Why did the Mohawk force Roger to run the gauntlet on Outlander?

We found out what happened to Roger very quickly in Outlander Season 4, Episode 11. In the end, the Mohawk made him run the gauntlet, but why?

Outlander Season 4, Episode 11 very quickly told us what happened to Roger. We had to fill in a few gaps with a throwback to Season 1 filming, but that wasn’t too hard to do. Our more important question involves the end. Why would the Mohawk make Roger run the gauntlet?

Poor Roger would have no idea what awaited him when he got to the Mohawk village. For all he knew, he would be tied up and tortured. Or maybe even forced to become a slave to the tribe. Instead, he was put at the start of a line of tribesmen, forced to run past them as they beat him.

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Why would they do this? Well, quite simply, it was a test.

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Due to fighting and disease, the Native tribes are losing members. They would adopt people into their tribes from the outside, helping to replenish numbers. If the show sticks to the books, we’ll see this happen in probably the next episode with someone else.

However, the Mohawk needed to know they had someone worthy of joining the tribe. So, they put Roger through the gauntlet. If he could make it to the end, he would be welcomed in due to the strength of character he showed.

Had he not made it through or had remained on the ground when he fell, he would have been killed — likely tortured to death as a weak man. Roger may not have known what the Mohawk tribe was planning, but he did the right thing getting up.

Next. Outlander Season 4, Episode 11 recap: If Not for Hope. dark

Did you get confused about the ending to the episode? Would you have liked to see more of Roger with the tribe? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Outlander continues on Sundays at 8/7c on STARZ.

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