Vive Les Frasers!! The sixth episode of Starz’s Outlander season two, Best Laid Schemes…, is a pivotal sequence of events. I like to think of it as a bridge episode in a way. So many explosive things will happen in 207 (benefits of being a book reader too). This series of events is certainly laying the cobblestones for the disasters and triumphs to come. So let’s get down to laying that path out for you.
We open, almost where we left off, with Jamie (Sam Heughan) contemplating the argument and decision to NOT duel with Captain Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies). Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) comes in still talking about the plans for the duel. Jamie has to tell him that the duel is off; he has sent word to recant the challenge. Murtagh is angered and asks why. Jamie asks that Murtagh trust him as to the reason and to leave it alone. This is a very natural course of things. In the book Murtagh never knows that Claire (Caitriona Balfe) is from the future, Jamie is the only Highlander who knows the whole story. Anyway… Murtagh bounds out of the room, grumbling all the way. Secrets in a household can be disastrous, and feel like betrayal. Never a good thing.
Claire went early to the L’ Hospital des Anges. She sees the Royal Executioner, Monsieur Forez (Niall Greig Fulton), and assists with a patient who has died. He goes through the enjoyable {insert sarcasm here} task of telling Claire what it means to do a successful drawn and quartered execution. Ghastly conversation, and for a woman so far along in pregnancy too. MEN! In the book, he does give these gruesome details, but it is at the Fraser home and to both Jamie and Claire.
Mother Hildegarde (Frances de la Tour) is not so out of the loop as you might think. If the trio are caught it is the exact description of what will happen to them. Claire understands this all too well and turns pale on the spot. The stress this woman is under will spell disaster, mark my words! But in the show he is in the hospital telling his art to distracting detail for a different reason.
The show’s point to this conversation is that the current victims are practitioners of the dark arts within the city. The King is on the hunt for heretics. Claire goes to Master Raymond (Dominique Pinon) after the Executioner suggests she go see him straight away. She gives Master Raymond the warning. He tries to brush it off but Claire presses her concerns with the point that the executioner is involved. He is very touched by her concern and does warn her that she has put herself at risk in the effort.
We next see Claire and Jamie sitting in front of the fire, Jamie absently rubbing Claire’s feet. I have to admit a sharp elbow went into my husband’s ribs at this. Jamie is looking absently off while doing his heavenly task for a very far along pregnant Claire. The way to a man’s heart might be his stomach, but the way to a woman’s heart is by her feet. A good foot massage…AAHHH heaven!
Jamie reveals what he was thinking, and it was about Claire asking for a life in their last argument about the duel. She was begging to save Frank, not Black Jack. Jamie tells her what most men would; she chose him of her own free will so he doesn’t really give the consideration to Frank directly like Claire does. He does admit that he wants to leave a place for Claire to flee to safety should it become necessary. Quite amazing he could think that far ahead in the heat of a passionate argument. He wants her to be able to go back to a man who will love her and take care of her and the baby. He exacts a promise from her. She has to promise to go back through those diabolical stones and to Frank should the time come. She promises but is very taken aback by the entire conversation. I’m sure Jamie was no less taken aback by her request for BJR’s life.
The next morning, they continue on with the scheme (hence the title to the episode) of trying to thwart the shipment of wine for Charles Stewart (Andrew Gower). Poor Jamie gets to be a test dummy of sorts to Claire’s concoction to fake Small Pox. Claire proves her point about it being possible to fake the symptoms in the crew so the cargo could get destroyed again. Murtagh is still mad about all the intrigue, he likes a much more direct approach. Murtagh storms out and stalks the front courtyard. Jamie and Claire decide now is the time to tell him about her and the REAL reason for the situation they are in. Murtagh accepts the explanation but adds a nice little punch to the jaw for Jamie’s trouble. He says he should have trusted him from the start. There is that Godfather understanding for ye…lol.
The next morning, Jamie and Fergus (Romann Berrux) head out to infect the warehouse staff, covertly of course, with the herbs and things that Claire has cooked up. After getting them off on their journey Claire heads back inside to see Murtagh writing on a paper. Murtagh looks uneasy when he is caught by Claire. He shows her it was years that he was writing down. All the years of her life before coming to the past. They have an exchange about the future and what she knows. Murtagh asks, in an inadvertent way, about when they will die. She doesn’t know those particulars, but Murtagh gets that any knowledge of the future is a huge burden to bear. I love those little sensitive moments when Murtagh is compassionate and lets it show.
Jamie and Fergus accomplish their task of “infecting” the crew, more like afflicting the crew. They make it back to Paris successfully. Jamie is soon called to the brothel urgently by the Prince, and the dashing and dastardly Le Comte St. Germain (Stanley Weber) is there as well. They report the dreadful news of the men in St. Germain’s warehouse being stricken with an unknown illness. Okay, I have to say it. Is it NOT totally sexy when Stanley Weber shouts in French…ooo lala! Right, we don’t like him. Back to business…
They ask Jamie to take the cargo and transport it himself from the La Havre harbor. He is hesitant but agrees to the task. What else could he do? Now the scheme has to be to hijack the shipment during transport. Enter Murtagh and hired thugs. Murtagh is too funny, fussing about the French attire that he has to wear. So Suzette (Adrienne-Marie Zitt) offers to relieve him of his attire {giggle snort}. Jamie and Claire retire to their bed as well. Such a cute scene this is…. Jamie feels the baby move for the first time. He speaks directly to the baby and says that he canna wait to meet his wean.
The next evening Claire is at Louise de Rohan’s (Claire Sermonne) having dinner with her and a gaggle of ladies, gossiping…. naturally. Claire’s mind is on Jamie and Murtagh, they are actively involved in this highly risky move to hijack the shipment. Le Comte St. Germain is riding in the lead wagon, Jamie is riding in the second wagon. A masked Murtagh and hired highwaymen ambush the caravan and take the wine. St. Germain and Murtagh square off at pistol point.
Jamie knows he has to do something or Murtagh is likely to be shot right in the face. Jamie jumps to the front wagon and pushes St. Germain off the wagon to the ground. Murtagh fires making it look like Jamie saved his life. Jamie jumps on Murtagh and they play the part well. Murtagh finishes by knocking Jamie unconscious by pistol-whipping him. St. Germain buys the acting and later tells the Prince that Jamie saved his life. But the cargo is lost.
The scene turns back to the gaggle of ladies, and Claire finally gets a snoot full. She leaves the gathering and heads to the hospital. She starts to exhibit exhaustion and Mother Hildegarde forces her to stay the night at the hospital and rest. Mother notices that Claire is bleeding a bit. Fergus takes word to Jamie that Claire is staying the night at the hospital under the Mother’s care. Fergus does not tell him that she is bleeding, largely because he does not know this key fact.
In the book, Jamie is aware that Claire is placed on bed rest at this point because she did start to bleed a bit. In the show, he is not aware of this development. Jamie is still at the brothel with the Prince and St. Germain. St. Germain is rightly upset and taking much of his ire out on Jamie. The Prince calms him, amazingly enough, but the Prince is in great distress at this turn of events and what it means for his cause. Jamie tries to comfort him, but the Prince dissolves into tears.
Jamie finally gets home in the early hours of the morning. Jamie and Fergus sit down to breakfast after Fergus relays where Claire is. Suzette bursts in with distressful news that Prince Charles has raised a fuss at the brothel and refuses to pay his debt there. Jamie has to run back to the Prince’s side at the brothel to settle the situation before there is a need for the police. Fergus goes with him since Murtagh has been sent to Portugal to sell the wine that was just hijacked. Jamie goes to attend to the situation about the Prince and Fergus does a bit of exploring. He just so happens to step into the wrong room. He picks up a vile from the bedside table just in time to turn to see a man shut the door and the red coat hanging on the chair. NOT GOOD!!! You don’t see the man, but book readers know EXACTLY who that is and what happened in that room. Can you guess?
Claire returns home. The staff all give her concerned looks, but she does not notice this at first. She asks for Jamie and poor Suzette tries not to have to tell her. Claire sees his hand guard laying on the bed. Suzette has to admit that Jamie has gone to the woods and she spills the story of a fight at the brothel with an English Officer. Claire is actively in pain with the baby; she is clutching her stomach when she whispers that Jamie promised not to duel BJR. She forces Magnus (Robbie McIntosh) to take her to the woods where they are dueling. He does so, but Claire is in great distress about the duel and the baby. She gets to the site but knows she cannot cry out to Jamie or she could cost him his life. She has to stand and watch as her nightmare comes true: the duel between Jamie and Frank’s life through Jack Randall.
Claire tries to cry out when they pause and have a verbal exchange, but the pain in her stomach takes the words. Jamie stabs BJR right in the family jewels (Tulach Ard) just as Claire starts bleeding profusely and drops to the ground. She gets enough breath to cry out and Jamie sees her just as the police arrive to arrest the gathering. Claire tells Magnus to take her to the hospital and Mother Hildegarde, Jamie is taken away, and BJR is lying on the ground bleeding from his man sack and passes out. Could this be a more suspenseful place to stop the episode? I don’t think so!! I know what happens, but you will have to either read the book to catch up or watch the outcome next week.
Outlander Season Two Recaps:
- Episode One – Through a Glass, Darkly
- Episode Two – Not in Scotland Anymore
- Episode Three – Useful Occupations and Deceptions
- Episode Four – La Dame Blanche
- Episode Five – Untimely Resurrections
- Episode Seven – Faith
- Episode Eight – The Fox’s Lair
- Episode Nine – Je Suis Prest
- Episode Ten – Prestopans
- Episode Eleven – Vengeance is Mine
- Episode Twelve – The Hail Mary
- Episode Thirteen – Dragonfly in Amber
