Outlander Hosts a Surprise Wedding & Turtle Soup
Tonight's episode of Outlander was all over the place. The show is approaching its Season 3 finale and has a lot of ground to cover in just three episodes, but all the action packed into this hour - castaway Claire's search for sustenance, her time with Father Fogden and Mamacita, Jamie and Claire's second reunion of the season, Fergus and Marsali's wedding, and the fan-favorite turtle soup sex scene - felt unevenly paced, while the tonal shifts, from dire survival scenarios to absurd humor, were jarring and disjointed. But despite this episode's flaws, this season of Outlander is excelling at is making every episode feel completely different while retaining the show's essential core: Jamie and Claire's love story. Their reunion in tonight's episode is emotionally satisfying, and the turtle soup scene, a favorite of fans of the Outlander books, was an entertaining, innovative way to close an episode. Most importantly, the latter half of Season 3 has managed to avoid predictability - something it needs to sustain in the next two episodes.
Below, 10 things we learnsed in Outlander Season 3 Episode 11, "Uncharted." Plus, everything we know about Season 4.
1) Claire reaches land and encounters a slew of unexpected dangers.
At the end of last week's episode, Claire jumped from the deck of the Porpoise in the middle of the night, determined to warn Jamie he's a wanted man. This week opened with Claire floating close to the shore of an unknown island, the sun blazing down on her in the middle of a sweltering morning. When the waves finally toss her to shore, she's exhausted (I'm exhausted just watching her), but instead of resting, she methodically shakes the sand out of her clothes and spreads them on rocks to dry. Most series would skip over this scene, assuming this action is implied, but I love that Outlander took the time to show Claire dealing with the necessary maintenance of period dress. This sequence feels real and underscores how hard Claire had to work to keep herself afloat while weighed down in layers of fabric.
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Once her clothes are dry, Claire sets out to find the necessities: food, water, and passage to Jamaica. "I remembered the rule of threes," she says in voiceover. "Humans can survive three minutes without air, three days without water and three weeks without food. Right now, my most urgent need was water." I'm very grateful to Outlander for inserting this useful bit of trivia into the show, but I sincerely hope I will never have to use it.
Claire has no idea where she is, and in a 10-minute sequence, she encounters a host of horrors while traversing the island, including voracious biting ants, a massive snake wrapped around her body, blazing sunshine, and a painful dearth of food and water. Though these scenes are harrowing, it's a delight to watch Caitriona Balfe tackle the wordless scenes with physical acting and pained facial expressions.
2) An eccentric duo nurse Claire back to health.
Claire stumbles across a man in religious vestments preaching. Thirsty, starving, and exhausted, she collapses just feet from his homestead. She wakes up with her limbs bound in a strange bedroom; an irritated woman explains in Spanish that she tied up Claire to keep her from scratching. The woman gives Claire water and offers to wash her clothes, noting the zipper on Claire's corset with confusion.
Claire awakens sometime later. The preacher she saw before collapsing is watching over her, and he introduces himself as Father Fogden. Eccentric is an understatement when it comes to this character; he tells Claire she is a blessing to his home (one of his goats gave birth for the first time in years after her arrival), compares her to Saint Bridget, and introduces her to his coconut companion, Coco, whom he regularly asks for advice. Fogden explains that Claire is in the colony of Saint-Domingue (on the island of Hispaniola) and Jamaica is 30 miles away. He refers to the Spanish-speaking woman as Mamacita, and she briskly orders Claire to bathe. She crawls to the tub with relief, but her face belies her shock: this is not what she was expecting when she made the decision to return to the 18th century.
3) Father Fogden tells his sad tale.
At dinner, Fogden tells Claire his story: he was a priest sent to Cuba as a missionary, and there, he fell in love with a married woman named Ermenegilda. “Our love could not be subdued!" he tells Claire zealously. They ran away together with her mother, Mamacita. "It was god’s will that we escaped... unscathed,” Fogden tells Claire, noting the English invaded Cuba the day they left. But soon after they arrived at Saint-Domingue, Ermenegilda got sick and died.
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Claire asks Fogden to take her to the village so she can sail to Jamaica, but Fogden is infuriatingly paternalistic, explaining he cannot let her leave until she is well. A fight breaks out, and Mamacita demands the "whore" leave her home as soon as possible. Claire leaves the table frustrated, and sitting alone on a bench while Fogden and Mamacita continue to argue, she finds a mirror and hastily pockets it without any explanation. Once their fight subsides, Fogden finds Claire to apologize to her. "The agony of losing a daughter holds her still," he tells her, and Claire understands this all too well. Fogden explains Mamacita is worried he'll fall in love again and forget Ermenegilda, but he assures Claire that could never happen. "When you loved someone as much as I loved Ermenegilda, it never leaves you." Again, Claire knows this, and Fogden can see it, too. She begs him to take her to town as soon as possible, and he seems to acquiesce - as long as Coco agrees. Exasperated and desperate, Claire starts talking to Coco in front of Fogden, attempting to convince him Coco said it's OK to go to town. They're interrupted by Mamacita's screams.
4) A Chinese sailor ate Fogden and Mamacita's beloved goat, Arabella.
Claire and Fogden find a hysterical Mamacita in the yard, clutching the head of her beloved goat, Arabella. She explains to Fogden in Spanish that a Chinese sailor slaughtered the goat and roasted her on a spit. Fogden says a quiet prayer over the head, noting, "If the Lord cares even for the tiniest sparrow, how could he fail to care for my Arabella?" He pulls out a jar of beetles and drops them on the goat's head. It's not clear why he has them or what they'll do to the goat, but Fogden explains to Claire they're from a sacred cave named Abandawe. Claire recognizes the name; Margaret Campbell screamed, "Abandawe will devour you," when Claire met with her in Edinburgh back in Episode 7. Fogden tells Claire the cave is "hallowed to the natives of Jamaica" and "a place of great power. It is said that folk disappear there." Claire realizes the cave is just like her standing stones.
Father Fogden mutters about a "Chinaman" (thought this term is period-appropriate, it's offensive and feels unnecessary despite its context) slaughtering Arabella, and Claire realizes he's probably talking about Yi Tien Cho. Fogden tells Claire Mamacita she saw sailors and broken sails on the beach and Claire starts running.
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5) The Artemis was shipwrecked on Saint-Domingue.
Thirty-five minutes into the episode, we see Jamie for the first time. The Artemis was shipwrecked and lost some of its crew, and Jamie, Marsali, Fergus, Yi Tien Cho, and the remaining sailors are working to fix the sails so they can continue their journey. As they prepare to return to the boat, Claire runs through the woods to find Jamie, slicing her arm on a branch in her rush.
6) Claire uses Father Fogden's mirror to get Jamie's attention.
Claire arrives to the beach but everyone has already returned to the boat. Claire uses Fogden's mirror (again, how did she know to grab it?) to signal to Jamie, and he sees her with the ship's spyglass. He takes a rowboat to shore and they run into each other's arms. This scene is set over the same music as the print shop, and it's surprisingly moving.
7) Jamie and Claire catch up while Yi Tien Cho stitches her arm.
Yi Tien Cho tends to Claire's arm as she and Jamie discuss their time apart. "I still canna believe you jumped from a ship into the ocean," Jamie tells Claire, even though her decisions shouldn't really surprise him at this point in their relationship. Claire tells Jamie about the warrant for his arrest and Jamie assures her Captain Leonard will never capture him. Jamie also informs Claire he gave Fergus and Marsali his blessing, noting they could use some joy after all the strife and death. He suggests a wedding.
Claire and Jamie make Yi Tien Cho apologize to Fogden for killing Arabella, and Fogden heartily forgives him. While this scene was necessary to the episode's storyline, I hate that Yi Tien Cho has to grovel to Fogden. His character is starting to morph into a caricature - his presence on the show seems to revolve around how different he is - and it's a huge disappointment, especially after his great speech in Episode 9.
8) Marsali opens up to Claire.
Claire and Marsali are finally building a relationship, and it's so satisfying to watch play out. As Marsali prepares for her wedding ceremony, Claire asks if she's nervous, explaining she was on her own wedding night. Marsali is cold at first, then admits she doesn't want to have children right away. Claire promises to help her with contraception after the ceremony. "Maybe you're not the devil after all," Marsali says, smiling. She tells Claire she wants to have a relationship with Fergus like Claire has with Jamie.
9) Father Fogden marries Fergus and Marsali, and Jamie gives Fergus his surname.
Fergus and Marsali's wedding ceremony is a ridiculous, innuendo-laden affair thanks to Marsali's sarcastic commentary and Father Fogden's quirks. But it was also touching; when Fogden asks for the couple's full names so he can complete the rite, Fergus admits he doesn't have a last name. Jamie tells the congregation it's Fraser, confirming Fergus as his foster son. After blessing Marsali and Fergus's marriage, Fogden does the same for Claire and Jamie.
10) Jamie and Claire indulge in some turtle soup.
Back on the ship and en route to Jamaica once more, Claire is feverish from the gash on her arm and drunk on Yi Tien Cho's sherry-filled turtle soup. After making Jamie help her inject penicillin, she tells Jamie turtle is an aphrodisiac and demands he bolt their door. As they start having sex, Yi Tien Cho knocks on the cabin door and asks how Claire is feeling. Jamie covers Claire's mouth and tries to make Yi Tien Cho leave. He knows what's going on, of course, and chuckles as he walks away and the episode fades to black.
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