Catch up on Outlander: “Castle Leoch” — Aug. 16, 2014

ByElaine G. Flores, Chief Editor

Claire dines with Colum and DougalThe accidental time traveler, Claire Randall, started her day in 1945 and wound up in the 18th century without her husband, Frank. That’s what happens when you stupidly snoop on Pagan rituals. She immediately ran into redcoat Black Jack Randall, Frank’s lookalike ancestor and also a rapist. You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family. Fortunately, Claire was rescued by a Scottish rebel. The year 1743 doesn’t have much going for it except for dreamy Jamie Fraser. After her rescue, Claire met the brave and considerate Jamie, he’s one of the rebels standing up to the British. 

The rebels bring Claire to Castle Leoch. She conveniently knows where she is because this show seems fond of the Checkov’s gun principle. Expect frequent visits from the foreshadowing fairy. Claire and Frank, an aspiring historian, conveniently explored the castle’s ruins two days ago. I didn’t read the books and I don’t know how many of the characters deserve a significant amount of attention, I’ll ignore them until they really drive the plot.

  • Dougal MackKenzie is clearly a VIP; he’s the rebel leader, a total alpha male and you wouldn’t want to get on his bad side since he threatened to slit Claire’s throat if she did anything annoying. Dougal’s brother Colum is the laird of the castle. Dougal comes across like the one most capable of plotting an effective Shakespearian coup. I love him!
  • Jamie Fraser is drop-dead gorgeous, mysterious, caring, a good listener and the only character who makes time travel to a backward era appealing.

Let’s go!

Claire is a nurse and has had to repeatedly take care of Jamie’s injuries even though they’ve known each other for about a day. Jamie was shot in the shoulder, but he’s too manly to worry about severe injuries so he brushes it off. Claire wants to avoid infection, but the year 1743 tells Claire to stop repeatedly trying to make fetch happen with things like disinfectant because Joseph Lister won’t be born until the next century. She does know about herbal remedies and just has to settle for that. The unparalleled excitement of a shirtless  Jamie results in major mood whiplash. A patchwork of scars cover Jamie’s back thanks to sadistic Black Jack, who whipped Jamie on two occasions, once because Jamie fled Fort William, where he was held on the fishy charge of “obstruction.” Jaime was flogged a second time for trying to stop Black Jack from assaulting his sister, Jenny. It’s only been two episodes and sexual violence seems to be a theme. Let’s hope this doesn’t turn into a Game of Thrones situation. Jamie assures Claire she’ll be safe as long as she’s with him. When she’s not with him Claire has to watch her back because being English is frowned upon and might result in a slit throat.

Claire is taken to meet Colum MacKenzie, laird of the castle and Jamie’s maternal uncle. Gotta be honest, he’s no Dougal. Claire has the good sense to keep mum about her ride on the Tardis, so she makes up a cover story about being a widow, who was traveling to France. She does tell the truth about nearly being raped by Black Jack Randall, but wisely uses the surname Beauchamp since a tie to Black Jack is the kind of thing that gets your throat slit. At dinner, Colum plies Claire with booze to loosen her tongue and asks lots of questions, such as why she pronounces her name “Beech-ham” instead of “Bo-cham” and what part of France she hails from. Tipsy Claire makes one faux pas after another. She thinks that faux pas is pronounced “Fax pass.” In any case a tinker, will arrive at the castle in five days and take Claire wherever she needs to go. She’ll say, “You can just drop me off in the future if it’s not out of the way.”

Shirtless Jamie Castle Leoch Outlander
Tale a moment to swoon.

The next day Claire goes to Jamie to see him shirtless again check on his shoulder and bring him lunch. He tells her he’s hiding out because there’s a bounty on his head and he must use the alias, Mactavish instead of Fraser. These two have so much in common, they should definitely get together! Claire notices that she’s being followed around and confronts Dougal. He is certain that she’s a liar and probably an English spy. Since she expects to leave in four days, Claire treats her stay like a weekend trip to the Poconos. She looks for medicinal herbs and encounters fellow botanist Geillis Duncan. Geillis is the go-to girl when you want herbs to terminate a pregnancy. The word on the street is that she’s a witch, but Gellis is cagey about whether that’s true.

That night Claire watches Colum hobble into a barbaric town hall event. She’s diagnosed him with Toulouse-Lautrec Syndrome, but can’t mention the 19th century artist. (She also needs to cool it with too many references to France since she’s not fooling anyone.) The point of the evening is to have a horrible way of settling disputes, nobody uses ‘I’ statements or a talking stick. Some abusive father accuses his daughter of having sex and wants Colum’s approval publicly punish her. Jaime steps up to take the girl’s punishment. There needs to be some Jamie and Katniss Everdeen alternate-universe fan fiction, please make it happen, people. Jaimie gets to choose how he will suffer, it’s like one of those ghasty luncheons where the only options are tough prime rib or rubbery chicken. Jaime selects to be punched until blood spills. At this point, he seems to be looking for ways to get Claire to touch him again. It works and we get some nice eye candy.

As Claire tends to Jamie, she asks why he volunteered. Do you think she wants to know if he’s involved with the girl, or is it just small talk? Jamie points out the obvious, he wanted to spare a girl the pain and humiliation of a public beating. They bid each other farewell since Claire expects the tinker to show up the next day and GPS his way to the 1940s. Claire is all packed and ready to go when Colum summons her at the last minute. Since Chekhov’s predictable gun is still in play, the laird takes her to a remote room that she and Frank saw when they were wandering around the castle ruins a day or so ago. They remarked that it was a terrible place to live  — but okay to have sex in because that’s how the Randalls roll. The castle needs a healer; Colum forces Claire to fill the vacancy. He does offer a 401k plan and telecommuting, so there’s that. Dougal shoots her a death glare as he locks her in and 1743 tells Claire to have a seat.

Please note that comments don’t appear immediately. If you’ve read the books, please don’t share any spoilers for those of us who have only watched the TV show. Thanks!!!

Elaine is the chief editor of TV Recappers' Delight. She's an experienced entertainment reporter, reviewer, editor, blogger, columnist and Bon Vivant.

More from TVRD

  • Outlander: “The Devil’s Mark” — April 18, 2015

    ByElaine G. Flores, Chief Editor

    Curiosity about paganism caused 20th-century nurse Claire Randall to tumble through a portal, which landed her in 18th-century Scotland without her husband Frank.The year 1743 doesn’t have much going for it, but there is the dreamy Jamie Fraser. His likes include rebelling against the British, handsoming all over the place, saving Claire from dire predicaments and making ovaries explode. Claire’s hobbies include mind-blowing sex with Jamie and not understanding how 200 years ago works. She has one friend, suspected witch, Geillis Duncan, and one enemy, the charmless Laoghaire MacKenzie who understandably wants Jamie for herself. When Jamie left on a mission, Laoghaire set Claire up to get charged with witchcraft.

  • Outlander: “To Ransom a Man’s Soul” — May 30, 2015

    ByElaine G. Flores, Chief Editor

    Nurse Randall returned to poke around. Inability to mind her own business led to unintentional time travel to 1743 Scotland. The welcome wagon consisted of Frank’s ancestor, Captain “Black Jack” Randall. He welcomed her to the century with a rape attempt. That’s how he behaves on a good day. BJR is a torture enthusiast. Claire was rescued by the MacKenzie clan and met Jamie, who is brave, noble and handsomes all over the place. He agreed to a hastily arranged marriage to keep her from Black Jack’s clutches. Because Jamie is perfect, when he found out about his bride’s bizarre story, he returned her to Cragh na Dun so she could be with her 1945 husband. Frank who?

  • Catch up on Outlander: “Both Sides Now”— Sept. 27, 2014

    ByElaine G. Flores, Chief Editor

    That whole accidental time travel thing has been rough on Claire Randall. She left her husband, Frank, back in 1945 and ended up in 1743. One thing led to another and now she’s married to dreamboat Jamie Fraser. I mean, it’s not like she has a Tardis. Have you seen Jamie and his crazy hair? Welp, that’s that. I guess she’s over that plan to escape the 18th century. Just clear sailing from here on out.

  • Outlander: “The Watch” — May 2, 2015

    ByElaine G. Flores, Chief Editor

    Jamie Fraser is nearly perfect. When his new wife Claire mentioned that unexpected time travel transported her from 1945 to 1743 and that she had left behind her 20th-century husband, Frank Randall, Jamie took the news quite well and even gave her a chance to return to 1945, a less violent and dangerous era which would fulfill the nurse’s yearning for disinfectant and other medical advancements. Have you seen Jamie? Claire declined a ride on the mystical portal and accompanied Jamie to his home Lallybroch, where he presides as laird. Jamie, who was wrongfully charged with murder, has been hiding out from the redcoats. Going back to his home seems like a risky strategy, but it does keep Claire safer than she’s been anywhere else and Jamie will do anything to keep his bride safe. Jamie’s sister Jenny Murray, takes a dim view of her in-law; being British in 18th-century Scotland is sometimes frowned upon.

  • Outlander: “The Search” — May 9, 2015

    ByElaine G. Flores, Chief Editor

    Claire took a wrong turn in 1945 and wound up in 1743 — we’ve all been there, right? Fun fact: 18th-century Scotland gives severe side-eye to an English outsider or “Sassenach.” It’s also an era where weapons training is a necessity for women. On the other hand, there’s Claire’s new husband Jamie Fraser who is made of dreamy. He was also a fugitive from the redcoats due to some trumped-up charges and has been recaptured. You know who doesn’t sit around like a damsel-in-distress? Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser, that’s who! The sassy Sassenach set out on a dangerous quest to rescue her man. Jamie’s got a no-nonsense sister, Jenny Murray, a badass godfather Murtagh Fraser. He also has his Uncle Dougal MacKenzie, kind of; Dougal’s a solid warrior, but he can be shifty.

  • Catch up on Outlander: “The Way Out” — Aug. 23, 2014

    ByElaine G. Flores, Chief Editor

    Outlander wants you to know that Claire’s ahead of her time, so we get a shot of her husband waving goodbye as she goes to serve at the front as a nurse. It’s yet another one of those classic locomotive scenes, but with a gender twist. Frank avoids running alongside waving a hanky. Poor Frank, are there any Frank and Claire shippers? Do they have an amalgamated name yet? Until someone fills me in, I’m going with “Crank.”