Outlander season 7 episode 14 recap: Prisoner of war

NOTE: This post contains spoilers for Outlander season 7 episode 14, "Ye Dinna Get Used to It”.

The Frasers are going back to war in the last leg of Outlander season 7, and it is unlikely everyone will come out of it unscathed. As the latest episode of the smash hit series sets up the chessboard for a battle that is to come, it indeed seems obvious that many characters will be put in perilous positions by the end of the season.

But until then, let’s recap the events of this new episode.

History has its eyes on you

This week’s episode of Outlander opened up on a flashback, taking viewers back to London in 1775 to witness a chat between Lord John and his brother, Harold “Hal” Grey. They talked about William wanting to be in the army, and while Hal was eager to get the young lad a commission, Lord John wanted to wait a bit, hoping the war in America would come to an end soon enough.

Arguing with one another about the way they handled their respective sons, the two brothers ended their conversation with Lord John promising Hal that he would never accept the idea of American independence. Right on cue, the show then cut to the present time to show John swearing allegiance to the Continental Army after he was enrolled in a militia and pretended to be pro-independence to save his own life.

Washington on your side

Meanwhile on Chestnut street, an American lieutenant barged in without so much as a “hello” to Mrs. Figg before deciding Lord John’s house would do very nicely to host a dinner for General Washington and some of his men. Claire and Jamie now have to host this event which also involves the Marquis de Lafayette, whom Claire meets at the market and who promises to bring her some French cheese.

At the dinner, Jamie reports that Ian has spotted the British Army in New Jersey and that the upcoming fight is closer than the Americans realized. While Lafayette insists that Claire tries the eels he’s brought her, he also introduces her to his aid, Percy Beauchamp, and Claire wonders if they are related as Beauchamp is her maiden name. George Washington then gives the Frasers an American flag and only Alexander Hamilton seems to be missing from this picture as they all toast to victory before Jamie and General Charles Lee go off to talk war strategy.

Later on, Jamie finds Claire eating cheese in their room and tells her how Lee thinks he should be the one in charge, not Washington. Pointing out that she doesn’t recall Lee’s name as being famous, Claire says that LaFayette is the one who will be remembered before wondering if Jamie, now that he is a general responsible for 300 souls, will make it into the History books.

The calm before the storm

Now that they are married, Ian and Rachel do not miss an opportunity to share their marital bed, especially with a looming battle on the horizon that could very well cut their marriage quite short. After a day of scouting, we therefore find Ian returning to his wife and the two of them get intimate.

Later on, we see Ian sitting by the fireplace, talking to himself. Rachel comes into the room and asks who he is speaking with and Ian explains that he talks to his father, saying that he often feels him near him and wonders if that is a warning that he might die in battle. Explaining that he has to ready himself for the conflict that is to come, Ian gathers up his war paints and Rachel asks him to show her how to put them on.

Under William’s protection

While all this goes on in Philadelphia, William returns to the British camp with a dispatch from General Clinton and is scolded by an officer about the state of his uniform. Before being given a new assignment, he is ordered to get himself cleaned up. In his tent, William receives the visit of Jane Pocock and her sister, Fanny. Wondering what the heck they are doing there, William learns that Jane and Fanny ran away from Captain Harkness after he returned to the brothel where Jane worked. They would like William's protection and help so they can go somewhere the bad captain isn’t.

William finds Jane a job as a laundress at the camp, but Jane has never done laundry in her life. All she has known since she was 10 years-old was the inside of a brothel, and she doesn’t even know what to do with money when William gives her some coins. In fact, Jane sticks to what she knows and when night falls, she sneaks into William’s tent with the intention of sleeping with him. William pushes her away and Jane explains she wants to do it out of “kindness”, as most soldiers want to have sex before going to battle. But William will not have her as “his whore” and since he will not be stepping foot on the battlefield anyway, he turns her away. They do share a kiss though, as it appears William’s feelings about Jane are a bit more complicated than they appear.

Eventually, he actually finds out why she and Fanny are so desperate to get away. It turns out the bad captain came back to the brothel wanting to have sex with young Fanny. Jane then only had one option to protect her sister and ended up stabbing Harkness in the throat. The two sisters then escaped through a window and ran. When she asks William if he will turn her in, he tells Jane he will not and asks her not to go.

Lord John returns

While William helps his new girlfriend, Jamie starts getting his troops ready for battle. He meets some of his soldiers while Claire looks after sick men. That’s when she stumbles upon a familiar looking one, who is none other than Lord John Grey! He surrenders himself to Jamie and is taken back to Chestnut street, where Claire takes a look at his injured eye. The fractured orbit has caused the eye to be stuck and she needs to grab it to put it back in place. She does so with Jamie’s help after the two men have another argument about whose fault it is that they all find themselves in the situation they are in. Clearly, the whole “Jamie beat up John because he slept with Claire when everyone thought Jamie was dead” thing is not going to be water under the bridge any time soon.

Later on, John’s eye is moving again and Claire is telling him she and Jamie will be leaving for the battlefield soon while he will stay at the house under guard when Percy Beauchamp shows up. He is here to see John, who says he is his “stepbrother” when it is obvious there is more to their relationship. Clearly these two have slept together at some point in the past but that’s not what matters the most in this instant. Indeed, Beauchamp has news about Captain Richardson and William. He explains to John that Richardson is a spy for the Americans and that he’s given William a letter to deliver to a Hessian camp that will get him captured and most likely tortured or killed.

It is then imperative to act quickly to save William so John tells Jamie what is going on, but the latter cannot do anything since he is tied up by his responsibilities as a General. Therefore, he decides to parole John and place him under Ian’s custody so that he can go off and “save our son”.

Time to go

More than one of Jamie’s children is in danger in this episode! In 1980, Bree returns home and notices a light is on inside. She decides to load her shotgun and go around the back when she sees there are two intruders. She is ready to fight them off when Ernie’s van arrives, bringing her kids back to Lallybroch because he and Fiona found Rob Cameron waiting at their house. A commotion ensues, the men get out of the house, Bree runs to the van, shots are fired, Rob shows up and Bree urges Ernie to flee as it seems Lallybroch isn't safe for them anymore.

Ernie’s van breaks down some time later and as Bree takes a look at it, Fiona urges her to go to the police. Bree has a new plan however, one that echoes a suggestion from Ernie. Perhaps, she says, it is time for her and the children to go to Roger.

Will Bree and the kids go through the stones to be reunited with Roger? Or will he come back to them before they have a chance to time travel? Will John and Ian be able to rescue William? There is a lot more to come on Outlander so tune in next week for a brand new episode on Starz and MGM+.