Brianna’s fears are 100% justified on Outlander Season 5

Outlander Season 5, Episode 4 gave us a look at how Brianna is struggling with the knowledge Bonnet is out there. Her fears are 100% justified.

Brianna isn’t dealing well with the knowledge that Bonnet is out there on Outlander Season 5. She’s terrified that something will happen. While Marsali tried to talk her out of her fears, those fears are 100% justified for a rape survivor, especially in the 18th century.

Marsali doesn’t understand why Brianna is so scared. It’s not clear if Marsali knows anything about Bonnet and Jemmy’s parentage right now (at least, not in the show) so it makes sense that Marsali just views the fears as something that could never happen. After all, it looks like Bree is just scared that some unknown person will pop up at Fraser’s Ridge.

Instead, Brianna is terrified that Bonnet will come for her son. Bonnet believes that Jemmy is his child. She believes that Jemmy is his child. It’s understandable why she’d start to think that Bonnet would come to claim what he believes is his.

Bree won’t have a clue where Bonnet is out there. The fear of the unknown plays on the mind, especially when that fear is mixed in with PTSD. Those who suffer from PTSD don’t fear what could happen. They fear something because it’s already happened. They are anxious because of the trauma left behind. With Bonnet dead, she had the chance to push the fear away but it was never dealt with.

On top of that, Brianna is scared of losing her son. In the 18th century, a rapist could force his victim into marriage. That wouldn’t happen with Bree since she’s now legally married to Roger, but Bonnet could demand Jemmy and take him away.

Victims will all react differently after an attack. While some will deal with things quickly and move forward, others can take years to just accept that the attack wasn’t their fault. Sophie Skelton previously shared that she played Brianna as a victim who had more of an outta-body experience, which can lead to a harder recovery as victims look back and think they may have been able to do something had they not just accepted the rape was happening.

But Brianna isn’t just thinking of things as a victim. She’s thinking of things as a mother. Her fears are for Jemmy as well as for herself, and 100% justified.

Outlander Season 5 airs Sundays on STARZ.