Outlander: The Search Recap

Synopsis of 1×14: Claire and Jenny set out to rescue Jamie from his redcoat captors; unorthodox tactics are used to send word to Jamie.

Rating: ★★★★☆

With Jamie officially missing in action, Claire and Jenny take to the road immediately in “The Search” to try and scout out where the redcoats might have taken him. The episode was effectively broken down into two sections, the search with Jenny and the search with Murtagh.

Jenny’s sense of urgency with Claire is the perfect characterization of her. Headstrong, quick to act, brave, intelligent. It feels like she just gave birth a few days ago, and now she’s on a horse riding at full gallop with Claire to track Jamie down. Her skills are impressive as well, as she hides their tracks and manages to catch up with the redcoats.

Capturing a courier they find out that news hasn’t spread that Jamie escaped yet, and with this knowledge they can destroy the evidence and search for Jamie without a sentry seeking him out as well. But conflict arises when Claire hesitates in killing the courier that Jenny insists they must.

During the argument, they are interrupted by the courier’s death at the hands of Murtagh. With Murtagh able to accompany Claire in her search, Jenny can return home to the baby.

The show has done a good job of making us like Murtagh, so his arrival feels welcome, given the fact that they expect that Jamie has ventured deeper into the Highlands. Instead of a tireless combing search for Jamie, they decide to let Jamie find them. Murtagh and Claire stir up enough attention in the highlands to catch Jamie’s attention. Claire heals people, Murtagh does a heinous dance, and eventually Claire starts singing a lewd song to the tune of The Andrews Sisters’ Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy to gain enough attention that will reach Jamie’s ears.

The adventure between Murtagh and Claire is interrupted by Gypsies led by Seorise Welsh, who steals their routine and performs it themselves. Of course, they aren’t doing this for the money, and Seorise sees right through it. When Claire and Murtagh confront him, Claire offers him a hefty sum of gold not to sing the song until they’ve found Jamie, and while Murtagh is eager to silence them in a more permanent way, Seorise agrees.

After performing all across the highlands with no luck, they are forced to continue the same actions until something turns up. Meeting Seorise again, he tells her that he has not kept his promise, and has been performing the song, but someone has contacted him with notes to meet somewhere, and he suspects it’s who Claire is looking for. The trip with Murtagh and the meeting of the gypsies was by far my favorite part of the episode. It’s always fun to see Claire succeed with nothing but her wits and her quick thinking, and even funner to see her do it with a curmudgeon like Murtagh.

Arriving at the location that they were sent to, they see Dougal instead of Jamie. Jamie, it turns out, was captured and now sits in Wentworth Prison about to be hung. He offers Claire a harrowing deal. To forget about Jamie, to let him take Lallybroch and protect it as her husband. Oh, Dougal. It’s clearly not something she would agree to, and instantly turns him down. She demands her own group of men to assault the prison and break Jamie out, and if he is dead inside or if they fail, she will agree to marry Dougal.

 

She and the four others she manages to convince arrive at Wentworth Prison, but it seems like anything but an easy job. We are definitely prepared for an explosive episode next week when we get to see Jamie again, and see how Claire and the group intend on breaking in.