Outlander Season 2 finale recap: The Battle of Culloden
This is the perfect place to jump into the present day. We’d already seen Claire in the 1940s, trying to find out who had won Culloden. Frank had met her at the hospital, shocked but happy that she was alive. Now it was time to find out what she was doing there.
Rather than jump back to the 1940s, we see Claire in 1968. She and Brianna are in Inverness again without Frank (who it turns out has died) and are there to pay their respects and mourn the death of Reverend Wakefield. While there, Brianna catches the eye of Reverend Wakefield’s adopted son/nephew, Roger Wakefield.
When Claire asks about Mrs. Graham, Roger explains that she passed away a few years ago, but Mrs. Graham’s granddaughter, Fiona, is around. He then offers them a place to stay, so they don’t need to drive back to London that night. Of course, they take up Roger’s offer but Claire can’t sleep and is in the sitting room, having a dram of whiskey, when Roger ways and finds her.
It turns out (in case you didn’t know from the books) he’s a MacKenzie. Claire later does her resarch and finds out he’s an ancestor of Geillis Duncan and Dougal MacKenzie’s son, who was given to the family who had lost their baby “to the changeling” back when Claire was accused of being a witch.
While in Inverness, Claire takes the time to see what’s left of Lallybroch and the museum at Culloden, while Brianna and Roger bond and visit sites like Fort William. As the day progresses, Brianna starts questioning Claire about whether she ever loved Frank or even misses him. It’s clear that there’s a rift between Claire and Brianna.
The next day, Brianna comes across Geillis Duncan–Geillis before she traveled through the stones. We see this strong, independent and driven young woman, who just wants a Scotland that is run by the Jacobites. Eventually, Claire learns that Geillis learned all about the magic of the stones and planned her trip, which is how she ended up there. The important takeaway is that Geillis believes a human sacrifice is needed.
But before she sees Geillis go through the stones, Brianna wants to know the truth. She wants to know what happened before her birth in the 1940s. Claire decides it’s time to tell her the truth, but who would believe that story? Brianna certainly doesn’t and belives Claire is making up a story to cover up an affair.
It’s not until Claire, Brianna, and Roger see Geillis step through the stones (after killing and burning her husband as a sacrifice) that Brianna and Roger fully believe–also, the fact that they also hear the buzzing is important foreshadowing for Outlander Season 4–and all Brianna now wants is no more lies.
Well, there’s a lie to uncover. Roger and Brianna learned that Jamie never died at Culloden. There’s a chance that he is still alive somewhere in the past and Claire needs to go back.
Next: Outlander Season 2, Episode 12 recap: It's time for a Hail Mary
From that, we were left with burning questions about Claire and Jamie reuniting. Would Claire really leave Brianna behind? Could Brianna and Roger travel through the stones? What had happened to Jamie at Culloden after all? If you need a reminder, I’ll start the Outlander Season 3 recaps to catch up with where I started them when taking over Claire and Jamie very soon.
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