Recap of Outlander
Season 1, Episode 13:
The Watch
Jamie finds himself in a difficult position when a Redcoat deserter from his past resurfaces, while the family scrambles to conceal Jamie's true identity from the members of the Watch. When Jenny goes into labor, Claire tries to ward off a crisis as Jamie and Ian are forced to join in on an ill-advised venture.
Tropes
- Accent Interest: As part of his cover, Jamie claims to be from an inland part of Scotland. MacQuarrie notes that he doesn't have an Inlander accent. Claire covers by saying that perhaps the time Jamie spent in France during the war and the subsequent time he's spent with Ian in the Highlands has affected his accent.
- Asshole Victim:
- After going too far with his blackmail gambit, Horrocks is killed by his would be victims. Instead of being angry about Jamie and Ian killing one of his men, MacQuarrie thinks they've done him a favor, citing that he never trusted Horrocks due to the man being a deserter from his own army.
- After bullying the people of Lallybroch and intending to rob the rent men of another estate, the Watch is caught in an ambush by the Redcoats. With the exception of Ian and one other man, they are all either captured or killed.
- Back Stab: How Ian dispatches Horrocks.
- Badass Boast: Jamie tells MacQuarrie that he'd better hope his gun works, because if he misfires, Jamie is going to ram the pistol down his throat. He says this unflinchingly while at gun point.
- Battle Cry: In the Battle of Silesia, the battle cry was "Never be taken alive."
- Beware the Nice Ones: Ian is very meek and mild mannered but he will not tolerate Harrock's greed endangering the lives of his family or friends.
- Blackmail: Horrocks demands Jamie pay him for his silence. When Jamie gives him all the money he has, Horrocks decides it's not enough and that Jamie should go and collect an offering from his tenants and sell off some livestock and land to fund the life Horrocks wants in the Americas. This leads to a Blackmail Backfire.
- Blackmail Backfire: Horrocks threatens to bring the Redcoats down on Lallybroch if Jamie doesn't raise more money even though doing so would possibly impoverish the community past the point of sustainability. He and Jamie are in the middle of a death glare showdown when suddenly a knife bursts through Horrock's chest from behind. Ian does not appreciate people threatening his family and friends.
- The Bully: The men of the Watch enjoy throwing their weight around and inflicting fear, helping themselves to anything that catches their eye and watching people walk on eggshells in an effort to avoid provoking violence. Lennox even sets fire to the hay the people will need for winter cattle feed when told that he shouldn't have helped himself to the expensive tobacco. He then laughs as people scramble to put out the fire.
- Bully Hunter: Jamie is not inclined to look the other way as the Watch takes advantage of the residents of Lallybroch. When Lennox sets a fire just to be petty, Jamie proceeds to inflict a Curb-Stomp Battle despite being outnumbered and unarmed against a group of armed men.
- Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind: Ian does this to save Jamie from Harrocks.
- Cornered Rattlesnake: The members of the Watch mistakenly think that being the only ones armed with guns makes them irrevocably the apex predators of the situation. Jamie disagrees.
- Dangerous Deserter: By definition, a deserter can't be trusted to keep their word, and Horrocks is no exception. He blackmails Jamie and then intentionally walks the Watch thinking he'll walk away having been paid by Jamie, the Watch, and the British. His pure avarice kicks off a chain of events that gets nearly everyone killed, including Harrocks himself.
- Death by Childbirth: This is given as the cause of Ellen Fraser's death and Jenny is afraid the same will happen to her since the child is breech.
- Defeat Means Friendship: When Jamie manages to disarm and beat up the entirety of MacQuarrie's gang, MacQuarrie offers him a position with the Watch. When he takes credit for killing Horrocks, MacQuarrie promises never to turn him over to the British, not even for the massive bounty on Jamie's head.
- Heroic BSoD: After killing Horrocks, Ian is visibly shaking, barely able to sheath his sword, and has to be reminded by Jamie to hide the evidence.
- Hired Guns: The members of the Watch. They accept protection money to keep estates safe from the British, but are not above stealing things from their protectees for themselves.
- Improvised Weapon: Jamie uses his horseshoe tools to disarm Lennox who is holding him at gunpoint.
- Internal Reveal: Jamie is eventually forced to reveal the bounty on his head to MacQuarrie
- Last-Minute Baby Naming: Since Jenny was expecting a boy, she didn't have a name picked out for her new daughter. She decides to name her Margaret, after her grandmother.
- Maternity Crisis: Jenny goes into labor, distracting all the characters fro their goal of placating and getting rid of the watch before they discover Jamie's true identity. It's also a very difficult birth as the baby is breech and the midwife is away from the village.
- Mistaken for Thief: Because they've never met Jamie before, the members of the Watch presume he is a thief when they find him moving about the house in the early hours of the morning. They hold him at gunpoint until Jenny arrives and assures them that he's a relative and has permission to be in the house.
- Mugging the Monster: The only advantage the members of the Watch have is strength in numbers and they are armed with guns. They like to point their guns at people to remind them of the stakes. Unfortunately, they eventually goad Jamie to the point that he doesn't care and get a thorough reminder that armed or not, Jamie is a 6'3", 200 lb, war-hardened Highlander who can kick serious ass.
- Oh, Crap!: Jamie, when he realizes that instead of pulling an ambush, they've been walked into one.
- Posthumous Villain Victory: Horrocks intended to walk the Watch into an ambush by the Redcoats in exchange for being cleared of desertion charges. Even though he pushed his luck too far to enjoy the fruits of his scheme, the Watch continues with his robbery plot, inadvertently falling into his trap.
- Real Name as an Alias: Jamie is introduced to the watch as Jamie MacTavish.
- Refuge in Audacity: To protect Ian from the potential consequences of killing a member of the The Watch, Jamie takes credit for killing Horrocks, admitting that he had a bounty on his head and Horrocks was threatening him and his family so he murdered Horrocks to keep him quiet. Instead of being angry, MacQuarrie is impressed.
- Remember the New Guy?: Invoked in-universe. MacQuarrie questions why he's never heard of Jamie if he's actually a long-time friend and war buddy of Ian's. Ian insists he's mentioned Jamie before but MacQuarrie remains skeptical.
- Screaming Birth: Jenny is screaming so loudly during her labor that Lennox yells back for her to quit her racket.
- Smug Snake: Convinced he has Jamie trapped between a rock and a hard place, Horrocks delights in making demands, making veiled threats, and waxing about his big plans in the colony.
- Suicidal Overconfidence: It doesn't seem to occur to Horrocks that blackmailing a man accused of murder might lead to being murdered.
- Sixth Ranger Traitor: Horrocks joins the Watch pretending to have valuable information that will make them all rich, but actually has secretly made a deal with the Redcoats to lead the Watch into an ambush in exchange for having his desertion charges cleared.
