope the next episode isn’t just all sex scenes. I watch for the plot.
I hope we see Bree and Roger again, I really like them. Bree handled her mum leaving much better than I would.
I don’t get why Joe had those bones or how Claire knew how old they were. They’re surgeons, not anthropologists.
I loved the batman song playing over Claire making her outfit.
And I’m glad that Frank’s gf had a go at Claire for how she treated him.
It’s in the books, about the bones. I’m sure they will explain that in future episodes.
It’s written in the books that on occasion the Anthropology department would send remains to Joe and ask him to give them any information he could glean from the bones. Her age, that Claire guessed that, and that she felt the woman was killed will all be explained later in the season.
Does Claire know who’s bones they are? Also does she come back for Bree? That girl is basically an orphan now, I feel really bad for her.
I will try to answer this without spoiling too much. As of right now, Claire doesn’t know who is the owner of the bones. Does she come back for Bree? No.
I think they are Gellis ‘s bones…
Great recap, especially the last line!
I can hardly wait!!!! We HAVE to wait TWO weeks OMG that is sooo far away. We had to wait forever for the season to start and now another break? Come on get on with the show. Gosh I love this show.
Loving every moment leading up to Clare and Jamie’s reunion💕