‘Outlander’: Ian’s Story Comes to Light in ‘Hour of the Wolf’ (RECAP)

Outlander Season 6 John Bell and Sam Heughan
Spoiler Alert
Starz

Outlander

Hour of the Wolf

Season 6 • Episode 4

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 6, Episode 4 of Outlander, “Hour of the Wolf.”]

Outlander is continuing to shine a light on its characters outside of central couple Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) with its latest installment, “Hour of the Wolf.”

For most of the hour-long episode, Outlander focuses the spotlight on the couple’s nephew, Ian Murray (John Bell) as he recounts his time with the Mohawk, and fills in some blanks that the audience and his family had previously been unaware of. Moving back and forth in time, the episode tells Ian’s story through a series of flashbacks juxtaposing with a visit he and Jamie make to the Cherokee to deliver the weapons supplied by Major MacDonald (Robin Laing) and the British Army.

Below, we’re breaking down all of the key moments so beware of big spoilers ahead.

Outlander Season 6 John Bell

(Credit: Starz)

The episode opens with a ceremony of sorts where Ian is groomed by the Mohawk, given the tattoos we’ve seen on his face since Season 5, and they metaphorically wash the white blood from his veins. The chief tells him that he’s been adopted into the Mohawk family and that they will love and defend him, hinting at the depths of Ian’s ties to the tribe he was left with at the end of Season 4.

As the ceremony begins to wrap up, Ian is told he’ll be called Okwaho’rohtsi’ah which translates to Wolf’s Brother. Before the flashback concludes, Ian locks eyes with a woman that becomes central to his story. After this lead-in, the episode shifts back to the present time and place for the family at Fraser’s Ridge where Jamie and Claire start their day off with a steamy morning tryst. As they banter, they can hear Major MacDonald sneezing due to his cat allergies, prompting Claire to extricate herself from the bed to get breakfast ready for the house.

Downstairs, Jamie meets with Fergus (César Domboy) — who is doing better than when fans last saw him — and tells his adoptive son that he’ll leave the next day to sell goods at Cross Creek. Jamie then asks if Fergus can check in on Aunt Jocasta (Maria Doyle Kennedy) on his return back to Fraser’s Ridge.

Outlander Season 6 Cesar Domboy and Sam Heughan

(Credit: Starz)

The exchange forces Fergus to recognize that Jamie’s trying to keep him busy and keep his mind from negative things and heal from a distance, Jamie admits to Fergus that he thinks it can help. Before taking off, Fergus reminisces back to the days when he and Jamie were printing news in Edinburgh and he’s thankful to his father for it.

Outside, Jamie, Roger (Richard Rankin), Brianna (Sophie Skelton), and more test the guns that Major MacDonald has brought for the Cherokee. When Major MacDonald makes a comment about the Cherokee chief’s name and complains about them not using Christian monikers, Ian makes a sarcastic comment back.

The exchange leads Jamie to ask Brianna about the treatment of Native Americans in the future and she is brutally honest about the impending horrors they face with the Trail of Tears and other devastating events. She tells him the guns won’t be enough to stop what’s going to happen to the Native Americans in time, leading to a depressing realization for Jamie.

Outlander Season 6 Sam Heughan

(Credit: Starz)

When he and Ian arrive at the Cherokee’s campsite, they put away their weapons and as they approach the chief, Ian spots horses, among which include Mohawk accessories. Turning around to look around the camp, Ian comes face to face with Kaheroton (Braeden Clarke), one of his Mohawk pals, but things are cool between them when Kaheroton addresses him as Wolf’s Brother.

With Ian visibly upset, he and Jamie retire to their own shelter for the night where Ian begins recounting his time with the Mohawk while touching the bracelet on his wrist. The story starts with the woman that appeared at the beginning of the episode during his ceremony. Ian calls her Emily (Morgan Holmstrom), admitting that he had a hard time pronouncing her name Wahionhaweh when they first met.

Flashing back to that time, Ian remembers talking with her along the water’s edge on their land, and she gives him a stone carved to look like a wolf. Ian also remembers Kaheroton being like a brother to him as they discussed different matters about the tribe. As time moves on, Ian falls in love with Emily and they are married, she gives him the bracelet he still wears as a token to remind him of their being together.

Outlander Season 6 John Bell and Braeden Clarke

(Credit: Starz)

We see Ian meld into the Mohawk tribe as they push him to tell stories around their gatherings, when Ian says this will be his story in life, they disagree. Emily then pushes him to talk about the Bakra or something else of his adventures, but when he can’t find the words, he’s convinced to sing a song. Back in their home, Ian and Emily talk as he whispers to her pregnant belly. She asks if Ian misses home and he tells Emily that “you are my home.”

The happiness doesn’t last long though as one evening they wake to find that Emily is having a miscarriage, and Ian is forced to stay away from her as the Mohawk sends him to the woods to pray. He prays to Christ and the Mohawk Creator, but his wishes are only halfway answered when Kaheroton tracks him and Rollo down to deliver the sad news that while Emily survives, the baby did not.

Ian tells Jamie that he never saw his daughter before she was buried in furs. As his story continues, Ian reveals that Emily became pregnant again and lost the baby again. It is then that one of the tribe’s people tells Ian that his spirit is in conflict with his wife’s and so he must leave. Shocked by this news and determined to fight it, Ian rushes back to camp to find Emily who he finds with Kaheroto. They are to be married to give her a chance at having a family, and Ian is understandably distraught, but he leaves as Emily asks him to and returns to the Fraser’s in North Carolina.

Outlander Season 6 Sam Hueghan and Michael Geary

(Credit: Starz)

Now that Jamie’s up to speed, Ian’s aggression towards Kaheroton is entirely understandable, but Jamie tells his nephew that he did everything he could and fought as hard as possible, suggesting that he needs to let what is, be. Ian then asks if Jamie would have done the same if it was Claire, but Jamie defends that it is not the same. Letting the discussion drop, Ian tells Jamie that he isn’t up for the weapons celebration that night and so Jamie tells him they’ll wait until morning.

The next day, a man named Alexander Cameron (Michael Geary), a fellow Indian Agent who looks over a different area in the region than Jamie, introduces himself. When the man suggests some side trading of their own, Jamie asserts his opinion, stating that he doesn’t want to dabble in illegal dealings. When Jamie and Ian unveil the rifles to the Cherokee, the tribe won’t talk about loyalties or war, but only celebration.

Jamie is led to meet someone then and Ian goes to talk with the Mohawk and is told by some that not everyone wanted him to leave the tribe. He further learns that Kaheroton and Emily had a son of their own who is alive and well. This angers Ian who begins fighting with Kaheroton, before they’re pulled apart. When Alexander Cameron intercedes, he makes a scalping comment towards Kaheroton and a duel is organized between the two.

Outlander Season 6 Michael Geary, Braeden Clarke, and Sam Heughan

(Credit: Starz)

When Jamie finds Ian after the scuffle, his nephew talks about how upset he is that his daughter — who he calls Iseabail — died, but Kaheroton’s son lives. Ian asks if he’s being punished, and worries that his daughter is left wandering since she was never baptized. This inspires Jamie to bring up his own experience in this department with his stillborn daughter, Faith. Jamie admits he has no good answers, but that after death, they go to the lord and that Faith will look over Iseabail in heaven. Together the men pray.

Before the duel begins, Ian gives Kaheroton Jamie’s gun, and in return, Kaheroton gives Ian a bracelet he received from Emily, asking his former brother if he can return to the Mohawk and care for Emily in the event of his death. Without a word, Ian takes the bracelet and walks in another direction. Meanwhile, Jamie chats with the Cherokee chief, bringing up that Claire and Bree are able to know things before they happen, rather than saying they’re time travelers. And so, Jamie warns the man about the Trail of Tears and a man named Winfield Scott will be responsible. When asked why Jamie isn’t sharing this with others, he explains that no one would believe him.

Heeding Jamie’s warning, and knowing that stopping the event is unlikely, the chief promises to tell his sons and have them pass this information onto their sons and so forth.  And in regards to loyalties, Jamie tells the man to fight for himself, hinting that the British Army isn’t necessarily his best friend. Outside, the duel begins and Alexander Cameron turns early to shoot, thankfully, Ian intercedes and the bullet misses Kaheroton.

Outlander Season 6 Paul Gorman and Caitlin O'Ryan

(Credit: Starz)

Although given the chance to shoot Alexander Cameron, Kaheroton passes, letting the man’s own shame be his punishment. When Ian returns the bracelet to Kaheroton, he tells him that God chose him to be with Emily, giving his blessing towards the relationship between his Mohawk brother and former wife.

Before departing the Cherokee’s land, Ian lets his wolf stone pendant float down the creek, letting go of that spirit within him, but coming to the conclusion that he can be Wolf’s Brother and Ian Murray at the same time. Jamie agrees, adding that the only thing that matters is what’s inside.

Back at the Ridge, Claire tests out ether on Lizzie (Caitlin O’Ryan) and Josiah (Paul Gorman) with the help of Malva (Jessica Reynolds) assisting. When Claire puts both Lizzie and Josiah under, they’re shocked to learn that they’d been put to sleep at all, exhibiting the successful use of the medicine. But Claire warns against the dangers of using too much ether, and Malva makes a comment about this being the Devil’s work if she didn’t know any better.

After the experiment, Lizzie tells Kezzie (Gorman) all about the experience, meanwhile, Malva watches Claire taking notes and scribbling pictures. When she asks Claire why she does this, Claire says it’s for future reference of others so that her work may help people in the years ahead. Malva says that Allan (Alexander Vlahos) wouldn’t like her apprenticeship, but she can reassure that there are no spells in Claire’s book.

Once Jamie returns, Claire leaves Malva to clean up as she rushes to the stables, there, Jamie tells her about the Mohawk and mentions that Ian shared his story, but they can speak of it another time. Jamie also shares that he wants to resign as Indian Agent, but before the conversation can turn too serious, Claire reminds him of his last return home and the couple gears up for a literal roll in the hay. While the moment is mostly sweet, it’s soured by the peeping presence of Malva who watches Jamie and Claire have sex from behind the barn door.

What could it mean? And what’s next for the Frasers as the revolution grows closer and the Christies become more involved in their community? Find out when the next installment of Outlander arrives on Starz.

Outlander, Season 6, Sundays, 9/8c, Starz