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‘Outlander’ Recap: “The Birds And The Bees”

Well, it was another heart-wrenching episode this week, but it did finally give us the moment we’ve been waiting for all season. This episode really explores the consequences of lies and keeping secrets, including what that can do to a person as well as a family. Let’s take a closer look at that with our usual “Skins vs Swords” recap.

*Spoiler Warning! The following recap contains spoilers from episode 409. Do not read further if you have not seen the episode and wish to avoid spoilers.*

**Trigger warning! The following recap contains references to an act of sexual violence. Those who are sensitive to such descriptions should not read further.**

Sword Score: 8/10. There is always a consequence to not telling the truth. Unfortunately, that rule is still true when the truth is too horrible to speak. Brianna returns to her and Lizzie’s room in the middle of the night, visibly distressed from the attack. Lizzie sees the blood on Bree’s face and petticoats, as well as the bruises on her back, and she knows exactly what has happened to Bree. She tries to get Bree to talk to her, but Bree cannot speak about it yet. This leads Lizzie to form her own conclusions about the identity of Bree’s rapist.

The next morning, Bree is desperate to get out of Wilmington. Before she leaves, she asks the innkeeper if there is any news from Roger. The man tells her that Roger did come by, but he was taken back to the Gloriana with the rest of Bonnet’s crew. Roger inability to leave a longer message leads Bree to believe that he left willingly. She blames herself for telling him to leave and believes that she will never see him again.

Later on in the episode, Bree confides in her mother that she is pregnant and does not know if the baby is Roger’s or Bonnet’s. However, she doesn’t tell the whole truth. She does not name Bonnet to Claire, as she is afraid that Claire will blame herself for what happened to Bree. Bree is also afraid that Jamie will go after Bonnet, which puts him at risk. It is only after Claire finds her ring in Bree’s clothes that the truth comes out. Unfortunately, the lie has already led to a serious consequence for Roger.

Roger finds his way to Fraser’s Ridge two months after he left Wilmington, having finally completed the terms of his contract. When Lizzie sees him, she believes him to be Bree’s rapist. She alerts Jamie, who attacks and nearly kills Roger. Young Ian takes Roger away, broken and bloody. It’s not clear where he is going, but all we can hope is that it’s to someone who can save him.

Skin Score: 9/10. For all the lies and unspoken truth in this episode, there are a lot of confessions and explanations too. Most importantly, Jamie finally meets his daughter! After Bree discovers that she’s missed Roger, she barely has time to feel sad before Lizzie races up with some very exciting news. Jamie and Claire are in Wilmington at that very moment! The first meeting between father and daughter is everything that we wanted it to be, with Jamie’s immediate acceptance of Bree and both of them being moved to tears. Claire’s joy at being reunited with Bree is also deeply emotional.

On the trip back to Fraser’s Ridge, all kinds of information is shared. Bree tells her parents about the fire. She meets her cousin, Young Ian. She tells Claire about her marriage to Roger. Young Ian tells Bree about the riverboat robbery and how Bonnet stole Claire’s ring.  We discover that Murtagh is safe and sound back at the cabin. Lizzie develops a crush on Young Ian. Rollo is rightly recognized as the most handsome of the group. But most importantly, we get a wonderful story about Jamie as a teenager and a heart-warming family bonding scene around the kitchen table. It just goes to show how well everything can work when everyone is able to speak freely.

As Bree settles into the routine at Fraser’s Ridge, she and Jamie try to find a way to connect with each other. They struggle through several stilted conversations until Claire suggests that Jamie take Bree hunting with him. The two go out in search of bees so that Jamie can begin a hive at the farm. As they hunt, they finally have a “Frank” conversation. Jamie tells Bree that he is grateful to Frank for raising her and that she can talk about Frank with him. No longer afraid to say the wrong thing to each other, Bree and Jamie are finally able to bond with each other as they’ve always wanted. The question now is, will that bond be able to withstand the coming revelations? Because nothing ever stays secret for long on this show.

Outlander airs Sundays at 8 pm on Starz. Viewers can catch-up anytime on Starz.com and the Starz mobile app. Be sure to check back here to FanFest.com for full episode recaps and previews of future episodes.