Outlander Episode 13: The Watch

Previously: they remind us who The Watch is and who Horrocks is.  Jamie and Claire are at Lallybroch.

Title card: a silver pocket watch, lying abandoned in leaves.  I could go on for pages about symbolism and the watchmaker hypothesis and tie it into the episode, I GUESS but this recap is going to be long enough.

Jamie is held at pistol point, muttering that he hopes the bad guy holding him there kept his powder dry.  “Misfire, and I’ll ram that pistol down your gullet.”  Claire comes down, and is held off by one of the other ruffians, and Jenny comes in, assesses the situation, and tells the guy to stand down.  “I found this ruffian in your house!”  “That’s my cousin, you fool!  Jamie!”  Jamie is quick on the ball. “Jamie MacTavish.”

“We had no idea he was coming and then he just walked in one day, with a wife on his arm!”  Claire is equally quick. “They didn’t know we were married!”  “We don’t mind her English-ness now, though, WE LOVE CLAIRE.”  McQuary introduces himself, and non-apologies that he thought Jamie was trying to rob the place.

“No, McQuarry, we leave the robbing to you,” Jenny snarks.  Ian comes in and hands McQuarry a blade that Ian had smoothed out for him.  Jenny hustles into the kitchen to get dinner ready, and Jamie follows her in to have a VERY INTENSE AND NOT SO HUSHED conversation.  Jamie is pissed that anyone is letting these assholes in the house, and how could Ian be so dumb as so sharpen McQuarry’s sword for him!  What the fuck, Ian!

Ian and Jenny point out that the Watch, as long as they are compensated, protect the tenants, keep the redcoats from causing too much trouble.  They just need to be, you know, mollified.  With free sword sharpening and rabbit stew and other stuff.  Jamie is concerned that if they find out about his whole price on his head they’d rat him out faster than a rat terrier.  “Well, that’s why COUSIN you’re going to keep your wits about you and send them to bed with a full belly.” Jenny says.  It’s not a great plan, but it’s the best one they’ve got.  Claire asks how long this has been going on, and it’s been every few months for two years.

Jamie is incensed.  “I never would have agreed to this!”  “WELL YOU WEREN’T HERE JAMIE MACTAVISH SO SHUT THE FUCK UP” Jenny snaps.  She hold his gaze until he looks away. Ian does point out that this does suck and has always sucked and if he has a better plan, do let them know.  Jenny gasps in pain, and passes it off as the baby kicking.  Claire tells Jamie to listen to his sister.

At dinner, McQuarry, after confirming that Jenny hid the good tobacco, asks Jamie where he’s from.  Jamie says he’s from an island, and McQuarry’s like well, your accent is wrong, boyo.  Claire, who is pretty good at getting to reasonable lies, says that Jamie did spend time soldier in France with Ian, so that’s influenced his accent.  McQuarry also soldiered with the French, in Austria, but Jamie and Ian were in Spain.

The boys reminisce some more, finally toasting (In French), “Never be taken alive.”  But Ian has never mentioned a Jamie MacTavish to McQuarry.  McQuarry finds that odd.  It’s awkward for a minutes, and Jenny’s like “look if you fuckers didn’t drink so much maybe you’d remember things.”  Claire asks how long the Watch is staying, and it’s a few days- more men will be arriving tomorrow, and there’s a plan afoot.  Jamie offers to take a look at one of the horses that has gone lame.  The Watch goes to bed, and the family’s like welp. That sucked.

The next day, Jamie snarks at one of the Watchmen who’s found Ian’s good tobacco, while leading a horse.  Rabbie (the abused kid from the last episode, who looks like he’s had a bath or two and several cookies since then) helps Jamie with an abscess in the horse’s hoof.  The pipe smoker dumps his ashes into a haywagon, and blows to get a good blaze going.  Jamie and other Lallybroch men works to get it put out while the Watch stands around and yells “FIRE!” and laughs like assholes.  Once the fire is out, Jamie lunges at the guy who started it, but he’s got a pistol.

Jamie, however, has a blacksmith hammer, and the brawl is on, until McQuarry breaks it up before Jamie can shot somebody in the head.  McQuarry’s like, look, I could use a guy like you, seeing as you have no other occupation.  Jamie says he’s done enough fighting in his life, he’s settled.  The dogs start barking, and Jamie yells at them like he knows these dogs and expects them to listen to him.  The other men have arrived, and one of them is Horrocks, the English deserter who knows who Jamie is.  McQuarry notes that Horrocks and Jamie eye each other for a REALLY LONG TIME, and Horrocks is like, I thought I knew this guy, but nope.

Claire is concerned about Horrocks ratting Jamie out.  McQuarry has big plans to smack the shit out of Chisholm’s or something.  Later, in the yard, Claire and Jenny are doing the washing, and Jenny asks if Claire is up for some mending later on.  Claire says she’s better at sewing up flesh than fabric, but she’ll give it a whirl.  Wee Jamie splashes Claire and Jenny’s about to get mad, but Claire’s like, he’s being age-appropriate, also my clothes dry fast.

Jenny muses that she’d like to go to the privy without a kid, but soon Wee Jamie will have a wee brother- she’s been carrying low and had no morning sickness, so that def means a boy.  “It’s good for a man to have a brother.”  Jamie was 8 when his brother Willie died.  “Jamie said that Ian has been like a brother to him.”

Jenny tells Claire that Ian has been like a brother- Ian’s father told Ian that his job was protect his chief’s weaker side, and when they fought side by side, no one could take them.  Jenny doubles over in pain, and her waters have broken- time for a babby!

Claire brings her inside and checks her over, but the baby is breech.  “Oh, a footling.” Jenny natters on about a tea of raspberry leaves while Claire tries to convince the baby to turn, but it doesn’t work.  Jenny is working very hard at being calm- the baby is determined to land on his feet.  Claire offers to fill Ian in, but Jenny says no, you’ll tell him that the bairn is coming, and nothing else.

Downstairs, Jamie finds Horrocks to discuss the situation.  Horrocks has done a bit of an assessment on the situation, and figures that Lallybroch is Jamie’s.  “Who’s Jenny to you?”  Horrocks wants to bug off to the Colonies, and he needs money.  Jamie’s like that’s great, you’ll have a bunch after the raid, right?  Not as much as Horrocks would like.  Blackmail is an ugly word, but it’s accurate.  “How much?”

Back in Jenny’s room, she’s pacing, anxious.  “Tell me what it’s like, being pregnant.” Jenny describes it as wind, then once the baby moves, being worried when they stop and sleep.  Then as “when your man is deep inside you.”

Claire is trying to distract her, and it works.  (This speech is so beautiful.)  Mrs. Crook comes in to say that the midwife is not available.  Claire and Jenny are on their own.  Claire remains clam, and Jenny demands a shot before they get going. “The baby will likely be born drunk.”  “Then he’ll come into the world a true Scot.”  You can’t argue with this.

In the yard, Ian is telling Jamie to slow his roll and stop provoking the Watch.  “I HATE TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK”  “That’s why you have two of them!”  Jamie snipes that Ian’s bosom buddies with them, and Ian’s like yeah, he reminded me of you, and also the Watch keeps away the red coats, so, in order to do that, we need an army.  Jamie fesses up about Horrocks and his demands for a payoff.  Ian says that there’s money squirreled away in the broch. Half of which is Jamie’s by right, so…  use that.

Jamie, being a reasonable dude who has accepted his partnership marriage, goes to Claire and explains the whole thing.  The money was for them, and for the use of their children, and not to pay off some smelly deserter who wants to peace out to the Colonies.  “I’ve let you down, Claire.”  Claire looks really really sad, and says that it’s her that’s let Jamie down- she thinks she might be infertile.  She and Frank tried, and no dice.  Jamie clearly has a lot of feelings about this, as Claire says that she should have told him, but she never counted on loving him.  She’s really sorry.  Jamie says, “perhaps it’s for the best.  So many things could go wrong.”  “I wouldn’t mind the pain.”  “I would.  I can bear pain myself, but I cannot bear yours.”

Claire goes back to Jenny, telling him that Jenny would be fine.  “I’ll make sure of it.”  Jamie sits down heavily, processing the whole mess.  Outside, he finds Horrocks, and tosses him a pouch of coins.  Horrocks is pleased, but…. You know, this is enough for passage to Colonies, but Boston is an expensive city (it is).  Jamie’s like dude, you get what you get.  “But you’re the laird!  You can sell land or raises the rents or something.” Jamie will not consider it, and Horrocks waxes Irishly about never being drunk, but sometimes his tongue just gets a bit loose and he says things.  You know.  THINGS.  I sigh, Jamie you have to fucking kill him.  Jamie is coming to this conclusion when Horrocks pulls his pistol and a sword comes through his chest, because Ian and I are totally on the same page.

Ian hasn’t killed anyone since he came back from France, and his hand is shaking.  “The man was an absconder, a traitor, and a thief!”  Ian’s shaking so much he can’t get his sword in the scabbard, and he almost forgets to clean it off.  “We used to argue which was the bigger sin, fornication or killing?” Jamie extends his hand to Ian, who says “Well, you’re going to hell, so I might as well go, too.  You’ll never manage alone.”

Later that night, Jenny is still in labor, and yelling with the contractions.  She pulls off her ring and asks Claire to put it in her jewelry box.  Claire finds a small carved wooden snake, with “Sawny” carved on the bottom.  Jenny laughs a bit and says their oldest brother, Willie, carved that for Jamie when Jamie turned 5.  Sawny is a play on one of Jamie’s middle names, Alexander, and Jenny recently found it and planned to give to Jamie.  Jenny is so scared that she’s going to die- her mother died in childbirth.  “Give it to Jamie for me.”  “You’ll give it to him yourself.”  Jenny is doubled over by another contraction and yells.

Downstairs, the Watch yells for Jenny to shut up, and tells Ian that “your wife is howling like she’s giving birth to a harpsichord.”  Ian takes that, as he’s taken all of the other insults.  McQuarry plunks down a bag of coins.  “I think we’ve used a bit more or your hay than usual.”  Then mentions, TOTALLY CASUALLY, that no one has seen Horrocks since before supper. How about that.  Jamie and Ian are studiously casual about it.  He better turn up, says McQuarry, since they’re leaving for the raid in the morning.

In the morning, Jenny is still laboring (My sister did 36 hours with her babby, and that was with modern medical intervention.  Did not stop our mom from fussing.  BUT MY NEPHEW IS SUPER CUTE Y’ALL).  Horrocks is still missing, but his horse is still there.  “I’ve a fair knowledge of mathematics, three men go out, two men come in… plus you two knew each other and hid it from me….”  “I don’t get your meaning.”  McQuarry stops fucking around.  “Why’d you kill him?”

Jamie says that he’s wanted man, and Ian’s like, Jamie you fucking idiot.  But Jamie lays it out- there’s a price, Horrocks knew it, and so Jamie ran him through.  “GOOD.  I never liked the Irish bastard.”  McQuarry then insists that Jamie comes with him, to which Jamie agrees, and then Ian says fuck this, you’re not going alone.

Claire grumbles that Jamie had best watch his back, but that Ian should stay.  Jenny, remembering that Ian protects Jamie always, says they need to go, and bring themselves back, and there will be a newborn son when Ian gets home so GO AWAY.  Claire gives Jamie the snake, and tells him, “You heard your sister.  Hasty back, or else.” Jamie, up for challenges: “Or else what?”  “Or else I’ll come after you and drag you back by your thick red curls, and you won’t like it one bit.”  Jamie grins.  “I’m sure I wouldn’t.”  Claire looks like she’s getting real tired of sending Jamie away.

Out riding with the Watch, in the Scottish rain, Jamie asks why McQuarry does this nonsense.  McQuarry likes being his own boss and fighting on his own side, not for the rich dukes and monarchs that pay an army.  He shows Jamie a watch he picked up during his last raid, with is a skull.  It was made for Mary Stuart.  The boys don’t mind death under an open sky (good lord, the foreshadowing is thick on this).  Jamie admits that if it weren’t for Claire, maybe he’d take McQuarry up on his job offer, but as it is- and then McQuarry says that he’s seen the inside of the Tollbooth, and he’d not let a dog stay there- he’d shoot himself before he would allow himself to be taken.

Back at Lallybroch, Jenny is in final stages, and asks Claire to look after Ian.  “There’ll be no need for that, you can look after him yourself.”  “JUST DO AS I SAY” “You will get through this.”  Jenny tells Claire to go fuck herself.  It’s a scene out of Call the Midwife.

With the boys, they ride into a gully, which McQuarry is like “look, it’s a perfect spot for an ambush!” WHY SO IT IS.  Jamie realizes that there is no way out of this situation.  Sure enough, there are a bunch of red coats there who start shooting.

At Lallybroch, Claire cleans off a very crabby baby and hands her to a living Jenny.  It’s a babby girl!  Her name is not Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, it’s Margaret Ellen.  Outside, life goes on, and Claire holds the baby, staring at the gate.  It’s been 3 days.  Jenny comes out, and Claire points out that Maggie has the Fraser eyes.  “You look good with a youngin’ in your arms.”  Jenny knows a little bit about waiting for Jamie to come home- he always does.  She also has boar tusk bracelets that used to belong to Jenny and Jamie’s mother, and the lady of lallybroch should have them.   She would never say who they were a wedding present from, but would only smile about it.  Claire thanks Jenny with a kiss on the cheek, and Jenny is abashed and pleased.

The dogs begin barking, and it’s Ian, hopping home with one of the men.  Jamie is not with them.  The red coats knew they were coming, everyone else was killed outright, except for Jamie.  McQuarry was wounded and Jamie wouldn’t leave him behind, and the red coats took him.  Claire looks down the road, already beginning to plot.

Elyse:

So Jamie thought Lollybroch would be the safest place for them…squinty eyes at Jamie.

I was actually way more interested in the child birthing stuff than the bits with the Watch or Horrocks.

I’m not sure if Claire is sad she’s never gotten pregnant or anxious about it or just curious. I love when she asks Jenny what it feels like.

“Well, it’s no romp in the heather. Can you no’ see my face?”

So according to Jennie, pregnancy feels like gas then an orgasm? And dudes want back in the womb. Having never been pregnant I’ll take her word for it.

And OF COURSE the midwife was called away while Jenny is having a difficult labor. Claire’s like “Well I have to get all up in there, high five the kid and turn him around” and Jenny is like “Not while I’m sober” and I’m like WORD.

Now we get to the part where Claire is disappointed she’s never had a baby and feels like a failure. And she confesses to loving Jamie Ohmygosh. I love how you could see Jamie’s feels happening. He wants babies but he loves Claire. I loved this scene.

The scene where Jenny and Claire talk about childbirth and Willy and her mother was also excellent. I think childbirth is scary now, and we have modern medicine and C-sections. The idea that Jenny is acknowledging the fact that she very well might not live through it is jarring.

And of course the Watch dudes are assholes about it. YOU TRY PUSHING A HUMAN BEING OUT OF YOUR VAGINA YOU ASSWIPE. More Watch stuff I didn’t care about.

Also (and I’m ashamed to admit this) I never considered that women could give birth on their hands and knees. I kinda thought it was a lying down or squatting kind of thing. Clearly I need to talk to my mommy friends more.

And look! A babby! A lass! Name her Claire! Name her Claire! Or Margaret. That’s cool too.

Honestly I was pretty meh on this episode, but the childbirth stuff was interesting. The rest of it, not so much.

RHG:

Well, that all happened.  It took me three days to do the recap, because I was just so not here for anything that wasn’t Jenny and Claire?  Or Ian in his continued role as the Fraser Whisperer?

Okay, okay, like, yes, having Claire be able to deliver a breech babby without too much trouble is unrealistic (I mean, I’m pretty sure that I can, because I’ve watched every episode of Call the Midwife and ten years worth of Grey’s Anatomy and a LOT of ER, so I’m basically a doctor).  But throwing in more characters is kind of messy, and having Claire and Jenny together is gold, so we’ll go with it.