Jamie and Claire faced the realities that the Battle of Culloden would happen in the Outlander Season 2 finale. Because of that, Jamie made sacrifices many others wouldn’t be able to.
It seems fitting that the recap for the Outlander Season 2 finale is being written today. It’s the last Thursday before the anniversary of the Battle of Culloden, which took place on April 16, 1746. This was the battle that would see the demise of the Scottish clans and highland ways. For Claire and Jamie, it was the moment that would see the two separated for 20 years.
We knew this was going to happen. The Outlander Season 2 premiere told us that Claire would find herself back in the 1940s, dehydrated, dressed in authentic Scottish clothing, and confused and shocked of everything around her. After three years of being missing, it was time for Frank to see her again, but would he be able to accept her back? The finale told us the aftermath of the move to America.
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There were many jumps to the past and present (well, the past and further back in the past) during this episode. It’s easier to do the recap in two parts on two slides. This first slide will be a look at the events of the past and the next slide will be a recap of all the 1960s moments.
Culloden: April 16, 1746
It was finally time to face reality. After attempting to stop the battle and then attempting to win it, Jame and Claire knew that they weren’t going to change history. They had no choice but to go through with the mass slaughter that would happen since nobody was listening that it would be an ill-fated decision.
Before Jamie even considered battle, he was going to make sure things were in order. The first item of business was Lallybroch. There was no way he wanted that to fall into the Crown’s hands, which would happen if he was taken down as a traitor. So, he signed a deed to pass it onto Jenny’s eldest son, Young Jamie. The date was set a year before Culloden, before Jamie officially became a traitor in the eyes of the Crown, ensuring the land’s safety.
Young Fergus is given the deed to Lallybroch and told to ride off. That keeps Fergus out of the battle, at least.
And before that could take place, Claire got an idea. What if they killed Bonnie Prince Charlie? Without him, there would be nobody to follow into battle (not that BCP did anything useful!) so the rebellion would be over. They could kill him with the same poison used to kill Colum MacKenzie (under Colum’s request, remember).
Of course, Dougal MacKenzie hears this plan and attacks Claire and Jamie to ensure they can’t kill Charles. That leads to the two of them having to kill Dougal together. Farewell, Dougal. As much as you could be a jerk at times, you were a strong, willful, and consistent character!
Who saw the murder of Dougal? Rupert. Well, he sees the aftermath and is shocked at Jamie’s actions. Off Rupert goes, ready to fight at Culloden and die for his cause.
After all this happens, Jamie tells Murtagh to get the Lallybroch men back home. Of course, Murtagh makes it clear that he’s staying at Culloden to fight by Jamie’s side. Did we think he would do anything differently?
Before they can go to fight, Jamie has one last task. He needs to get Claire safely through the stones and back to the 1940s. After all, she’s pregnant with his child. Yes, Jamie had kept track of her menstrual cycle and knew she hadn’t bled for two months. Even before Claire knew, Jamie was certain he was going to be a father and he was going to make this sacrifice to ensure Claire had someone to care for her and the bairn. There’s a hot and beautiful moment between them at the stones, before Claire leaves and Jamie goes off to die.
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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