Claire, the Highlanders, and 19 cattle are finally able to rescue Jamie from Black Jack Randall, but will Claire be able to heal Jamie’s body as well as his soul? Full recap, new stills, and new clips from Outlander finale episode “To Ransom a Man’s Soul,” which first aired Saturday, May 30 at 9:00pm ET|PT on STARZ.
***SPOILER ALERT***
“To Ransom a Man’s Soul” picked up the morning after Claire (Caitriona Balfe) was forced to leave Jamie (Sam Heughan) in Black Jack Randall’s (Tobias Menzies) clutches. Outside Wentworth Prison, the soldiers performed a reveille and raised the Union Jack. Inside, Jamie was alive, but barely so. He lay naked on a wooden bed/pallet, his broken and bloody hand draped toward the floor, eyes dead. BJR, who was on the pallet with Jamie (also naked) got up and crossed the room to get dressed. As he put on his clothes, Jamie finally spoke out, saying that Black Jack owed him a debt (death). BJR grabbed his dagger and approached Jamie, but then heard a commotion outside. When Black Jack went to investigate, Jamie begged him to return and carry out his promise.
BJR approached a door (the one Claire left unlocked) and was almost immediately trampled by cattle who proceeded to run through the Wentworth compound.
[SOURCE: Outlander STARZ]
In the chaos, Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix), Angus (Stephen Walters), and Rupert (Grant O’Rourke) came in (saw Black Jack unconscious under the door) and went to rescue Jamie. They found him in a heap on the cell floor, covered Jamie with a blanket, and carried him out the way they came. Murtagh, Angus, and Rupert had a horse-drawn wagon waiting and sped off from Wentworth.
Claire was waiting further down the road and when the Highlanders stopped for her, she climbed into the bed of the wagon to tend to Jamie. Claire lifted the blanket he was wrapped in and was instantly shocked: “God, what did Randall do to you?” She tried to rouse Jamie and noticed he smelled like oil of lavender, something used to relieve pain. Had someone already tried to tend to him?
They need to leave before the Red Coats picked up their trail, so Angus went back up the road to make sure they weren’t being pursued, while Murtagh, Rupert, and Claire continued on with Jamie. In the midst of confirming the plan, Jamie woke up and when Claire swore to help him, he didn’t see her…he saw Black Jack. Jamie then lashed out and tried to choke Claire. Murtagh and Rupert were able to restrain him, but even when Jamie realized it was Claire, he was still vehement that she not touch him.
They rode on and reached a monastery where Willie (Finn Den Hertog) was waiting with Father Anselm, who had promised shelter. They carried Jamie inside and Claire prepared to repair his hand. Jamie refused food from one of the brothers who tried to feed him. Brother Paul was actually quite concerned; he believed Claire could mend Jamie’s body, but there were other wounds not easily dealt with. Jamie’s soul was in turmoil and he still didn’t want Claire to touch him. She begged him to tell her what Randall did to him. Jamie replied: “Too much. And not enough.”
We flashed to the previous night, just after Claire left. Jamie’s hand was still nailed to the table, but he got confirmation from BJR that Claire was safely away. Black Jack then offered him some drink from his flask and used a dagger to remove the nail from Jamie’s hand. He vomited from the pain and collapsed on the floor. BJR raised him up and tried to offer comfort. While Black Jack used some water to clean him up, he also fawned over Jamie, calling him a magnificent creature. BJR then kissed Jamie, but was disappointed: “it’s like kissing a corpse. I know you can do better.” As far as Jamie was concerned, he only promised not to resist…he had no intention of encouraging BJR’s enjoyment. Black Jack responded by sitting Jamie back on the wooden bench, opening up his plaid, stroking Jamie’s penis and performing fellatio. Jamie was silent for the most part and stoic, even when Black Jack tried to encourage him to enjoy himself and make it a pleasant experience for them both. Jamie wasn’t having it: “Do what you must! Take your pleasure and be done with it!” Then he spat in BJR’s face. Black Jack became angry, forcefully laid Jamie flat on the table, and violently penetrated and raped him. BJR was determined to get a response from Jamie and the entire time demanded that he scream. And Jamie did.
At the monastery, Claire sat with Jamie who wasn’t interested in having his hand fixed: “Randall made me crawl, made me beg. Before he was done he made me want very badly to be dead.” Claire let Jamie know that she refused to let him spend the rest of his life as a cripple, so she would set his hand. He took the laudanum for the surgery and let Claire do as she wished, but none of it mattered to him. Claire reflected that setting Jamie’s hand was a long and nerve-wracking job…putting the broken bones back together, suturing the skin. It was difficult for her to bear his pain, but she was successful. In time, Claire believed Jamie’s fingers would heal and the joints would function normally again.
While Brother Paul stayed with Jamie through the night, Claire left to get some rest. She was distraught and vomitted from the stress. Claire didn’t go to sleep and instead spent the night in the chapel. When Father Anselm came to light the candles, he offered to hear her confession. And Claire told him everything—her second honeymoon with Frank in Inverness eight months ago in 1945, going through the stones, meeting BJR, marrying and falling in love with Jamie, the witch trial, deciding to stay in 1743, everything. She felt so much guilt for causing both her husbands suffering. Father Anselm’s response: “How marvelous, extraordinary. A miracle perhaps.” He also reassured Claire that the Lord would know her truth and forgive her sins.
Elsewhere, Jamie was awake, but still refusing to eat. When Claire tried to encourage him, she realized he had a fever. But Jamie’s hand wasn’t infected, in fact it was looking better. She would work to get his fever down and once the sutures healed, they could begin physical rehab of the hand. Jamie: “You cannot save a man that doesn’t want saving.”
Outside, Murtagh shared with Angus, Rupert, and Willie that he was worried about Jamie refusing food. Willie mentioned that his uncle went through a similar ordeal: he had lost his arm in an accident and eventually starved himself to death. (YIKES) Later, Murtagh went to see Jamie, perhaps to try and get him to eat, and they had a spirited conversation in Gaelic. Though we couldn’t understand, we definitely that Murtagh wasn’t pleased with whatever Jamie said and even brought up Claire.
We flashed again to Wentworth. Jamie was on the ground, naked, shivering, and crawling away from Black Jack. BJR sat on the other side of the room: “Am I close? Have we reached your limit yet?” He got up and walked towards Jamie and when BJR hovered over him, for Jamie the face morphed into Claire’s. He called for Claire and reached out to touch her. Of course it was really Black Jack and he wondered aloud what it was about Claire that possessed Jamie, even now. BJR wanted to know her secret. When Jamie realized that he was hallucinating and Claire wasn’t there, he began to sob: “There’s no more Claire.” Black Jack then asked Jamie “Are you mine?” and Jamie, hallucinating Claire yet again, said yes. “Only you.” BJR then manipulated Jamie into using his signet to brand his side with the “JR”.
Back and the monastery, Claire, Murtagh, Angus, and Rupert waited for Willie to return. Willie confirmed that the Red Coat patrols weren’t coming in their direction, but it was only a matter of time. The group discussed how Scotland wasn’t really safe for Jamie anymore. They would need to leave the country. Both the MacKenzies and Frasers had people in France. In fact, Jamie and Murtagh had a cousin (a merchant) in Paris. Claire believed Jamie would want to be with Frasers, but thanked Rupert and Angus for their offer. Angus reaffirmed that the MacKenzies would always stand with Jamie and Claire. Then Murtagh left to secure them passage on a ship.
Later, Willie went to see Jamie and tell him of the plans to travel to France, so it was time for Jamie to eat and build his strength. Willie admonished Jamie that if he wouldn’t do it for himself, he should do it for Claire’s sake. She loved Jamie and was worried sick. Willie wanted to know what he could do to help. Jamie responded by asking Willie to hand over his blade so he could put himself out of his misery. Willie was distressed, left the room, and went straight to tell Claire. Claire then confronted Murtagh and was upset that he didn’t tell her that Jamie was suicidal. She didn’t understand why he wanted to die so badly. Claire also didn’t believe that being tortured and raped was the whole reason. Murtagh agreed, saying that they probably didn’t know the full truth of what happened to Jamie while he was with BJR. And while Murtagh would never do anything to hurt Jamie, he refused to watch his godson waste away. Claire, perhaps overwhelmed by the sentiment, fainted.
When Claire came to, (unsurprisingly) her first concern was what to do about Jamie. Brother Paul said that Jamie’s physical wounds were healing nicely, but feared he might actually commit suicide. Both the brother and Murtagh believed Jamie needed to be led back into the light, and of course Claire would be the person to do it.
Claire created a concoction of oil of lavender, walked into Jamie’s room and wafted the oil under Jamie’s nose. She wouldn’t be gentle with him anymore. Claire was determined to find out what Jamie was holding back about BJR’s torture…she forced him to look at her, and Jamie, who was having hallucinations of BJR, pushed Claire to the floor. She fought back, kicking and slapping Jamie. As they struggled, Claire tore Jamie’s shirt and saw the “JR” brand on his side. She was devastated and tried to reassure him that she understood. He did what he had to do to survive and there was no shame in it. And then Jamie told the truth…that there came a point in the time that Black Jack made love to him and Jamie had derived pleasure.
We flashed for the final time to Wentworth. While Jamie laid down, in and out of consciousness, BJR rubbed the oil of lavender on Jamie “These are Claire’s hands. Think of Claire.” And when Jamie did, he began to get aroused. Black Jack poured the oil in Jamie’s good hand and encouraged him to masturbate. At the same time, Black Jack rubbed his own erection, climbed on the bed, and penetrated Jamie. The whole time, BJR reiterated that Jamie should think of Claire. Black Jack even took his hair down caressed Jamie with it “Claire’s here.” He asked Jamie to say his name and Jamie said “Claire” really believing he was with her. But when Jamie and BJR climaxed, Jamie realized the manipulation.
BJR: “You understand…how could she ever forgive you?” And Jamie cried.
At the monastery, Jamie continued to tell Claire the story. He said that he couldn’t help himself…it felt so good to not be in pain, even for a little while. And Claire reiterated that there was nothing to forgive. It was ok. But Jamie believed he couldn’t be her husband anymore, he was broken and ashamed. (*SOBBING*) For Claire it didn’t matter. With tears streaming down her face, she emphasized that he belonged to her and she belonged to him. Black Jack might have taken Jamie’s body, but he wouldn’t take Jamie’s soul. “You’re mine. We are meant to be together. It’s the only explanation I have for all this. It’s the only way I can wrap my mind around what’s happened all these past months. It’s all been for you and me.”
But If Jamie was determined to kill himself, she would die too.
This seem to jolt Jamie. He reached out to Claire and when she hugged him, saying she would have him any way she could (always), Jamie finally hugged her back.
Later, Murtagh heated up a knife, cut out the “JR” branded in Jamie’s skin, and tossed it in the fire. Jamie spat out in disgust as the skin sizzled.
The next morning, Jamie, Claire, and Murtagh said their goodbyes to the MacKenzies and boarded the Cristabel for France.
Claire hugged Willie and thanked him again for his loyal friendship. Funnily, Rupert expressed that he would miss Jamie and Claire, but keeping them out of harm’s way was a full time job…one he no longer wanted (LOL!).
Angus requested to kiss Claire goodbye and when he did it was pretty intense and right on the lips. Rupert had to pry him off her! In a more gallant goodbye, Rupert kissed Claire’s hand and wished her well. As they departed, Angus requested that if Claire ran into the rightful King James, she give him his best regards.
[SOURCE: Outlander STARZ]
While the crew prepared set sail, Jamie came to see Claire, who was queasy. He was seemingly in better spirits or trying. Jamie promised that they would be alright and one day return to Scotland. What about the Rising and Culloden? Well, Claire seemed to believe it might be possible to change the future…Prince Charles was in France, after all. And she and Jamie had to try.
Claire also had another bit of news…she was pregnant! Jamie was taken aback (didn’t Claire say she was barren?), but then very, very happy. They hugged one another, smiling, and kissing. Then the Cristabel was off, and Jamie, Claire, and Murtagh were on their way to France.
If you missed tonight’s episode, you can watch “To Ransom a Man’s Soul” on STARZ Play online HERE or via the STARZ Play app.
What did you think of the Outlander finale? *HUGS*HUGS*HUGS* Let me know what how you’re feeling and share your thoughts in comments.
