Recap / Outlander S 2 E 10 Prestonpans

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Recap of Outlander
Season 2, Episode 10:

Prestonpans

In-fighting among the Prince's advisors bogs down progress of the Rebellion, but trusting in Claire's knowledge of "history", Jamie follows a tip from a local farmer and leads the Jacobite army into a critical battle with British opposition near the town of Preston. Afterwards, Claire attends to the dead and dying, a reminder of the truest costs of war.

Tropes

• After-Action Healing Drama: Both Kincaid and Rupert are rushed back to Claire by their best friends for medical treatment. Kincaid is dead on arrival. There is a great deal of angst over Rupert but he ultimately survives. Angus dies unexpectedly of undiagnosed internal bleeding which shocks the entire group, casting a pall over what should have been a victorious celebration.
• Anger Born of Worry: Claire threatens to box Fergus' ears after he returns from the battle, but she's more worried by the fact that he was in battle and had to kill a man.
• Back for the Dead: Redcoat officer Lieutenant Jeremy Foster, who escorted Dougal and Claire to meet the Garrison Commander, is one of the wounded Redcoat soldiers Dougal kills after the battle.
• Belated Injury Realization: With all attention focused on Rupert's visible and gruesome injury, no one realizes how badly Angus is injured until it's too late. He dies of untreated internal injuries.
• The Berserker: Quartermaster O'Sullivan wants the troops to charge across the bog at the British. Significant in that O'Sullivan is Irish and feels that the Scottish warriors should be up to the task. The actual Scottish advisors are all solidly against this plan, believing it a reckless sacrifice of life.
• Belief Makes You Stupid: Prince Charles' belief that he is ordained by God to return to the throne makes him willing to make very ill-advised movements in the belief that fate will make the logistics fall in place in his favor.
• Big Damn Kiss: Jamie and Claire share one just before Jamie goes to fight in the battle of Prestonpans and another after he safely returns.
• Blood from the Mouth: Angus dies choking on his own blood.
• Brass Balls: Dougal gets just feet from the firing range of the British infantry to test whether the bog will support the weight of the Highlander infantry. He gets so closed to being killed, his hat is shot off and his skull gets grazed by a bullet, but he is able to get an answer and make it back to the safety of camp. Prince Charles is so impressed by his bravery, he gives Dougal a big hug.
• Bring Me My Brown Pants: Dougal, after testing the terrain between their encampment and the enemy's, and getting shot at:
  Dougal: And now, I'm off to change my breeks because the hero of the hour has shat his pants.
• Catchphrase: Prince Charles uses the phrase "Mark me" quite often.
• Combat Medic: Claire puts her skills as a healer to good use at Prestonpans, tending to injured Scots as they return from battle.
• Death Wail: Rupert lets out a mighty roar when he realizes Angus has died. Despite being badly wounded, he struggles to his feet to give his fallen friend one last salute and to take the sword Angus wanted him to have should he die.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: Prince Charles believes he is preordained by God to sit on the throne of England so the British soldiers should be pleased to surrender to him. He fails to understand that the British soldiers firmly believe that King George is preordained by God and as such view Prince Charles as a heretic and a pretender. Additionally, he believes that the English and the Scots are brothers, united under his banner, and they should be able to come to a peaceful agreement. In reality, the Redcoats and the Highlanders have been in aggressive conflict for decades and would love nothing better than to slaughter each other, once and for all.
• Due to the Dead: Averted. Bodies of the dead are left to rot.
• Foreseeing My Death: An unfortunate invocation. Angus guilts Claire into giving him a goodbye kiss, joking that she might regret denying his last request as he could be dead by this same time tomorrow. Unfortunately, he ends up being correct.
• Funny Background Event: As Claire is working to rally the women as field nurses, Fergus is in the background being a bored pre-teen boy. He flops dramatically on the field cots, touches every tool on the table, and shadow fences.
• General Failure: Prince Charles and Quartermaster O'Sullivan are so sure that God will grant them victory that they can barely be bothered with tedium like strategizing, leading to wasted opportunities everywhere.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Prince Charles' edict that wounded British soldiers be treated before wounded Highlanders. Once the British win Culloden, they systematically and summarily execute any and all Highland fighters, wounded or not.
• If You Die, I Call Your Stuff: Ross and Kincaid make an agreement that whichever one survives will take care of the family and possessions of the one who dies. Averted when Rupert refuses to entertain the idea that either he or Angus won't survive.
• Kick the Dog: Despite acknowledging that Lieutenant Foster is an honorable man, Dougal kills Foster for truthfully telling him that the Highlanders may have won this battle, but they'll never win the war as the British army is too powerful and too well trained.
• Killed Off for Real: Angus dies of internal injuries after saving Rupert's life.
• Libation for the Dead: Ross and Rupert drink to the memory of their recently departed friends, Angus and Kincaid.
• Losing the Team Spirit: Although the camp is wildly celebrating, Clans Mackenzie and Fraser are far more subdued, devastated by the loss of Angus and Kincaid.
• The Medic: Claire is in charge of organizing after battle care for the survivors on both side of the battle. As soon as the first injured man arrives, she starts coordinating triage and treatment.
• A Million Is a Statistic: Invoked by Murtagh. He notes that they've always fought in very small units where a single death is devastated. Now their unit numbers in the thousands and no single death is particularly significant to the greater cause.
• Mood Whiplash: In the middle of treating injured soldiers, Claire asks Jamie to urinate in a cup so she can check it for blood in case his kidneys are injured after being trampled by a horse. Mere feet from dead soldiers, Jamie turns it into a literal pissing contest, taking a bet from one of the captured Redcoats that he can accurately hit the cup from a certain distance. His attempt is abruptly cut short by Prince Charles coming in to deliver a tone deaf speech about the British and Scots being brothers followed by Dougal's ill-advised cry for the death of the captured Redcoats.
• Moment Killer: Just as Jamie and Claire move in to kiss, Fergus bounds up to them wanting to get permission to join the men in battle.
• Nerves of Steel: Dougal barely flinches at the Redcoats take potshots at him while he surveils the proposed battlefield, even as they get so close as to shoot his hat off and crease his scalp. He does, however, joke that he needs to change his breeks once his back in Scottish territory.
• Never Got to Say Goodbye: Rupert is devastated that Angus died while Rupert was unconscious, robbing them of their chance to say goodbye to each other.
• Never Say Goodbye: Rupert refuses to say goodbye to Claire because he chooses to believe that they will all return safe and sound.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Dougal roaring about killing British prisoners in spite of Prince Charles' edict that the wounded soldiers not be harmed gets Dougal exiled to dragoon scouting duty and that was only thanks to some fast talking on Jamie's part since Prince Charles wanting Dougal removed from the army all together.
• Overly Long Hug: Prince Charles gives Dougal a long, awkward, one-sided hug in gratitude for Dougal's risky scouting.
• Reverse Psychology: Jamie talks to Dougal about testing the marsh grounds to see if can be fought on, implying that he plans to go himself. Dougal says Prince Charlie won't be pleased that Jamie took such a risk, as valuable a commander as he is. Jamie agrees but says it's too dangerous for him to delegate to any of his men. Plus, Prince Charlie will be massively grateful to whoever gets it done. Dougal ask a few clarifying questions then volunteers. To keep Jamie safe, of course. When Dougal walks away to prepare, Jamie allows himself a devious grin.
• Rousing Speech: Claire delivers a minor one to the ladies working in the field hospital.
• Screaming Warrior: The Highlanders battle style.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: After being caught in the middle of raging battle and having to kill a man, Fergus is glassy-eyed with shock and fatigue and no longer thinks war is glorious.
• Skewed Priorities: Prince Charles wants wounded British soldiers treated before wounded Highlanders as a show of goodwill. Jamie wisely advises he never mention this within earshot of any Highlander, as they have been severely mistreated by the English and would resent Prince Charles putting the English first when the Highlanders are the ones actually fighting for the Prince.
• Strategy, Schmategy: Prince Charles and Quartermaster O'Sullivan are content to throw Highlander bodies at the British in the hopes of overwhelming them. They are almost visibly irritated when Jamie and Lord General Murray try to slow them down and present more decisive, tactical plans.
• Surrounded by Idiots: Jamie's general attitude towards the Prince's War Council.
• Too Injured to Save: Claire realizes too late that Angus has been quietly bleeding out internally. By the time it becomes apparent, there is nothing she can do with the limit medical supplies she has.
• To Win Without Fighting: Prince Charles notes that they took Perth and Edinburgh without firing a single shot and assumes they can do the same here. Jamie notes that on both of those occasions, they had the element of surprise and the opposing troops fled. The British are well aware of their presence this time and prepared to stand their ground.
• Upper-Class Twit: Charles repeatedly asserts that he is a trained soldier, but in reality, he's never been to war, and has lived the majority of his life exiled but in relative comfort. He very plainly views the Highlanders as low-class and beneath him, nothing more than a means to an end, and as such is willing to take reckless chances with their lives for a chance to return to the throne.
• War Is Hell: The battle of Prestonpans is brutal and very bloody. Also shown through Fergus who sneaks off to join the men in battle only to be traumatized by the brutality and having to kill a Redcoat to keep from being killed himself.
• We ARE Struggling Together: The Prince's advisors can not agree on the best course of action and actually advise contradictory actions.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Jamie's reaction to both the Prince's order that the British wounded be treated before the Jacobites and his supreme confidence that Jamie can make Claire follow that order.
• Young and in Charge: At roughly 25-26 years old, Jamie is significantly younger than any of Prince Charles' other advisors. Prince Charles himself is the youngest, at 24-25 years old.