Captain Richardson was introduced to us in Outlander Season 7, and he is a man to watch out for. Is he a man we (and William) can trust?
Caution: There are some minor spoilers from Written in My Own Heart’s Blood and Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone in this post.
Outlander will sometimes introduce a character for an episode, but that’s not usual when it comes to some of the military characters. Captain Richardson came into the story during Outlander Season 7, Episode 4, but don’t expect this to be the last time that we see him. If the series follows the books, he will show up again.
The question is whether he’s friend or foe. The mission he sent William on may give us some sort of idea.
Did Captain Richardson send William into a trap in Outlander?
Richardson pulled William in after William showed that the treatment of the prostitute the night before wasn’t acceptable. It was the type of attitude Richardson says that he wants, and he’s picked William for a messenger mission.
Richardson seems to be some sort of spy. At least, that’s what he comes across as, but he doesn’t want William to go off as a spy. William is to only deliver three letters to people he has to remember the names of. Those names cannot be written down.
You would think that those letters are going to people on the British side. However, William later finds out that one of the men on the side of the Continental Army—Samuel Cartwright. That brings up a question about the letter that William was supposed to deliver. Why did Richardson want to send a secret letter to the enemy? Were the other two on the side of the Continental Army, too?
Richardson’s mission for William brings up a lot of questions. Can we trust him? It doesn’t seem like we can.