Recap of Outlander
Season 1, Episode 16:
To Ransom A Man's Soul
A desperate plan manages to free Jamie, but as Claire attempts to attend to his wounds at a nearby monastery, it becomes clear that his problems are more than physical. Jamie struggles with suicidal ideation as his mind and soul linger on the torture he endured.
Tropes:
- Big Damn Heroes: In the prior episode, Murtaugh said ten men would not be enough to free Jamie from Wentworth. They instead make do with Murtaugh, Angus, Rupert, and 19 cows, whisking Jamie right from under the Redcoats' noses.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Randall has been obsessed with dominating Jamie since he laid eyes on him four years prior. Now, through manipulation and drugging, he's had sex with Jamie, maimed his sword hand, convinced him to brand himself with Randall's crest, and even tricked him into sexually releasing during the rape which is mentally the last straw for Jamie.
- Break the Cutie: Jamie is catatonic and suicidal by the time Black Jack is done with him.
- Cacophony Cover Up: The MacKenzies use the sound of the Redcoats' morning reveille to cover up the sound of their stampeding a herd of cows towards the castle which they then use to cover up the sounds of breaking Jamie out of jail.
- Call-Back: Jamie is immensely distraught by what he suffered at the hands of Black Jack Randall and can't fathom how Claire can continue to respect him as a man or as her husband. Claire reminds him of his wedding night promise that he would protect her from Randall with everything he has, up to and including his body, so he should not be ashamed for having been a man of his word and she loves and respects him all the more for willingly done so to save her.
- Death by Despair: When Jamie refuses to eat, the group begins to fear he is headed towards this.
- Delirious Misidentification: Jamie is so delirious with pain, he mistakenly sees Claire as Randall and Randall as Claire throughout the episode.
- Despair Event Horizon: Jamie has crossed this after the events of the previous episode. He is sunken deep into depression and has lost the will to live.
- Dope Slap: Willie gets slapped upside the head for mentioning his uncle who died of self-starvation after losing an arm when the group is currently worried about Jamie who has a maimed hand and is refusing to eat.
- Driven to Suicide: Jamie is so distraught by the abuse he suffered at Randall's hands, he asks both Murtagh and Willie to help him commit suicide. He also tries to overdose on the sedative Claire gives him so that she can reset the bones in his fingers.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: Invoked by Randall who uses his long hair to further strengthen Jamie's hallucinations of Claire in order to weaken Jamie's resistance to Randall's advances.
- Fan Disservice: Both Captain Randall and Jamie Fraser are very attractive men and seeing them naked should be a good experience. But because of what Randall is doing to Jamie, it is decidedly unappealing.
- Fate Worse than Death: Jamie has expressed more than once that he would rather die than submit to Randall's sexual demands. After he's forced to submit, he displays extreme suicidal ideation, refusing to eat, refusing medical care, and asking to be put out of his "black misery."
- Fingore: The close-up shots of Claire setting the splintered bones of Jamie's hand.
- First-Name Basis: Randall repeatedly calls Jamie by his nickname rather than James, Mr. Fraser, or Lord Broch Tuarach. In a time where failing to call someone by their proper title is a grave insult, Randall is emphasizing his power in the situation, one in which all social norms have been thrown out and he can be as familiar with Jamie as he pleases. From this point until his death in season 3, Randall will refer to both Frasers by their common names unless in the presence of a third party.
- Forceful Kiss: Randall repeatedly kisses Jamie, but in a manner that looks painful. At times, Jamie is audibly gagging.
- Forced Orgasm: Randall uses lavender oil and his long hair to trick a delirious Jamie into responding sexually. After he climaxes, Jamie realizes what really happened and begins sobbing and eventually goes catatonic.
- Getaway Driver: Rupert mans the wagon the group brought for transport in anticipation that Jamie would not be well enough to travel under his own power.
- Get It Over With: Jamie's reaction to Randall's attempts to sexually arouse him. Jamie is reluctantly submitting is not interested in Randall's claims of desiring mutual pleasure. Jamie wants to get through this and die already.
- Good Shepherd: The brothers in the monastery are more than willing to help Jamie and his friends, generously supplying food, shelter, medical supplies, and a listening ear.
- Hates Being Touched: Jamie repeatedly asks Claire not to touch him and shakes off her touch.
- Hand on Womb: Claire has thrown up several times over the last few episodes, but it was written off as stress over Jamie. This time as she recovers, she continually rubs her stomach. Later, she reveals that she is pregnant.
- Happy Ending: Jamie has taken the first steps towards recovery, they are headed to France, out of the reach of Jack Randall, and Jamie and Claire are expecting their first baby.
- Heroic B So D: By the time Jamie is rescued, he's incoherent and barely able to communicate. He spends a lot of time staring blankly into the middle distance.
- Hiding Behind the Language Barrier: The men are keeping Jamie's death wish from Claire by only speaking of it in Gaelic.
- In Medias Res: The episode begins post sexual assault and shows Jamie being rescued. The rest of the episode jumps between Claire and his friends trying to treat him and flashbacks to Randall's assault on Jamie.
- It's All My Fault: Claire believes her presence in this time period triggered Randall's increased interest in Jamie.
- Limp and Livid: Jamie's initial behavior during the assault. He emphasizes that he said he would not resist. That's not the same as saying he would cooperate. He makes himself deadweight, forcing Captain Randall to deadlift him and maneuver him into various positions.
- Loves the Sound of Screaming: Randall is focused on making Jamie react and zones in on making Jamie scream.
- Male Frontal Nudity: Jamie recalls - through flashbacks - the sexual assault and psychological torture he endured at the hands of Jonathan Randall (the same man who had mercilessly flogged him years before). The morning after, Randall climbs off the bed fully nude and casually prepares for the day before being trampled by 20+ head of cattle, while Jaime is surreptitiously rescued.
- Mental Health Recovery Arc: A large portion of the episode focuses on bringing Jamie back from the brink of suicidal ideation.
- Mind Rape: Not only does Randall physically assault Jamie, he mentally screws with him by using Jamie's pain induced hallucinations to get Jamie to respond to the sexual stimulus against his previously stated determination not to.
- Moment of Weakness: Jamie considers his physiological reaction of orgasming while being raped to be a sign of personal and moral weakness, but says he couldn't help it, he was mentally and physically exhausted and he just needed a few moments where he wasn't in immense pain.
- Mood Whiplash: A scene cuts from Jamie begging for death to Randall investigating a suspicious sound, only to be knocked down and out by a herd of cattle stampeding through the castle to the sound of high energy bagpipe music.
- Over-the-Shoulder Carry: How Murtagh carries Jamie from the prison, swaddled in a tartan.
- Pietà Plagiarism: When Jamie pukes from pain and is falling unconscious, Randall cradles him in a facsimile of this famous pose and marks his head with water in an imitation of the Catholic blessings.
- Post-Rape Taunt: After successfully manipulating Jamie into orgasming, Randall taunts him that Claire will never forgive him for giving in, which Jamie takes to heart.
- Reality Has No Subtitles: Jamie is too distraught to focus on speaking English, so much of his dialogue is in Gaelic. Since Claire does not understand Gaelic, she and the audience are locked out of the conversation. When Jamie and Murtagh are alone, having a very intense argument, they don't bother with English. With no subtitles, the audience is left to draw inferences from their tone and body language.
- Rule of Three: There are three separate flashbacks to Jack Randall assaulting Jamie, each time Jamie's resistance getting weaker and his delirium growing. In the third flashback, Randall is able to get the response he wants, reducing Jamie to a sobbing mess.
- Run for the Border: Claire and the MacKenzies decide that the only way to keep her and Jamie safe is to head for France. With England and France often at odds and frequently at war, Black Jack has no jurisdiction in France and his status as a British soldier would actually work strongly against him should he try to pursue.
- Seeking Sanctuary: The group is able to hide out in a monastery while they try to get Jamie back on his feet.
- Shameful Strip: Randall cuts Jamie's shirt off and undoes his kilt. This is so distressing to Jamie that he even silently cries while his back is to Randall.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: The episode begins with the chipper, energetic music and imagery of the Redcoats during their morning reveille and cheering for King George. The imagery then switches to Jamie, lying on a cot, staring stunned into the distance, covered in the evidence of the night before with the soldier's cheerful flute music and drumming still playing softly in the background.
- Surprise Pregnancy: Claire believed herself to be barren since she was unable to get pregnant with Frank.
- Survival Through Self-Sacrifice: Because Jamie sacrificed himself to ensure Claire's safety, he has not yet been executed when Claire, Murtagh, and the MacKenzies arrive to save him.
- There Are No Therapists: Claire's decision to intentionally use lavender oil to trigger Jamie's flashback's to his rape and force him to tell her what happened is questionable at best. Considering he is already suicidal, it could have gone terribly wrong. But the rules of Hollywood Healing meant that 2/3 of the way through the episode, he needs to turn the corner and begin recovering.
- Think Unsexy Thoughts: When Randall is trying to coax Jamie into sexual arousal, Jamie is visibly resisting having a reaction, focusing instead on his pain and rage. It's not until Jamie is delirious that Randall is truly able to manipulate him into complying, convincing Jamie to bring himself to arousal by thinking of Claire. Afterwards, Jamie is deeply ashamed of being unable to resist, particularly of having resorted to fantasizing about his wife to help him cope while being raped.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: Jamie's face is often blank with him staring at nothing as he mentally relives his trauma.
- Too Unhappy to Be Hungry: Jamie's trauma is so great that despite having previously being willing to eat anything, up to and including actual grass, Jamie turns down offers of food multiple times, his appetite completely suppressed by his physical and emotional pain.
- Touch of the Monster: Category Touch of Evil. Because of Randall's weird obsession with Jamie, many of the ways he touches him would be considered romantic, erotic, or affectionate if Jamie were in any way consenting.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: Averted and Played straight. When Jamie pukes while being tortured, it's shown full on. When Claire pukes after seeing the aftermath, she pukes off to the side in the shadows.
- You Owe Me: Post-rape, a despondent Jamie reminds Black Jack that he promised him a swift death and insists that Randall keep his promise.
