It’s not often that Outlander finds ways to surprise me anymore, but this week’s episode, “Ye Dinna Get Used to It,” sure did. Not only did it find a way to better focus its story on the wider ensemble this time around — the only one we didn’t check in with this week was Roger (Richard Rankin) — but it also set up a lot of storylines that are poised to play out in particularly dramatic fashion heading into the last two episodes of this season and beyond. It may come as little surprise to learn that this week’s episode just so happens to be penned by Outlander series author Diana Gabaldon — if anyone knows these characters best, it’s her! — with Jan Matthys behind the camera as the third director for this second half of Season 7. So much happens this week that it may be difficult to recap all of it, but we’ll do our best. (And, yet again, I feel compelled to mention once more that David Berry could lead his own Lord John Grey spin-off, so get on that, Starz!)
Jamie and Claire Host an Important Dinner in ‘Outlander’ Season 7 Episode 14
For our favorite couple Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitríona Balfe), this week’s episode kicks off with the confirmation that they’ll be hosting a very important dinner — with guests including General George Washington (Gary Fannin), as it happens. It’s a dinner that the Frasers only find out about on the day, much to Mrs. Figg’s (Sutara Gayle) consternation, and for a moment, I was confused about why they’d be able to host high-ranking members of the Continental Army at Lord John’s house, but apparently, the Loyalists have been forced to flee Philadelphia, clearing the way for the show to go on. While out shopping in the market, Claire accidentally collides with a charming Frenchman dressed in Continental blues, who swiftly introduces himself to her as the Marquis de Lafayette (Charles Crehange) and promises to make amends for his clumsiness via a delivery of Roquefort. If only all disputes could be settled with a gift of cheese, am I right?
After Claire learns that Lafayette will be among the guests in her home that evening, the scene cuts to that very dinner, where Washington is sitting at the head of the table and Jamie is rocking his new uniform as Brigadier General. At one point, to thank the Frasers for their generosity, Washington gifts them a United States flag — the early design, featuring thirteen stars and stripes. It’s a significant moment, not only because Claire and Jamie are once again living through a major turning point in history in the Revolutionary War, but because they know they’re fighting on the winning side, unlike the known losses that awaited them heading into Culloden. Lafayette hand-delivers some imported eel from France, which Claire samples just to be polite (even if she appears to be one bite away from spitting it out in her napkin), and toasts to the US of A and the prospect of victory end the meal on a more optimistic note. The aforementioned gift of cheese, however, is enjoyed later that night, as Jamie and Claire wind down from dinner in their bedroom, but Jamie confesses that he’s starting to feel the weight of his new position, with 300 souls under his command when he’s never led more than 50 in the past. As Claire reminds him, it’s an impressive position, but it doesn’t change the fact that some of these men will likely be lost before the war is over.
Morning dawns bright and cold at camp, as Jamie inspects the young soldiers who are reporting in for duty while Claire looks over anyone who might be dealing with some lingering sickness, including consumption. Among those wandering into her tent, though, is Lord John Grey himself, AKA “Bertram Armstrong”, who’s just sworn an oath of loyalty to the Continental Army for his own protection but agrees to surrender himself into Jamie’s custody right then and there. Back at John’s house, Claire takes advantage of the opportunity to inspect the man’s injured eye, which hasn’t healed quite right. In order to fix the issue, though, she apparently has to… reach into the socket, grab the eyeball, and move it into the proper position?! I’m shocked that there are no tools that seem to be available for this task — Claire just goes in with her bare hands as Jamie holds John steady in the chair — but at the end of it all, John’s eye does look much improved, if still a little bruised. He’s going to have to remain a prisoner, in his own home no less, but at least he’s not walking into any clear danger, right? Well… we’ll get to that in a minute.
Brianna’s Home Is Threatened in ‘Outlander’ Season 7 Episode 14
After leaving Jem (Blake Johnston Miller) and Mandy (Rosa Morris) safely in the custody of Ernie (Ciaron Kelly) and Fiona Buchan (Iona Claire), Brianna (Sophie Skelton) drives back to Lallybroch, only to find that she’s just missed the locksmith who’d dropped by to replace all the locks on the house. With Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) still in possession of a key, he could come back at any time —o release him from house arrest so he can ride to Spotswood and rescue William — with pistol-packing assistance from a happily-married Ian (John Bell), of course. “Save our son,” Jamie urges, and I’ve got to admit, I’ve been waiting for this heroic side of Lord John Grey to show up all along.so Brianna’s already on high alert when she notices a light on in one of the upstairs rooms. Rather than go inside, she drives away from the house, grabbing a shotgun out of the trunk and sneaking back to the property on foot. From her vantage point in the bushes, she watches more lights come on, revealing at least two masked men inside waiting for her. Accomplices of Rob’s, no doubt, but it’s still incredibly satisfying to hear Brianna refer to them as the “two f*cking bastards in [her] house.”
Just then, to Bree’s dismay, Ernie and Fiona pull up, drawing the attention of the men from inside. Brianna runs at their van, yelling at Jem to get back in just as he hops out, and fires a series of warning shots at the men coming out the front door to hold them back. In the chaos that follows, Ernie initially can’t get his van restarted, but Brianna lands a punch on one man and lifts his mask to reveal his face before they successfully reverse out of there. Rob Cameron even pulls up in his own truck, locking eyes with Brianna through the windshield before she orders Ernie to keep driving until they can get a safe distance away. Later on, Fiona admits she and Ernie drove back to Lallybroch when they’d realized Rob was hanging around outside their home, figuring Brianna might be walking into similar danger. In that moment, Brianna realizes she needs to move forward with a new plan: taking the kids back through the stones to Roger, and to safety.
William Marches Into the Enemy’s Hands in ‘Outlander’ Season 7 Episode 14
After what amounted to a pretty rough week for William (Charles Vandervaart) back in Episode 12, the young captain is looking pretty worse for wear by the time he reports to the British camp. He earns a dressing-down from his superior officer for the state of his uniform, as well as his missing gorget — which, if you’ll recall, he had used as payment for a night with Jane Pocock (Silvia Presente). It turns out that both gorget and girl aren’t far away, as the young woman conveniently stumbles into William’s tent along with her little sister, Fanny (Florrie May Wilkinson). William is, quite understandably, surprised to see Jane again, and she is frustratingly obtuse about her reasons for both her and Fanny being at camp, apart from a brief mention of the nefarious Captain Harkness. Initially, Jane proposes a deal with William — if he offers his protection to her and Fanny, she’ll be there for him in a much more intimate capacity. But William, intent on retaining his honor, accepts no such deal, suggesting that Jane work as his personal laundress instead. That exchange leads to even more confusion on William’s part when Jane initially states that she doesn’t know how to do laundry, much less how to buy the materials she’d need for the job — until she calmly explains to him that she’s never been in a position to handle real money or have knowledge of what things actually cost outside the brothel. All the wages she ever earned there went straight to the madam for upkeep and other expenses, so she wouldn’t know whether she’s being swindled or not.
That initial hurdle between the two is followed by a failed attempt at seduction — although William does initiate a kiss of his own after Jane moves to leave his tent, without pressing for more. If there’s going to be more intimacy between them, he’s willing to wait until it’s something that Jane really wants, rather than feeling obligated to initiate it in return for keeping her and Fanny safe. Since doing laundry is clearly low on Jane’s list of favorite tasks, it doesn’t take long at all for the truth to finally come out about why the sisters fled their circumstances. Jane tells William that Harkness ultimately returned to the brothel — not for her, but for Fanny and her virginity. Since Jane already had knowledge of the captain’s violent nature, she knew she had to intervene, and ultimately stabbed Harkness in the throat with a kitchen knife. With a British officer now dead at her hand, Jane knew they’d have to run, with the intention of ultimately making it to New York and away from prosecution.
William promises he won’t turn Jane over to a magistrate and begs her to stay with him, but he’s got another problem to deal with. After being summoned by Captain Richardson (Ben Lambert) to hand-deliver a message to a group of Hessians camped at Spotswood, the young man sets off immediately. What he doesn’t know, and what we do, is that Richardson is a double agent working for the Continental Army, and this isn’t the first time he’s targeted the perceived son of Lord John by sending him into danger. William thinks he’s the courier for a vital letter, but he’s actually handing a cipher to a gang that will take him captive and likely torture him with the goal of ensuring John’s cooperation. After receiving advance warning of the plan from his stepbrother and former lover, Percy Beauchamp (Michael Lindall), John sits down with the Frasers, who realize they’ll have to release him from house arrest so he can ride to Spotswood and rescue William — with pistol-packing assistance from a happily-married Ian (John Bell), of course. “Save our son,” Jamie urges, and I’ve got to admit, I’ve been waiting for this heroic side of Lord John Grey to show up all along.