Outlander recap: What happens when Lord John and Brianna see Bonnet?

Roger meets a priest

In the Mohawk village, we pick up with Roger going through the gauntlet. When he fails and dislocates his shoulder (or maybe breaks his collarbone, it’s never specifically mentioned), he’s told he’s still a captive.

At first, he’s given tasks to do around the village, but he doesn’t take too kindly to being a slave. He does make friends with one of the women, who has a baby. She tries to protect him, but Roger’s attitude gets him put in the hut with a priest.

This priest is the father of the child. He’s been locked away because he refuses to baptise the baby. The Mohawks in the village have converted but after falling in love and fathering a child, the priest believes he is no longer worthy of baptising.

Both men share their stories and Roger attempts to convince the priest to pretend to baptise the child. The priest refuses to do it and is tortured by the Mohawks, with his ear being cut off, and they will burn him to death if he doesn’t agree. Again, Roger tries to convince the priest and even suggests that they escape through the hole that Roger is starting to dig.

They dig overnight but by the time the day comes, they realize they need at least another hour to get out. The priest sacrifices himself, allowing Roger to get away.

Roger makes a difficult decision

While the priest burns (which could take three days), Roger manages to get out. There’s even a chance for him to get away and head back to somewhere to get through stones to his own time. It turns out he chose not to go through the stones before but now he wants to look out for himself.

Yet, he realizes he can’t do that. Even though he wants to look out for himself, he needs to go back to make the priest’s death more merciful. So, as the Mohawks watch, Roger manages to grab a gunpowder barrel and throw it at the priest, killing him much quicker.

The mother of the priest’s child puts her baby down and then walks into the flame to die with her man. It’s a heartbreaking moment, made all the more intense and emotional with the music playing. While the exposition of the music over the imagery didn’t work for me in the premiere episode, it was perfectly managed in this one.

We end with Roger being taken back to his prisoner hut by some of the Mohawks, reserved to the idea of dying for his actions.

What did you think of Fergus and Marsali working together to save Murtagh? Did you enjoy seeing Brianna’s storyline most like the book? What did you think of Roger’s time in the hut? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The Outlander Season 4 finale airs Sunday on STARZ.