No rant today.  Just my usual recap.  Let’s go!

This ep starts off with Roger in the shower.  For a quick second, I figured that he actually did say, “Fuck Brianna,” and decided to go back to a time period that was a tad less violent.  However, the hot Mohawk guy shows up in the mirror behind Roger, and we see that he basically just had a hallucination.

Over at massa’s plantation aka River Run, Brianna—who’s now beginning to show her bun in the oven—is sitting in one of the meeting rooms drawing dark and disturbing images.  Lizzie sees her drawings and believes she’s possessed, but Brianna assures her that’s not the case.  Lizzie starts to blame herself for everything that’s happened, and begs forgiveness.  Surprisingly, Brianna forgives her and tells her that what she did was just an honest mistake, which it was, although it caused a ton of trouble.  Lizzie goes to walk out the room, but turns back and asks if Brianna will ever forgive Jamie.  Of course, Brianna can’t forgive Jamie because of what he said, despite the fact that he apologized the second he said it.  *Sigh*  So Lizzie can be forgiven, but not your father?

In our favorite place, Nowhere, USA, Jamie is searching for Roger with Claire and Ian.  To say that there’s tension between the Frasers is an understatement.  They’re barely talking, unless it’s to discuss the situation with Roger.  Jamie asks Claire if she knows anything about the Mohawk.  Claire says that she only knows what she’s seen in movies, and with films, it’s hard to tell fact from fiction (the constant debate regarding Bohemian Rhapsody is proof of that).   Jamie remarks that if you don’t have both sides of the story, it is hard to tell what’s made up and what’s real.  Claire catches the subtle shade.  Jamie goes on to say if anyone made a movie about him, he’d probably be portrayed as a vicious brute.  Claire says that’s one side of the story.  *Sigh*

Ian tries to get the Cherokee to lead them to the Mohawk tribe, but they refuse, as they have no business up there with them.  Since Ian knows a little bit of the Mohawk language and the man he sold Roger to speaks English, they decide to go on without a guide.  When the family stops to make camp, Ian asks Claire to try to patch things up with Jamie.  Claire claims she’s not mad at Jamie, but she’s worried about Brianna and she’s upset about the situation.  Ian tells Claire that he hates to see the both of them suffering so much.

In Wilmington, Fergus is looking for Bonnet and a job, and having no luck in either case.  When he gets back home, Murtagh is there, speaking with another regulator.  Marsali isn’t very comfortable with Murtagh being there—to say the least—and she’s especially not comfortable with the tasks he’s assigned Fergus with.  Fergus reminds Marsali that Murtagh would do the same for him if he had the chance.   As for being refused work every five minutes, it’s starting to make Fergus feel like half a man.  He remarks that Jamie doesn’t treat him as if he’s disabled, but the folks in town act like he’s a useless cripple since he only has one hand.  Later that night, Marsali wakes Murtagh up (and the way she wakes him up is doggone hilarious), and asks him to please allow Fergus to join the Regulators.  Even though what they’re doing is dangerous, and Fergus could possibly be killed, Marsali wants Fergus to feel like a man again.  She either wants a full man, or none at all.

At River Run, Jocasta’s planned a dinner in a few days and she makes arrangements to have Phaedra (the house slave) fit Brianna for a new dress, since she’s the guest of honor.  However, Brianna turns down Phaedra’s assistance.  It’s not because Phaedra is working for free against her will (much like the federal workers before the shutdown finally ended), but it’s due to the fact that Brianna isn’t in the mood for partying.  Brianna opts to draw a picture of Phaedra instead, given that’s she a beautiful girl.  Anyway, Jocasta later speaks with Brianna and tells her that being around other people will be good for her.  Besides, she already had Phaedra alter one of her old dresses, since Brianna refused to have a new one made.  Brianna says that she’s happier being by herself drawing.  Jocasta regales her with a story about how her sister (Jamie’s mother and Brianna’s grandmother) married way past her “prime,” but when she did, she married for love.  The story makes Brianna feel a bit better, and she agrees that being around other people may make things easier.  With that, Jocasta tells her to get her pregnant ass upstairs and try her dress on.

The night of the party comes, and Ms. Brianna looks stunning in her retro fitted dress.  All the fellas think so too, because the minute Brianna comes downstairs, they’re all staring at her with drool leaking from their open mouths.  I wish I had a bucket of water for their thirsty asses.

It’s not lost on Brianna that the majority of the guests at that party are men—single men.  The few women that are there are either the men’s mothers or sisters.  What really irked me though, is when the guests inquire Brianna about her hobbies and interests, she mentions that she likes to draw and that she finished a picture of Phaedra just the other day.  Of course, Ms. Forbes, one of the guests, assumes that she drew a picture of Phaedra from Greek mythology.  That damn Jocasta even went along with that lie.  Another guest, Judge Alderdyce, correctly guesses that she’s talking about Phaedra the house slave.  The first thing out Judge Alderdyce’s mother’s mouth was, “Why ever would you want to draw a picture of that?”  That?  That!?  THAT!?

Brianna actually looked appalled and the thirsty men continued to be thirsty.  However, their thirst turned to disappointment when the last guest arrived…Lord John Grey.

Back at Fergus’s place, Murtagh asks him to join The Regulators.  Although Fergus is more than happy that Murtagh even considered him to fight by his side, Fergus rejects the offer, telling him that his place is with Marsali and Germain.  Marsali is in the next room listening in, and when she hears Fergus’s answer, she’s delighted.  Yes, she wanted Murtagh to allow Fergus to be a Regulator, but hearing Fergus say that he’s more of a man being near his wife and child gives her reassurance that he is still a whole man, and that he’s happy with his family regardless.  She tries to hold in her joy when she enters the room they’re in and announces that the ship they were looking for just arrived at port.  Bonnet’s ship.  Before Fergus and Murtagh leave, Marsali stops the latter to say thank you.  Someone on social media mentioned that Marsali is so much more mature than her mother.  I wholeheartedly agree.

Back at River Run, the thirst continues to be real.  Brianna suggests they all play a  psychological game she learned a while back, and of course, the men jump at the chance.  She tells them all to close their eyes and imagine they’re in a secluded forest with one other person and an animal, and she’ll tell them what the person and animal represent.  After they’ve all done the exercise, Brianna asks Judge Alderdyce what he saw.  The judge says he was walking with Christ and saw a squirrel that continually pops up in his mother’s garden.  Brianna deduces that the judge feels the need to confess something and he’s keeping a secret from his mother.  The judge’s mother is quick to say that she and her son have no secrets.  Right.  Let me tell y’all something…my mom is my best friend, but she doesn’t know every little detail about me.  Let’s just be real.

Judge Alderdyce excuses himself for a moment, and Brianna asks Lord John what he saw.  Lord John says that he saw Jamie.

Brianna wonders aloud why Jamie is the person Lord John imagined he’d be with, and he tells her that Jamie personally asked him to check on her.  When Brianna asks why, John answers that Jamie only told him that Brianna would soon be embarking on a long journey.  Brianna inquires if Jamie gave any other details, and Lord John tries to put her mind at ease by telling her Jamie would not divulge any personal info of hers unless she wanted him to.  John adds that Jamie is an honorable man, and Brianna quickly retorts, “Don’t talk to me about my father’s honor!”  Brianna is such a damn brat.  If these men knew I what I know, they’d run.

Brianna tries to excuse herself for a moment, but faints.  Lord John sees to her and helps her to another room.  Lizzie comes in genuinely concerned, but unfortunately spills the beans about Brianna’s pregnancy.  Naturally, Lord John doesn’t pass any judgement, and Brianna tells the tale of how she and Roger were handfast, hooked up, and how he was sold to the Mohawk.  John then gives Brianna a letter Jamie wanted her to read.  Of course, Brianna doesn’t read it.   Jocasta comes in to see about Brianna, and once they have some time alone, she asks if the party was a setup.  Jocasta admits it was (shocking!), and she tells Brianna that she has to get married soon, now that she has a baby on the way.  Brianna insists that she get married for love like her grandmother did, but Jocasta tells her that if doesn’t make a move soon, the baby will be born a fatherless bastard.  It’s one thing to be born out of wedlock in 2019, or even 1981 (me!) or 1971, but in 1769?  That’s a no-no.

At a tavern in Wilmington, Fergus, Murtagh and a few more of the Regulators spy on Bonnet’s ship mates.  After a few moments, guess who comes boppin’ up?  Stephen Doggone Bonnet himself, getting victim #2 ready.  Bonnet heads upstairs at to undo his fly and get ready for the deed, but before he can, Murtagh appears with his gun drawn.  Bonnet swears up and down Murtagh has the wrong room, and my boy gives him the perfect response, “Yes.  I’m looking for a gentleman.  You’re no gentleman.”  Then he knocks the hell out of Bonnet’s evil ass.  I love it.

Murtagh and Fergus are about to load Bonnet’s nasty ass in the wagon to take him away, but the authorities notice them.  Murtagh tells Fergus to get back to his family and punches him in the stomach to make it look like he was assaulting him.  When the cops arrive, they recognize Murtagh from his wanted posters.  Murtagh makes sure they realize he has Stephen Bonnet, a wanted murderer.  The cops take both of them away.  Dammit.

Later that night, at River Run, Brianna is up wondering if she should read Jamie’s letter or not, and true to form, she decides not to.  She gets up to get something to eat and/or drink and hears the sound of panting coming from another room.  She walks into the direction the noise is coming from, and guess what she sees!  It’s Lord John and Judge Alderdyce gettin’ their freak on!!

I figured that when Brianna mentioned that Judge Alderdyce had a secret his mother didn’t know, him being gay was the hidden truth.  Once Brianna notices the two men having some private time, she runs back to her room.  The next morning, Phaedra happily wakes Brianna up to let her know that Mr. Forbes (one of the suitors) has staked his claim to Brianna and he’s already asked Jocasta for her blessing.  Naturally, Jocasta has no problem with it.  Brianna tells Phaedra to let Jocasta know that she went out for her morning walk and will be back.  She also tells Lizzie to have Lord John meet her outside.  Once she and Lord John are on the grounds alone together, she asks Lord John to marry her.

Lord John refuses, and Brianna—whose audacity knows no bounds—-threatens to tell other people about what she saw the night before.  She even throws Jamie’s name in the mix, threatening to tell him what she knows and Lord John easily calls her bluff, telling her that Jamie and Claire are already well aware of his alternative lifestyle.  After more threats and harsh words (one of which sounded like a veiled threat of marital rape if Brianna did force Lord John’s hand), Brianna and Lord John calm down and begin to speak to each other like civilized adults with some home training.  Brianna admits that she really wouldn’t have said anything, and in turn, Lord John admits that although he sees Jamie when he closes his eyes, he sees Claire as well, and the love they have for each other.  With tears in her eyes, Brianna confesses that she was raped and isn’t 100% sure who the father of her child is.  If and when Roger comes back, he may not want to be with her anymore.  Brianna doesn’t want to marry Mr. Forbes, but she will for the sake of her baby, since it looks like she no longer has a choice in the matter.

Brianna comes back to the house, and is all ready to give Mr. Forbes an answer.  However, Lord John enters and announces that he and Brianna are engaged.  Mr. Forbes leaves the house, clearly disappointed, but Jocasta is overjoyed.  It may not be the man she wanted for her grandniece, but it’s a man nonetheless.  Later, Brianna and Lord John are talking while on the porch.  Brianna admits that in this world, she’s said and done things she never thought she would or could.  Lord John tells her that sometimes people do bad things for a good reason, and that Jamie may know something about that.  Slipping back into brat mode, Brianna doesn’t wanna hear that, and says that she’s not sure what’s worse:  dwelling on the past or facing the future.  Lord John then tells Brianna about William, and how much he loves him, even though he’s not biologically his.  Oooh, I bet this child’ll have a shit fit when she finds out who William’s father really is.  Anyway, Lord John assures Brianna that Roger will love the baby no matter what.  It’s only then that Brianna finally does the mature thing and reads Jamie’s letter.

Back in the Neverending Forest, Rollo approaches Ian with a big ass bone.  Ian is eventually able to pry the bone from Rollo’s mouth, and when Claire examines it, she states the obvious…it’s human.  Hell, I honestly believe it was a femur, also known as a thigh bone, for those of y’all that cut anatomy class.  Rollo leads them to the body where the bone was found and Ian recognizes him as the man that was already captured by the Mohawk when he sold Roger to them.  They go off in different directions and search for Roger’s body, but they don’t find anything.  They end up giving the man a proper burial, and when Ian states that he feels so bad for him, Jamie says, “Well, one thing…he was someone’s son.”

Claire—like her bratty daughter—finally has the power to forgive Jamie.  She enters his tent later and apologizes for not telling him the truth about Brianna’s attacker.  She goes on to say that after Frank died, Brianna and Claire kept secrets just to themselves, which is why she didn’t tell Jamie what was going on.  Jamie tells Claire that Brianna doesn’t need him, and that he can’t be a father to her.  After all, Brianna said that Frank would never say the things Jamie said to her.  Jamie goes on to say that he’s jealous of Frank because Brianna thinks he’s a better man.  He even says that he was starting to think that Claire saw Frank as a better man, too.  Claire comforts him by telling him that Brianna says things out of anger just like he does, and that Frank was far from perfect.  They embrace and y’all can guess what happened next.  This scene made me cry.  I hate seeing Jamie so miserable.

Somewhere in upstate New York (let’s say Syracuse!), Roger finally arrives at The Mohawk encampment.  The second he arrives, the men untie him and form a Soul Train line where they actually take turns beating him.  Seriously.  Even I can’t make this shit up.  And that’s the end.

This episode was enjoyable, but I can’t help but notice that Jamie and Claire are being pushed further and further into the background whereas Brianna and Roger are being brought into the forefront.  For the last few weeks—including the following episode, which I will review soon—we’ve seen Brianna and Roger have the most screen time as well as the most interesting storylines.  Outlander is supposed to be Claire and Jamie’s story.  I miss the plot centering around them.  This season, they’ve become supporting characters in their own doggone show!  As for Ms. Brianna, she showed a bit of improvement, but she’s still not on my good side as of yet.  That won’t happen until she actually faces her father, and tells him, “I forgive you, and I’m sorry for the hurtful things I said.”  I would add that she needs to call him “Da,” as he asked, but at this point, we can’t expect miracles.  Even if she does that, I still have to give her the side eye for being so complacent with having slaves wait on her hand and foot.  I’ll give her a point for being offended when Jude Alderdyce’s clueless mama referred to Phaedra as “that,” but that’s all I can give her credit for.  Hell, Brianna’s even gotten comfortable with ordering Lizzie around at this point.  As for Roger, I really feel bad for the poor man.  This trip back in time has been pure hell on him!  The 18th century truly blows!

Despite my feelings regarding Roger and Brianna being the main focus of the series as of late, I did like this episode.  The party had me in stitches, considering that Jocasta brought together some of the most least desirable men in North Carolina to ask for Brianna’s hand in marriage.  What really had me rollin’ was that the oldest, least attractive one was the thirstiest of them all (Lieutenant Wolf, in case you’re wondering).  Ain’t nobody comin’ to see you, Otis!

It was good to see Lord John again, and aside from that uncharacteristic threat he gave Brianna, he further proved why he’s such a beloved addition to the Outlander arc.  Ironically enough, he was the only handsome “suitor” invited to the party (even the writers touched on this), but we all know he wasn’t interested for a multitude of reasons.  I’m glad that Claire and Jamie made up.  It’s just a shame that they had all of 15 minutes of screen time.  Sadly enough, they got even less screen time in the next ep.  More on that later.

I apologize for being late posting these again.  All last week and most of this week, I was under the weather, so I didn’t write as much as I wanted.  I’m going to crank out this next episode recap/review as quickly as I can, as well as the season finale.   That’s right, we’ll soon face the season known as “Droughtlander.”  If that means a break from Brianna though, I’m all for it.

—Written by Nadiya

So what did y’all think about “If Not For Hope”?  Do you think Brianna is still being a brat?  Did you ever feel like she was being bratty?  Did you think she was okay with having the slaves wait on her at Jocasta’s house?  Do you feel bad for Roger’s plight?  Do you think he’ll still accept the baby if it isn’t is?  What do you think about Jamie and Claire no longer being the central characters this season?  Do you miss seeing them, or are you okay with Brianna and Roger taking the spotlight?  Let me know in the comments section!

Happy New Year, y’all!  🍾🎆🥂🎊🎇🎉

Let’s jump right into this bad boy…so, we pick up where we left off last week; a traumatized Brianna enters her room, clearly assaulted.  Lizzie asks if she was with “that man,” and Bree just answers yes, wasting little time changing out of her bloody clothes and washing herself.  Lizzie sees the blood on her undergarments and the bruises all over Bree’s back, not to mention the bloody nose she has from Bonnet hitting her.  She tells Bree that if she wants to talk, she’s willing to listen, but Brianna isn’t trying to discuss the subject at all.

The next morning, against Lizzie’s advice, Brianna gets up to continue her search for Jamie and Claire.  Before Bree woke up, Roger came back to the tavern looking for her.  Instead, he comes across evil ass Stephen Bonnet, who pretty much forces him to accompany his crew back on his ship to sail to Philly.  Roger reminds Bonnet that he only needed passage to Wilmington, and Bonnet reminds Roger that he agreed to join Bonnet’s crew to all ports of call, and Wilmington was just one of the ones on the way.  If Roger refuses, Bonnet’s friends onshore will make sure that he loses a limb.  What an ass.

Bree comes downstairs a few hours later, and the barkeep informs her that Roger was there and he was looking for, but he boarded a ship.  By the time Bree goes to the docks, Bonnet’s ship is gone.  Bree’s clearly upset until Lizzie tells her that she heard some people talking about a woman at a play in town that opened up a man—as a surgeon would—and saved his life.  Brianna automatically knows she’s talking about Claire.  Lizzie also lets it be known that the woman’s husband, Jamie Fraser, is in town as well.

Bree rushes to the location Jamie is rumored to be.  She asks a man standing around if he’s happened to see a tall, red-headed Scotsman, and he says that he’s in the back.  Dun-dun-DUNNNNNNN!!!

Sure enough, Brianna finds Jamie in the back of the building…peeing.

Gross, but real.  Jamie senses someone watching him do his business, so he asks the young girl what she wants.  Bree mentions she wants him, and he’s quick to let her know he’s married.  I doggone love Jamie!  Anyway, Bree asks if he’s Jamie Fraser, because if so, she’s looking for him.  Before he can walk off, Bree puts her hand on him, and it seems to me that she not only wanted to stop him, but she wanted to touch him to make sure he was real.  Jamie reiterates that he’s married, and asks if she has a message for him.  Brianna lets him know that she’s his daughter.

The two of them share a tearful first meeting with hugs and sweet words in Gaelic (Jamie already has a special name for Brianna!).  A few moments later, Jamie takes Bree to see Claire, who’s somewhere in town picking up supplies, and they’re happily reunited.  Afterward, Brianna informs Claire and Jamie about the fire and meets Young Ian for the first time.  Claire later suggests that for the next decade, they don’t spend any time in the cabin on January 21^st (remember, they don’t know what year the fire takes place, because the date was smudged).  Jamie reminds Claire that they haven’t had much luck changing the future before.  Lord, don’t I know it (Culloden, anyone?)!

The Fraser/Murray clan make their way back to Fraser’s Ridge, and during the commute we learn that Lizzie has a little crush on Ian, and Brianna finds out from her little cousin that Stephen Bonnet’s evil ass came across Claire’s wedding ring after he robbed them and killed Jamie’s friend from Ardsmuir.  Ian also tells Bree that Jamie felt guilty enough for what happened considering that Bonnet conned him and Claire into helping him avoid the authorities.  As a result, Bree stays silent about the rape and keeps Claire’s original Lallybroch wedding ring to herself.   Bree does tell Claire about breaking up with Roger, but Claire can sense something else is bothering her.

When the family gets back to the house, they’re greeted by none other than my boy Murtagh!  They spend the night having dinner and exchanging embarrassing stories about Jamie’s childhood (Lizzie was MIA due to being sick).  Brianna excuses herself after a while and goes to bed, her mood suddenly wavering.  The next morning, she and Claire are wrapping up herbs, and Bree admits that Frank knew that Claire would return to Jamie someday and die in that fire (in the “Down the Rabbit Hole” episode, we see a flashback where Brianna finds Frank reading the obit a few while slurping down some brown liquor.  Bree didn’t know what the document was at the time).  While talking, she accidentally knocks over some of the bags of herbs and gets upset.  Claire assures Bree that they can talk about what happened with Roger, but Brianna tells her what’s done is done.

Over the next few weeks, Jamie and Brianna get to know each other.  Sometimes Brianna’s happy and smiling, and sometimes she’s sad and sullen.  Claire suggests that Brianna and Jamie spend some quality time together hunting, and Jamie agrees.  When he goes to wake up her up that morning, he notices that she smiles in her sleep, just like he does.  Interesting enough, Bree and Jamie go in the mountains to hunt bees.  Jamie explains to Bree that they’ll retrieve the hive and release the bees closer to their house so they can cultivate the honey nearby.  Bree asks if the bees will okay, and Jamie tells her they’ll be content in their new home, obviously alluding to Brianna being with him in the 1700’s.  Bree replies that she has a home, and Jamie tells her he has no intention of replacing her father.  Bree also brings up the fact that she learned her nickname means “disturbance” in Gaelic (Jamie and Murtagh had a discussion about her nickname sometime earlier.  Jamie didn’t want to tell Bree so he wouldn’t hurt her feelings, but Murtagh spilled the beans).  Jamie tells her that although she and mother were disturbances, they were welcome ones, so he’ll continue to call her Bree.  Bree’s not sure what to call him; he insists she call him “Da,” if she wants.  Later, they go home and enjoy the honey from the bee hive.

While in bed, Jamie laments to Claire he dreads Bree going back to the 20^th century one day.  Claire tells him she must go back, considering that the 1970s are the time period that she knows and belongs in.  I mean, let’s face it, ever since Bree came to the 18^th century, she’s been threatened and raped.  A day or two later, Claire and Brianna are out harvesting herbs, and Claire asks her to tell what’s really going on.   Claire goes on to ask the million dollar question…“How far along are you?”

Bree confirms she’s about two months along, and she also confesses that the baby might not be Roger’s.  It’s only then that Bree reveals that she was raped, but she still doesn’t mention who the man was or finding Claire’s original wedding ring.  Claire asks when Bree was raped, and she tells Claire that it happened the same night she lost her virginity to Roger.  Later that night, Claire tells Jamie what happened and about Bree being in the family way.

In the meantime, Roger’s slavery—I mean, employ—on Bonnet’s ship finally comes to an end.  When it’s time for Bonnet to pay Roger, the latter asks for one of Bonnet’s rubies as compensation instead (you have to have a gemstone to pass through the stone.  By the way, I’m certain those rubies Bonnet had are more of Claire and Jamie’s stolen merchandise).  Bonnet agrees and Roger walks away with one of the tiniest stones.  I’m surprised his dirty, greedy ass let him have one.  Roger makes his way back to North Cakalacky and guess who spots him?  Lizzie.  She immediately thinks that Roger is the rapist and she goes to tell Jamie the news.  After Jamie hears everything, he orders Ian to take Lizzie home while he gets ready to raise all hell.  He also orders Lizzie not to breathe a word of this to Claire or Brianna.

Back at the house, Claire finds her original wedding ring in Brianna’s clothes.  When she confronts Bree about it, she puts two and two together and realizes that Stephen Bonnet is the one that raped Bree.  Brianna makes Claire promise not to tell Jamie for fear of upsetting him further and of what might happen if he encounters Bonnet again.  After all, the man is evil incarnate.  A little ways from the house, Jamie finds Roger in no time, and as Roger proceeds to politely ask him where Fraser’s Ridge is, Jamie proceeds to give Roger a down home country-Scottish ass whuppin’.  Ian and Jamie put Roger’s bloody pulp of a body on a horse to…anywhere.  Jamie basically says he doesn’t give a damn where Roger goes as long as he’s out of his sight.  DAYUM!

And that’s how the story ends.

I tell y’all what, this season of Outlander is just getting better and better with each episode!  Brianna is really growing on me, and my heart seriously went out to her this week.  She had to be going through a serious emotional roller coaster.  She finally met her estranged biological father and reunited with her mother, but the night before she lost her man and was later raped by a psychopath.  Then, to make matters worse, she ended up pregnant and has no idea if the father of her child is the love of her life or the physical manifestation of pure evil himself.  As for what happened towards the end, this is the end result when folks keep secrets.  I know Bree’s going through a lot right now, but I wish she had been truthful about the person that hurt her.  I also wish that Jamie had been forthcoming about what Lizzie told him.  Because of all this, poor Roger got his ass royally whupped for nothing, and I mean royally whupped.  That’s no way to introduce yourself to your son-in-law, Jamie.  Next week, it looks like Roger’s going to be in the company of some of the Native Americans nearby, tied to a horse…but even that won’t stop him from trying to get to his lady love.  Jamie and Lizzie won’t be too happy about that.  Bree’s going to have to fess up.  Oh yeah, and Brianna and Claire are going to discuss her options.  Y’all know what I mean.  Once again, great episode!  I can’t wait for next week!

—-Written by Nadiya

So what did y’all think about “The Birds and the Bees”?  Were you happy to see Bree’s first meeting with Jamie?  Did you feel bad for Bree throughout the episode given what she was going through internally?  What about Roger?  Do you think Brianna and Jamie were right about keeping the truth about everything, or do you think they did the right thing?  What’s your opinion on Lizzie falsely accusing Roger of Brianna’s rape?  Do you think the season is getting better as it progresses?  Let me know in the comments section!

Hey, y’all!  Merry Christmas!  🎅🎅

Before I get started, allow me to give all my loyal readers an apology.  I’ve been notoriously lagging behind with these Outlander recaps, and it was seriously unfair to all of you.  Also, due to me having to play catch up, my Outlander recaps are the only thing I’ve been posting about as of late, and there’s other topics I’ve wanted to speak on, believe it or not.  So, in order to catch up, I had to skip the past two episodes and go straight into the recap for this week.  Once again, I’m sorry.

I wish I could tell y’all that nothing special happened in the last two weeks in the world of Outlander, but if I did, I’d be lying through my country teeth.  Very briefly, in the “Blood of My Blood” episode, Lord John Grey and Jamie’s illegitimate son William paid The Frasers a visit; John came down with measles, which allowed Jamie and Willie to have some bonding time (although the boy still isn’t aware of his true parentage), and it allowed John to show his entire ass while Claire was taking care of him.  Lord Grey even managed to piss off Murtagh, who was still visiting with the family himself.  Claire and John later patched things up, and thankfully, he survived his bout with measles.  Later Jamie gifted Claire with a new wedding ring and they made sweet lurrrve.

In “Down the Rabbit Hole,” Claire and Jamie took a backseat and the story focused solely on Brianna and Roger, who have now both traveled back to the 1700’s and managed to come across the most nefarious people in the show:  Laoghaire and Stephen Bonnet.  Crazy ass Laoghaire went from caring for Brianna after she found her near dead in the woods, to trying to frame the girl for witchcraft the minute she found out Brianna is Claire’s daughter.  Evil ass Bonnet allowed Roger to tag along to the Colonies as a crew member on his ship, and along the way, the young Scot witnessed certain atrocities such as Bonnet throwing women and children overboard that may be sick with smallpox, and him threatening to kill Roger for providing a young mother and her baby with food.  Bonnet took the Anton Chigurh route and decided Roger’s fate with the flip of a coin.  Luckily, it was heads and Roger lived.  All that brings us to this week, which was even more of a trip.  Let’s do this!

The episode takes places in Wilmington, NC (hence the title), which is just a mere 2 hrs. away from where I live!  Anyway, Roger is in town still searching for Brianna.  He even manages to come across Fergus, who truthfully tells him that he hasn’t seen Brianna at all.  Sadly enough, Roger managed to miss Claire and Jamie, who are also in town visiting Fergus and Marsali, who’s already given birth to their baby boy, which they named Germain.  Why they named that sweet child after St. Germain aka TFF, I’ll never know (see season two for the reference).  It turns out there’s another reason Claire and Jamie are in town.  The governor invited them both to a play, and when Governor Tryon extends an “invitation,” apparently declining it isn’t an option, especially given the fact that the gov wants Jamie to meet his right hand man.

Marsali and Claire break away to fix lunch for the fellas, and Claire asks the new young mother how she’s coping with Germain.  Marsali admits she loves the baby to death, but she’s scared to death of him being hurt in any kind of way, and would run onto a blade to stop him from going through any type of pain.  Claire tells her that’s how it is when it comes to parenthood, and unfortunately, you can’t be with your kids every second of the day and can’t stop them from being hurt.  Oh, the irony.

Roger continues to search for Brianna, and by a stroke of luck, he finds her in a tavern looking for passage to Cross Creek.  Their reunion is a tender one, but it soon turns into an argument when Bree mentions that Roger following her wasn’t part of her plan.  Brianna’s servant girl, Lizzie (oh, yeah…Lizzie’s father begged Bree to take her on as a servant to save her from being a concubine), witnesses this exchange from a distance and immediately thinks the worst of Roger.  In all actuality, the argument dies down quickly when Bree tells Roger the reason she didn’t tell him what she was doing is because she didn’t know how to tell him that she loved him and she knew he’d try to stop her.  They run off and start making out, and we all know what’s coming next.

Before we get to the panties flying off, Brianna asks Roger if it’s still important to him that they be married—or at least engaged—before they do the do.  Roger calms his hormones down enough to admit that it is still important, and this time, Bree agrees to marry him.  After all, he traveled across time to find her.  Roger suggests they have a handfasting ceremony, where two people can be married to each other without a priest to preside over the nuptials.  Bree is enthralled by that idea.  Later that night, they have the ceremony, and two seconds after they’ve said “I do,” they make lurrrve for the first time.  I have to say, the scene was pretty hot.  Not as hot as Claire and Jamie’s wedding night, but hot.  Lizzie asks for Brianna later that night, and the barkeep informs her that Bree’s still with the man she saw earlier.  Lizzie asks if it’s the same man with the loose morals, and the barkeep confirms that’s the one.  This won’t bode well for Roger later.

Across town, Claire and Jamie are at the play the governor invited them to.  When he introduces them to his right hand man, Claire notices that he’s in a great deal of pain, and he’s constantly holding the left side of his body.  Claire offers to examine him further, but she’s quickly dismissed by Governor Tryon.  The governor and Jamie leave to discuss men’s matters, and allow the ladies to meet with the other wives.  What fun.  However, Claire is in for a little treat…Tryon’s wife introduces her to none other than George and Martha Washington.  Yes, that George Washington.  Of course, he’s not the president yet, but Claire is still psyched to meet the father of the country and the man that whupped the British in the Revolutionary War.  Claire tells Jamie all about him, and says that if Bree were there, she’d have a million questions for him.  Bree’s too busy gettin’ her freak on.

Before the play starts, Governor Tryon tells Jamie that he set up a trap to arrest a group of Regulators that plan to rob a carriage carrying tax monies.  Jamie asks how he could possibly know what the Regulators have planned, and Tryon admits that there’s a traitor amongst them.  Jamie goes on to ask if he knows who the Regulators are, and Tryon—who doesn’t know how to shut the hell up—gives the name of the leader, Murtagh Fitzgibbons.

Jamie knows he has to warn Murtagh somehow.  First he offers to ride out with the men, but the governor refuses, telling him to enjoy the play.  Jamie watches the play for a while—although I don’t see how he could possibly enjoy it with the audience constantly running their mouths, which apparently was custom back then—and notices that Tryon’s right hand is in even more pain than he was when they first got there.  Jamie gives the poor man a quick elbow in the side, putting him in even more distress.  When the man starts to scream in pain, Jamie interrupts the play to get Claire.  He tells her what’s going on with Murtagh and that he has to warn him.  Claire says she’ll buy him as much time as she can and demands to operate on the sick gentleman ASAP.  Of course, Tryon acts a fool, but Claire’s not taking no for an answer, especially given that she’s just diagnosed the man as having a hernia.  To add insult to injury, his intestines have moved, and possibly cut off his blood flow.

Outside, Jamie runs into The Washingtons.  They’re heading home, due to the fact that the play sucked.  Jamie lies and says that he’s going to get Claire’s surgical tools, and future President Washington offers him a ride.  Jamie is very keen to that idea.  Back in the theatre, Claire is operating on the right hand, who has the misfortune of going through surgery without anesthesia.  Ouch!  Tryon is still asking around for a damn surgeon, even though Claire has mentioned time and doggone time again that she is a surgeon!  Claire goes through with the surgery, and advises Tryon to speak to the man to keep him calm.  Tryon promises the man a fine house as Claire pushes the intestines back in and closes the surgical opening.  Of course, when the poor man passes back out, Tyron hopes that the right hand won’t remember a word he said.  The gentleman’s regular surgeon finally arrives as Claire’s stitching the man up, and says, “You butchered him!  All he needed was some smoke up his butt!”  Indeed.  Tryon finally wises up and lets the surgeon know that Claire has everything under control.  Jamie comes back just in time after Claire finishes closing the wound.

Somewhere across town, Murtagh and his crew about to rob the coach full of redcoats when Fergus appears, telling him that it’s a set up and there’s a spy in his camp.  Murtagh is a bit peeved that Jamie didn’t come and tell him himself, but Fergus informs him that Jamie was sort of stuck at the theatre.  Murtagh still happy to see Fergus anyway.  Keep in mind that Fergus was a 10 yr. old child the last time Murtagh saw him.  Now he’s a happily married father.  Man, time flies!  When Jamie leaves the theatre with Tryon, the governor’s pouting that he didn’t get his man.  He figures someone alerted Murtagh ahead of time, and the little man riding with them mentions that Colonel Washington (he was a Colonel back then) left earlier with his wife.  Washington, the little man, and Jamie were the only ones that knew about the set up.  Thankfully, no one saw Jamie leave with the Washingtons, but although Jamie’s in the clear, now the future president is now on the governor’s radar.

Brianna and Roger are basking in the afterglow as they discuss Claire and Jamie’s obit.  Brianna hates that the year of her parents’ death is smudged on the obituary, and Roger agrees that the smudged date is extremely frustrating.  That’s when Brianna realizes that Roger had to have known about Claire and Jamie dying in that fire as well.  Roger admits that he found out about the fire before she left, but didn’t tell her.  That pisses Brianna off, and she gets even more pissed off after Roger tells her that he told Fi and not her.  They start arguing, and Bree eventually throws Roger out and tells him to go back to the 20th century.  Roger foolishly leaves Bree alone, a mistake that will seriously come back to haunt him.

Brianna goes back to the tavern and runs into none other than Stephen Bonnet, who’s gambling Claire’s stolen wedding ring in a card game (the original Lallybroch ring).  He grabs Brianna by the hand and asks her to blow on the ring for luck.  Bree recognizes the ring and asks where he got it, seeing as her mother had one exactly like it.  Bonnet tells Brianna that if she wants the ring back, they can come to an arrangement.  Brianna agrees.  *Sigh*  Sure enough, Bonnet lures her into a room off of the tavern and proceeds to beat and rape her.  What’s worse is that the people in the tavern hear Brianna crying and screaming for help, but they sit there going about their business like everything is everything.  God, I’m so glad I was born in 1981.  After the jackass is done assaulting Brianna, he mocks her for not being a virgin and gives her the ring, stating that he’s “an honest man that pays his debts.”  Before Brianna leaves, he tells her to give her mother his regards.  Poor Brianna walks up to her room, completely traumatized.  Wow.  Claire and Jamie really should’ve let his evil ass die.

This episode was really good, but it was also pretty dark.  To be honest, this entire season has been dark.  So far, we’ve dealt with racism, robbery, hate crimes, murder and rape, and there’s still five episodes left!  This is America!  Don’t catch you slippin’ up!  Brianna’s character is growing on me.  True, she’s still a bit bratty, but I’m starting to like her now.  I hate she had to go through what she went through.  The writers mentioned that they decided to have Brianna live the best and worst day of her life on the same night so the audience can feel the roller coaster of emotions she must’ve felt.  Let’s just say that crap worked.  The end of the episode was pretty damn depressing.  Once again, Bree and Roger’s story line this time around was more interesting than Claire and Jamie’s (God only knows what that doggone play was supposed to be about).  I remember when Bree and Roger’s scenes were good times for me to use the bathroom or get a drink of water, but no longer.  They’re getting more juicy, and I’m here for it!  The writers also pointed out that everyone was in Wilmington during this episode:  Claire, Jamie, Bree, Roger, Fergus, Marsali and Murtagh.  Unfortunately, everyone kept missing each other due to some type of circumstance.  I’d love to see an episode where everyone is together and they can all meet.  During Bree and Roger’s stand alone episode last week, Brianna was able to meet her Uncle Ian, and it was really sweet to see them together.  My only gripe is that Jenny wasn’t there.  Touching on the subject of Murtagh and Jamie, I can’t help but notice that Jamie’s affiliation with the governor and Lord John is making Murtagh see him in a new light.  I really hope this doesn’t destroy their relationship.  Anyway, this was a great—yet bleak—episode!  Keep ’em comin’!  Next week, I believe Jamie and Bree will finally meet!

By the way…guess who’s finally caught up?  This chick!  Again, I wish y’all a safe and merry Christmas!  🎄🎁

—Written by Nadiya

So what did you think about “Wilmington”?  Was it a good episode, or was it not one of your faves?  Was the ending too dark for you?  Was Bree wrong to be mad at Roger?  Was Roger wrong for not telling Bree about what happened to her parents?  Do you hate Stephen Bonnet?  Who do you believe is worse, Bonnet or Black Jack?  Do you want all the characters to meet?  Do you think Murtagh and Jamie’s relationship will be strained due to his relationship with the governor?  Do you think that Bree and Roger’s scenes are more interesting that Claire and Jamie’s?  Let me know in the comments section!