'Outlander' Season 1 Episode 12 Recap: 'Lallybroch' Explored Jamie's Past & His Relationship with His Sister
Although it contained its fair amount of horror, tragedy and drama, last Saturday's "Outlander" episode, "Lallybroch" shone light on Jamie's past as well as his relationship with his sister, Jenny.
The episode also has its first instance of full-frontal male nudity, though not whose you would expect. Life at the Fraser's estate is not easy and Jamie learns he cannot force his will with Claire's help. However, the episode ends with more suspense.
As Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan) approach Lallybroch, Jamie tells her of the rumors surrounding his sister Jenny (Laura Donnelly) following her encounter with Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies). The scene was first revealed in a sneak preview, showing Jamie explain how some believed Jenny had a child because of her rape. However, Claire assured him it was just a rumor.
The first scenes of the episode show Jamie having flashbacks to the time he was first whipped by Randall. Upon arriving at Lallybroch, they encounter a small boy, whom Claire approaches but Jamie seems wary off. Then Jenny comes out of the house calling after him. The boy's name is Jamie. When the two siblings see each other their reactions are a bit different. Jenny is happy but Jamie believes the young Jamie to be Randall's son and he is angry Jenny named him after him, as if to remind him where he failed as a brother.
However, after a series of arguing and Jenny calling Claire a "trollop" when she tried to intervene, Jenny's husband, Ian Murray (Steven Cree), interrupts the fight and says they are his children.
Once inside, Jamie says he needs to know what happened between Jenny and Randall. She says she will only tell the story once and recounts what happened inside after Jamie is knocked out.
Randall attempted to rape Jenny, throwing her on a bed and taking off his trousers, showing the audience his genitals. However, he could not "make himself ready," in Jenny's words, and she started laughing at him. He kept slapping her in between laughs until he knocked her out.
Claire and Jamie arrived at Lallybroch right before the Quarter when the tenants go to the house and pay their rents. The couple has to quickly adjust to being the lord and lady of the estate, uprooting Ian and Jenny, who have run the estate for the last four years. This increases the friction between the two siblings, as Jamie tries to act like the laird more than himself.
Although there are some missteps during the festivities, including Jamie making some bad financial decisions that upset Jenny, the evening ended up well, with Jamie being super drunk and trying to talk to Claire in bed. She is having none of it and he falls asleep.
This episode, despite the sibling issues and the attempted rape, is much more light-hearted, depicting a cute, intimate and comical relationship between Jamie and Claire. The next day, Jamie appearing with a hangover is the funniest thing as he is unable to eat anything. When he does try to eat bread, it tastes horrible and the cook explains to him the mill is malfunctioning.
Jamie decides to go fix it himself and strips down to go under the mill's waterwheel and as he goes under to tinker, Jenny comes up running. Calling Jamie a fool, she tells Claire a Redcoat patrol is coming, as the troops are seen riding up. Jamie goes underwater and manages to fix the mill before the helpful English troops discovered Jamie. When Jamie comes out of the water, covering himself, he asks Jenny to look away and turns around, showing her all his scars.
Jamie and Claire talked more about Jamie's past and what happened the day he was whipped and taken to Fort William. Jamie's father had gone to plead with Randall to free him but failed. However, Randall gave Jamie an option. He could avoid being whipped if Randall allowed him to rape him.
Randall's sexuality has come under debate; he has attempted to rape women many times but has not done the deed because of interruptions or being physically unable to. However, his relationship with the Duke of Sandringham (Simon Callow) and his proposition to Jamie could be something to perhaps wonder about. It could also mean Randall is just a psychopath.
Jamie tells Claire he rejected Randall's offer and was whipped. His father witnessed the event and died of a heart attack, possibly from the trauma he witnessed his son go through.
The next day, the two finally made up at their father's grave. During his talk with Jenny, she explains she had blamed him for their father's death, but after seeing his scars, she began blaming herself and asked for his forgiveness. Jamie said it was Randall's fault.
Although it seemed the episode would end on a happy note, we cannot have that. The next morning, Claire awakens to find some men pointing pistols at Jamie.
Time traveler moment of the episode: Claire explaining to Jamie how airplanes work.
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