Outlander Season 3, Episode 9 recap: The Frasers set sail to Jamaica
The search for the Jonah
Along the way, the weather isn’t friendly. There’s been no rain for days (maybe weeks) and they’re running out of water on the ship. Everyone is struggling and that leads to the shipmates turning against each other. Unsurprisingly, they start looking for those who didn’t touch the horseshoe–see, told you it would come up! At first, they believe it’s one of the women, but the tables turn on one of Jamie’s prison friends. They name this guy the Jonah (after Jonah and the Whale).
Claire spends a lot of time arguing with the captain about the susperstitions. She wants the captain to put a stop to it all, but that would lead to mutiny and he’s not going to do that! This is the time I started to get annoyed with Claire. She really needs to get with the times. The world and beliefs were vastly different to what she’s used to in 1968. Deal with it!
As it looks like the “Jonah” is going to go overboard, Mr. Willoughby distracts everyone. He’s noticed something and he decides to tell his heartbreaking story about how he came to a land where he’s clearly not welcome. Outlander Season 3 managed to develop Mr. Willoughby excellently from the novels–I don’t really like his character in “Voyager” because of the stereotypes used and much prefer this three-dimentional character.
After he tells the story, he releases it into the wind. Then a storm appears and suddenly the rain falls. The shipmates cheer, as they gather buckets to collect the rain water. It’s a miracle! Well, that’s what many of them view it as…
It’s not over yet!
If only the problems were over. Just as the ship heads to Jamiaca, a British ship appears and forces them to stop. As a British Naval ship, they can take anyone who is a British subject and it’s clear this ship is sailing with a skeleton crew.
Fortunately, they don’t want sailors. They want someone who can help treat the sick. Claire instantly offers her services when she learns that it’s typhoid fever based on what the ship’s young acting captain describes.
At first, the agreement is Claire will treat a few and then return to Jamie. However, the acting captain decides that Claire will remain on his boat and sail to Jamaica. Everyone can be reunited there.
Next: Outlander Season 3, Episode 8: The First Wife
What did you think of the Jonah storyline? How did you find Mr. Willoughby’s character development? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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