Outlander season 4, episode 7 recap: Down the Rabbit Hole

We dinna ken how we will process this week’s episode of Outlander–but dinna fash, we’ll get through it together.

Outlander gave us the best episode of the season this week–and no, I’m not exaggerating. Brianna went back in time, Roger followed her, and Tobias Menzies made a cameo. What more could anyone want from an Outlander episode?

First things first, Brianna made it across time! I have to say I appreciate that they didn’t make a big production out of it, and just simply placed her there. Thanks to her handy-dandy map, she begins making her way towards somewhere. She’s smart like Claire and came prepared with matches, a PB&J sandwich, and some money.

However, within a few minutes of traipsing through the snow, she fell and hurt her ankle pretty badly. Limping she continued to make her way towards any sign of civilization but passes out before she can make it to the home she sees in the distance. Can I just say that Sophie Skelton does absolutely amazing in this episode? A Brianna-centric episode was just what we needed, and Skelton delivered.

Upon waking up, Brianna notices she’s tucked away in a warm bed. Someone saved her, and that someone is…LAOGHAIRE. But before we learn about where Brianna is, we get to see what she’s dreaming about. Enter, Tobias Menzies. Oh, how we missed you. In her dream, a young, sleeping Brianna is being carried by Frank to bed.

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While she may be dreaming of a warm, cozy bed, she’s actually sleeping in one. Laoghaire’s bed, that is. Jamie’s scorned ex-wife is the one who rescued his daughter.

And the irony continues. Their banter and interaction tiptoe around the fact that the audience knows who they are, but they don’t know how intertwined their lives are.

Laoghaire speaks of Jamie and how he left her for a horrible woman/witch, while Brianna mentions she’s looking for her parents.

Brianna even gets along with Laoghaire’s youngest daughter, Joanie, striking up a friendship with her. Joanie makes a comment about Jamie and how he’s not her real father, but he always felt like one to her.

Naturally, the conversation eventually leads to the reveal of who Brianna is. Upon mention of Lallybroch, Brianna mentions that her mother’s relatives live there. Laoghaire wonders who her mother is and when she hears the name Claire Fraser–the look on her face gives away the horror.

Laoghaire’s passive-aggressive banter gives away everything and soon Brianna comes to learn who she is. Of course, Laoghaire does her utmost best to dissuade Brianna from finding her father, who she claims never wanted Bree. But Bree is smarter than that and realizes Laoghaire is the same person who tried to have Claire murdered in Cranesmuir.

Credit: STARZ

At this point in the Outlander episode, we were biting our nails out of fear of what Laoghaire was going to do to Brianna. She locks her up in the room, but Joanie comes to the rescue and frees her, and takes her to Lallybroch.

Uncle Ian believes Brianna about who she is from the get-go and gets her the proper accommodations to get her on a ship to the Carolinas. He even gives her some of Claire’s old clothes and money to make the journey there. How sweet is that?

During Brianna’s journey to the port, there are past scenes of Frank and Brianna that play out. But the most important, revealing one had to do with the fact that Frank knew that Claire and Jamie were going to die in a fire. So basically, he knew at some point Claire was going to go back and then die. He came to know of this because he was mailed the obituary from Scotland, the very same one Roger found years later.

Mindblown, right? And around this time is when problems were escalating between Claire and Frank. Brianna knew something was up but wasn’t privy to how bad it had become. That is until one night Frank stops by to see her and tell her he’s moving to London. He wants Brianna to join him and lets her know that he and Claire are getting divorced.

If you recall, we always assumed Frank died in the car accident immediately following his argument with Claire. However, this episode reveals he then went to see Brianna. But his interaction with her wasn’t the best one either. She was upset over the news of the divorce and stormed away, and didn’t even say “I love you” back to her father. It was the last time she ever saw him.

Credit: STARZ

But as she made way to get onto the ship for the Carolinas, we see her look back and imagine seeing Frank in the distance smiling at her. It’s a very full-circle moment because she’s going to find her real father, but it’s Frank who is in her heart and with her always.

And then there’s Roger. He headed straight for Craigh Na Dun where he made his journey across time via the stones. Side note: Anyone that can actually travel through them can hear a light buzzing sound. We knew he could hear it too back when Brianna, Claire, and he were at the stones.

Arriving in the 1700s, Roger makes it the port much faster than Brianna does and even finds a spot for himself on a ship heading to the Carolinas. Of course, he thinks Brianna may already be in the Carolinas, but she won’t be too far behind.

But the plot twist comes when we realize that Roger is boarding the jerk Stephen Bonnet’s ship. The same Bonnet that robbed Claire and Jaime. Ugh, he’s the worse. Outlander reveals just how horrible Bonnet is as they make their way to the Carolinas.

When one young girl falls ill with smallpox, he proceeds to shove her off the ship. Roger tries his best to protect anyone he can but Bonnet gets in the way every time. In fact, when he catches Roger trying to help a young woman and her baby, he uses Heads or Tails? to determine if he should kill Roger or not.

For all of our sakes and Brianna’s, Roger doesn’t die in this episode. However, we are awfully scared of Bonnet, and what’s heading their way in the future. Just please let Roger and Brianna get to North Carolina in one piece–that’s all we want!

Outlander airs every Sunday on STARZ at 8 PM EST!