Welcome back to Lallybroch, Sassenachs! It’s time for another Scottish summer with a look at Outlander‘s second season. But this year, we won’t be in the Highlands: we’re crossing the Channel to the Continent, where Claire and Jamie will find a new temporary home in the City of Light.
We had an unexpected week off due to vacation travel stress, but we’re back now! (Let me assure all of you, the stories you’ve seen in the media about airport headaches this summer are true, so if you are traveling via air this summer, definitely pack your patience!) And what a cliffhanger I left all of you hanging on – – Jamie arrested for dueling, Claire’s life (and that of her unborn child) in danger, and Randall injured and perhaps dead.
Let’s pick up the pieces and hope that everyone has a little “Faith” to get them through these trials.
It should also be noted that Outlander is very much an 18+ series, with graphic violence and sexuality throughout. As well, there may be spoilers within for both the tv show and the novel series.
And while it spoils major plot elements of this episode, I must add a trigger warning to this episode for scenes dealing with pregnancy loss and sexual assault against a child.
1. Boston. 1954. 1954? BOSTON?!
I forgot that this episode opened not directly after the events of “Best Laid Schemes” and in spite of all the advance knowledge I have on this show, seeing Claire in America with a young redheaded girl who calls her Mom threw me for a moment. When we saw Claire last she was in France, pregnant, and in the throes of pain – – presumably an early and dangerous labor putting mother and child in mortal peril. But what this moment does is set up the back half of this season, as well as the following one, by introducing us to Claire’s daughter. That’s all you need to know right now.
Mother and daughter’s conversations about birds do bring us back to 18th century France, and the horrors within it for all Frasers.
2. Faith and Loss
Let’s not mince words here. As I mentioned in my trigger warning for this episode, Claire suffers a miscarriage and loses her unborn child. Mother Hildegarde and the nurses did all they could to save the baby (a girl), but she was stillborn, and Claire is heartbroken. Perhaps more spine-chilling than the medical scenes is Claire’s panic, fear, and anger when she realizes her baby is no longer with her, either in her womb or of the world of the living.
And here is where the title of this episode arises, having a double meaning. Faith is the name that Mother Hildegarde gave the stillborn child, so that she could be baptized and buried in hallowed ground (meaning, a graveyard in a church). Faith is also what gets Claire through this ordeal. Although she is a woman of science, and one who often scoffed at how much religion played a role in the daily lives of Lallybroch, it is people of faith who save her life two times over: first the sisters of L’Hopital des Anges, and then Monsieur Raymond in secret, massaging her pain and fever away and bidding her farewell with the message to “have faith.”
And here is where we also find out the genesis for Monsieur Raymond’s nickname of Madonna for Claire. It relates to her aura that Raymond senses, an aura colored blue, like the Virgin Mary’s cloak. Blue, the color of healing. La Dame Blanche in truth is perhaps La Dame Bleue.
It’s hinted throughout this series that Claire is atheist or agnostic, a woman who is unsure of existence of god. At every turn, something or someone challenges that, and here it is a child of the literal name Faith that provides the challenge.
3. A Serious Offense
Meanwhile, Jamie’s being held in the Bastille, “at the King’s pleasure” for dueling. Cause that’s against the law, you know. And that’s the good news: had Jamie killed Randall, the penalty would have been much worse for Jamie than a stay in prison. It’s also good news for Claire. Randall who seems to have more lives than a cat will live, thus ensuring Frank will live.
Continued belowIt’s all cold comfort for Claire, though. The situation worked itself out, but the fact remains that Jamie betrayed his wife’s confidence. And showing mercy to her husband is not something Claire’s willing to do at the moment. Her body and her soul are in tatters, and only one is healing at any kind of proper pace. Again, her faith continues to be tested.
Eventually Fergus, proving himself more of a man than Jamie was, brings Claire home and takes care of her. But he can only do so much hair brushing and floral offerings. He cannot heal her soul . . . or perhaps he can, through his own pain. Fergus’s nightmares reveal that when Fergus and Jamie went to the brothel, he found himself in an empty room and a bottle of perfume he wanted to bring to Claire as a gift. That room and that perfume belonged to Randall, and being the sadist that Randall is . . .
. . . it disgusts me to write it out because of the innocence of a child in that situation, but you can safely conclude what happened. Young Romann Berrux brings a masterclass in these moments, reminding us all that while Fergus has seen much beyond his years, he is in fact, still a child and still an innocent. This is what led to Jamie and Randall’s duel, and convinces Claire to grant Jamie mercy for breaking his promise to her. The soul of La Dame Blanche/Bleue starts its healing.
4. The King’s Pleasure
If Jamie is held in the Bastille “at the King’s pleasure” then Claire will appeal to the King’s pleasure to have him released, using Mother Hildegarde’s connections to gain an audience with the King. What price this may come with is one Claire is willing to pay, even if that means betraying her morals. She’s lost a fair bit in her time in France, why not add the loss of her dignity to the pile?
Fortunately, the King is inclined to mercy – – he was called Louis the Well-Beloved, after all. Mercy does come with a price, though. But not of the carnal kind. Louis the Well-Beloved wants Claire’s talents as the rumored La Dame Blanche to settle some legal matters against two very familiar faces: Comte St Germain and Monsieur Raymond. Both are charged with sorcery and arcane arts. Claire is to be judge and jury. (But not executioner. The King’s got someone for that, and he’s present and at the ready.)
I love how Claire remains the upper hand in these scenes. Her skill at playing the La Dame Blanche the king wants to see. Her clever albeit unsuccessful line of questioning to the Comte to get the truth about Mary Hawkins’s rape out of him. Her twist of logic to punt the decision back to the king, and then back to herself to keep things in her control while simultaneously giving the King the law and order he desires.
The executioner is ready to dispense death. But will there be death today?
Oh yes, there will be. And it is the death of the Comte, thanks to a potion, some sleight of hand from Monsieur Raymond and Claire’s necklace. See you in hell, Monsieur St Germain.
And if you thought Claire was going to get out of the carnal favors . . . well, let’s just say the phrase “close your eyes and think of England” is quite apropos here.
5. Homecoming
Pardons all around, Jamie’s a free man! Bearded and bedraggled, he returns to his wife, walking through their empty staircase much as Claire walked through the empty library at Versailles after her audience with the King. Their slow and deliberate journeys and looks at France’s opulence suggest what we all know: the City of Light holds no more promise for them.
Before that, there is more of Claire’s time after the stillbirth of Faith at L’Hopital des Anges, including Claire’s reluctance to let her dead daughter go. It’s a reminder of how deep the trauma of pregnancy loss can cut – – and how misunderstood it is still today, so you can imagine it being even more so in the 18th century. (Though credit to Louise, in her own delicate state, for her kindness and gentleness towards her friend.) There’s also closure for Claire’s anger towards Jamie: that realization of who her true family is, and it’s not the man in the 20th century. It’s the one who tells her “we lost a child, but by the grace of God we may carry another.”
Continued belowAnd Claire wants that opportunity in Scotland, so it’s time to return to Lallybroch. But not without leaving one of the apostle spoons at Faith’s grave, to leave a little bit of Scot with her.
So who is the girl we saw with Claire at the very start, if not Faith Fraser? By the grace of God, that will be information you find out soon.
It felt fitting to close this with some Scripture after all the discussion of faith, so with that: adieu France. Que le Seigneur vous bénisse et vous garde ; que le Seigneur fasse briller sur toi son visage et te fasse grâce ; le Seigneur tourne sa face vers toi et te donne la paix. (French speakers, apologies if I butcher the language. I had a little help from Google Translate.)
See you next week in Scotland, friends.
The Lost Papers of Black Jack Randall (Our Afterthoughts Section)
- The events of this episode take place in chapters 24 through 28 of the Dragonfly in Amber novel.
- The scene where Claire has to judge the Comte and Monsieur Raymond is the source for one of my favorite Outlander gifs.
- Claire is dressed very simply throughout this episode, symbolizing her rejection of the French finery that has been her life and (particularly in the choice of green), her eventual return to Scotland.
We’ll see you next week for “The Fox’s Lair” and let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments.
As of this writing, the first five seasons of Outlander is available for viewing on Netflix in the US and Amazon Prime Video in the UK. All six seasons of the show are also available with a subscription to the Starz network in the United States. The seventh season of Outlander is currently in production.
