Recap of Outlander
Season 1, Episode 5:
Rent
Claire is brought along as a healer on the MacKenzie rent-collecting trip. In addition to collecting rents, Dougal uses Jamie's scars to drum up support for the Jacobite cause. One of his speeches triggers a memory for Claire of a famous moment in Scottish history that will soon occur.
Tropes
- Actually Pretty Funny: Rupert is telling a raunchy story about two women arguing about who will sleep with him first. He asks if the group can believe it. Claire responds that she believes his left hand gets jealous of his right. The group freezes in long moment of stunned silence then breaks out into laughter, led by Rupert himself.Rupert: I've never heard a woman make a joke!
- Armor-Piercing Response: As Claire winds up once again to tell Jamie how they do things where she's from, he responds "It doesn't matter where you're from. You're here." This cuts Claire short and then she responds "So I'm just to stand by and watch?" to which he responds "You're not to judge things you don't understand."
- Bar Brawl: Hearing other men bad talk Claire triggers this. While the MacKenzies might not trust her, she is their guest and under their protection. Even Dougal throws down.Murtagh: It was your honor we were defending. The lout called you a whore. You are a guest of the MacKenzie. We can insult you, but God help any other man that does.
- Bilingual Backfire: Dougal uses Gaelic to invoke feelings of kinship with the tenants of the MacKenzie lands and to make sure Claire, who he suspects of being an English spy, doesn't catch wise to what he's saying. Unfortunately for Dougal, "long give the Stuart" is a phrase Claire recognizes, even in Gaelic.
- Cassandra Truth: Claire tries to convince Ned that the Jacobites have no chance of successfully rebelling against the Crown. However, as she can't reveal that she's a time traveler who knows for a fact that they will all die, all it does it re-raise suspicions that she's a spy for the English. It also probably didn't help that she was previously also very sure Dougal was stealing.
- Create Your Own Villain: The blacksmith the MacKenzies intimidate into backing down turns out to be an officer in the British Army. He returns later in uniform with his men to demand they answer the questions they previously shouted down. This leads to Claire being required to go meet with the Garrison Commander.
- Creepy Crosses: The group encounters two Scotts who have been crucified and branded with the letter T for traitor by the Redcoats who suspected them of being Jacobite rebels.
- Dead Guy on Display: The Redcoats leave to Highlander's on display on crucifixes as a warning against joining the Jacobite cause.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Jamie hates Dougal's demand that he show his whipped back at each stop to show the cruelty of the Redcoats and elicit donations for the Jacobite cause. Jamie finds it extremely embarrassing but can't refuse because he swore an oath of obedience while on MacKenzie land. He gets even angrier when Dougal and Claire argue over who should have to mend the shirt Dougal ripped off of him. He ends up barking that he'll mend his own shirt and storming out.
- Fisticuff-Provoking Comment: Jamie has to remind Claire that she can't speak to Angus just any way she wants. Calling him a liar, a thief, telling him to kiss her English arse? Those are fighting words. The subtext is that the only reason there hasn't been a physical fight is both because she's a woman and Jamie keeps actively intervening to diffuse the conflict Claire stirs up.
- Go Through Me: At the inn, Jamie sleeps outside of Claire's door to make sure none of the drunkards in the tavern below wonder up to cause problems.
- Hates Everyone Equally: Jamie tries to reassure Claire that the men don't hate her, they just don't trust her yet. Then he corrects himself, saying that Angus probably does hate her, but he hates everyone.
- Hiding Behind the Language Barrier: Despite Dougal demand Claire accompany, the men still primarily speak in Gaelic, excluding Claire from their conversation and jokes.
- Honesty Aesop: Jamie explains to Claire that the reason no one trusts her is because she's obviously lying about something, even if they don't know exactly what. She asks if he thinks she's a liar. He tells her no, but he knows she's not telling the whole truth, he's the only one who knows she tried to escape during the gathering, and he can tell that she's obviously thinking about making another attempt. It doesn't inspire trust. She huffs and stomps off and he simply calls out "Hey, you asked!"
- I Warned You: Both Jamie and Ned tell Claire that she doesn't understand what is going on and that she should butt out and keep her mouth closed. She still insists on confronting Dougal and accusing him of stealing from his own brother for personal gain. Of course, she turns out to be wrong.
- Musical Chores: While Ned and the men collect rent from the tenants, Claire joins the women who are waulking wool. They have a song that helps them keep up a steady beat to work the dye into the wool.
- Not Helping Your Case: Claire already has trouble getting the men to trust her. Then she calls them thieves and refuses to eat the food they provide her for free because it's stolen by her modern definition.
- Penny Shaving: Dougal and Ned keep two money bags, one for the rent that goes to Colum and one for support for the Jacobite cause.
- Protagonist-Centered Morality: Subverted. When Claire thinks that Ned and Dougal are skimming money from Colum, she tries to make the men feel bad for taking payment and tributes from the tenants who didn't have much to give. Jamie points out that she is a visitor and she shouldn't criticize what she doesn't understand. This is emphasized when it's revealed that she misunderstood the situation and Dougal and Ned aren't actually stealing from Colum.
- Punch a Wall: Jamie is furious with Dougal, but he can't attack his uncle so he punches a nearby tree to vent his frustration.
- The Reveal: Ned and Dougal aren't stealing from Colum to line their own pocket. The money is going towards the Jacobite rebellion which wants to return a Stuart king to the throne.
- Road Trip Plot: Dougal leads a contingent to visit all the settlements on MacKenzie lands to collect rent.
