When Bree learns the extent of Jamie’s and Ian’s actions as a result of Lizzie’s mistake, time is of the essence to save Roger. Our review of this week’s Outlander, “The Deep Heart’s Core.”
After last week’s episode (“The Birds and the Bees”), several secrets have taken residence up on Fraser’s Ridge. And in “The Deep Heart’s Core”, they all came tumbling out.
The episode begins with Bree (in the aftermath of confessing that Stephen Bonnet is her rapist) and Jamie (in the aftermath of beating Roger to a pulp and sending him off with Ian). Claire has already told Jamie that Bree was raped and is pregnant. Jamie approaches Bree as she’s tending to the livestock. She takes notice of his bandaged hand, and Jamie attributes the injury to a “wee” accident near the still. He then tells Bree that Claire has told him about the rape. Bree denies knowing who her assailant was. Jamie then invites Bree to join him as he checks on the snares to see if anything has been caught.
As they walk, Bree asks her Da if he hates her. An unmarried, pregnant daughter can’t have been what he hoped for. But Jamie tells her immediately that he can’t think less of her for something she had no control over. Besides, Jamie is confident that they can find Bree a husband. She responds that she has no interest in being married… Bree already has a love, back in her time. Even so, Bree doesn’t think “the historian” will want her now that she’s pregnant with another man’s baby. But Jamie assures her that, if he’s a decent man, one who deserves her, he’ll still want Bree: “And I will travel through time, myself, to tell him.” 🙂
It’s clear that Bree feels some responsibility. Just as she tells her mother, she tells Jamie that she shouldn’t have followed the man to a dark room by herself, should have fought him off harder. Bree dismisses Jamie’s attempts to ease her guilt, that she couldn’t have stopped her rapist. Then Jamie tries some reverse psychology. He seems to agree with Bree’s assessment… maybe she even wanted the man’s sexual advances and made up a story about rape. Bree gets angry and attempts to strike Jamie. She fights him, even has he grabs her and holds her by the neck… demonstrating his point. Bree could NOT fight back, then and now. If she tried, her rapist would have killed her.
Bree then asks Jamie about his own rape, whether he fought back against Black Jack Randall (OMG). Jamie tells her that he promised not to fight back at Wentworth Prison, for the sake of Claire’s life.:“I would do the same again.” (*WEEPING*)
Bree asks whether Jamie eventually killed BJR. She wonders if killing the man who raped her would help. When Jamie questions Bree about her motive, she pivots again to Jamie and when he tried to kill BJR in the duel in Paris. What did he try to get back? Jamie replies that he fought for his honor. Bree thinks fighting for her honor might be worth it, but Jamie cautions her that it would be foolish to seek out her rapist. Interestingly, Jamie confirms to Bree that he did kill Black Jack at Culloden. (A huge departure from the books… as of A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Jamie has no memory of the events that took place between him and BJR on Culloden Moor and has never confirmed that he did kill the man.)
Bree: “I keep thinking, if he was dead, maybe I could forget.”
Jamie: “Ye wilna forget but time will let you heal.”
This is something he knows firsthand.
Later, Claire talks to Bree about her options. She would be able to give Bree a surgical abortion (any herbs that would claim to do the same are unreliable and risky). However, Bree would have only whiskey to help with the pain. Bree asks Claire if she ever considered an abortion, but Claire denies it right away. Her situation was different. Both she and Jamie were in love and wanted their child (Bree). Bree asks her mother about the potential for Roger to be the baby’s father, after all, withdrawing during sex isn’t foolproof. Claire agrees that it’s possible. If Bree wanted to keep the baby and go back to Roger in the 1970s, it would be best to do it soon. A pregnant woman can go through the Stones OK (Claire has done it), but a woman with a baby in her arms… who knows what could happen, even possible separation. Bree’s choices aren’t optimal, but she has to make her decision soon.
Life continues on Fraser’s Ridge, their daily chores and nightly dinners with stories and laughter around the table. Murtagh is there, too. Ian is clearly smitten with Bree, and while she’s fond of him, the feelings aren’t romantic. In a separate conversation between Jamie and Bree, she tells him that she’s glad her mother came to find Jamie. And the truth is, Bree came back in time to find Jamie, too. Claire and Bree play a game about what they miss from the future: burgers, PB&J, aspirin, Led Zeppelin and music, toilets. Regardless, mother and daughter are glad to be together.
Bree’s nightmares also continue. This time we see the source of her anguish. Bree dreams that Roger returns for her. When she confesses to being pregnant and not knowing if it’s Roger’s, he morphs in Bonnet. Bonnet says that he hopes the baby has his eyes and then attempts to rape Bree again. She fights him and cries for help… Lizzie is there to wake her up and offer a glass of water and consolation. Lizzie assures Bree that the man who assaulted her cannot hurt her again. How is Lizzie so sure? And so Lizzie makes her confession… that the man came looking for her at Fraser’s Ridge, that Jamie beat him, and Ian carted him off. But, wait. How does Lizzie know what her rapist looks like? Lizzie tells Bree that she saw them together in Wilmington, outside the tavern. It all clicks for Bree then. UHOH.
That morning, Bree storms into the cabin and demands to know what Jamie has done with Roger. Claire is confused by the question, hasn’t Roger gone back? Bree has thought the same, but Lizzie’s confession has made her realize the truth. Claire asks Jamie about his hand… this was not an accident with a tree. When Murtagh and Ian try to leave the room, Bree tells Ian to stay. He’s part of this. Jamie confesses to giving a man a beating, but says he had no idea it was Bree’s historian. Besides, Lizzie confirmed it was Bree’s assailant. Bree interrupts to say that Lizzie was wrong. The man she saw Bree with in Wilmington is Roger, and they slept together after being handfast. Jamie interrupts Bree’s explanation and accuses Bree of making up the story of her rape when it seems that she bedded a man from lust: “To think I was defending your honor, and now I come to find ye claim yourself violated upon finding yerslef w’child.”
Bree gives Jamie a well-deserved slap for saying such vile things. Claire rushes to Bree’s side as she finishes her explanation. That she was in fact raped, but by someone else, not Roger. Jamie, Ian, and Lizzie all recognize they’ve made a massive mistake.
Jamie: “I’ll make it right. You have my word as your father.”
Bree: “My father would never have said the things you said to me. He was a good man. You’re nothing but a savage.”
Claire tries to comfort Bree as she weeps. Ian asks the question they’re all wondering–if it wasn’t Roger, then who? Claire answers the question by pulling out her old wedding ring from Jamie and putting it on the table. They all know who had been in possession of that ring. Bonnet.
Ian then tells them that he sold Roger to the Mohawk, who were passing through. That warrants him a slap from Bree, too. When Jamie expresses his anger by knocking over dishes and chairs, Bree stops him: “YOU DO NOT GET TO BE MORE ANGRY THAN ME!”
Realest of real talk, because there’s no way Jamie’s feelings get to be centered. This is about Bree.
When Bree asks how they can get Roger back, there’s no good news. The Mohawk live in upstate New York, 700 miles away. And they’ve already gotten over a week’s head start. That night, they strategize. Ian doesn’t believe the Mohawk will kill Roger, but might adopt him into their tribe. In exchange for Roger, the Mohawk gave Ian a necklace… his “price”. But Ian believes it can help them find their village. Jamie suggests that he and Ian go after Roger, but Bree disagrees. They’ll all go. But Jamie is worried that if they have to go all the way to New York, it could take four months or more. Bree is pregnant and making the trip could be dangerous, as well as slow them down.
Claire asks for a little alone time with Bree, where Bree confirms that she will keep the baby. The slightest chance that the baby could be Roger’s is enough of a reason. And regardless, Bree will love her child. Then Bree asks Claire to go with Jamie and Ian to find Roger. He will need to see a familiar face, especially after what Jamie and Ian did to him. Claire refuses to leave Bree alone at Fraser’s Ridge when she’s pregnant. Jamie interrupts to make a suggestion… Murtagh will take Bree and Lizzie to Auntie Jocasta. It’s settled. And in a separate conversation, Jamie asks Murtagh to find Bonnet and bring him to Jamie so he can kill him.
The next day, Claire assures Bree that Jocasta will make sure Bree is well-taken care of. Bree gives Claire a drawing of Roger she’s made, maybe it can help find him. Bree also tells Claire to tell Roger everything. He came back for her and deserves to know the whole truth.
Before they part ways, Ian gets on his knee and pledges to marry Bree if they’re unable to find Roger. Jamie tells Ian to stop being an idiot, but then makes his own pledge to Bree, promising to bring Roger back.
“I’ll hold you to that vow.”
Bree offers her own apology to Claire:
“I’m so sorry Mama.”
“For what?”
“For making you leave me.”
The two groups part ways.
Upon arrival at River Run, Murtagh presents Jamie’s letter to Ulysses, who takes him and Bree to see Jocasta. Murtagh interrupts Ulysses’ introduction to introduce himself. Jocasta smiles because she recognizes Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser. She takes his hands… hands she says she recognizes from being so close to Ellen. Murtagh then presents Brianna, Jamie and Claire’s daughter from Boston. She tells the remainder of the letter… that Bree is pregnant and unmarried. That Jamie requests Jocasta look after her despite the mark it will bring to her good name while he and Claire search for the man Bree has been handfast to. Ulysses confirms that that is the gist of the letter. Without reservation, Jocasta agrees to help Bree, “my dear, sweet girl.”
Elsewhere, we see what it’s like for Roger after he’s been sold to a group of Mohawk Native Americans. As they ride on horseback, they drag Roger and another white, male captive behind them by rope. The walking is long, arduous, and exhausting with little rest or respite. When the other man falls down, barely able to walk, it’s Roger who has to help him up. Roger asks for water for the man, and one of the Mohawk, Kaheroton,(who speaks English) slaps him and tells Roger, “you do not speak!” The walking continues for days. At night, the group stops and tells their creation myths and stories. Roger and the man sit in the background. The man observes Roger with a bit of rope and asks what he’s doing. Roger says that he’s keeping track of each passing day (it’s been a week since he’s been sold), noting the general direction they’re heading (north), and landmarks. When the time comes, he’ll be prepared to make an escape. Roger is determined to survive and get back to his wife. The man tells Roger that he’ll need more rope, and they share a laugh.
Later, we see that the man has died. Kaheroton separates Roger from him and they continue their journey north. Roger grows more and more exhausted and walking becomes difficult. One day, as they pass by a small waterfall, Kaheroton collects water and offers some to Roger. They stop him from drinking more. They keep riding, with Roger walking, and he falls, sliding down a hill. The Mohawk stop and try to pull Roger up, but he’s able to work the rope around his wrist off. Roger rolls down the hill and takes off running. Kaheroton and another Mohawk chase after him, but Roger is able to stay hidden behind some shrubs. When the Mohawk go off in the other direction, Roger tries to gather himself and decide his next steps.
As he’s walking, Roger hears a familiar buzzing. He’s found the American Craigh na Dun! Roger approaches the stone, but hesitates as he looks at the two gems in his hand. What about Bree?! Roger starts to weep. He moves to place his hand on the stone… and the episode ends.
Sassenachs, just THREE EPISODES LEFT!
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