Season One Episode 6: The Garrison Commander

Jumping back into the world of Outlander with episode six and joining the cliffhanger we were left with last week. 

Claire is now among at least her own people, the band of Redcoats who wish to question  her and make sure she is not being held against her will. Of course she kind of is but she is probably better off with the Scots. I love these large shots of the country!

And here we meet General Sir Oliver Lord Thomas, blah, blah, blah Redcoat. Seems a nice enough fellow, a bit of a prideful sort though. Certainly pretty rude to Dougal. We begin to understand the other side of the coin as it is from the British perspective. There is clearly a firm hatred on both ends as the Scots want to be on their own land and not be bothered. 

This is a very fancy table arrangement. Seems Lord Thomas finds his servants rather slow and comments that he wishes they were as quick as his soldiers. Just when we think we are in the clear, in steps Captain Randall! Oh dear. 

At least we can tell from the evident negative responses, Randall is disliked by pretty much everyone else so we are not alone. Of course now Randall starts asking all sorts of questions causing Claire to get herself into a bit deeper trouble than she intended. Now she looks like she is a traitor to the English. Seems she can't get anyone in this country to believe which side she is on. I am pretty sure she is changing sides at any rate. Or maybe just understanding them both better now. 

"It is their land and we are occupying it!" Good Claire and into deeper trouble we go... Still I love how she stands up for herself and the Scots. Claire knows her loyalty is with the English but her heart is turning very much for the Scots. She heads down stairs for a rather bloody medical procedure. When she returns everyone is gone except Randall and this creepy dude. 

Seriously though, look at his eyes, I mean Randall is bad enough. This scene with the razor reminds her of Frank.

Frank says this razor has been in his family for a long time, it appears two hundred years at least. At any rate its a rather tense moment for Claire. Captain Randall is a man who keeps his nerves and remains in control. Seems to me he likes control a bit too much. 

Lord Thomas was not kidding about the servants! Is anyone going to come bus this table? Seriously...

Claire is probably thinking.... no.... don't pour out the wine! Oh the agony. 

I recall Frank telling Claire about how he used to sketch her hands and would leave little drawings all over while they were apart during the war. It seems to be a family trait passed down. Nice skill though I don't think that captures her likeness in the slightest. 

Claire is interrogated yet again by Randall who is quite calm and we can tell he does not trust her at all. She shouldn't trust him either. And she makes the mistake of mentioning a young lad (Jamie) who Randall punished with 200 lashes. She does not mention him by name but Dougal was there so Randal assumes he was the one who told the story. 

Now we see a flashback to the second set of lashes our poor Jamie receives. 

Hard to believe this was really used as a form of punishment. Though if we are to believe history, there have been much worse. The Romans for one hung people on crosses as public display of disobedience and rebellion against the Empire. Hanging of course is quicker. But here 200 lashes for theft and murder... yick. 

I love Jamie's line here, "I'm afraid I'll freeze stiff before you're done talking." Such a barbaric act and you can see zero remorse on Randal or concern. Its rather disgusting and you can see how much pleasure inflicting pain was giving him. Just makes us hate him even more.

Just when we think Claire is reaching his soul... we are sadly mistaken. And she gets punched by Randall. How did I not see that one coming?! 

Dougal comes to her rescue and gets her out of there. Randal tells Dougal to bring Claire to Fort William by sundown the next day for questioning. Yeah, that happening as as likely as the rain avoiding Scotland. 

Dougal brings Claire to St. Ninian's Spring, or as it is called the liars spring. Apparently if you tell a lie the water in the spring will kill you. So I guess we are glad Claire told the truth, she is not a spy for the English or the French. 

I wonder if she should have told him about being from the future at this point? Would he have believed her? 

One thing for sure is the Scots are very superstitious people. Which is good because we need to find someone to believe Claire. I love this still by the way, just the look on their faces alone says it all. Claire is told she needs to marry Jamie to keep her safe from Randall... well I am as glad as she is that she doesn't have to marry Dougal. I am sure Dougal disagrees. 

Claire looks over the marriage contract a bit in shock, what about Frank? I mean he is two hundred years away in the future but still....

Jamie reassures her and reminds her he is being a good friend to her by keeping her out of the hands of Randall. Funny how they are both now wanted by Randall. True Jamie has a price on his head, not much pay to live on, and as a wanted man. But hey he is a virgin so he has that at least going for him. 

But as Jamie says its no bother that Claire is not a virgin because at least one of them should know what they are doing. Ha! Yeah seriously. Virginity was a very important thing back than and I believe should still be. Virtues like nobility, honor, trust, and chastity are all but lost and look how messed up the world is. Jamie in his world honestly has the right idea. 

The end here is perfect right own to Claire marching through and grabbing the drink on her way. And look at that face! Goodness me. Looking forward to the Wedding!

For now
Oíche mhaith