Recap of Outlander
Season 6, Episode 1:
Echoes
Tropes
- Adaptational Ugliness: Harry Quarry, the warden of Ardsmuir prior to John Grey, is depicted as a staid, heavy set older gentleman. In the Lord John novels, he is an active duty soldier, portrayed as much closer to Lord John's age, with a reputation as a lady's man.
- The Alcoholic: Fergus shows up drunk multiple times throughout the episode.
- Been There, Shaped History: Claire discovers ether and plans to use it as an anesthetic.
- Black-and-White Morality: Tom does not understand why Jamie would take the blame and receive a flogging for a crime he did not commit. Tom sees it as a perversion of justice, while the other prisoners see it as heroic and selfless.
- Can't Refuse the Call Anymore:
- Jamie initially refuses to become the Indian Agent to the Crown. But after Major MacDonald tells Jamie the position will go to Richard Brown, who is ruthless, Jamie quickly decides to become the Indian Agent.
- Still grieving Claire and his unborn child, Jamie is completely uninterested in leading the Highlanders in Ardsmuir prison, no matter how much deference they instinctively give him. However, when the tensions between the Protestant and Catholic prisoners boils over into a brawl that kills a young prisoner, Jamie steps in and takes command to broker a peace between the two factions.
- Denied Food as Punishment: Harry Quarry places food in front of Jamie and Tom, knowing both men are extremely hungry, but protocol says they will be punished if they start eating before he does because he is their superior. He gives a long rant about how they are beneath him and then has the food taken away without allowing them a single bite.
- Establishing Character Moment: Tom Christie's first act on screen is using religion to cause dissent between the Protestants and the Catholics at Ardsmuir. This is his constant tact, using peoples' beliefs to make them feel obliged to help him subjugate and harm others.
- Flashback B-Plot: The first quarter of the episode is a flashback to Tom and Jamie's time in Ardsmuir, used to explain why there is bad blood between the two.
- The Fundamentalist: Tom Christie believes his religion is the one true faith and anyone who believes practices anything different is a both a heathen and inferior.
- Freemasons: To create peace between the Protestants and Catholics in Ardsmuir Prison, Jamie becomes a Freemason and persuades the other prisoners to do so to prevent any more unnecessary fighting.
- Hallucinations: During Jamie’s flogging at Ardsmuir, Jamie hallucinates Claire to help him in his time of darkness.
- Hellhole Prison: As previously depicted, Ardsmuir Prison is absolutely nightmarish. The prisoners live in filthy and unsafe conditions while working hard labor. The prison also lacks enough food for the prisoners, requiring them to catch their food, which causes strife amongst the prisoners. Meanwhile, the captains and guards eat enough and live in reasonable quarters.
- Indentured Servitude: Tom tells Brianna and Roger how he was indentured as a schoolmaster after his time at Ardsmuir.
- Leader Wannabe: Tom wanted to lead the prisoners in Ardsmuir but his tact of self-righteousness and moralistic highhandedness toward those he believed were beneath him does little more than stir constant conflict. After stoking the tensions between the Catholics and the Protestants once again, Christie struggled to gain control of the men during the resulting riot, and Jamie took control of the situation, shouting orders to his men in Gaelic. In the end, the prisoners choose Jamie as their leader, much to Tom's displeasure.
- When Tom comes to Fraser’s Ridge, he is the de facto leader of the small group of fisherfolk, but Jamie still has the upper hand as the landlord of the settlement.
- Mistaken for Betrayal: Before Richard Brown lets Allan Christie go for stealing the powder horn, he claims Allan is a rebel who stole gunpowder. Tom quickly states that Allan is not a traitor and is loyal to the King.
- Napoleon Delusion: A prisoner at Ardsmuir, Old Charlie, suffers from mental illness and believes he is the Bonnie Prince Charlie. The Jacobite prisoners affectionally bow to him, angering Tom.
- Passive-Aggressive Kombat: After Tom settles on Fraser's Ridge, Tom and Jamie frequently engage in passive aggression.
- Prison Riot: While building the rock wall, a riot breaks out between the Protestant and Catholic prisoners, resulting in a prisoner throwing a rock at James's head, killing him.
- Prisoner's Work: Tom and the Governor agree to give hard labor to the prisoners. The Governor excludes Tom and Jamie from the punishment. But Jamie disagrees and decides to work with the Catholic prisoners.
- Reluctant Ruler: After the Battle of Culloden, Jamie mourns Claire and prefers to keep to himself and stay out of trouble. After taking the blame for the tartan and receiving a flogging, he recognizes the prisoners do not want to work following the death of a prisoner the day before. Jamie mentions to Governor Quarry how the men are in mourning, the prison is divided, Scotland is divided, and the necessity for medicine, food, and peace for the prisoners is paramount. In the end, Jamie fully accepts his role as a leader to try to unite the Protestant and Catholic prisoners as Freemasons.
- The Scapegoat: Richard Brown continues to blame Native Americans for fires and threats, even though he and his men are committing the acts.
- Secret Handshake: As Jamie is being escorted out of Governor Quarry’s room, Jamie notices Tom and Governor Quarry’s Freemason handshake. Later, Jamie becomes a Freemason and suggests that the other prisoners become Freemasons to end the fighting.
- The Stool Pigeon: Tom Christie reports directly to the warden any times the Scottish prisoners do anything he deems inappropriate, even if it's done in jest.
- Taking the Heat: Jamie takes the blame when a British soldier finds Old Charlie’s tartan on James’s dead body. Tartan was banned after the Battle of Culloden.
- A Taste of the Lash:
- Jamie is flogged after accepting responsibility for the tartan on James’s body.
- Allan Christie is flogged with Jamie's belt after Richard Brown catches him with a stolen powder horn.
- You All Meet in a Cell: Tom Christie and Jamie Fraser meet in Ardsmuir Prison, decades before reuniting in North Carolina at Fraser’s Ridge.
