‘Outlander’: The Frasers Are at a Crossroads in ‘Give Me Liberty’ (RECAP)
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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 6, Episode 5 of Outlander, “Give Me Liberty.”]
Outlander may be brewing a lot of Season 6 drama for the Frasers, but the latest installment, “Give Me Liberty,” may as well be a party with all the faces showing up in it.
While the Christies have been at the forefront of many tension-filled moments so far this season, the newest installment brings the revolution to Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire’s (Caitriona Balfe) back door. Below, we’re breaking down all of the major moments but beware of some serious spoilers.
As with a few episodes so far this season, Episode 5 opens with a flashback, this time to the shores of the Scottish Isles in June of 1746. The scene reintroduces viewers to Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Andrew Gower) who hasn’t been seen since the show’s Season 3 opener at the Battle of Culloden. Now, he dons women’s clothing and follows the lead of Flora MacDonald (Shauna Macdonald). Telling the Prince to stay quiet, she approaches red coats on the shore and mentions that she and her companion seek passage to France, selling the men a sob story so she and the disguised Prince can get away.
(Credit: Starz)
It works as the soldiers tell Flora and her mystery fellow traveler to take care, leading to an iconic escape that’s well-documented in real-life history. The flashback ends with the Prince thanking Flora for her help as they are paddled away from shore, leading into a different intro than fans are used to for Season 6.
When the action picks back up in 1770s North Carolina, a meeting between Governor Josiah Martin and Lord John Grey (David Berry) centers around Jamie’s recent letter of resignation as Indian Agent. With rebellious behaviors reaching a fever pitch in North Carolina, Governor Martin employs Lord John to prod Jamie regarding his loyalties to the Crown. Unaware of what’s being formulated behind his back, Jamie and Claire settle into an inn in Wilmington where he tells his wife that he’s been invited to share a pint and discuss current tensions in the colonies.
The couple are in Wilmington to attend a party being thrown by Flora whom Jamie apparently knew as a child in Scotland. When Claire begins teasing that she thinks Jamie has a crush, they turn more serious as they discuss Fergus (César Domboy) who has taken up print work in New Bern. The move occurred when he went to visit Jamie’s Aunt Jocasta (Maria Doyle Kennedy) at Cross Creek.
(Credit: Starz)
As Jamie prepares to head downstairs to the inn’s tavern, Claire notes that Flora goes on to become an iconic Scottish rebellion figure in history, saying her likeness one day dons biscuit tins. This surprises Claire considering Flora’s party is mean to promote loyalist views. Jamie defends that after the rebellion in Scotland didn’t pan out, it’s too much for the Scots to believe something could actually work in the colonies, and so he understands their reluctance to go against the majority.
Downstairs, Jamie and the other men raise a glass to the Crown, and it’s a test from Cornelius who admits they were vetting the Highlander for their Sons of Liberty cause. While Jamie tells the man he’s read his Committee of Correspondence letters, Cornelius points out that many know what Jamie did at the Battle of Alamance, where he threw the red coat down at Governor Tryon’s (Tim Downie) feet.
Jamie defends that it was more than just indifference towards the Crown, and more based on personal reasons, specifically Murtagh’s (Duncan Lacroix) death. Regardless of Jamie’s reasoning, Cornelius wants him to meet with the Sons of Liberty at the tavern the next evening and it’s clearly making a strong impression on Jamie’s outlook. As he exits the tavern, he notices a jar above the fireplace that seems to contain the testicles of Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speleers), who viewers will recall died last season after Brianna (Sophie Skelton) put a bullet in his head.
(Credit: Starz)
When Jamie and Claire arrive at Flora’s party, they happily run into Lord John much to their surprise. Asking after Jamie’s biological son William, Lord John reports that the boy has become well-learned, and is interested in politics and history. Lord John also explains that he’s there on behalf of Governor Martin, not exactly revealing the reason why Martin sent him. When Jocasta walks in, Jamie and Claire excuse themselves to go and speak with her.
They greet Jocasta’s husband Mr. Innes (Alastair Findlay) and mention how Fergus has disappeared since he visited her. Jocasta says she set him up with the print shop to make him happy, but there’s something about her tone that’s not entirely truthful. Claire and Jamie also make a note of greeting Jocasta’s slave, Mary.
As the party continues on, Major MacDonald (Robin Laing) chats with Jamie about how shocked he was to learn of his resignation as Indian Agent. Before Jamie can really give an answer, they become distracted by Flora’s entrance to the party. She apologizes for being late, saying that there was a mishap involving a thief who stole a gem from one of her necklaces. While she got the necklace and the thief was apprehended, the single gem remains gone. Hmmm… suspicious or not? As viewers of Outlander know, gems are pretty important to a few characters, as they are essential for time travelers to have.
(Credit: Starz)
Before Flora can explain too fully, she turns her attention to Claire, sharing that many in Wilmington have spoken about her medical expertise after she operated at one of the town’s events. Flora also remembers Jamie after Lord John introduces them all. As the conversation flows, Jocasta begins to take a weak spell and Claire assists her with Flora to a spot outside where she can offer her a remedy for sore eyes and the weak spell.
As they chitchat and smoke some hemp flower Claire has gathered, Flora mentions how she hopes her name isn’t forever tied to Charles Stuart, something Claire already knows will come to pass. Jocasta admits she’s jealous because she’s always wanted to meet royalty, and motions to Claire, saying that she’s met more than one.
The idea triggers a memory from Claire’s time in France when she bargained with King Louis (Lionel Lingelser) to have Jamie released from jail in exchange for sex. The bad memory leads Claire to spin out and as Flora and Jocasta return to the main festivities, Claire excuses herself to clean up and gather some hemp for Jocasta to take home, she administers herself some ether.
(Credit: Starz)
Just as Claire gathers herself and returns to the party, Flora is taking center stage to address her guests, and Jamie wonders where his wife had disappeared to. She says that she needed a little rest and he lets it go. After a rousing speech from Flora about patching up the divisions in the colonies, Lord John takes Jamie aside and speaks about the Governor’s concerns about loyalty. Lord John expresses worries over Jamie’s safety and reveals he knows that the Sons of Liberty plan to meet in Wilmington, something Jamie is already aware of. Before he can get too in-depth with the conversation, the men are summoned as fighting takes place in the center of town.
Rushing down the hill, they find a crowd threatening a printer who has been paid to produce fliers of a loyalist persuasion from Jocasta. Jamie and Lord John come to the printer’s defense and deter the aggressors long enough for the red coats to arrive. Following the fight, Claire tends to a wound on Jamie’s face where he was hit with tar, he admits that he’s not sure how the Ridge would feel about his betrayal of the Crown, and Claire wonders if it matters.
Afterward, as the Frasers gather with Jocasta, Jamie asks if she’s the one who had the fliers printed and she admits she was. He can’t understand why and she says that rebellions lead nowhere. But Jamie is more concerned about Fergus who he realizes has been set up to print what Jocasta wants, putting him in potential danger. Frustrated, Jamie goes to leave and Mary tells him about how Jocasta hasn’t been the same since losing Murtagh and he agrees, saying she’s lost her heart.
(Credit: Starz)
When Lord John and Jamie pick their conversation back up, Lord John is saddened to learn that Jamie is siding with the rebels and plans to partake in the Sons of Liberty meeting. Despite their differences of opinion, Lord John agrees to delay the red coats from their raid on the meeting so Jamie can help scatter the men.
At the meeting later that night, Jamie is initially turned away by Cornelius and the others due to his affiliation with Jocasta and his attendance at Flora’s party, but he proves his loyalty by warning them about the incoming soldiers. covering their tracks, the men put together a game of billiards to dispel suspicions.
Meanwhile, back at the Ridge, Roger (Richard Rankin) works on patching the chimney to Amy McCallum’s (Joanne Thomson) home and hums a modern tune. She asks what song it is and he explains that it’s called “The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen.” When Amy says she’s heard it before, Roger brushes her off knowing that it’s far too modern for her to know it. As for Bree, she scouts a location for a water wheel with Marsali (Lauren Lyle), Malva (Jessica Reynolds), and Lizzie (Caitlin O’Ryan).
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The women aren’t too interested in the endeavor as Bree struggles to find a good spot. As they keep walking, they discover a ritual site that includes finger bones. Marsali says it’s a love charm and Malva suggests that maybe it’s Amy, considering how she’s a widow and probably searching for a new man. Before Bree can ask what she means, Lizzie has a weak spell and Bree chalks it up to malaria. Back at the Ridge, Bree gives Josiah and Kezzie (Paul Gorman) an ointment for Lizzie to use in the meantime.
When Roger and Bree reunite at home, he’s humming that same tune and she asks what it is. He mentions Amy’s response to the song, and Bree gets a little upset. Bree mentions to Roger that she and the other women found a love charm in the woods, and she suggests that maybe he’s sending too much time with Amy and giving her the wrong idea. Roger tells Bree he’s only doing what he said he’d do, which is help and support the McCallums, but Bree says that she needs him.
Back to chores, Roger helps Allan (Alexander Vlahos) and Tom (Mark Lewis Jones) transport a bell up to the church that’s being built. Upon entering the space to find a rope, Roger encounters Malva and a Mr. Henderson in a compromising position. Roger warns that Malva’s dad and brother are outside, and Malva retaliates by saying she’ll tell everyone that she saw Roger and Amy kiss if he says a word. Heeding her threat, Roger allows Malva to escape out the back of the building before exiting with Mr. Henderson who agrees to help with the bell.
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Before heading home, Roger stops by the McCallums and catches on to what Bree was saying as Amy insists he stay for a meal and sits him at the head of the table. Once Roger does return home, he finds Bree watching Jemmy (Andrew and Matthew Adair) play in their yard. He tells her that Mr. Henderson will finish the fixes at the McCallums and admits that he has a weakness for mothers. Bree tells her husband she was never worried about him, but what Amy could do. He still apologizes and as they share a sweet moment, Bree gives him something else to be excited about, the news that they’re having another baby.
On another side of the Ridge, we see Malva enter a tent with a rotting corpse where she slices off a finger, signaling to viewers that the love charm was hers. What could she be using it for? We’re sure that the significance behind it will be revealed in time.
Later, Bree goes to visit Marsali who notices that Bree is holding her stomach. Annoyed that she hasn’t been told, Marsali asks Bree if she thinks of them as sisters, Bree obviously answers, “yes,” which forces Marsali to ask why she’d keep her pregnancy a secret. Bree tells her sister that she only just told Roger and asks her to keep it a secret from Claire until she returns. Bree also admits that she’s sad Marsali will be leaving to live in New Bern with Fergus.
As Jamie and Claire pack things up in Wilmington, Claire hears someone humming a tune that catches her attention. It’s the “Colonel Bogey March,” and when Jamie notices her fixation on it, she brushes it off as nothing. Of course, it is more than nothing as the scene shifts to a jail cell where Flora’s gem thief is contained. Dirty, disheveled, and overgrown, they appear to be a mysterious figure, but considering the emphasis on Roger’s habit of humming modern tunes at the wrong time, it feels like that kind of activity is an easy way to identify time travelers. The only question is, who is this time traveler? Hopefully, answers will be uncovered in time, but fans will have to tune in to find out.
Outlander, Season 6, Sundays, 9/8c, Starz
