Recap of Outlander
Season 1, Episode 15:
Wentworth Prison
Jamie awaits his death sentence, while Claire, Murtagh, and the MacKenzie Highlanders search for a rescue plan. When Jamie is granted a temporary stay of execution by Captain Black Jack Randall, he realizes there is a fate worse than death.
Tropes:
- Action Girl: Claire breaks into the prison using a rouse, searches the cells packed with unsavory men, sneaks around the guards, and even attempts to physically accost Captain Randall.
- Asshole Victim:
- MacQuarrie is hung after trusting a Redcoat deserter to get him information to rob the rent money from a local homestead that wasn't paying MacQuarrie's gang protection money
- Marley, Black Jack's bodyguard. He is threatening to rape Claire which rouses Jamie long enough for Jamie to slit his throat.
- Badass in Distress: While normally able to hold his own in a conflict, Jamie is too outnumbered and outgunned to effect an escape and is held captive and tortured by Randall in Wentworth Prison.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: The horrific ordeal that Jack Randall inflicts on Jamie Fraser in prison is definitely this.
- Damsel in Distress: Inverted. Jamie is the one captured and at risk of sexual assault and death while Claire is bravely risking it all in attempt to rescue her beloved.
- Defiant to the End: MacQuarrie goes to the gallows insulting the Redcoats, cursing the imposter king, and calling for the restoration of the Stuart king to the throne.
- Depraved Bisexual: Randall has previously attempted to sexually assault both Claire and Jenny and this is the second time he's offered sex in exchange for freedom to Jamie.
- Desecrating the Dead: The bodies of the condemned men are left out to rot rather than receiving a proper Christian burial.
- Determinator: Claire goes to Wentworth Prison on three separate occasions in her attempts to free Jamie, knowing each visit might get her killed as a co-conspirator.
- The Dog Bites Back: Jamie manages to kill Marley who'd nearly strangled Jamie to death, helped Black Jack crush Jamie's sword hand, and who'd been gearing up to rape Claire.
- Face Death with Dignity: Jamie would rather hang than be granted a quick, easy death in exchange for submitting to Randall's unwanted sexual advances.
- Fingore / Impaled Palm: Jack Randall nails Jamie's palm to a board and shatters his fingers with a hammer.
- Foreshadowing: Randall asks if Jamie ever has nightmares about him, if he ever thinks of Randall while having sex with Claire and goes soft. After Randall's brutal sexual assault of Jamie, both will be an ongoing problem for much of season 2.
- Friendly Address Privileges: Randall invokes this, asking if he can call Jamie by his nickname rather than by his formal Christian name or any of his titles.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Jamie agreeing to have sex with Randall in order to ensure Claire is allowed to safely leave the castle.
- Hope Spot: Claire locates an exit and finds Jamie, but is unable to find the key for the chain tethering him to the wall before Randall returns. When the Captain finds her there, he is able to use her presence as leverage to force Jamie to do what he wants in exchange for Claire's safety.
- How Would You Like to Die?: Invoked by Captain Randall. He offers to save Jamie from the disgrace of being hanged, allowing him to chose the execution method of his choice, if Jamie will submit his body to Randall for one night. Randall discusses some of the methods of death of famous leaders including hemlock and stabbing.Jamie: How will I ever chose?Randall: But chose, you must.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: Black Jack doesn't even try to hide his excitement over the chance to have his way with Jamie.
- Informed Attractiveness: As of this episode Ellen Fraser has never appeared on screen, but she is described as extremely beautiful by both Murtaugh and MacRannoch and both men still seem infatuated with her, even after her death. Murtaugh says Jamie, who is considered so attractive in-universe Even the Guys Want Him, is her spitting image.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Jamie pretends to allow Randall to see the scars on his back knowing the man's obsession will give him tunnel vision, long enough for Jamie to attack.
- Kick the Dog: Randall admits that if Jamie's letter had made it to its intended recipient, Randall likely would have been court-martialed and potentially hanged for his misdeeds. Then he burns the letter in front of Jamie.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: MacQuarrie is hung before he can finish his final words.
- Last-Minute Reprieve: Jamie is on the gallows with the noose around his neck when Captain Randall gallops through the gates yelling for the men to stop the executions immediately and present them with papers temporarily remanding Jamie into his custody.
- Last Words: MacQuarrie's final words are simply to express regret that he spent his life preying on his fellow Scots rather than fighting the Redcoats and calling for the return of the Stuart king to the throne.
- Lecherous Licking: Randall is so obsessed with the flogging scars on Jamie's back that he actually licks them. Jamie, of course, is horrified.
- Loose Lips: The Duke's inability to keep his mouth shut leads to Randall finding out about Jamie's Letter of Petition and intercepting it before it can get to the Court of Petitions.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Claire's first attempt to rescue Jamie from Wentworth Prison results in his rape and torture at Randall's hands.
- No Dead Body Poops: Invoked and played with. MacQuarrie theorizes that when you're hung, the restricted blood gives you one last orgasm. Jamie says he heard you shit yourself as you fight to live. It's not made clear if MacQuarrie defecated or not as he struggled against the noose.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Even Black Jack acknowledges that Jamie and Claire being too honorable to kill him when they had the chance is a mistake they'll both come to regret.
- Not Afraid to Die: MacQuarrie says he's not afraid to die as he knew the logical end of his career as a gunslinging bandit was to die at the end of a rope.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Rupert and Angus pretend to be drunk, bad gamblers to weedle information out of the Wentworth guards.
- Only I Can Kill Him: When Marley straddles Jamie, choking him as hard as he can, Randall kicks the man in the face to breakup the struggle. He berates his Marley calling him an idiot and chastising him for nearly killing Jamie. Marley is visibly confused as Jamie is already condemned to die and had just attacked both of his captors.
- Personal Effects Reveal: Claire is given a box of the things Jamie was carrying with him when he was captured. It includes a wooden figurine carved for him by his deceased older brother.
- Pervy Patdown: Marley's search of Claire for weapons includes groping her breast, hiking up her skirt, and burying his face in her hair and sniffing creepily.
- Please, I Will Do Anything!: It is shown in previous episodes that Jamie has previously refused Black Jack's offer of sex for freedom because he considers it a matter of pride, willing to endure any amount of torture to avoid submitting to Randall's desire to dominate him. But at the possibility of Claire being harmed, Jamie pleads to be allowed to take the man's offer in exchange for Claire's safety and freedom.
- Public Execution: The condemned prisoners are gathered into the courtyard and forced to watch as they are hanged one by one.
- Rape as Drama: Randall brutally rapes Jamie in Wentworth Prison.
- Rescue Arc: Murtagh and Claire spend most of the episode trying to rescue Jamie but are ultimately unsuccessful.
- Retroactive Precognition: Because of her knowledge of Frank's family tree, Claire is able to call Randall by his full name, tell him his date and place of birth, and tell him the exact date he will die, information that she had no way of knowing as far as Randall knew.
- Sadist: After crushing Jamie's hand, Randall grabs the other and forcibly moves it to where Jamie can feel how aroused Randall is by the situation. After nailing Jamie's hand to the table, he forcibly kisses Jamie.
- Scarpia Ultimatum: Randall will allow Claire to leave the castle safely if Jamie will submit to having sexual relations with Randall without resisting. As Jamie absolutely despises Randall, is heterosexual, and has only ever had sex with Claire, it's a horrifying option, but he's willing to do it to ensure Claire's safety.
- Shout-Out: Randall quotes The Once and Future King.
- Suicide Mission: The gates of Wentworth are considered a one-way trip and Claire has a great deal of difficulty finding anyone willing to risk getting arrested and hanged for attempting a prison break.
- Thwarted Escape: Claire comes incredibly close to rescuing Jamie with only minimal damage done to him. Unfortunately, Randall returns before she can loose his shackles and things go From Bad to Worse.
- Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: Randall lays the blame for his torturous treatment of Jamie on Jamie's unwillingness to submit willingly to being raped.
- Villainous Rescue: Randall saves Jamie from the gallows for his own depraved reasons.
