Jamie finds himself between a rock and a hard place when a redcoat deserter from his past resurfaces. Claire tends to a laboring Jenny while Jamie and Ian join The Watch, resulting in devastating consequences.
As the cliffhanger teased at the end of the previous episode, things are not going to become ordinary for Jamie and Claire any time soon. They arrived in Lallybroch to establish their own lives and build their family. Jamie reunited with his sister, Jenny, and everyone had to learn how to operate as this new family unit and the lairds of the Fraser land. Eventually, they did come to an understanding. And yet, things are always going to be precarious for Jamie because of the price on his head. He has made an effort to get it removed. But it is still valid. He returned to Lallybroch determined never to leave his family again. He has made them suffer enough in his absence. That means they all have to do their best to protect him while the price is still out on him - whether it's simply lying to their new guests or actually killing a man who wanted to blackmail Jamie. Things are becoming much more complex for the Fraser clan. That gives them all a sense of strong urgency without ever abandoning the personal and emotional dynamics that worked so well in the previous episode.Jenny helps talk the man holding Jamie at gunpoint - Crenshaw - down by telling him he's her visiting cousin. Crenshaw is a man Jenny and Ian pay to help protect their land from the red coats and other clans. He and his men are disrespectful to their hospitality. They hold the power so they can walk around the village without any care for the consequences of their actions. It's a quality that infuriates Jamie. The community is struggling to stay afloat following a lackluster harvest and Crenshaw's men have no problem lighting some hay on fire. It's amusing to them while potentially very devastating to Jamie and the people of Lallybroch. Jamie's anger towards these men is justified. He hates that his hometown needs their protection in order to survive. He sees what they do as a dishonorable profession. They raid and steal simply because they enjoy doing it. Jenny and Ian will argue that they are the lesser of two evils. But that doesn't mean Jamie has to like the deal that they have with these men.
All of that starts to change when a redcoat deserter from Jamie's past - Horrocks - also pops up in Lallybroch. Crenshaw and his men bought Jenny's lie about Jamie's identity. They continued to act just like they would any other time they came to Lallybroch. Horrocks is there to help Crenshaw plan a raid on the red coats. But Horrocks also presents a threat to Jamie's current way of life. He has no loyalty to the red coats anymore but he still enjoys receiving money in exchange for keeping everyone else from finding out the truth. That's Jamie's more pressing concern in the moment.
Jamie doesn't want to compromise his morals by paying Horrocks for his silence. He wants to use that money for his family with Claire. Jenny has gone into labor which is only bringing the ideas of a child to the forefront of Jamie and Claire's mind. That has been a part of Jamie's vision of the future - living in Lallybroch with a beautiful wife and children. The children are the only missing piece of that puzzle right now. Sure, there are other things that are complicating that vision as well but it's still something that is within his reach. However, Claire is unsure if she can even get pregnant. That's information she conveniently kept from Jamie until now. She desperately wants to know what it's like to be pregnant and she loves Jamie so much. She wants to give him a child. But she has no idea if that's even possible for her. That moment is devastating for both of them. Jamie is still very supportive of her despite how disappointed he is. And yet, that moment also allows him to find the strength to give the money to Horrocks. He wants to do the right thing. However, he has to be alive in order to do that for his family.
And yet, things with Horrocks don't end with this small sum. Because Jamie was willing to pay him, he figures he can try to blackmail even more money out of him. Horrocks holds all the power in this dynamic simply because Jamie has the price on his head. Jamie doesn't want to cave and give him what he wants but he figures he has to in order to protect his family. Ultimately though, that choice is taken away from him because Ian kills Horrocks. It's an action that Jamie himself was getting ready to do. But the way Ian did it - with his sword and not a gun - was the better option because it allowed them moments of quiet in order to dispose of the body. It's not something Jamie asked Ian to do. He is grateful but he was still willing to do it himself. It takes a moment for Ian to compose himself and realize the extent of what he has just done. He has killed a man outside of war in order to protect Jamie. That weighs on his psyche throughout the remainder of the episode.
Crenshaw isn't completely clueless as to what has just happened with Horrocks though. He never trusted the man but he still is able to put things together and deduce what happened to him. And yet, that scene the morning after is all about Jamie exerting some power of his own by bluntly saying what happened to Horrocks and why. It's a moment that Crenshaw respects but he still needs Jamie to join the Watch and their next raid. Jamie has proven himself to be a capable fighter and now Crenshaw's unit is one man short. Jamie and Ian go because they feel the obligation but it's still a precarious and dangerous situation.
Along the road, Jamie gets to talking with Crenshaw and learns that they aren't so different after all. They hold the same ideals. Crenshaw won't turn Jamie into the red coats to collect the reward money because he wouldn't wish their prison on anyone. That shows that Crenshaw is a man of honor who simply enjoys the thrill of stealing people's money and treasure. The raids give him stories of adventure and a life on the road - something that Jamie can understand and relate to. It's because of this connection that forms as they ride in the rain that gives Jamie a reason to rescue Crenshaw when the raid they were led to was actually a trap by the red coats.
Claire and Jenny are back home celebrating the birth of her new daughter, Margaret. But both are also worried about their husbands. It has been days and they haven't heard anything. They both desperately want Jamie and Ian to return home safely. One day Ian and one of Crenshaw's men do return to share their tale of ambush by the red coats. Jamie and Crenshaw have been captured because Jamie had to rescue Crenshaw. Now, Jamie is once again being held by the red coats. The thing he feared the most has finally occurred. But now, Claire is passionate enough about him to try to organize some kind of escape attempt. That's thrilling and led to another successful cliffhanger.
Some more thoughts:
- "The Watch" was written by Toni Graphia and directed by Metin Hüseyin.
- Claire informs Jenny that her baby is breech and she immediately starts to spiral with the thought that she'll die during this childbirth. It's what happened to her mother. She resigns herself with talk about Jamie and the future. But the thought is always on her mind until she successfully delivers her daughter and both survive.
- Jenny sure does rely on Mrs. Crook a lot when it comes to her children, doesn't she?
- Jenny also reveals to Claire that she and Jamie used to have an older brother named Willie who died due to a childhood illness whom Jamie was incredibly close to.
