Outlander season 4 episode 5 review: The Fraser family surprise
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We don’t want to beat around the bush here at all: Murtagh is back! Duncan Lacroix’s character was a significant part of the first couple of seasons of the show, and in season 3, the series made a significant departure from the books in opting to keep this character alive. What’s rather wonderful about seeing Murtagh again (now as a blacksmith in North Carolina) is that it’s one of the few book changes almost everyone can get behind. Also, the circumstances of his return were a rare surprise for readers and viewers alike. It was joyous and almost tear-inducing seeing the character back, in the midst of Jamie and Young Ian’s search for Scottish settlers at Fraser’s Ridge. They couldn’t find many candidates, but then Jamie ran into Murtagh by accident. After Murtagh screwed over Young Ian on a deal to keep his shop open, Jamie confronted him and at that moment, everyone discovered who each other really was.
So what has Murtagh been up to? Well, he was an indentured servant for many years but was starting to find somewhat his way. All of this was wonderful, but then there was were two different snags that somewhat spoiled the reunion. For starters, Murtagh was wary of settling down in Fraser’s Ridge where there was going to be so much resistance from other Scots. Meanwhile, Claire was eagerly awaiting Jamie back at home, mostly to deal with a problem that we’ll get to a little bit more later.
While Claire was back at the newly-constructed cabin, Jamie and Young Ian got a sense of the local Scottish community and the sentiment that they had towards the Governor, the Sheriff, and of course the tax collectors. Apparently, Murtagh was quite influential in this community, and after hearing his rousing speech, it was all the clearer why he wouldn’t leave this particular group. Murtagh is apparently going to be a force in the Revolutionary War and that seems to be an immediate divide between the two. Jamie made a deal when he acquired his land that he would squelch any unrest — he isn’t so keen on doing that, but at the same exact time, he isn’t going to join a revolution, either.
The story for Claire at the cabin
Over the course of this episode, she did everything in her power in order to ensure that a family of German settlers were going to be okay. She worked with the local Cherokee to gather some herbs, but the problem was that a dispute was rapidly forming between the Native Americans and the Germans over use of river water. She had to find a way to calm this down and then, after doing this, she also found herself in the midst of another problem: A measles epidemic. This is one that quickly led to deaths in the German community, and that in turn led to conspiracy theories and greater turmoil. This is where Mueller enters the fray.
What we learned about Mueller tonight was that he was absolutely insane. He believed that the Cherokee had cursed his family and loved ones and with that in mind, he chose to do away with Adawehi, the Cherokee’s own healer who Claire had bonded with previously. With death of course comes more death, and losing Adawehi led to the Cherokee enacting their own vengeance on the Germans. What could have been at once a peaceful colony was offset by one man’s greed and desire for vengeance against people who were not responsible for their woes in the slightest.
Following the saga with the Germans Jamie did return home, and not too long after the fact, Murtagh arrived on his own! He’s back! Much of the Fraser extended family is now at Fraser’s Ridge, but it is fairly clear at the moment that they are not alone…
The big Brianna ending…
In the closing minutes of the episode, Bree officially headed back into the past right as Roger was looking to find her. As it turns out, she had heard that Jamie and Claire have something happen to them in the past and she wanted to pass down a warning so that the two of them would, in the end, be okay. While we don’t foresee a reunion coming immediately, consider this yet another thing to look forward to … but we certainly do think it is going to be quite a journey for Bree to make it all the way back to North Carolina after traveling all the way to Scotland to even begin the journey.
CarterMatt Verdict
We do wish that the series found a way to take a little more time explaining Brianna’s journey, including how she got some of the information she did and the decisions she made along the way. There were clearly some elements of her story that were, rather regrettably, left on the cutting-room floor here. Nonetheless, it’s hard to argue against the overall quality of this episode, whether it be via the intense sequence with Mueller and the Cherokee or the sheer joy that we had upon seeing Murtagh back within the world of the series. We do certainly hope that he finds a way to keep his presence on the series moving forward.
Related News – Be sure to secure some other news when it comes to Outlander, including a preview for what is coming up on the series next!
What did you think about this Outlander episode, and the return of Murtagh to go along with it? Be sure to share in the comments! (Photo: Starz.)