Outlander season 4, episode 3 recap: The False Bride

It’s all about finding home in this week’s episode of Outlander–and seeing Brianna and Roger together, finally.

Outlander is such an interesting series and given the unique nature of its story and plot, it’s quite impressive that fans continue to fall in love with and stay engaged in where the series is headed. We are no longer in Scotland and haven’t been for quite some time, well at least Jamie and Claire haven’t, and after the traumatic events at River Run in last week’s episode, the Frasers hightail it out of River Run.

But before we focus on Jamie and Claire, can we just focus on the fact that we finally got some Brianna and Roger screen time, and it was glorious, until it wasn’t. The episode picks up in 1970’s Inverness where Roger is packing for his trip to the United States to perform at a Scottish festival–and hopefully, see Brianna.

He hands over the keys to his house to Fiona (Mrs. Graham’s granddaughter) and her husband who are now the official new owners and as he heads out, Fiona suggests that Roger tell Brianna his true feelings because he is so clearly in love with her, despite the distance between them.

When he arrives in Boston, he and Bree have an awkward exchange, and I’m not going to lie when I say it hurt that they weren’t more romantic and enthusiastic to see each other. Luckily, on their drive down to North Carolina, things start to normalize, and Bree even kisses Roger while he’s driving and nearly crashes his car as a result.

Once they arrive at the Scottish Festival, even I felt the excitement and pride of all those in attendance as they all participated in contests, traditional Scottish dances, and celebrated their heritage with members of their families and other clans.

During their first day at the festival, Bree and Roger find their groove once again and are cute and adorable as can be. Later that night, Roger takes the stage to perform and sing a song titled, “The False Bride”, which is what this Outlander episode was named after.

If anyone was wondering, Richard Rankin did indeed sing that song and it was absolutely amazing! He’s such a cutie, isn’t he? And it seems like Bree would agree because the look in her eyes is oozing with heart emojis.

A day full of fun and cuteness turns into a very dramatic and unfortunate one for the adorable couple, and it almost feels like Roger transforms into someone we didn’t quite expect. As they’re saying goodnight, Bree gives Roger a books about Scots and some moonshine which she invites him into her cabin with.

Once inside, Bree makes a move and kisses Roger and just as things start heating up, Roger pulls away and says he wants things to be perfect. Instead, he hands her a bracelet that has the words “I love you a little, a lot, passionately, not at all” inscribed in French on it. Ugh, how cute is he?! And before we know it, he proposes to Brianna, and she does not look pleased at all.

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Poor Roger is completely clueless to her reaction and instead starts talking about their future lives and children together, while Bree starts to panic at how fast everything is moving.

She’s still into hooking up and possibly even sleeping together, but Roger is not for that and wants it all to mean something more. And implies that if all he wanted was sex, then he could have “had her on her back” last summer. Aaaaand, there comes the slap.

There is a lot of banter between them about sexuality and how Bree is a virgin, etc but the night ends horribly and only gets worse the next day when during the Calling of the Clans, Bree basically tells him she isn’t sure about marriage in general and leaves as Roger goes to announce his clan’s presence.

And then there’s the Jamie and Claire angle of the Outlander episode that involves them leaving River Run behind (thank goodness!) and making their way west towards the mountains. Aunt Jocasta is pretty salty about Jamie leaving and doesn’t hesitate to let this be known to Claire when she comes to say goodbye. Sorry, Auntie, our lovebirds have people to meet and places to see, and River Run ain’t it.

Although Jamie’s original plan was to send Ian back to Scotland, Ian insists that a lot has changed and he is no longer a child after everything he’s been through since he left home. Realizing that Ian can handle staying in America, he gives him permission to do so and they all head off alongside John Quincy Myers who is leading them to a town where mostly Scottish settlers live. John and Ian branch off on their own, while Jamie and Claire continue to trek ahead.

Later that night, a storm causes their mule to run away with their supplies so Claire goes after it and gets lost. As the winds and thunder worsen, Claire’s horse ditches her as well and she falls unconscious to the ground. She finds refuge in a tree where she finds a human skull and a gem and then imagines (or possibly actually sees) a Native American man in the distance whose features seem to match the skull she has found.

Claire wakes up the next morning to see the storm has ended and there are footprints leading out of the area she’s in–and also her shoes are missing. She starts following the muddy footprints which eventually lead her to Jamie, who has a similar story to share except that he found her shoes. Could it be the ghost’s doing? Probably, most definitely yes.

Things only get stranger when Claire realizes the skull has silver metal fillings which wouldn’t be around for another 100 years at least. Ummm, another time traveler?! Who, what, when, where, how, why?!

As they continue to make their way west, Jamie and Claire stop for a moment atop a cliff that overlooks the beautiful (and very obviously green-screened) scenery of North Carolina. The sights are enough for Jamie to scout out land in the distance where he suggests they build a life for themselves.

Claire is in agreement and trusts Jamie in whatever decision he makes for them, and just like that, they’ve found their new home–Fraser’s Ridge. Sigh, Outlander, you slay us.

Outlander airs every Sunday on STARZ at 8 PM EST!