EPISODE 302 Surrender

Surrender
A Definition:
verb (used with object)
1. to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress:
to surrender the fort to the enemy; to surrender the stolen goods to the police.
2. to give (oneself) up, as to the police.
3. to give (oneself) up to some influence, course, emotion, etc.:
He surrendered himself to a life of hardship.
4. to give up, abandon, or relinquish (comfort, hope, etc.).
5. to yield or resign (an office, privilege, etc.) in favor of another.

I added this because of the metaphors of surrendering that happen in this aptly named episode. Every character goes through a type of surrendering, either to the authorities, to their mates, or to the fates that have torn them apart, and those that realize something broken cannot be fixed. Anne Kinney, who wrote the episode, does a wonderful job in bringing the emotions of this theme to life. And Jennifer Getzinger does an excellent job of filming the story so that you see everyone’s eventual coming to terms with the concept. There is no holding back, and it’s a difficult episode to watch as all the characters eventually succumb to life in their new roles. So that is the theme I’m going to explore for this recap. Oh, and yes, you can still expect a little bit of funny, because I wouldn’t have it any other way.
WARNING: I use adult language. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will know this. Anyone coming here expecting a guy not to dash off a few foul words here and there is living in fantasy. I try to minimize this, but sometimes I can’t hold back. And this will probably be the case with MacGregor, that pig faced piece of shit soldier who does some pretty nasty things to certain members of our beloved cast. Oops there it is. Damn!
Anyway, let’s get to it, shall we?
1. The year is 1752, six years after the events of Culloden. Wee Fergus, Rabbie MacNabb and young Jamie are going through a dovecote at Lallybroch looking for a pistol that Ian presumably stashed there. After a few minutes of searching, Fergus recovers the pistol and starts playing with it. Young Jamie wants to hold it, but Fergus is all, “Dude, it’s like for grownups only so hands off, yeah?” And Rabbie says, “It’s only for warriors.”
Then Fergus starts bragging about how he’s been to war and killed an English soldier with a dagger. Then he gets all wistful about wishing Jamie had taken him to the battle of Culloden. At this point, I’m thinking, “It’s good you didn’t go because you would have had the same fate as many of those in the battle. Oh and let us not forget about the young kids in the hovel last episode.” So, probably not a good idea for you to go, kiddo. Besides, you’re going to be around in Jamie’s life for a while. But not without your own share of tragedies, because as you all know, this is Diana Gabaldon we’re talking about, right?
Then the English show up. Apparently, this is a new guy on the job of trying to find the Dunbonnet. AKA Red Jamie, AKA the King of Men.
Ian and Jenny are adamant that they don’t know where he is. But this guy isn’t having it. That’s when we are introduced to the real bad guy of the episode, in the form of one Corporal Macgregor. This guy is just a piggy eyed frog faced monster, and instantly I hate him. Even when he raises a hand to slap Fergus and calls him “Frog Eater”.

Ryan Fletcher gives us all the great reasons to hate his character. Excellent job, sir. Captain Lewis orders Macgregor to put Ian in custody to find out more of what Ian knows. So they drag him away but not before Ian can tell the kids to “Finish milking and mind your mother.”
While the cart is trundling along past a line of trees, we finally see Red Jamie, as the Dunbonnet.
2. Jamie has a minimal amount of dialogue in this episode, and if you read the book, you’d understand why. A few folks online have commented on this, but if you have read, you’ll see that without anyone to talk to, it’s very hard for him to come back to civilization after so many years of being out in the country alone.
After killing a huge buck, he drags it over his shoulder to Lallybroch. All one hundred fifty pounds of it. Over his shoulder. Because he’s Jamie Fraser, and he can do that. King of Men, remember? As he is walking into the courtyard, he sees someone picking herbs in the garden. When that someone turns around, it’s Claire, smiling at him as though she never left.
Oh, you thought she was back already? Na, brah. It’s a ghost, his imagination playing tricks on him. It’s only Jenny, and she gets spooked and yells at him that she nearly scared the bowels out of her. As anyone would who owed up with a lion’s mane of hair, a beard down to his shirt, and carrying a buck over his shoulder that was twice his size.
Inside, they’re having a discussion about the day’s events while she hands him implements of cutting so he can disembowel the kill.
Fergus wants to go after the British and slit their throats in the night and rescue Ian. Jenny isn’t having any of that though. She’s trying to talk to her brother. Who says absolutely nothing here by the way. “It’s time for the rents, Ian was going to do it but he’s been taken away by the Brits, ye ken? And I’m not lying when I say you haven’t been here because you’re not my brother. Jamie hasn’t been to Lallybroch in six years.”
Jamie keeps pounding away at the deer like, “I hear you talking but I’m hungry and in the mood to brood.”
3. Then we’re in Boston with Claire. She’s just having a nice little dream about a naked Scottish guy with scars on his back and a pair of buttocks you could bounce a quarter off of. I mean, come on sam, was every day of your life butt day? Some online viewers posit that this is, in fact, a stunt double, but I think not. I remember the wedding episode, and that has got to be Sam’s ass.
Not that I looked, because for the sake of it, I don’t care. But I can tell you I had to go back and do some checking out, for research, ye ken. Oh shut up, you did too. Any chance you get to look at Jamie’s butt, you do it. Don’t lie. I mean, look at it!

Not at work! There’s your boss! Minimize! We’ve been through this, remember?
She’s having a downright good dream and then wakes up as the dream Jamie walks toward her. Then she looks over and sees Jamie lying in bed next to her and then comes to the realization that it’s not him. The look on her face is full of disappointment as the camera pans up and we see Frank lying there oblivious to his wife’s nocturnal habits.
It’s Boston in 1948, so only a few months have progressed since Bree was born. She’s reading the morning news about Ireland becoming a free country. Bree starts crying and she notices that the kiddie has turned over, far ahead of schedule according to Doctor Spock, apparently. What did that guy know? In between Vulcan neck pinches, living long and prospering, he wrote a baby book too.
Yes. I am in fact a Star Trek nerd. Anyway, Frank comes down because the boiler stopped putting out hot water, and his shower was ruined. When he sees Claire going gaga over Bree, she explains that she turned over. “Wow, that’s amazing. What will she do next?” he asks. “Probably learn Latin before she’s three, learn to hunt, and have all the appliances modernized by the time she’s four.”
And so as not to put out the Tobias lovers here, I give you a picture of half-naked Frank Randall holding a baby.

Oh, to all the husbands out there, I’m sorry for the unrealistic expectations these photos illicit in your mates, I really do. It’s not my fault. Blame the show, not me.
There’s an uncomfortable moment between the two and then she takes the baby while he goes and gets the boiler worked out. There’s a bit of sexual tension here, and it’s nice to see, but I’m sure it’ll be short-lived.
4. Then we’re back to Jamie, hiding in a cave. Fergus finds him and comes in to talk. He’s got the pistol and wants to learn how to shoot. Jamie tells him there’s not going to be any of that. He wants to be ready the next time there’s a Rising. And Jamie is all, “Dude, that’s a pipe dream. It’ll never happen. Any rebellion will be squashed before it can get off the ground. Let it go.” Fergus is having none of that. He calls Jamie a coward. But Jamie is right. Jamie puts the pistol back in Fergus’ hands and tells him “Go. Put this back where you found it. It’s at this point Fergus has refused to surrender. And this refusal will cost him more than he knows.

Jamie is next seen coming into the courtyard again, and this time is met by Mary MacNabb. He says he has come to look at the legers. Well, naturally she’s all weak in the knees whenever Jamie is around, and can you blame her? Even with a full head of long luxurious red hair and a beard he still looks great. In an “I;m a fierce barbarian that will take you any kind of way I want and you’ll love it” look. He says he’s come to look at the ledgers.

5. It sounds like a baby is on the way, and here are the kids doing chores. But then Wee Jamie hears a cawing overhead and points out a raven. This has dire consequences for the baby in Scottish folklore. Apparently, when one sees a corby during the birth of a child, it means the baby will be stillborn. Well, it’s Captain Fergus and the raven killers to get the job done. Fergus goes out to find the gun, loads it, and shoots the bird.
But in the process wakes up the local British soldiers who are out and about on patrol.
Jamie also hears the shot and comes to Fergus. The kids try to explain what just happened, but before Jamie can respond, Mary MacNabb comes out and says the baby is fine and healthy. So Jamie keeps his mouth shut and his look to Fergus says, “Good lad, you’re in the clear, for now.” Then he goes in to see his sister and the new baby. Mary admonishes the boys in a line of gibberish I have been unable to decipher after even five viewings. Something about not causing any more tribbles? And I’m like, “Wait, did she just say tribble? Those things are trouble!”
Okay, yeah, I know. Did I not tell you I was a Star Trek geek?
Inside, Jenny is fine and lets Jamie hold the bairn. He’s doing an able job of it while she’s on about his love life. Like big sisters usually are. Trust me, I’ve had five. I know. They will get all up in your business when it comes to your romantic life. “So why not take a wife? I hear a certain Mary MacNabb is looking for a mate, seeing as how her husband died. And she’s still of childbearing age.”
Once again, Jamie is closed mouthed. She keeps on, “It’s been six years, you gotta get hitched. Claire isn’t coming back from where she went. Oh, where did she go, anyway? You never told me.” Because, sis, if he did, you wouldn’t believe him anyway.
“I’m never getting married again,” he says. And then the fucking redcoats show up.
6. Captain Lewis and Macgregor Pigface show up and Jamie has to hide in a closet while they try to figure out where the gun is. About halfway through, Captain Obvious asks, “Did you just deliver a baby? Sorry, my bad. Timing is quite off, isn’t it.”
“The baby died. It was stillborn, the midwife took it away to be buried.” Meanwhile, Jamie is hiding in the closet, or hallway, trying to keep young Ian from crying and alerting Frog Face and the Captain of his presence. That’s when Mary comes in and saves the day by explaining that the gun was used to ward off the Raven but it was too late.
“Silly superstitious nonsense,” says Macgregor. But the captain seems to buy this line of reasoning, because he’s all, “Oh, I’m sorry. We’ll be going then. Oh, but I’ll take the pistol.” Macgregor seems quite disappointed by the fact that he can’t do some other nefarious deeds to the helpless women because he wants to take Mary into custody.
“We have the weapon,” Lewis says, “She’s no threat to us,”
So the redcoats start to leave and as they are going, Jamie rolls a 1 on a sneak check. Macgregor turns to listen again because he heard a squeak in the floor, but Lewis calls him before he can investigate and he sulks down the stairs.
The ladies heave a sigh of relief. Jamie comes in and says they’ve gone. Jenny orders him to dig a grave anyway because they’ll come back and look. She adds “I’ve seen the look of this Captain. He’s not going to give up until you’re hanging on the end of a rope.” Jamie’s look here is one of acceptance, but he’s still unsure of what to do.
7. In Boston, Claire wakes up and starts reaching out for Frank. When he wakes up she says, “I miss my husband.” which is code for “You’re not Jamie Fraser, but you’re technically still my husband so you’ll do in a pinch.” and I’m kind of not liking Claire here because you just know she’s using Frank for sex. Which is unfair to him because he’s with her, and he’s thinking “Aww yeah, Claire is back to me now.” But she’s really not. She just wants some horizontal badonkadonk and he’s the closest man.

No sir I don’t like it.
8. So the British troops bring Ian back because he didn’t tell them anything. Macgregor tells Ian that they’re searching to the north and south. Eventually, they will find Red Jamie.
Later, Fergus decides to go on a walkabout. Macgregor and another soldier follow him. Fergus knows this and leads them on a wild goose chase through the forest. He’s taunting them all the way, calling them “Stupid English kinnikits, go boil your bottoms you sons of a silly person! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries! Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time-a!” Well, they aren’t taking any of it, and give chase. Fergus starts to run but he instead falls for the biggest trope in all of cinema, the Dramatic Slip trope.
Well, Macgregor is on him like a shot, scoops him up and demands to know the whereabouts of Jamie Fraser. He’s up there on that ridge watching if you must know. But only the viewers know that. Then Macgregor a coward and all kinds of other names. Macgregor gets pissed, naturally, throws him down on a fallen branch, and proceeds to cut off Fergus’ hand.
This is the fans at this moment…

Well the redcoats ride off, and Corporal Ass Face tells the other troops to leave the Frog Eater to die.

Once out of sight, Jamie storms down the hill and saves the poor lad. Because he learned how to make a tourniquet from Claire. See, she’s not even here and she’s saving lives.
9. Later, Jamie is pacing in the hallway, when Jenny comes down and says, “It’s okay. He’s going to be fine. Your quick thinking saved his life.” At which point, Jamie is relieved by the news and breaks down. And it is heartbreaking. Because we don’t like it when Daddy cries. This is the point in the show where the theme of the episode starts for all the characters. And it’s right at the halfway point.
Fergus is the first one to surrender to the fact that there will be no more rebellion. Their lives are changed, and this latest brush with the redcoats has proven it. “But I am now a man of leisure,” he tells Jamie at the end of their conversation. Jamie has mad respect for the kid. “You showed me what it means to be a fighter,” Which he will do in future.
But right now, Fergus has to sleep because he’s got a lot of wiskey in him.
10. We are in Boston again, having a dinner party for Millie and Jerry. They’re all talking about dinner, and how whatever it is they’re eating is damn delicious. Millie and Jerry are fawning all over each other. And Jerry is all, “She’s not a bad cook, but she has talents elsewhere,”

While the two lovebirds are kissing each other and making gewgaw faces at each other, Frank and Claire share an uncomfortable silence.
And I’m wondering why they are showing Millie and Jerry here, and my spider senses tell me there might just be an issue surrounding Frank’s infidelities and a next-door neighbor in future. Because she wasn’t in the book to my recollection. (I would remember, seeing as how I’ve read the thing six times)
Later, after the lovey-dovey couple has gone, there’s time for another lovey-dovey couple. Claire goes for Frank and starts seducing him, and he’s into it for a few minutes in front of the fireplace. He keeps asking her to open her eyes

Well, Frank realizes at that moment that he is not the one Claire is imagining, and he stops. He knows full well what is happening here. And this moment is his personal surrender. He gives up trying to make it work. Trying to have a real marriage when she is still stuck on Jamie is impossible. He so much as tells her this. “When I’m with you, I’m with you. When you’re with me, you’re with him.”
And I am sad for Frank. He may as well be a pony racing against a stallion.
11. Jamie and Ian talk about missing body parts and how they still hurt. Fergus will always have that phantom arm pain. You don’t get over that type of loss. Then Ian says, “Claire was your heart,” and trails off before adding “And ye lost her too.” Jamie walks down a hallway and sees his coat of arms hanging on the wall with a saber slash through it. Mary comes to him and he asks, “Who did this,” to which she’s all, “The redcoats, duh.” and he realizes that they’ll never stop searching for him.
So he talks to Jenny and Ian and tells them he’ll surrender to the British. “Tell them when I’m going to show up again, and they’ll capture me. Then you’ll get the reward.” Jenny has huge reservations about this, because she thinks he will be hanged. Jamie is thinking, “Good, I’m on borrowed time anyway.” but Ian is the optimist of the group and says that “Jamie will probably be put in prison.” because apparently, the Brits have cooled on killing traitors in the past seven years.
12. Back in the forest, Mary MacNabb stalks toward Jamie’s cave.

She is bringing him food, a shave, and a haircut (two bits) before he goes off to prison. She cleans him up rather nicely. I can actually see Jamie under all that hair. After all that, she starts getting undressed and he’s not having any of it. “What the hell are you doing?” he says, and she’s all, “Come on, we both need this. I know I can’t be Claire, and you can’t be my husband, but we need each other.” And he relents and sheds a tear when he’s thinking of Claire. It’s so heartbreaking. This is another surrender for him.
Of all the characters in this episode, he is the one who does the most of it. Surrendering to the fact that he can’t keep his family safe, to the fact that he will never see Claire, and surrendering to the authorities to begin the next stage of his life post Culloden. He doesn’t want to give up the past, but at this point he has to in order for healing and change to begin.
13. We are back in Boston, where Claire is going about her daily duties as a housewife. She’s basically going through the motions every day trying to pick up her life after the stones and everything she experienced in the past. Now she is looking toward the future. And that future includes going to school to become a doctor.
Only, that is going to be harder than she thought because of the stereotypical mid forties male dominated society that thinks women should be in the kitchen making babies and cooking dinner. She goes to her first class, Anatomy 101, where the instructor looks at her like she has a mole growing out of her skin. After she introduces herself, he’s all, “Oh yeah, they let women in class, I also have a Negro. How progressive.” Her expression says it all here.

Then, she tries to walk up to find a seat, and all the pasty white guys coming in to class are standoffish and mean toward her. One guy even blocks the way to a seat. I wanted her to shove him aside in good old Claire Fraser style but she has to play nice if she’s going to get ahead in this new world. So she finds another place.
Then, young Sidney Poitier comes in and sits near her. Actually, it’s Doctor Abernathy. Well, he’s not a doctor yet. And I understand why they deviated from the book here, because the way they meet in Voyager is kind of funny and involves a novel about the dread pirate Valdez and “teasing the membrane of her innocence.”
They make friends quickly because they are both outsiders in a white male dominated society. And I’m still holding out hope of the romance novel aspect. There’s still a few episodes we can see that so come on, Ron & Co, make it happen.
After this, we see Frank and Claire talking about domestic stuff while getting ready for bed. She turns, says, “Goodnight,” and turns off the lamp by the side of her bed. When we pan back, we see not one, but two beds. “Oh great,” I’m thinking. “We’ve landed in an I Love Lucy episode. And here is another surrender. They both have accepted the fact that they will never have a marriage like before Craig na dun. They are in it for Bree at this point, and that kid is keeping them together. Sure, they love each other, but the closeness is gone. Thiers will be a passionless marriage lacking any affection.
14. Here’s Jamie, walking into the courtyard of Lallybroch like, “I’m home, y’all!” it’s at this point the Brits come out and point guns at him and put him under arrest. Jamie and Jenny make a big show of it, and she acts like she really hates him. “I’ll never forgive you!” she screams at last, tears in her eyes. She doesn’t mean it, but it’s still something that hurts to say. And this is her surrender. She has to let her brother go, not knowing if and when she will ever see him again. While its something that needs to be done, it doesn’t make it any harder to actually do.
The Captain gives her the reward, “Here’s you twenty pieces of silver, madam.” and as they are loading Jamie into the cart, she tuns into the house. Great Job, Laura Donnelly, can’t wait to see you again. That last part you showed about seventeen different emotions in one second. Loss, hatred, heartbreak, anger, frustration, and acceptance all in a moment. Beautiful work.
As the cart rolls over the muddy path, we see the brown hat in the dirt, and the Dunbonnet part of Jamie’s life is finally over.
15. Then, there’s Claire walking across a bridge and she hears a bagpiper playing “Scotland The Brave.” How convenient, a bagpiper in a Boston park. Can she get any more reminders of the past she had to let go of? She leaves him a tip and walks off into the darkness as the credits roll.
All in all, a pretty solid episode. I’m amazed at how much they pack into each show. When I heard there were only 13 episodes in this season, I was confused as to what they were going to cut. But it turns out, the narrative they picked up follows almost directly to the novel. Are there deviations? Sure, there always will be in an adaptation. But the story is still Voyager and seems to be the same as a book I put in my top 5 favorites of all time.
Next up, the search for Jamie. I’m excited to see Roger and Bree take off in the next few episodes. It’ll be fun to watch their romance bloom. I’m also excited to see the meeting between Jamie and Lord John at Ardsmuir prison. Yep, that’s going to be a fun episode to watch, for sure.
Now here it is, your Mooney Eye Jamie pic of the week.