Recap of Outlander
Season 1, Episode 2:
Castle Leoch
Jamie: Ye need not be scairt of me nor anyone else, so long as I am with ye.
Claire: When you are not with me?
Jamie: Just never forget that you are English in place where that is not a pretty thing to be
Claire arrives at the MacKenzie clan's castle to meet the Laird, but finds herself under suspicion from all sides. As concerns about her true motives grow, Claire befriends the mysterious Geillis Duncan. When the clan discover her medical skills, Claire goes from guest to prisoner. Jamie reveals a dark chapter from his past and makes a noble gesture.
Tropes:
- Apron Matron: Mrs. Fitzgibbons. She runs the kitchens, knows everything that is going on, and can influence the men, to the extent that her place as an 18th century woman allows. She greets the men when they return to the castle, making sure they have everything they need, gets Claire up to 18th century standards, and even makes Jamie submit to medical care when he clearly doesn't want to.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Captain Randall has a reputation of being so sadistic that he earned the nickname Black Jack for the color of his soul. Yet, Colum questions Claire's claim that Randall stripped her and attempted to rape her, in spite of his knowledge that the same man nearly beat Jamie to death on more than one occasion and the persistent rumor that he raped Colum's own niece, Jenny. However, it's possible that Colum believes that Randall would visit those atrocities on the Scotts who Randall views as savages, but not against an English woman who should by all rights be under the Captain's protection.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Colum is speaking with Claire, examining her story for inconsistencies. He is clearly skeptical and questions her claim that a Captain in the King's Army attempted to rape her, asking why the Captain would try to do so for no good reason. Claire responds pointedly "Is there ever a good reason for rape, Master MacKenzie?" which is enough to give Colum pause and leads him to apologizing for the poor phrasing.
- A Taste of the Lash: Jamie reveals that he's been whipped on three separate occasion for obstruction, theft, and attempted escape.
- Comedic Underwear Exposure: Mrs. Fitz doesn't know what to make of Claire's 20th century bra and underwear. Claire explains that it's French which seems to be all the explanation Mrs. Fritz needs before getting her into a more appropriate corset and shift.
- Cover Identity Anomaly: Coming from a modern era where most people aren't readily able to recall the last three generations of their genealogy in detail, Claire struggles to answer Colum's questions about where she and her family are from. Doubly difficult as she is using her own maiden name as a cover while trying to use Frank's family tree to fill in details of her answers. Colum brings up the fact that despite Claire being an English woman claiming to be married to an English man, the name Beauchamp is French. This is not a problem in the 1940s where the French and English are now allies, but raises eyebrows in the 1740s were they are frequent war rivals.
- Covered with Scars: Jamie's back is covered with painful-looking leathery skin due to being viciously lashed multiple times, with scars from his shoulders blades all the way down to his tailbone.
- Cry into Chest: Claire breaks down into tears when Jamie inadvertently mentions Frank. Not sure how to comfort her, Jamie pulls her into a hug, letting her cry on him.
- Declaration of Protection: Jamie tells Claire "You need not be scared of me nor anyone else here, as long as I'm with you."
- Exact Words: When Claire begins crying over her husband, Jamie tries to tactfully ask about his status, asking "Is he not alive?" meaning "Did he die?" Claire responds "No, he's not alive," but she means "He hasn't been born yet."
- False Widow: Claire claims that her husband is "no longer alive" and that she is headed to France to live with his family.
- Friendly Address Privileges: Initially introduced as Mistress Fitzgibbons, once she realizes how much work Claire has done to nurse Jamie back to health, Mrs. Fitz tells Claire to call her by her shortened name as it's what everyone else uses.
- Fully-Clothed Nudity: The dress Claire is wearing is perfectly modest by 20th century standards, but it looks very familiar to an 18th century shift, so the characters of that time period treat as though she's roaming around in her underwear. And that's before she's rolled down a few hills, lost her accessories, used her hemline to make bandages, and spent days in the rain in an all white dress. The first thing Mrs. Fitzgibbons does is get her into more appropriate dress.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Jamie volunteers to be beaten to spare Laoghaire the shame of being whipped in front of the whole Clan for "loose" behavior. When asked why he did it, Jamie notes that in a few days he'll be healed and everyone will have forgotten, but Laoghaire would have been shamed in front of everyone, his phrasing strongly hinting that it would've affected her marriage prospects. Mrs. Fitz can barely stop herself from crying as she thanks Jamie for intervening for her granddaughter.
- Ignore the Disability: Claire, a trained nurse, wisely does not react to Colum's deformed legs. Later episodes will prove that his legs are a berserker button. He does not appreciate people pitying him or trying to hide the fact that he has a deformity.
- Incredibly Obvious Tail: Dougal assigns Rupert and Angus to follow Claire around in case she's a spy, to prevent her to finding out anything of interest.
- In Vino Veritas: During dinner, Colum continually tops off Claire's wine glass, all the while asking her seemingly innocent questions about her life. It's not until he asks her to reconcile the difference between what she just said and what she previously said that Claire realizes that she's being interrogated and flubbing her story.
- Newspaper Dating: Claire discerns the date from some correspondence on Colum's desk
- Not a Morning Person: Claire is dragging and barely coherent when Mrs. Fitz yanks her out of bed. Claire is visibly still drowsy, but Mrs. Fitz can't believe she's slept so late. It's already 5 AM!
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Claire mistakenly refers to Dougal as Hamish's father. Hamish replies that he is Colum's son. But given the tension between the adults at the table and Colum's disability and poor health, it is possible that Dougal stepped in to give his brother an heir and none of the parties involved ever speak of it.
- Rape, Pillage, and Burn: The Red Coats believe they're entitled to anything that catches their eye, including women.
- Scarpia Ultimatum: Captain Randall flogs Jamie until Jenny agrees to have to sex with him to keep the Captain from beating her brother to death.
- Stating the Simple Solution: When asked why he tried to escape prison, Jamie replies "Because they were holding me prisoner."
- Too Desperate to Be Picky: Jamie talks about being so hungry he willingly ate grass. He says it didn't taste bad but wasn't very filling.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Claire has been waiting all week for the tinker to arrive to take her to Inverness. Just as she is preparing to board the wagon, Colum changes her mind and revokes her permission to leave, confining her to the surgery until he can work out what she's keeping from them.
