Outlander season 4, episode 11 recap: If Not For Hope

This week’s Outlander reminds us why we can do without the character of Lizzie.

Outlander is nearing the end of its fourth season, and to be honest, I am not ready for it. But I do need to say this, I cannot stand Lizzie! I’m not sure if it’s just me or if this is how others feel, but ugh, I just can’t deal with her. Things seem to be going okay at River Run as Bree spends most of her days drawing.

Of course, Lizzie doesn’t see it that way and assumes something is wrong with Bree after she sees one of her drawings. Seriously, can Lizzie perhaps go away? As the days go on, Bree’s stomach grows larger indicating that her delivery must not be too far away. Somehow, these 17th-century dresses can be designed to hide the baby bump all together.

Bree soon comes to learn from Phaedre that her dear Aunt Jocasta is having a soiree. This soiree, of course, is disguised as such to hide what’s really going on–an episode of The Bachelorette. Just kidding, but it is Jocasta’s intention to introduce Bree to suitable bachelors. She is handfasted to Roger, but seeing as there were no witnesses, it may not have really counted.

Bree eventually comes around to the idea with some nudging by Aunt Jocasta who entices her with stories of Bree’s grandmother. But instead of getting a dress made, Bree agrees to wear one of Jocasta’s old dresses along with a set of earrings her great-aunt has picked out for her.

Back in Wilmington, Outlander is focusing on Marsali, Fergus, and Murtagh. If you recall, Jamie asked Murtagh to keep an eye on when Bonnet returns so he can be captured and brought to him. Fergus comes to learn when exactly he’ll be back but in the meantime, there is the matter of Murtagh hiding out in their home.

Not to mention, Fergus isn’t having much luck in finding a job due to his one functional hand. Out of love for her husband, Marsali corners Murtagh and asks him to bring Fergus onto whatever revolution they were brewing up. She wants Fergus to feel like a man, and unfortunately, his current situation has deterred him from feeling like one.

But when Murtagh asks him to join, Fergus politely refuses and says his place is with his family. A for effort, Murtagh and Marsali! But there’s no time to be sentimental because the Gloriana has docked and this can only mean one thing–Bonnet is in Wilmington. It’s on like Donkey Kong.

Back at River Run, Bree prepares for an evening full of moments she cannot begin to fathom. But Bree is a champ and tackles the night head-on by greeting the guests and speaking her mind as always. She really is Claire’s daughter, isn’t she? Amongst the guests is a Lieutenant Wolff and a Neil Forbes who are immediately smitten with Bree.

The two spend most of the evening vying for her attention but she’s not into it at all. Besides, Lord John Grey is also in attendance, and considering he’s friends with her parents, she feels more comfortable with him. By the next morning, Bree has a marriage proposal from Mr. Forbes. Before she’s faced with the awkward situation of having to agree by force, she meets with Lord Grey.

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In order to avoid marrying anyone else, she asks if Lord Grey will marry her instead. Why is she so comfortable with the idea? Well, the night before she caught Lord Grey having sex with one of the other male guests. Knowing he’s gay, she feels she can get married to him until her parents (hopefully) return with Roger.

Lord Grey isn’t eager to accept her proposal and is flabbergasted when Bree threatens to out him as a gay man. Feeling bad for her behavior, Bree apologizes and fills Lord Grey in on all that’s happened with her.

No thanks to Lizzie, he already found out Bree was pregnant the night before but now he understands what exactly went down.

Defeated, Bree returns to the house. She is greeted by her great-aunt and Mr. Forbes who is ready to spring the proposal on her, but Lord Grey shows up claiming he and Bree have good news. Oh, the look on Forbes’ face says everything. For the time being Brianna has a temporary bae, and everyone else is none the wiser.

Can I take a moment to reflect back on the best part of this Outlander episode? During dinner the night before, Brianna plays a game of psychology with the guests. She asks them to close their eyes and imagine they are walking through a forest with someone. Once they open their eyes, she’ll decipher their dreams for them.

Credit: Starz

Lord Grey confesses he saw Jamie and shrugs it off by saying that it’s because Brianna is there and because Jamie reached out to him before he left. But, of course, we all know the truth. Side note: Lord Grey also has a note from Jamie to Brianna, but she isn’t too eager to read it. However, later on, after their marriage agreement, she does end up reading the letter. What’s in it? We have no idea, yet.

Let’s head back to Wilmington once more to the moment when Murtagh and Fergus finally see Bonnet enter the tavern. They succeed in knocking Bonnet out and carrying him out of the tavern. However, two policemen find them in the back alley and suspect them of being shady–which they are being.

Immediately, Murtagh pushes Fergus away and urges him to go and allows himself to be arrested by the authorities. But before doing so, he informs that he has Bonnet the murderer captured. You know, just in case they’re interested in taking him along too.

Jamie and Claire finally work out their issues in this episode of Outlander (thank goodness!) and apologize to one another for their behavior. But this comes after an interesting day of events which included finding the bones of the man that was traveling with the Mohawk and Roger. Ian seems to recognize who it is based on the clothing draped over the bones, which leads them to wonder if Roger is still alive.

Rest assured he’s still alive, but how long this will last is yet to be seen considering how the episode ended. Finally arriving at their home base, the Mohawk let Roger roam free only to surround him by men as they beat him. Uh oh, please don’t hurt Roger. Please?

Outlander airs every Sunday on STARZ at 8 PM EST!