“Outlander” recap: Jamie musters his American troops for battle

Outlander has reached the pivotal point where all signs point to war on the near horizon. The British soldiers are close. There’s secret talk about decoding messages and spies. Betsy Ross has officially sewn a new flag for a soon-to-be united country. And one man placed his hand on a Bible and vowed to obey the commands of the Continental Congress.

That man is Lord John Grey (David Berry), who, as we witness in a flashback, once promised never to accept the notion of American independence. But when your choices are swearing to be true to blue uniforms or being hanged in public, you pivot for the sake of living another day.

While Lord John is “away,” Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) continue to take up residence in his house in Pennsylvania with housekeeper Mrs. Figg (Sutara Gayle), who just might be my new favorite character on the show. When one of General Washington’s lackeys breezes in without so much as a “good day,” Mrs. Figg schools him on the importance of manners. And since this man insists that all of the generals will be meeting at Lord John’s house for dinner that very night, Mrs. Figg requests that the young man help her in the kitchen. I love her.

Claire heads to the market for some essentials for the party and literally runs into an energetic Frenchman. When he introduces himself as Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette (Charles Crehange), Claire can barely contain her starstruck smile. Lafayette is ecstatic to learn that she is General Fraser’s wife and will be joining him for their little revolutionary VIP gathering later that evening. He will bring French wine, an apology cheese for stepping on her foot, and an awesome personality. Merci, indeed.

As Claire chokes down Lafayette’s generous offering of champagne-soaked eel later at dinner, a man by the name of Percy Beauchamp (Michael Lindall) approaches Lafayette with a note. Claire is charmed that the man has the same last name as her maiden name. Percy kindly dismisses her notion that they may be relatives and excuses himself when General Washington (Gary Finnan) presents Claire with an original Betsy Ross flag in honor of the Fraser’s hospitality.

Once again, Claire has to mask her shock and awe, quizzing the General if it’s true that he initially wanted six points on the star. I personally think that question would have been a bit of a red flag, but what do I know? I guess Betsy and George’s five-point versus six-point star debate was public knowledge? Washington laughs and reveals that according to Betsy, a five-point star is easier to embroider.

They raise a glass to the flag. Jamie notes that the stars and stripes stand for hope and that you are never alone. The group toasts to the United States of America. And to VICTORY.

Later that night, while snacking on French cheese, Jamie informs Claire that his direct command, General Lee, is a bit irritated that he wasn’t made Commander in Chief, even though he has more experience than Washington. Claire notes that she’s never heard of General Lee, but Lafayette will go down in history as a man who helped stop the war.

The word makes Jamie bristle. He’s not afraid, of course, but he does have 300 men under his command. He’s never commanded that many, nor has he ever commanded men he doesn’t personally know. It’s clear the thought of losing even one soul is daunting.

Speaking of daunting, our girl Brianna (Sophie Skelton) is having a fit trying to figure out what is going on in her timeline with evil Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton). Noting that the light is on in her house, she does what any woman would do in this situation and fetches her shotgun. Just when she spies two men walking around through the window, Ernie and Fiona’s van pulls up.

Bri scrambles forward through the bushes where she’s hiding and screams for her children to get back in the van. She fires one of her shots toward the two men who have stumbled out of her front door and flings herself into the van after firing her second shot.

Naturally, the van sputters, and Ernie struggles to turn the engine over. As the motor roars to life, Bri punches a guy who tries to enter the van. Then another car pulls up, and we see an irate Rob’s face as Ernie guns the getaway car into the night. Fiona tells Bri that Rob was at their house when they got the kids there, so they left, figuring they would be safer at home with Bri. And her shotgun.

Because Bri is a rock star, she fixes Ernie’s van and discusses her new plan with Fiona. No, she will not be talking to the police. Instead, she decides that it’s time for her and the kids to find Roger. I can only assume that this means Bri thinks the best idea is to travel back in time to find Roger, which I feel is an extreme decision in these circumstances. We shall see.

Back in the 1700s, William (Charles Vandervaart ) arrived a bit disheveled at a British Camp with some correspondence. After being scolded for looking like a stable groom, William storms into a tent to clean himself up. Moments later, he’s startled to find Jane (Silvia Presente) and her little sister Frannie standing at the entrance.

Well, this just got interesting.

Jane explains that the horrible Captain Harkness came back to the brothel, so they ran away. Even though William implores them that staying in Pennsylvania would have been better, Jane insists that she is better protected at William’s side. They just want to be anywhere that Harkness is not.

William agrees to travel to New York with the girls, telling Jane she can be his laundress. This would be a good idea if Jane had any clue how to do laundry. Annoyed, William chastises her, saying it can’t be that hard. All she has to do is buy supplies and learn from the other ladies. Frannie speaks up, saying that Jane doesn’t know how to use money.

This information floors William. He pulls Jane into another tent and listens as she explains that in a brothel, she knows what specific body parts are worth but has no idea how that money translates into the real world. Sure, she has earned wages at the brothel since she was 10 years old, but she’s never seen them in her life. She's never purchased anything.

William is gutted. He asks her to stay away from any man until he can find her more modest clothing. When Jane reminds him that she is, indeed, a whore, William assures her that she is no such thing under his watch.

Jane later tries to “thank” William by straddling him on his cot, but he shuts the moment down. Confused, Jane reminds him that they have already done the deed once. William reminds Jane that she was a willing participant. It wasn’t a kindness or a thank you. He passionately kisses her and sends her on her way. His honor is still intact.

Back at Jamie’s camp, soldiers report to Claire for medical release. Lo and behold, Lord John Grey is one of the men standing in line. She calls for her husband, and Lord John surrenders to Jamie in a heartbeat.

They take John, as a prisoner, to his own home, where Claire inspects his eye. She gently explains that he’s fractured his socket and part of the muscle is stuck in the crack, which is why he can’t move his eye in any direction. Jamie walks into the room, wondering out loud if Claire can help. If John could roll his eyes, he would. Why does Jamie care when he left him in the middle of the woods with American Malitia?

Claire does roll her eyes and asks her husband to hold John’s head while she grabs his eyeball to unstick it from the crack in his socket. Lovely.

Back at William’s camp, Jane presents William with his laundry, declares that they are even, and calls for Frannie to join her since they are leaving to go to New York without William. She’s in a hurry, and William shrewdly figures out something else must be wrong. He wants to know what really happened with Captain Harkness. Sweet Frannie urges Jane to tell William the truth.

I never expected Jane to tell William that Captain Harkness was interested in Frannie, offering twice as much for a “newly hatched chick.” Jane asked to go with Frannie and was granted that request to keep Frannie from “making a fuss.” Jane carried a knife from the kitchen with her, and when push came to shove, she stabbed Captain Harkness in the throat. They snuck out the window and ran to find William.

Jane admits to William that she had every intention of killing Captain Harkness. All she wants to know is if honorable William is going to turn her in. Frannie kisses his hand when he vows to keep them safe. He doesn’t need thanks. He just needs her to stay.

Back at Lord John’s house, with a nicely healing eye, Claire tells her friend that he will have to stay under guard while she musters with Jamie’s soldiers. Both are surprised when Beauchamp enters the room with a personal message for Lord John. John quickly explains to a confused Claire that Beauchamp is his stepbrother.

Claire leaves, and John orders Beauchamp to cut the crap. Isn’t he supposed to be in France? Beauchamp explains that he is an aid to Lafayette and often “hears things” in his position. He tells John that Captain Richardson has sent William on a mission to deliver a message, and he will be captured by rebels. The aim is to discredit Lord John’s brother Hal for making inflammatory speeches about Americans. Richardson is a spy, and William will be abducted. They will want his and Hal’s cooperation in exchange for the boy’s life.

John wants to know why Beauchamp would go out of his way to help. Beauchamp answers, “For your beautiful eyes.” Then he caresses Lord John’s face and demands to know who hurt him. Lord John answers, “A man who had the right to touch me.” BURN.

John immediately tells Jamie, explaining that Beauchamp is actually Percy Wainwright. He’s been a French spy ever since John helped him out of a British prison 20 years ago. The real problem is that William is in danger.

Jamie counters that the real problem is that he is marching into battle with 300 men. Lord John corrects Jamie. He’s marching into battle with 299 men and one prisoner. Perhaps he could be paroled and set free to do whatever needs to be done.

Enter Young Ian (John Bell), whose sole job is to save people. He and Lord John will definitely rescue William. He always saves the day.

I just hope they hurry because William is already at the camp, sitting down for a nice supper. 

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