Tonight's 'Outlander' Is One of the Show's Most Difficult to Watch
Warning: This article features an in-depth discussion about sexual abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
There were a lot of ups and downs during Sunday's episode of Outlander, which saw Brianna finally make it to America and reunite with Roger as Claire and Jamie chilled out just steps away none the wiser. The biggest moments lie below (and trust: they're pretty major), but please note that the final minutes of this episode dealt with sexual assault, which we'll go over in the last paragraph of this recap.
Plus, read an interview with Sophie Skelton about Brianna's trajectory in this episode.
Roger Reunites with Brianna!
Important update: Roger now has a low ponytail, and he and his culottes are wandering around Wilmington desperately trying to find Brianna. "Wait," you say, "Roger didn't die at sea?!" I know, it's truly shocking! But despite traveling to the 18th century with nothing but a compass and a ponytail, this turtleneck-loving bae has made it to America against all odds-and great news! He runs into Brianna at a random bar.
Brianna is surprisingly thrilled to see Roger (despite the fact that he's the actual worst) and they immediately declare their love for each other. Which is kinda cute, if your definition of "kinda cute" is Brianna kissing an unwashed seaman. Which brings us to...
Brianna and Roger Get Married!
Fueled by sexual frustration, Brianna and her stalker boyfriend make their way to some random shed and start making out. It's sweet and sexy! Until Roger ruins everything by once again saying he'll "have all of her or none at all," prompting Brianna to be like ugh fine let's get engaged.
Except even an engagement doesn't appear to be enough for Roger, and he suggests they get married in a Highland ceremony that involves just the two of them, a roaring fire, and my personal side-eyes. Which brings us to the longest sex scene of all time.
Brianna and Roger Finally Have Sex
And it lasts for hours. Honestly, I was shocked I hadn't entered the year 2019 by the time this scene ended. The great news is that Roger finally changes out of his culottes (perhaps for the first time in 200 years). The bad news is that Roger says things like, "If I take you now it's for always," and, "I've been wondering for a while what color your hair is down here," which we can all agree is a hard NOPE.
Jamie Prevents Murtagh from Being Arrested
Meanwhile, Claire and Jamie spend the majority of this episode at a fancy play with their buddy Governor Tryon, who casually informs Jamie that he has a mole in Murtagh's Regulator group. Even worse, the governor knows the Regulators are about to steal a bunch of treasury money, and he's planning to have them arrested.
Fortunately, Jamie manages to sneak out of the play by causing a diversion, hitches a ride from George Washington (yes, the very one) and gets word to Murtagh via Fergus to call off the heist. Oh! And he blames George Washington for tipping off the Regulators! Good times.
Claire Performs Emergency Surgery, Because of Course
Remember that diversion I mentioned? Yeah, so Jamie straight up hit an injured dude named Edmund Fanning during the play, causing his hernia to spasm. Naturally, Claire had to perform emergency surgery on him in front of a bunch of sexist naysayers-because what would an episode of Outlander be without Claire performing emergency surgery? Even more naturally, Claire crushes it, so YOU'RE WELCOME, EDMUND FANNING.
P.S. In unrelated news that's not worthy of it's own section, Fergus and Marsali had their baby and it's cute. His name is Germain.
Unfortunate Update: Brianna and Roger Break Up
Despite their passionate evening of lovemaking, Brianna and Roger get into a huge fight when she finds out he knew all about Claire's obituary and chose not to tell Bree. And honestly, Roger doesn't make it better when he implies that Brianna's immature and needs to listen to him now that she's his wife. Understandably, Brianna's having none of that and tells Roger to f*ck right off to the 20th century. Boy, bye!
Brianna Is Raped by Stephen Bonnet
In the final moments of this week's episode, Brianna runs into Stephen Bonnet and notices that he has Claire's wedding ring.
In the hopes of buying the ring from him, Brianna follows Bonnet into a room and he rapes her. The assault happens off camera as Brianna's cries are ignored by everyone in the bar. It's obviously extremely upsetting that yet another female character on Outlander is raped, and it's unclear how the aftermath will be handled considering it happened within the last few moments of the episode. That said, Outlander historically handles sexual assault with responsibility and care, so hopefully the show won't gloss over the emotional and physical impact of what happened to Brianna.
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