In this week in Outlander history: The Hail Mary

In this week in Outlander history, the penultimate episode of Season 2 aired. It was an episode of shock, horror, and disappointment, as Jamie and Claire had their own issues to deal with.

The Outlander Season 2 penultimate episode aired in this week in Outlander history. June 25, 2016, we watched as Mary Hawkins married into the Randall family but not through the man she loved and Jamie attempted in vain to prevent the Jacobites going to an ill-fated battle. Claire and Jamie spent most of the episode separated, as storylines were quickly wrapped up.

While it was an interesting episode, it wasn’t the most enthralling, knowing that Jamie’s cause had to be ill-fated and knowing Mary would eventually need to marry Black Jack Randall. This is where the problem of that flashforward at the very start of the season really came up.

Mary marries into the Randall family

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For Claire, it’s a focus on getting Mary into the Randall family. It has to be through Black Jack Randall, as that’s the man Frank has always believed is his direct descendant. However, Mary isn’t interested in marrying Black Jack, since she’s in love with Alex Randall. The problem is Alex is dying and she’s pregnant.

Murtagh does an honorable thing in this episode by offering to marry Mary. After all, Black Jack is a horrible man, but Claire insists that she has to marry Black Jack. Not only does she need to be a Randall, but there’s no hope for Murtagh in the future. While book fans were ready for Murtagh’s death, even alive we knew that Murtagh’s fate was going to be a bad one. Marrying Black Jack was far more advantageous for Mary and it just shows the problems with the time period.

Jamie’s ill-fated cause

My one issue with the Outlander Season 2 premiere was knowing that the Battle of Culloden would go ahead. It was knowing that the cause was ill-fated, so the attempt to stop Culloden happening just felt like a waste of time. And I found this throughout the second season. I didn’t feel connected to Claire and Jamie’s attempts to stop the Jacobite rebellion and then make it work because I knew what would happen.

That’s just a personal view, though. Things just seemed a little lackluster because of knowing what would happen. Had we not seen 1948, I’d have wondered if there was a chance history could be changed. I’d have wondered if the plan to attack at dawn in this episode would have gone through.

Colum’s goodbye

The best part of this week in Outlander history for me was seeing Colum one last time. We knew that we’d have to say goodbye to the main players this season, even without reading the books first. One thing I worried about was not saying goodbye to Colum. Well, we got it and we got it in one of the most emotional ways possible. Just as Dougal thought he’d get the chance to make peace with his brother, Colum used the herb that Claire gave him to kill himself.

This came after Colum had ticked off Dougal by making Jamie Hamish’s guardian. It was a bit like a kick to the groin area since Dougal was Hamish’s biological father. However, Jamie was the better leader of men and the most considerate and safest option to ensure Hamish would have full control of the clan when he was old enough.

Oh, and we also got a mention of Geillis’ child. This was important for the next episode when Claire meets Roger and realizes he is a MacKenzie.

Next: Outlander history: Vengeance Is Mine

What did you think of “The Hail Mary?” Were you excited for this week in Outlander history? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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