Catch up on Outlander: “The Gathering” — Aug. 30, 2014
Nurse Claire Randall has had just about enough of being imprisoned at Castle Leoch, thank you very much. Now that she’s familiar with a local legend about time travel, Claire is certain that she can find her way to Craigh na Dun and the mystical stone which will deliver her from 1743 to 1945 where she can reunite with her husband, Frank, and her beloved disinfectant which she never shuts up about. She doesn’t realize that the 18th century is still a hardcore Claire and Jamie shipper and has no interest in dousing all that hot unresolved sexual tension. The only reason Jamie doesn’t spend the whole episode exposing his chest and shooting her yearning gazes every chance he gets is because he’s kinda in danger of getting his throat slit by his uncle Dougal MacKenzie. Sometimes life just be like that.
Let’s go!
Clever Claire has been plotting to flee, she’s figured out her escape route and the timing is perfect since the castle is overrun with MacKenzie fighting men swearing their loyalty to laird Colum Mackenzie. On the day of the ceremony, Geillis Duncan, Claire’s herb dealer drops, by the nurse’s nicely appointed dungeon. As is her manner, Geillis slyly subtexts her way through a conversation. Geillis notices Claire’s food hoarding and subtexts that it’s almost as if Claire was planning a trip. The badass botanist points out some valerian root and subtexts that in the right doses it’s a good way to roofie the hell out of your captors and sneak off in the middle of the night. I officially have a lady crush on Geillis. Just to make sure we remember that she probably knows more than she’s letting on about Claire’s predicament, Geillis subtexts some more about unexpected paths before leaving to go subtext somewhere else.
Jamie vows … to be dreamy
The oath-taking begins and one man after the next pledges loyalty, Claire offers her bodyguards some valerian-infused port and slips off. Before she can get too far that annoying Laoghaire MacKenzie comes around looking for a love potion to use on Jamie. Claire gets rid of her with some dried horse dung to sprinkle outside Jamie’s door and a Wizard of Oz incantation. As she’s trying to get out of the castle, Claire is set upon by a group of drunken men. After a one-episode respite, we’re back to the rape attempts. Dougal gets rid of them and then paws at Claire. Oh, Outlander. She bashes him over the head and takes off. Claire finally makes it to the stables so she can ride off, but Jamie’s there, just chilling with a long blade (not that kind, pervs) to hold at the throat of any visitors. He talks her out of her plan by pointing out that the castle has heightened security and she’ll be in even more trouble if she gets caught. Jamie escorts her safely back to the castle and is immediately busted for trying to waffle his way out of the ceremony. Thanks, Claire.
Claire talks to Murtagh, the rebel who saved her from being raped by Black Jack Randall. He explains that if Jamie pledges his loyalty to his uncle as a MacKenzie, it puts him in line to be the next laird when Colum dies. Dougal, Colum’s brother, wants to be the next laird but for some reason that I don’t care about there is not a direct line of succession so the men could pick Jamie and blah, blah, blah. If Jamie doesn’t take the oath, he’ll also get killed because … reasons. Poor Jamie can’t win, or can he? He deftly manages to pledge loyalty and avoid getting killed by saying that he’s taking the oath under his own name and not as a MacKenzie or something. The point is that dreamy Jamie is alive and can go back to making sexy faces at Claire.
The next day there’s a boar hunt and one of the men gets fatally gored. Claire comforts him as he’s dying which means that Dougal likes her enough not to kill or assault her today. He’s a moody one. Dougal visits Claire with good news, she can leave the dungeon … to accompany him on a trip.
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