Outlander S4 E13: A Man of Worth

TW/CW: Discussions of rape.

We open in what I’m guessing is the 1960’s or 1970’s. A woman sits on a park bench while two little boys, dressed as “cowboys and Indians” chase each other around. A man on the next bench over lowers his newspaper. He’s Native American and wearing the stone Claire found with the skull. He’s clearly annoyed.

We cut back to the past. Jamie, Claire, and Ian have arrived at the Mohawk village. They cautiously make their way into the village leading horses that are packed with goods to trade.

Ian speaks to the Mohawk, shows them the sketch Bree made of Roger and says they want to trade for this man. Then Ian notices Kaheroton, the man he originally traded with.

Kaheroton asks why he would want Roger back and Ian replies, “He’s important to our family.”

They take Claire, Jamie and Ian to Tehwahsehwkwe, the cheif. He confers with some of the other Mohawk while Claire, Jamie and Ian begin to show off the items they have to trade. There’s obvious interest in what they have: whisky, blankets, pots and pans. Then Claire takes off her scarf to show someone and reveals the stone necklace she found with the skull. The group of Mohawk gasp when they see it. They back away from her.

“She wears Otter Tooth’s stone,” says a woman, Wahkatiiosta.

Claire misunderstands and tries to give Tehwahsehwkwe the stone in exchange for Roger and he gruffly tells her that they will not trade with them. He orders them to leave. They are forced from the village.

Then we cut over to River Run where Murtagh has just arrived. He and Jocasta sit down to a dinner that looks amazing.

Jocasta asks him what he did to get himself jailed in Wilmington, was it related to Bonnet or the Regulators? He says both.

He tells her not to worry, but she points out that he’s a wanted man now, and that’s best he not stay in one place too long. Murtagh says he’s only there to check in on Bree.

Jocasta tells that she’s taking good care of her. She says that she expects Lord John back soon to plan the wedding.

Murtagh is shocked that she’s marrying Bree off to a redcoat.

“I ken that your fond of marriage, since you’ve had three yourself,” he snaps. “But that’s no excuse to–”

“I dinna recall asking your opinion on the matter,” she says politely. She tells him he’s welcome to finish his meal, but she gets up and leaves the room.

Upstairs Phaedre is palpating Bree’s abdomen, checking on the position of the baby. She says she’s brought several babies into the world. She reassures Bree that the baby will be fine.

Back in Upstate New York, Claire and Jamie are debating what to do about Roger as they make camp. Jamie wants to break him out, but Claire cautions that they don’t know anything about where he’s being kept.

Suddenly a man runs out of the woods and jumps Jamie. They wrestle as other Mohawk appear. Wahkatiiosta tells them they are there for the stone. She’s armed and wearing a kind of ring-mail.

Claire offers to trade her the stone for Roger, but Wahkatiiosta points out they could just take it by force. Jamie tells her there would be casualties to both sides.

Claire calms things down and asks why the stone is so important.

Wahkatiiosta tells them the story of a man, called Otter Tooth, who came to them from the future. He warned them of their future, and told them they must kill the white man before they were killed. He wanted them to go to war.

She says that some followed him and they returned with white scalps. Many were afraid that his actions would bring soldiers and revenge. The chief at the time, Wahkatiiosta’s grandfather, ordered Otter Tooth out of the village. Otter Tooth wouldn’t stay away though, and kept talking about their terrifying future.

“You will be forgotten,” he told them. “The nations of the Iroquois will be no more. No one will tell your stories. Everything you are will be lost.”

He was eventually chased off and killed. They decapitated him, but his words still haunted them. The chief buried the head (and the stone) far, far away to keep Otter Tooth’s prophesy from following them.

Wahkatiiosta says that whoever possesses the stone has the power to see the future of her people, and that Otter Tooth’s ghost walks with them. Claire confirms the ghost has appeared to her.

Wahkatiiosta said she believes that Otter Tooth came to warn them, and that they need the stone to see their future. Claire offers her the stone if they help them get Roger.

Back at River Run Murtagh talks with Bree. He tells her he knows about her wedding to Lord John. Bree assures him that they aren’t going through with it; it’s a ruse until Roger returns.

He asks why Bree was visiting Bonnet in jail that day in Wilmington. She explains that she was there to forgive him in search of peace.

“Do you think you could forgive your father, for your sake as well as his?” Murtagh asks.

She tells him she already has.

Back in New York Claire, Jamie, Ian, Wahkatiiosta, and a small group of others row canoes to the village in the darkness. Most of the villagers are gathered around a central fire. Wahkatiiosta  leads them along the outskirts of the community. They find the “idiot hut” where Roger is being held. Claire and Jamie sneak inside, explaining to Roger that they are there to rescue him.

As they sneak him out a Mohawk man notices them. Wahkatiiosta begs him to be silent and let them escape, but he cries out for help. People run after them and there is a battle. Eventually the small band is surrounded and captured.

The next morning Tehwahsehwkwe banishes Wahkatiiosta and tells her she is no longer Mohawk. He tells Claire, Jamie, Roger, and Ian that they are not the cause for the strife that was caused by Otter Tooth. He tells them to leave the village. 

They ask to bring Roger with them.

“There has been no fair trade,” he says. “Dog Face will stay in the village.”

Jamie offers himself in Roger’s place as he’s able bodied and strong. He asks Ian to negotiate for him. Ian talks to Tehwahsehwkwe, while Claire tearfully kisses Jamie.

“We accept!” Tehwahsehwkwe tells them. Jamie prepares to enter the village but Ian stops him. Ian traded himself, not Jamie, for Roger. 

Jamie tells Ian that if he can’t escape, he’ll come for him. Ian explains that he gave them his words, and he intends to keep it. They share a tearful goodbye.

“You said you wanted me to become a man of worth,” Ian tells Jamie.

“You dinna ken how worthy you are,” Jamie tells him.

Claire and Jamie help Roger as they leave Ian and Rollo behind. There’s sad string music playing in the background.

Back at River Run Jocasta and Murtagh are sipping whiskey. Jocasta tells him he’s foolish for joining the regulators and putting his life at risk. He tells her if the cause is just you can’t ignore the conflict. He says in a comfortable house like hers, she doesn’t understand what the crown is doing to the common folk.

“I’m an old woman and my wars are behind me,” she tells him. “We came to the New World for a new chance.”

“You chose to come here,” Murtagh says. “I didn’t.”

“You have a choice now,” she points out.

“So do you,” he says. “You can stay here and enjoy all this or remember where you came from and fight back.” He tells her she could use her influence to help.

She asks if that’s why he came for a visit, and he denies it. “You don’t use many words, but in your head you’re always scheming on how to get what you want,” she tells him angrily. “Truth be told, I never liked you. You descend like a dark cloud of rain, staying well past your welcome, drinking, and griping about everything. The way you glower and stare, it makes folks uneasy. You were stubborn as a mule then and you haven’t changed a bit. I cannot believe I allowed you to darken my door.”

Murtagh grabs her arm and says, “Woman–” and she throws her drink in his face.

So then we cut to the next morning where Jocasta is pulling her robe on and Murtagh is lying in her bed. I seriously ship it. These two are great.

Back in New York Claire asks Jamie how he’ll explain what happened to Ian to her. He says that she knows Ian’s “restless nature and need for adventure.”

Then out of nowhere Roger punches Jamie in the face. Claire tries to stop him, but Jamie says he deserves it and lets Roger hit him again.

In the Mohawk village the men have assembled to form the gauntlet. Ian looks nervously ahead. He begins to run the gauntlet, dodging blows.

Cut back to Roger hitting Jamie.

Cut back to Ian getting hit and falling down.

You get the drift.

Ian gets beat up a bit but manages to make it through the gauntlet. Tehwahsehwkwe declares him a member of the tribe. Ian cheers in joy.

Meanwhile Roger hits Jamie until he’s exhausted. When both men are sitting on the ground, out of breath, Claire tells him Bree is safe and with Jamie’s aunt at River Run.

Roger tearfully admits that he thought Bree might have ordered Jamie to beat him and sell him. Jamie says that’s not the case; he didn’t know who Roger was.

“Having me beaten nearly to death and sold in slavery seemed a trifle extreme, even for a woman with her temper,” Roger admits. “Why did you beat me then? If you didn’t know who I was?”

Claire explains that it was a misunderstanding. She tells Roger about how Bree was raped. Jamie said he through Roger was the rapist and that’s why he nearly beat him to death. He also tells him that Bonnet was the rapist. Roger explains that Bonnet was the captain of the ship he came over on.

Jamie loses his temper, asking where Roger was when Bree was attacked. “Bree was angry with you so you ran away!” he shouts in Roger’s face. “You left her alone!”

Roger punches him. Jamie says that’s the last unanswered blow.

Roger tells him that Bree wanted him to go, and then Bonnet forced him back onto the ship. Roger says he can take Bree home; he tells them about the second stone circle.

Claire explains to him that she can’t go home now because she’s going to have a baby. At first Roger is delighted, but when Claire points out the baby could be Bonnet’s, his face crumples.

Jamie asks if Roger can go back to her, knowing that it might be Bonnet’s child. Roger says he needs time to process.

“This is all too much,” Roger says.

“You cost me a lad that I love, and my daughter doesn’t need a coward,” Jamie says.

Claire advises him to take the time he needs because she wants him to be sure for Bree’s sake, not for his.

We cut to River Run where Bree is giving birth. Phaedre and Jocasta help her, while Murtagh paces outside the room. Bree wakes up in bed, groaning in pain as she sits up. Phaedre brings her the baby, a boy.

We jump ahead two months. Bree is playing with her baby while Murtagh sits beside her. Phaedre rushes in to say that riders are approaching and one is her mother.

Bree goes outside to meet her parents, cradling her child in her arms. Her face falls when she realizes Roger isn’t with them.

Jamie tells her that Roger is alive.

“We told him everything,” Claire says quietly. Bree begins to cry.

Later Claire holds her grandson while Bree goes to her room. Jocasta explains that the baby has no name, as Bree was waiting for Roger.

Jamie asks Murtagh about Bonnet. He explains that Bonnet died in the jail explosion (bet that’s not true).

Claire checks on Bree who is clearly devastated. Claire says she wants to bring Bree home to Fraser’s Ridge where she will be surrounded by family and they can take care of her.

The next day Claire, Jamie and Bree are packing up to go home. Jamie thanks Jocasta for all she’s done and invites her to Fraser’s Ridge.

Bree is packing her things in front of a window when she sees a lone figure on a horse riding up to the horse. She runs outside and down the road. It’s Roger. They embrace.

Roger tells Bree that he loves her and always will. Then he asks to see his son.

They’re making out in the driveway when a bunch of redcoats ride up. Inside the house Jocasta orders Ulysses to hide Murtagh in the slave quarters.

A solider delivers a letter to Jamie, then leaves. I guess you need like 8 dudes for that. Jamie reads the letter. He’s been ordered by Governor Trion to muster and lead a militia against the regulators. His first order is to hunt down and kill the fugitive Murtagh.

And that’s where the season ends.

…

I’ll be honest, I can’t stand Roger. Yeah he got a raw deal when Jamie almost killed him, but pretty much he’s been a giant tool ever since he asked Bree to marry him the first time and she refused. He pouts a lot. Like A LOT. I’d be cool if he went away and she did marry Lord John.

I hope we still get more of Ian because I adore him. I would watch an entire show of him and Rollo going on adventures.

I’m sure Bonnet didn’t die because we’re not that lucky. Gabaldon likes to keep her gross, rapey villains around for a long time.

As for the cliffhanger that Jamie has to kill Murtagh? Eh. The previous seasons have ended on a much more dramatic note. We all know he’s not going to do it and there will be consequences.

What did you think of this season of Outlander? Did it live up to your expectations?