When Young Ian initially rescued William from the Hessians in Outlander season 7, episode 15, he allowed the captain to go free. Young Ian ended up changing his mind, but why?
Young Ian has been through a lot of growth since his first episode in Outlander season 3. He has grown up and learned a lot about the world, combining both his Highlander and Mohawk ways in one. In Outlander season 7, he fell in love with a pacifist, and now he’s had to find a way to become a man she can love.
As he married Rachel Hunter, he made a promise only to kill if he needed to. He didn’t want to do something that she didn’t agree with. So, why would he go back on his decision to allow the Hessian captain to go free?
Young Ian has been through this once before in Outlander
When the Hessian captain told Young Ian that he would regret his decision, Young Ian likely remembered a previous time he let someone go free. After killing Mrs. Bug, Young Ian allowed Arch to walk free. All the Frasers did, despite the threat on Young Ian.
Arch promised to kill the person Young Ian loved. That promise almost came to fruition at the start of Outlander season 7B. As Young Ian returned from Scotland, Arch Bug went after Rachel Hunter and attempted to kill her.
This is something Young Ian now has to live with. He almost lost Rachel due to inaction. He could have made sure Arch couldn’t try to make good on his promise by killing Arch much earlier. They all could have done.
He likely doesn’t want something like that to happen again. The Hessian captain could find out who Young Ian is and go after Rachel for revenge. Young Ian could never live with himself.
He views the Hessian captain as a deserter in Outlander
Young Ian also noted that he believed the Hessians to be deserters. This is why sent the message to them. The Hessians had nothing to lose.
However, with that in mind, Young Ian couldn’t give the Hessian captain time to get back to Captain Richardson. Coupled with the fact that the Hessian likely overheard Lord John Grey telling William that Richardson is a traitor, Young Ian knew the best thing was to remove the Hessian captain as a threat.
The Hessian captain threatened his family member
While William has only just learned that Young Ian is his cousin, Young Ian has known this for some time. He immediately viewed William as family, despite them being on opposite sides of the war. With this in mind, Young Ian would always do what was necessary to protect his family.
The Hessian captain could easily come back for William to enact revenge. Like with the potential revenge against Rachel, Young Ian couldn’t live with that. He’d come to regret the decision, and so, he decided to take away the threat instead. Young Ian is always going to be a Highlander and a Mohawk, and both would act in this way.
Outlander returns with its season 7 finale on Friday, Jan. 17 on STARZ.
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