Outlander 4.07 “Down The Rabbit Hole”

The title card is Brianna making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and then CUTTING IT SIDE TO SIDE INSTEAD OF TOP TO BOTTOM I CANNOT. We live in a SOCIETY. What non-symmetrical anarchy is THIS nonsense?

Brianna walks across the snowy, freezing moors of 18th century Scotland. She has a map, and is planning on making her way pretty much across the entire country to a port. She walks and walks and walks (Word from the crew is that is was FUCKING cold while filming last year) and upon getting distracted by a vista (Scotland is good for those) she falls down a hill and messes up her ankle.

(We also see her gather up her supplies that she has in her bag, including a knife, a bag of coins, her map, and a compass.) She hobbles up and finds a stream to ice her foot in – the bruise is already surfaced. And she plunks her foot in as long as she can stand which is… not much.

(I probably would have packed an ace bandage or two, but I know my ankles are wimpy.) She hobbles along a road.

Two hundred years later, Roger and Fiona drive down the same road to the stones. Roger has shaved his beard (RIP, beard) and has some form of 18th century garb. He pontificates a bit about how time isn’t real, it’s just a concept (I dunno, deadlines are based on time and they seem pretty real) and Fiona says she hopes that time TRAVEL is real, otherwise, the beard will have been sacrificed for nothing. Roger has everything – money, map, knife, etc. Up at the stones, Roger can hear them buzzing, and Fiona hugs him goodbye. He walks up to the center stone, touches it, and-

In the dark, Brianna starts a small fire. She brought matches, smart girl. She eats her anarchy sandwich. In the morning, her ankle is worse, but she sees a house in the distance. Near dark, she’s still gamely going on, but can barely stand. Once she can see the house, she stops and falls near a tree and into a flashback.

A sleepy small Bree is pulled out of the car by her father. Hi, Tobias!

Adult Bree wakes up in a bed, where none other than Laoghaire is her hostess. She and her daughter Joanie found Bree and brought her in. Bree tells her that she’s from England (“You have strange accent!”) but she’s on her way to Ayr harbor to meet her parents in the Americas. Joanie tells her that her older sister is in North Carolina “[married] to a Frog.” Laoghaire expresses dubiousness at Bree walking all the way to any harbor, and tells her that she can stay as long as she needs to.

Later, Ian comes by with some of Laoghaire’s alimony, but it’s not nearly what she’s owed, and she’s pretty upset about it. Bree can hear them arguing, and it reminds her of overhearing Claire and Frank arguing after Claire’ medical school graduation. She gets up, and wraps up in a blanket to see what’s up. Both Ian and Laoghaire apologize for waking her up, and send her back to bed.

Ian offers Laoghaire more money from his pocket, and Laoghaire is like no I want HIS money. “I still have my pride!”

The next day, Laoghaire has given Bree some proper (warmer!) clothes. Laoghaire apologizes for the scene the night before, and explains the issues with the alimony. Bree helps Joanie with some gardening while Laoghaire puts on some stew, and the girls chat a bit. Bree asks if it’s Joanie’s father who won’t send the money, and Joanie explains that it’s her Da, but not her real father, which Bree gets. She tells Joanie that she has also never met her real father, and Joanie says that she’s been told that most men are louts. “Do you know if your Da is a lout?”

Joanie explains that her Da didn’t love Laoghaire as she loved him, and it broke her heart. Bree also understands that.

At Harvard, Frank has been drinking and sulking in his office, when Bree comes in and demands to know why he hasn’t been answering the phone. She also notices the same obituary that kicked off this round of time travel (but not yet) on his desk, and asks “who died?” And Frank, to his credit, looks honestly befuzzled about where he could POSSIBLY start. “Um…. it’s complicated.” “Complicated is a relative term, daddy.”

Brianna tries to get him to talk, using a fake British therapist voice, but it’s too much for him. He just…. Can’t. Here he has confirmation that Claire will go back to the past, and he can’t tell Bree. He can’t and she can’t understand why. He sends her home, and she’s angry that he won’t confide in her. “Someday, I promise, you’ll understand.” “Maybe SOMEDAY, I won’t care.”

In Laoghaire’s house, Bree gets ready for bed, and L talks about how she’ll have an empty nest at some point, but hopes that Joanie will have a good husband. She muses that her last husband did have a period when he’d do anything for her, like take a beating, make out sessions, but then, you know, the witch came along and that’s how that goes. But she does miss Jamie, and in the evenings, they’d sit and tell tales from the Bible. Bree asks her to recite the story of Ruth and Naomi, because it was Joanie’s favorite. As L tells it, Joanie sneaks in and listens as well.

Roger has made his way to the port, and in a tavern, finds the captain of a ship, the Gloriana, who is sailing to Wilmington. Yes, Stephen Bonnet IS sailing to Wilmington, but he’s not taking on any more passengers. Roger’s like, my lass, tho. Bonnet: Find one here, why don’t you. Roger asks to become a member of the crew, but his hands are too soft, according to Bonnet. After showing he can lift a barrel, Bonnet flips a coin- heads, Roger can join up. Tails, he stays. Roger signs on as Roger Mackenzie, but also there are four ports before they get to Wilmington. “I hope she’s worth it.”

In Scotland, Bree is doing a bit of household repairs, and at some point, Laoghaire mentions Lallybroch, and Bree’s like hey, my mom’s relatives are there! Laoghaire’s like (very reasonably), oh, who is your mom, maybe I know her. Nell Hudson’s face at the mention of Claire Fraser is incredible. Bree sense that something has gone weird, but tells her that her name is Randall, after the man who raised her. Laoghaire carefully says that this Frank must have been a good man to raise a daughter like Brianna. Bree tells her that Frank died some years before.

And we get a flashback of the morning after Frank has received the obituary. He’s been asleep in his clothes on a too short couch, and the scotch bottle has a serious dent in it. Bree brings in a tray of tea and scones. They apologize to each other, and she’s even got clotted cream! “Nothing that a good cup of tea and scone can’t fix.” He asks if she’s ever thought about studying abroad. “Why? Harvard’s here. You’re here.”

L asks Bree if she believes the story Claire told her about her real father, and Bree’s like, “….yeah.” L says she wouldn’t want to repeat what people say about Bree’s father. Of course she would. “There are some folk who say there was no room in his heart for a bairn. So he sent your mother away when she discovered she was with child.” She wouldn’t want Bree to subject herself to gossip, but also hopes that Bree’s father wouldn’t turn her away for a second time. Bree’s like…. Well, I have to go to them. I can prevent their deaths if I go now.

Of course, this doesn’t go over well. Laoghaire scowls that if there’s something that Bree knows that’s going to prevent her fromgetting her alimony, Bree better fucking tell her. Bree: what the fuck? Laoghaire loses it and accuses Bree of being a witch like Claire. Laoghaire’s whole theory is still that Claire is a witchy whore. Bree goes up to her room to grab her stuff and leave, but L locks her in, saying “you’re a witch and I’m going to call the authorities on you.” Bree tries to get out, but everything is locked.

In Boston, Frank finds Bree out and about, and has her hop into the car. He brings up studying abroad again, and he wants her to come with him to England. He’s asked Claire for a divorce. “Don’t be silly! You’re too old to get a divorce!” she thinks it’s a ridiculous idea. “We’re a family.” “You’re my family…this cannot be a complete surprise to you.” “Well, it is.” She’s angry she doesn’t get a say, but well, she doesn’t. “You just decided all of this, tonight.” She’s just floored by all of this, and can’t say that she’ll go with him. They had a plan, and she’s not prepared to soldier on with a change of plan. She gets out of the car, and he tells her that he loves her. She gives him a look of profound disgust and doesn’t answer.

Later, at his grave, she tells him about the guilt she feels for leaving the car and not saying that she’d go with him. But she’s going to soldier on, “you’re my hero, daddy.”

On the ship, Roger is checking lanterns, and tells a small child that there are probably no sea monsters in the sea. A woman has a kinda fussy baby, and its crying attracts the attention of Bonnet. He picks up the baby, then rubs it’s gums with whiskey. Which helps. At that point, something bangs across the ship: it’s whales with itchy barnacles. “Are we in danger?” “Only if they’ve a mind for mischief.”

Later that night, Roger is sleeping in his hammock, when he hears a child screaming. A small child has smallpox, and Bonnet orders her thrown overboard, to keep it from spreading. Roger tries to stop the other crewmen from doing it, but Bonnet gets her into the window of the captain’s cabin, and then casually shoves her out. Her mother jumps after her, and they’re gone. Bonnet coldly says he’ll do the same to anyone who shows signs of a rash.

Roger is learning something about how pitiless history is. Bonnet tells the rest of the crew to examine the rest of the passengers and look for any signs of a rash. Roger goes to find the mother with the baby. Jemmy, the baby, does have a bit of rash, but not smallpox. Roger takes Morag and Jemmy to the hold to hide.

Bree nearly has a window forced open when she hears someone opening the door- it’s Joanie, and she’s there to get Brianna to Lallybroch. In the cart, she tells Bree that she’s a kind soul, and maybe when she does find Jamie, she’ll ask him to come home. Before Bree can answer that, Ian comes out to greet them, and Joanie tells him that this is Jamie’s daughter, and Ian looks at her like, oh, yes. Yes, you are.

Inside, Ian is full of all the feelings, and says he’s sorry that Jenny isn’t there- she’s at the birth of another grandchild. (In reality, Laura Donnelly was in “The Ferryman in the West End,” where she won an Olivier award. Yay Laura!) Ian gives her money and clothes that used to belong to Claire.

On the ship, the baby is doing better, but Bonnet found them. He reminds Roger that he feels that a wise man doesn’t worry about things out of his power… but on the ship, everything is in Bonnet’s power. He monologues for a while, but eventually gets to the point. When he was 17, he was on a work crew, and the rest of the crew didn’t like him. They needed a sacrifice to put the under the foundation, and they flipped a coin to see if Bonnet or another man would be that sacrifice. He still has that coin. “Would you say you’re a gambling man, Mackenzie?” Roger’s like… you’re gonna flip a coin for their lives? No, no. Roger’s life.

Luck is with Roger that day.

At the port, Ian and Bree walk along the wharf, and he tells her to ask Young Ian to write more often. (She’s wearing the fur lined coat from season 1 that we loved so much.)

She goes to get her passage, but is waylaid by a desperate man who is looking to sell his daughter’s indenture to someone other than a man that plans to buy it because he wants the daughter as a concubine (so, a rapist). Her name is Lizzie, and once Bree sees her, that’s pretty much it. Bree gets passage for two, under the name Randall.

Walking to the dock, Lizzie’s father calls for her to be sure to say her prayers, and Bree turns…to see Frank in the crowd. He smiles at her, and nods, and she nods back. A ghost, a memory, it doesn’t matter. He’s at peace and so is she. She turns and get into the queue to board. It’s time to go.

Elyse:

Finally, FINALLY we get Bree time traveling and…she’s not good at it. Claire did this by mistake and did a better job, although I love that she packed a PB&J for the trip. And she dressed like she’s going to Ren Faire.

So of course the first person Bree finds in Scotland is Laoghaire because there are only like five people in that country and they all know Jamie. I am a little confused though because I thought Claire emerged from the stones and wound up in a forest? I may need to go back and watch my DVDs.

Laoghaire, like Geillis, is one of those characters I’m happy not to see anymore so I wasn’t crazy about that part, but I do like that her daughter got Bree safely to her family.

As for the rest of the episode… FUCK BONNET. That’s all I’m going to say.

RHG:

Can I just say, the Outlander fandom that I see bits of when I go gif hunting is FUCKING TOXIC. It’s a wonder any person working on the show is willing to engage at all. Thank you, our little community here, for not being toxic and entitled.

I thought it was really interesting to see a little bit of Frank’s POV, and to see where he was coming from. Tobias kills it, and seeing that he’s not a bad guy, really, he’s just… not THE guy and that sucks! He didn’t get the life he wanted, and no matter what he did, he still got confirmation that Claire was going to go back to Jamie… that she was going to leave him. So he decided to leave first.  Tobias gives a more nuanced Frank than the books, do, that’s for sure.

As for make Laoghaire more sympathetic and layered…I’m not totally sure it worked. But I do know what it’s like to see someone have a very toxic and harmful interpretation of a relationship that they desperately hold on to because it seems like it’s less painful than letting the fantasy of that relationship go. It’s a frustrating thing to watch, and it’s not helping anyone. But Laoghaire thinking that Claire was a witch and Jamie had no choice is less painful for her (so she thinks) than admitting that Jamie had agency and made his own choices.

What about you? What did you think of this episode?