Come sail over the sea to Skye with us this summer, as we take a trip through the stones to the first season of the television adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander book series. First published in 1991 with Outlander, Gabaldon’s multi-genre novels features the time traveling love story of Claire (Caitriona Balfe), a 1940s woman who finds herself out of time and place in Scotland in the era of the Jacobite rebellion. The U.S. pay TV network Starz debuted the Outlander TV series in 2014, with the show concluding its fifth season last year. In celebration of the ninth novel out this autumn and the sixth season of the TV series debuting in early 2022, we’re spending our 2021 summer vacation at Castle Leoch.
We get to know Claire’s new home of “Castle Leoch” this week, even though it’s someplace she’s been before. Be warned that our recaps may contain spoilers for both the novels and the TV series.
It should also be noted that Outlander is very much an 18+ series, with graphic violence and sexuality throughout. Our recaps will include content warnings as appropriate.
1. You Can Go Home Again (Or For the First Time)
The majority of this episode takes place around the grounds of Castle Leoch, Claire’s temporary home for a few days (or so she thinks) while she awaits transport to Inverness and hopefully back to her time. This is the castle that she and Frank visited in the first episode, though now a castle bustling with life. It’s a fast but well-paced introduction to the clan that will become Claire’s second family: brothers Colum and Dougal MacKenzie, young Jamie Fraser, Mrs. FitzGibbons the housekeeper, and Geillis Duncan, a kindred spirit to Claire with her own interest in herbs. While there is a initial healthy distrust amongst most of the castle about this strange Englishwoman in their presence (particularly from the brothers MacKenzie), the women of the castle offer olive branches of friendship.
Of particular note here is our introduction to Geillis, who lives in the nearby village as a healer. “The villagers think I’m a witch,” she tells Claire upon their first meeting, and one has to wonder if her sudden interest in this new woman could bring secrets about her own past to the surface.
For all the hospitality, it’s key to note that during a gathering to resolve village disputes, the Gaelic we hear is not subtitled. As in the first episode, this allows us to share in Claire’s experiences of being a stranger in a strange yet still somewhat familiar land.
2. History Lesson
A visit to Colum MacKenzie’s library puts our time at 1743, so it’s time for a little history lesson about the situation of Scotland in this year. King George II is on the throne, and Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. We are about two years before the Jacobite rebellion, an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the English throne for his father. This rebellion dies in 1746 with the defeat of the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden. Tensions between English and Scots are on the rise, which manifests in the treatment of Claire by the ruling clan of Castle Leoch. There is still a certain level of respect for the English, though, seen in Colum’s initial disbelief that a gentleman such as Captain Randall would violate a woman. But we cannot deny that this is a cold war looking for one large spark to turn hot.
3. It’s Hard to Be a Woman
Claire’s boldness both works for and against her in this episode, and serves as a stark reminder that she still has a lot to learn about her new world that you can’t get from a history book. She’s able to call out Colum for dismissing her claims of attempted rape against Captain Randall, negotiate transport back to Inverness in a few days, and endear herself to the Laird of Leoch. Dougal, however, is not so trusting. After a witnessing a dinner interrogation by his brother about Claire’s family and an innocent moment of mistaken identity with one of Colum’s children, Dougal has his men spying on Claire’s every move. She is an Englishwoman, after all.
Continued belowFor a woman who has knowledge of both history and interrogation techniques thanks to her husband (during the war, Frank worked for MI6), it’s a little surprising she doesn’t carry herself with much more caution and decorum, a fact she admits after falling for the “oldest trick in the book” – – being plied with food and drink during an interrogation that seeks to poke holes in her story. Kindly Colum certainly has some ulterior motives.
But that suspicious smile we see on Dougal at dinner has a bit of charm in it, suggesting that there’s something in Claire he likes.
4. Cut Yourself a Slice of Cheesecake
“Castle Leoch” does its work in setting up Jamie Fraser as our romantic hero, with plenty of cheesecake shots of his bare chest, his tender nature towards the “Sassenach” in his presence, and his love of the stable animals under his care. It also spends a lot of time setting up his backstory, especially when compared to what we learned about Frank in the previous episode. He’s a man that’s fiercely loyal to his family, taking beatings for the women in his life not once, but twice – – the second time in the presence of Claire and others during a village dispute. When it comes down to the two men in Claire’s life, “Castle Leoch” makes it very clear which of the two men you should want by Claire’s side.
5. Hospitality With a Price
Just as Claire is set to bid farewell to Castle Leoch, Colum plays his hand. He calls Claire back to the castle into a room she explored with Frank in 1945, now made up as a healer’s room. The healer of the castle died some time ago from fever, and Colum, knowing Claire’s interest in the topic, would like her to stay on as the castle’s healer. And that’s not an offer, that’s an order. Colum may be kind, but he has to protect his family and community. Until he knows Claire’s secrets, she needs to stay within arm’s reach.
While Claire accuses Dougal of putting Colum up to this decision, the Laird of Leoch doesn’t show that part of his hand. Like Varys in Game of Thrones, I imagine Colum has many little birds around the castle and village feeding him information about this houseguest. Everyone Claire met, from motherly Mrs. FitzGibbons to our romantic hero Jamie, is now a potential threat. Lesson learned today for Mrs. Beacham: trust no one.
The Lost Papers of Black Jack Randall (Our Afterthoughts Section)
- Fans of Agent Carter may recognize Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek) as Ana Jarvis from the show’s second season.
- Graham McTavish, who plays Dougal MacKenzie, is no stranger to comics fans, appearing in everything from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Ducktales to Preacher.
- The affliction Colum has will eventually be called Toulouse-Lautrec syndrome, named after its most famous patient. Actor Gary Lewis wore special socks that would allow post-production to manipulate his legs to simulate the disease.
- The events of this episode correspond to chapters 4-6 of the Outlander novel.
We’ll see you next week for “The Way Out,” and do let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments.
As of this writing, the first season of Outlander is available for viewing on Netflix, where seasons 2-4 are also available (except in the UK). In the UK, the show is available on Amazon Prime Video UK. All five seasons of the show are also available via Starz (in the United States).
