Outlander 3.03: All Debts Paid

Previously: Jamie turned himself into the British, and Claire and Frank are at a détente.

The title card is a big, sleepy newfie doggie, and panning up to a birthday cake, with candles.

In Boston 1956, Frank cooks a big English breakfast, because Brianna wanted Eggo waffles, and Frank is going to feed the Americaness out of her. Claire has an evening free, and asks Frank if he’d like to see a movie, but he’s seen the ones she offers – with someone else. They agreed that they could live separate lives as long as they were discreet, but Claire didn’t expect that meant, you know. (Also the idea of seeing a movie again is apparently a foreign concept? Honestly, Frank.)

In 1755, Ardsmuir prison gets a new warden, who’s filled in on the important parts of his job: paperwork, hunting for grouse, and French gold that is rumored to have been sent to support the Jacobites and never made it. There isn’t any local society here. Just the officers and one Red Jamie Fraser. He’s the only Jacobite officer and he’s kept chained. The new warden eyes him, and the old warden says that he dined with Jamie once a week, to keep an ear on what’s going on in the prison. The new warden snaps that he will NOT dine with him.

Inside the prison, other prisoners ask if Jamie’s gotten an eye of the new warden, and Jamie’s like, well, we will see. Inside the cells, the other prisoners regard Jamie as their chief, and another prisoner asks Jamie about the new governor. His voice is familiar, and it’s Murtagh! He’s alive! (Duncan Lacroix still has work!) Jamie muses that the new guy seems familiar…his name is Grey. Murtagh’s like, whatever, we’re still stuck here and they all look alike anyway. Murtagh still has a scrap of a tartan, but there’s a penalty if he’s caught with it. Murtagh is also got a bit of cough, and been bitten by a rat (again). Jamie has some plants that’ll help with the bites and the scurvy. He learned about it from “A lass who knew a fair amount about healing.”

The new warden summons Jamie to his (kinda dank) office, and introduces himself. He is John William Grey. He would like to continue the understanding Jamie had with the previous warden, and then another prisoner brings up Grey’s supper, which is immediately attacked by a rat. Grey requests a cat to be brought up, and then, after thinking about it for a second, asks that each cell get it’s own cat.

The other prisoner glances at Jamie, and Jamie’s like, the men wouldn’t like a cat horning in on the rat supply. “Surely they don’t eat them.” Only when they can catch one. Jamie then tells Grey “I don’t know what you did to deserve to be sent here, but for your own sake, I hope you deserved it.”

It’s Claire’s graduation day! Bree takes pictures, and Frank worries that Claire will miss her dinner reservation. Joe is there, and I hope had his own party, because no one from his family is there.

He’s not going with them (he has to work), and he thought it was earlier. The doorbell rings, and it’s a young woman that Claire doesn’t know- she’s Frank’s “work.” (Joe sees all of this go down), and Claire hustles everyone out of the house. It’s very awkward.

A old man walks along the moors in Scotland, and blathers at a detail of soldiers in a mix of Gaelic andFrench, and then says “The gold is cursed!” and that’s enough for the soldiers to bring him to the prison. At Ardsmuir, Jamie is called upon to translate, since he knows both Gaelic and French. He won’t do it for nothing, though, and Grey offers to have his chains taken off, the ones he’s been wearing for 3 years. Jamie also wants blankets and medicine for the prisoners. Grey refuses, and Jamie’s like, then put the chains back on. Grey says he would, and Jamie asks for one set of blankets and medicine, for Murtagh. Grey will see what they have.

In Boston, Frank is home, and Claire’s been waiting. It’s time for a fight! She accuses him of humiliating her, and he accuses her of humiliating him right back. No one at Harvard believes they’re happily married. And it was her idea to lead separate lives. She calls Frank’s girl a “harlot” and Frank sneers that she’s jealous. “Green ain’t your color, Claire.” Claire asks if he fucked Sandy in their bed room (in a twin bed? Come on). Frank thinks the bedroom is far too crowded as it was. Claire floats the divorce word, and Frank won’t. He doesn’t want to lose Brianna. Claire says she would never keep Bree from him, but Frank doesn’t want to take that risk. “Anything else you want to discuss? While we’re here?” She says nothing and he sighs. “There’s a reason we are so terribly bad at charades, my darling.”

Jamie is with Duncan, the old man, and tells him to be careful, everything he says will be told to the English. In a mix of French, Gaelic and English, Duncan tells him that the gold is cursed, “he is dead” and “she hid it” and names Colum, Dougal, and Ellen, they’re all dead. And Ellen left to marry a selkie from the sea. Then Duncan tells him it was given by a White Witch. Jamie asks who the White Witch is. Duncan only says that she’s looking for a brave man, “The Mackenzie.” And then he dies! Grey asks what Duncan says and Jamie’s like, “He said a bunch of random shit.” Grey doesn’t believe him, and claims he has ways to force Jamie to talk, and Jamie’s like look, you puppy, you cannot do anything new to me.

Bree is now 16. She says she’s wishing for a car, and Claire’s like, no, and Frank’s like, maybe.

Murtagh drinks something gross, and Jamie fills him on the mad rant- cursed gold and… “Get on with it before I die of old age.” “A white witch.” Murtagh understands that Jamie thinks it might be Claire. Maybe. Murtagh wishes they could know what happened with her and the baby. Jamie tells him not to think about it, and Murtagh asks if he can at least pray them safe and sound. Jamie is summoned before Grey.

He’s invited to dinner! Jamie asks for permission to set snares for meat and gather watercress. Grey’s like, why would you want that? To prevent scurvy of course. Grey’s like, that’s the craziest thing I ever heard. Jamie says he learned that from his wife, but she’s gone. Grey says he’ll think about it, and there’s pheasant for dinner. In a wine sauce! Jamie eats it carefully and asks a few questions about the sauce. Grey kind of ruefully can’t answer, but back in the cell, Jamie tells the men about the dinner in detail. They love it.

On the moor, a detail of prisoners are out to cut peat, and two of the prisoners rush off to check their snares. While the guard’s attention is on them, Jamie and two other men run off in the opposite direction, and Jamie hides in a ditch covered by heather. The other two run back to the detail, and we cut to Grey finding out the Jamie has escaped.

Off the coast, there’s an island with a ruin on it, and Grey hears a report that Jamie was swimming out to it. One soldier opines that obviously Jamie is dead, it’s been 3 days, but Grey’s like, nah, stay here a bit. Just in case. Later, Grey is taking a leak, when he is surprised by one James Fraser, who grabs him from behind. Jamie DOES remember Grey, but was waiting for the proper occasion. Grey didn’t remind him because he’s still embarrassed by the whole thing, but hey, his family debt to Jamie has been repaid. Jamie reminds him about the promise he made. “I owe you my life… but once the debt is discharged, I will kill you.” So? Jamie kneels, and Grey takes his sword and holds it to Jamie’s throat. “I am not a murderer of unarmed prisoners.”

Later, Jamie admits that while he DID tell Grey everything Duncan said, but he didn’t tell him that some of it “had meaning.” And that it concerned his wife, who is “gone.” So he thought that maybe there was something about Claire, but he found nothing about her. “And the gold?” No gold, just an empty box, “save for one jewel.” Jamie has it – a sapphire, as I recall. He gives it to Grey.

It’s 1966, and Bree has gradated from high school. Claire and Frank sit in the audience, and are separately proud.

A guard brings a doctor to treat Murtagh. Jamie plays chess with Grey. It’s been three months, and Murtagh is much better. Jamie and Grey trade stories about Grey’s older brother. He taught Grey how to play chess, and he also refused to shoot Jamie when Jamie wanted to die. Grey asks why, and admits that at the time, he felt the same. “I…lost…a particular friend at Culloden.” Lord Melton found Grey when he found his friend, and dragged him away before Grey could say a proper goodbye, and that Grey would over come it, in time. “Hal is generally right. But not always. Some people you grieve over forever.” Jamie is somewhat grateful for his life, now, but the biggest burden is being unable to care for the people you love.

Grey asks about Jamie’s wife, she was a healer? Jamie says her name for the first time this season. Then he admits that he meant to thank him sometime. For the service he showed to Claire when they first met. Grey stares at him for a minute and then laughs ruefully. The lady who’s life and honor he tried to save was perfectly safe all along! Jamie grins a bit and calls him a worthy foe. “If you find a 16 year old shitting himself a worthy foe, it’s no wonder the highland army was defeated.” Nah, bravery comes in all forms. “You wouldn’t speak to save your own life, but for a lady?” Jamie still admires that.

Grey then puts his hand on Jamie’s, and says that he’s sorry for his loss, then strokes his thumb over Jamie’s fingers. “Take your hand off me. Or I will kill you.” Jamie says, very quietly. Grey does, and Jamie heads back to his cell. Grey closes his eyes in embarassment.

Frank comes into the living room – he’s in a nerdy turtleneck. Claire is sitting, staring into space. Frank asks if the surgery was tough, and it was. Frank tells her that he’d like to take Brianna to England. He’s been offered a position at Cambridge, and Claire is like, I can’t leave Boston, I have this life here. He says he’s not asking. He wants a divorce now. Bree is 18, and he thinks that she’ll go with him, since between med school and the hospital, Claire’s barely “been here.” Frank is going to marry Sandy once he’s free. Frank says he’s just done, and Claire accuses him of just waiting for the clock to run out, and they fight more about what Bree will do. Claire tells him, fine, use whatever grounds you like but adultery, but don’t try to take my kid from me. Frank tells her that he’d really like to live the rest of his life with a wife who truly loves him.

“You couldn’t look at Brianna without seeing him…might you have forgotten him? With time?” Claire simply says that amount of time doesn’t exist. Frank takes his car keys and leaves. The phone rings, and it’s the hospital. She’s got to go into surgery.

At Ardsmuir, something is up: the men are lined up and there are ships sailing. Grey grabs Jamie and leads him away, quickly telling him that the prison is being closed, the prisoners are all being transported to the Colonies. Jamie and Murtagh don’t even get to say good bye as the men are all herded towards the ships.

Grey rides off with Jamie walking behind his horse, hands tied. After THREE DAYS of this, Jamie finally says that indentured servitude is slavery. Grey’s like, look, they get free after 14 years. Jamie isn’t going to the Colonies, he’s a convicted traitor, and transportation could be a commutation of his sentence, which can’t happen unless King George approves it, which he has not. Grey can’t give Jamie freedom, but he’s being sent to an estate called Helwater, where he’ll serve out the rest of his sentence. Grey also suggests that Jamie not use his real name. His new host isn’t that well disposed to Jacobite.

Jamie asks why Grey is being so kind, when he didn’t let him have his way. Grey’s like, I’m sorry about that. We had a moment, and you gave me my life once, so I’m going to give you yours. For my own sake. They go toward the house.

Claire is out of what is clearly the tidiest surgery that ever was. No blood on her scrubs, hair still in place, telling the family that it all went well. Joe Abernathy finds her, with the face of someone with really bad news: there was a car accident, and it’s Frank. Claire absorbs this, and runs to the morgue, where Frank is. The car accident was polite enough not to mar his face. She sits next to him, and touches his cheek. “If you are still close enough to hear me, I did love you. Very much. You were my first love.” She kisses him, and then numbly walks out.

RHG: I have to say, the Scotland/Ardsmuir stuff was great. I am SO happy to see Murtagh again! (in the books, Murtagh died at Culloden, but they admitted that they liked Duncan Lacroix a lot, and I do too. Also, note that Ron Moore knows how to not spoil a return in the credits: he managed to keep Duncan’s name out of the opening and saved it to the end. He did that with Battlestar Galactica at least once.)

So all that was great, except that there is NO WAY they got from Ardsmuir, in the northwest ass end of Scotland, to the Lake District, where Helwater is, in THREE DAYS. No. Freaking. Way.

And while I…liked isn’t the right word… appreciated the slow decay of Frank and Claire’s marriage, I feel like this was at the expense of Claire’s personal growth as a doctor. What about her struggles and triumphs as she became a surgeon? Doesn’t that merit anything?

And Frank, what kind of asshole can’t tell his mistress, “Hey, I can’t go out with you that day, it’s my wife’s graduation.” Seriously, asshole. You want to complain about how no one believes you have a happy marriage? YOU’RE NOT HELPING.

But, goodbye Frank. I’m sorry you didn’t get the life you wanted. Goodbye, Tobias. You’re still getting snubbed by the Emmys.

I am revising my estimate for when Claire and Jamie get back together to episode 5.

Elyse: This was a tough episode, both due to the slow decay of Frank and Claire’s marriage, and the heartbreaking conditions Jamie and his fellow Scotsmen are living in.

I think that Menzies and Balfe deserve a lot of credit for how well and how subtly they acted out the pain of their marriage crumbling. Frank is kind of a dipshit, but man, you can just feel the ice between them. Also is Frank an alcoholic now? (RHG: no, he’s dead now.)

I am so, so happy that Murtagh is back!

I also wonder if we’re going to get a Lord Grey series now? I haven’t read those books, but they actor they selected is charming af.

Overall, a good episode but I’m ready for Jamie and Claire to reunite.