Recap of Outlander
Season 5, Episode 4:
The Company We Keep
Roger faces the first test of his leadership when the militia unintentionally gets caught up in the middle of a small town's family feud. Back on the Ridge, Brianna sees worrisome signs that Stephen Bonnet may be watching her and baby Jemmy.
Tropes
- Adaptational Wimp: The show portrays Roger as shaken by confrontation and desperate to keep the peace, losing the respect of his men in the process. In the books, he immediately charges into the building where the gunmen are hiding and disarms one. Fergus, who followed him, disarms the other. Roger calmly assesses the situation and , while he does still intend to wait for Jamie, the militia men are fairly amused by his initial response.
- Answer Cut: When Jamie discovers that several of his men have deserted, he demands to know why. Cut to the door of a shack swinging open to show Isaiah Morton tied up under the Brown's guard.
- The Cavalry: Jamie asks Roger what he was planning to do once he ran out of whisky to keep Lionel Brown placated. Roger admits he was simply stalling and hoping Jamie would show up before that happened.
- Deadpan Snarker: Jamie gets in a good one at Isaiah.Jamie: Now, what disarray have you and your cock brought upon our endeavor?
- Defiled Forever: Alicia's arranged marriage fell apart when it's revealed that she has already slept with Isaiah and is therefore no longer a virgin. Her family is deeply shamed by their unwed, unchaste daughter and fear they'll never be able to marry her off properly.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Roger attempts to mollify the Browns, believing his job is to keep the peace. Jamie is upset, informing him that his actual job is to keep the militia together and protect the men at all cost. He should have never agreed to turn over Morton and instead forced his advantage given how many armed men he had with him.
- Driven to Suicide: When Alicia learns that Isaiah can't actually marry her and realizes that no one else will accept her, she decides that the best way to restore her family's good name is to kill herself. Luckily, Jamie and Claire interrupt her attempt.
- Get a Hold of Yourself, Woman!: After Alicia runs into the streets hysterically declaring her undying love for Isaiah Morton, her mother runs out and slaps her telling her to get ahold of herself and stop shout her shame for all to hear.
- HA HA HA—No: Jamie's reaction to Fergus' joke about baby Bonnie being the product of his and Claire being away from the miliita for a few days.
- Hypocrite: Jamie scolds Isaiah for sleeping with Alicia while secretly being married to someone else, despite the fact that both he and Claire have done the same at different points in the series. He specifically calls Isaiah a bigamist, which is not actually true. Isaiah is married to his wife, but was never married to Alicia despite wanting to be. Jamie and Claire, on the other hand, have both been married to more than one person simultaneously. When Isaiah explains his marriage, it actually sounds remarkably like Jamie and Laoghaire (they married but haven't lived as man and wife in over two years, they're not in love, and they have no children together. Isaiah left because he was in love with another woman).
- I Have Many Names: When Claire points out a news article written under her alias, Dr. Rawlings, Jamie points out that she's gone by Beauchamp, Randall, and Fraser and jokingly asks if she has another husband he should know about.
- Internal Reveal:
- Jamie, Claire, and Fergus learn that Claire's health care newsletter, intended only for the Ridge residents, has been published and is circulating throughout the county.
- Alicia learns that despite his promises, Isaiah can't marry her because he's already married.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Jamie and Claire both temporarily consider keeping Bonnie, believing that finally being able to raise a child together will make the other happy. But once they discuss it, they decide that it's not necessary, they're happy as they are.
- I Wished You Were Dead: Marsali confides to Bree that she wished her abusive father was dead. When he was arrested as a Jacobite and died in prison as a result, she blamed herself for praying for his death.
- Love Makes You Dumb: Invoked first by Roger when they first set Isaiah free and then by Isaiah when he returns for Alicia despite the danger to his life.
- Love-Obstructing Parents: Alicia Brown's parents refuse to allow her to be with Isaiah Morton because they had a more lucrative marriage already arranged for her.
- Mediation Backfire: Roger agreeing to allow Morton to be detained under the Browns' guard causes the militia men to lose confidence in his leadership and they desert as a result. Jamie later explains that as their Captain, Roger's duty is to have their back no matter what. By turning over Morton at the first sign of trouble, he demonstrated that he will sacrifice them to keep the peace.
- The Men First: Jamie and Roger disagree on what it means to put their men first. Jamie believes it means protecting them against all outsiders. Roger believes it means keeping everyone as safe as possible and not taking unnecessary risks.
- Missing Child: Brianna nearly has a meltdown fearing that Stephen Bonnet has struck when Jemmy inexplicably goes missing. Her panic brings all the women to her aid and she still has trouble calming even after he is discovered, having wondered outside in pursuit of a shiny bauble.
- Must Make Amends: Jamie initially tells Isaiah that he must marry Alicia only to discover that the boy cannot because he's already married.
- Nature Adores a Virgin: Elijah Ford refuses to marry Alicia because she's not a virgin.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When Jamie finally arrives in Brownsville, he learns that under Roger's watch several of his men have deserted, one of his men has been arrested (and the town wants to hang him), Roger has given away a bunch of their valuable whisky, and they're no closer to resolving the offending issue and being able to leave town.
- Not Supposed to Be a Punishment: When Jamie asks Roger to escort Claire and the twins back to Fraser's Ridge, Roger is deeply hurt, viewing it as a sign that Jamie doesn't trust or value him as his second in command. Claire corrects him saying that Jamie has entrusted Roger with Claire's safety and that's the highest level of trust possible from Jamie.
- Playing Nice for Now: Although Richard Brown doesn't really like Jamie, he recognizes that it might be to his advantage to form an alliance with someone with such a strong alliance with the Governor. He volunteers some of the men from Brownsville towards Jamie's militia in a show of good will, but makes it clear that it's a political move rather than an overture of actual friendship.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Lionel Brown is ready to take on the militia in order to get to Isaiah Morton. Richard Brown realizes that if the men of Brownsville kill members of the Governor's militia, they will be declared traitors to the Crown and the Redcoats will come flooding into their settlement with no mercy. He instead works with Jamie to deescalate the situation.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Lionel Brown is hot tempered, impulsive, and reckless. Richard Brown is far more calm, cold, and calculating, keeping his brother and their men in line and out of trouble.
- Replacement Goldfish: Lucinda's baby was born prematurely and died as a result. She and her husband are hopeful that Claire and Jamie will allow them to adopt Baby Bonnie.
- The Scapegoat: A literal one. Jamie blames a goat for the Browns' horses getting loose.
- Scheherezade Gambit: Roger gives out alcohol and sings folk songs for the townsfolk to keep tensions at a minimum in hopes that Jamie will arrive in time to defuse the situation.
- My Secret Pregnancy: Alicia is devastated to learn that Isaiah is already married as she is pregnant and she was depending on him to marry her and take her away so she wouldn't be shunned by her community.
- Shotgun Wedding: Averted. When Jamie demands Isaiah do the right thing and marry Alicia after deflowering her, Isaiah confesses that he can't because he's already married. It was an Arranged Marriage and he doesn't love his wife but as a Catholic, he can't divorce her either.
- Synchronization: Claire is exasperated that Josiah and Keziah both suffer from tonsillitis.
- Third-Party Peacekeeper: Roger tries to act as this between Morton and the Browns.
- To Make a Long Story Short: Jamie asks Roger to explain why he's giving away their whisky. Roger launches into a story about the etymology of the phrases "When in Rome" and "Dutch courage". The longer he talks, the more visibly irritated Jamie grows. He cuts him off when Roger transitions into a talking about the World Wars.
- We Need a Distraction: Jamie loses the Browns' horses to send the men running in the opposite direction of Isaiah and Alicia's escape.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Jamie is visibly disgusted that Roger allowed Lionel Brown to arrest one of their men rather than standing his ground against the Browns. Given their desertion, the other men of the militia felt the same.
- You Wouldn't Shoot Me: Invoked by Jamie and played straight. Isaiah pulls a gun on him, demanding to see Alicia, but they both know he doesn't want to hurt Jamie. He's just desperate to see Alicia.
