Starz’s Outlander season seven episode five splits time between Brianna starting work in her new job as Plant Inspector and Jamie, Claire, and Ian’s experiences in Fort Ticonderoga.
The episode begins with Brianna (Sophie Skelton) finding Jemmy and Mandy in the old family graveyard and reminding them it’s not a playground. Jem admits that Mandy wanted to speak to granddad, although no one knows if that’s where he’s buried. Bree agrees it’s possible, and Jem confesses that he built a cairn for Jamie.
It’s too difficult for Bree even to enter the graveyard, so she remains at the gate. She’s not ready to take that step yet.
Bree returns home and holds more of her mom and dad’s letters. Roger (Richard Rankin) joins her, and she explains that the kids visit Jamie in the cemetery but haven’t found his headstone. She’s missing them terribly, and Roger thinks they’ve waited long enough and it’s time to read another letter.
The letter she opens is dated June 18, 1777, and it’s from Fort Ticonderoga.
Claire (Caitriona Balfe) writes that Jamie was conscripted into the Continental Army, and they’ve been at the fort for a few months. Jamie’s in charge of a group that calls themselves Fraser’s Irregulars – a name Jamie likes. His group’s working on building up the fort’s defenses while Claire’s working with Lt. Stactoe (Daniel Gosling) helping the injured. She’s not impressed with his skills as a surgeon, and he looks down on her because she’s a woman.
Ian (John Bell) is also at the fort with Rollo.
The British are heading their way from the north, but Major General St. Clair believes they can withstand an attack. (Jamie’s due to be released from service on July 10th.)
Claire ends the letter sending all their love, and Bree’s still upset once she’s done reading it. Roger suggests they check out the history books for any mention of Jamie or Claire, but Bree decides it’s better not to know.
Jamie (Sam Heughan) attends a meeting led by Brigadier General Fermoy (Olivier Raynal), and he warns Fermoy that they need to prepare for the British to launch an attack from Sugarloaf Mountain. Fermoy is skeptical, insisting the mountain is too high and inaccessible. Fermoy dismisses Jamie’s help, certain the British won’t attempt to fight from Sugarloaf.
Meanwhile, Denzell (Joey Phillips), Rachel (Izzy Meikle-Small), and William (Charles Vandervaart) discuss their differences as Denzell and his sister travel to Fort Ticonderoga while William is bound for Albany. They come across a man cutting wood, and he convinces them they’re heading in the wrong direction. The stranger offers a meal and bed at his home since it’s getting late.
The food served by Mrs. Johnson appears to be cooked rats, and Mr. Johnson explains that the two different armies marching through have taken their supplies, including food and clothing.
That night, William’s stomach keeps him awake, which is fortunate as Mr. and Mrs. Johnson aren’t the friendly people they pretended to be. Mr. Johnson attacks William with a knife while Mrs. Johnson goes after Denzell, with Rachel doing her best to defend her brother.
William’s able to get the upper hand and stabs Mr. Johnson in the stomach with a fire poker. He then knocks out Mrs. Johnson with a punch to the face.
The following morning, Rachel thanks William for saving her brother. She also reveals that Denzell got Mrs. Johnson to confess they’ve done this to other travelers. They have a cupboard full of stolen items, including jewelry, and Mrs. Johnson tried to bribe Denzell and Rachel into letting her go. Of course, they didn’t accept.
William confesses he’s never killed anyone before. He doesn’t know how to feel because he expected to have to kill someone in battle…but not like this.
They get back on the road and eventually part ways, but not before William tells them that if they run into trouble with British troops, mention that they know Harold Grey, Duke of Pardloe. William also hands over money given to him by Ian and insists they keep it.
Back at the fort, Ian’s tasked with taking a message to Joseph Brant (aka Thayendanegea) at the Shadow Lake village. The British are trying to get the Mohawks on their side, and General St. Clair wants Ian to deliver a letter requesting Brant’s Mohawks side with the Continental Army.
Ian respectively attempts to turn down the assignment, not wanting to return to Shadow Lake and dredge up painful memories. Unfortunately, painful memories aren’t enough to keep Ian from being assigned the job.
Ian pulls Claire into a private chat and asks what went wrong with the baby he lost. He believes something’s wrong with him since Emily has a child now, and he confesses he won’t marry again if he can’t have children.
Ian wonders if there’s something wrong with his sperm (something he learned about from Jamie), and Claire wishes she could help but she doesn’t have the instruments. Ian describes his deceased child as looking physically perfect, so Claire explains that many women lose babies due to a variety of different reasons.
“I can assure you this has nothing to do with your spirit and everything to do with science,” says Claire.
Ian’s relieved to hear that and smiles.
Jamie’s next to speak with Claire and informs her that his men captured a British regular and learned that Simon Fraser is in charge of the forward command. (Simon’s the second cousin of the Simon Fraser who Claire met.) Simon’s a good fighter, but his men are running out of food, which means they’ll need to attack the fort soon rather than surround it and wait for the Continental Army to surrender.
Jamie knows how Simon thinks and believes he needs to prove to Fermoy that Fort Ticonderoga can be attacked by cannons fired from Sugarloaf Mountain. Claire recalls the battle of Singapore in World War II, and when she says, “Seeing is believing,” Jamie gets the idea to demonstrate that he’s right.
Ian makes it to Shadow Lake village and spots Emily (Morgan Holmstrom). It’s a happy reunion and Ian asks her to take a short walk so they can talk. Emily can’t go far because of her son and newborn daughter. Ian’s pleased that her family’s grown and apologizes for not giving her a child.
Ian asks to meet her son and Emily seems shocked but agrees. The boy runs over, and he looks like a younger version of Ian! They spend a little time alone when Emily leaves to care for her baby, and the boy introduces himself as Swiftest of Lizards. The boy knows English and says his grandmother talks about him. Ian asks what she says, and he answers, “She says I’m the child of your spirit.”
He adds, “But I should not say so to my father.”
Emily rejoins them and asks Ian to give him a white man’s name. Ian names him Ian James.
Claire continues to nurse patients, and one, Mrs. Raven, is in the middle of an emotional breakdown. Her husband and son were killed, and she’s scared to death of the fort falling into British hands.
Mrs. Raven’s care will have to wait as Claire’s drawn into an argument between Lt. Stactoe and the newly arrived Dr. Denzell Hunter. They’re fighting over where to amputate patient Walter Woodcock’s leg, and Claire agrees it needs to go because his foot is gangrenous. She also agrees with Denzell that the leg must come off at mid-thigh rather than below the knee, as Stactoe suggests.
Claire confuses both men when she wants to boil water and clean the blades before they amputate.
Jamie has his men demonstrate to Brigadier General Fermoy that the fort is within firing range of Sugarloaf. But rather than thank Jamie and act on this information, Fermoy berates Jamie and orders him to bring his men back from Sugarloaf.
Ian returns to Fort Ticonderoga and is surprised to run into Rachel. They catch up, and Ian offers her his protection. Rachel laughs and accepts. She points out he’s got medicinal herbs, and he says they’re for his Auntie Claire. Rachel had no idea that Ian’s related to Claire; that means they’ll be seeing more of each other.
Claire inspects Walter’s leg, and he jokes about not being able to dance. That’s how he and his wife met and fell in love.
Night falls, and Jamie is proven correct. The redcoats have taken up positions on Sugarloaf Mountain and Fermoy lies and claims no one could have predicted this. The fort’s within range of their cannons, so it must be evacuated. Jamie reveals that his men have already commandeered boats because the escape will be quicker on the water.
Whatever can’t be carried needs to be destroyed so it won’t fall into the hands of their enemies.
They only have a few hours and Jamie tells Claire they’ll bring as many patients and civilians as they can. Unfortunately, Walter can’t go with them. His sutures won’t hold so soon after his surgery. Claire apologizes and assures Walter that the British will show him mercy. She also tells him how to care for his wound and gives him laudanum for the pain.
The final boats are loaded as smoke rises from the fort.
Brianna heads out on her first day at work as Plant Inspector, and, of course, she’s the only female on-site at the dam. One of the workers, Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton), volunteers to take her to the valve room where work is being done on a turbine. Rob and another man seem friendly enough as they have her step inside the building, even handing her a flashlight. But it’s a trick. She’s locked inside, alone, and left to find her own way out.
Bree studied the layout before arriving on site, and she’s fairly sure which way to go until she comes to a fork in the tunnel. She concentrates and recalls that she’s supposed to turn right.
A bizarre portal-ish window appears in the tunnel leading to the exit, and Bree covers her ears and rushes through it. Nothing happens, and she’s able to make her way outside safely.
Back at Lallybroch, Roger’s working outside when he spots Jemmy arriving home and rushing off into the bushes and into a building that’s off-limits. Roger fetches him and learns that Jemmy got in trouble at school for speaking in Gaelic after a boy insulted his family. He cursed at the teacher (using one of Jamie’s curses!) for grabbing his ear and shaking him and received an additional three slaps from the headmaster.
Roger promises to straighten things out. He asks Jemmy to pick up his food wrappers before they head inside, and Jemmy claims they’re not his.
At dinner, Bree makes up a story that the men applauded when she found her way out of the dam. The family cheers for her success, but Roger knows she’s hiding something.
They leave the kids to eat their dessert, and Brianna finally confesses she had a horrible day and is furious at the men. They only locked her in because she’s a woman. She’s worried they’ll never respect her, and Roger reminds her this must be what Claire went through as the only woman in her class at Harvard Medical School.
Roger’s proud of what she’s accomplished, and he bought a special pen as a present. Mandy’s screaming interrupts their kiss, and Jem says Mandy saw someone at the window. Mandy says it was the nuckelavee.
Roger recalls the food wrappers and checks around outside. No one’s there.
Later, Roger’s ready for a little intimate time with Bree, but she’s distracted. Rather than have sex with her handsome husband, she heads to a local pub where the dam workers are gathered. Women don’t usually visit the establishment, but Bree doesn’t care and takes a seat with the men. Rob teases her that they always lock the new person inside, but Bree warns him never to do anything like that again. If they do, she’ll have them all fired.
Episode five ends with Brianna alone and entering the cemetery. She smiles as she kneels by the cairn Jemmy made and then adds a stone. She speaks out loud to Jamie and tells him about her new position as Plant Inspector. Bree believes he’d be proud of her. She also informs him they brought Lallybroch.
- Outlander Season 7 Episode 1 “A Life Well Lost” Recap
- Outlander Season 7 Episode 2 “The Happiest Place on Earth” Recap
- Outlander Season 7 Episode 3 “Death Be Not Proud” Recap
- Outlander Season 7 Episode 4 “A Most Uncomfortable Woman” Recap
- Outlander Season 7 Episode 6 “Where the Waters Meet” Recap
- Outlander Season 7 Episode 7 “A Practical Guide to Time-Travelers” Recap
- Outlander Season 7 Episode 8 “Turning Points” Midseason Finale Recap
