Episode 706: Where the Waters Meet

Well, it wasn’t exactly Washington crossing the Delaware, but close enough. Let’s discuss this finely-crafted episode.

Warning- Contains spoilers from Outlander Episode 706: Where the Waters Meet.

The title of this episode references to Fort Ticonderoga, which derives its name from the Iroquois word tekontaró:ken, meaning “at the junction of two waterways.” And, indeed, the entirety of this episode takes place in and around the fort, which in real-life is situated along the La Chute River between Lake Champlain and Lake George. More broadly, this episode deals with the ways in which people and ideas also merge: Daniel Morgan and Jamie, Jamie and Claire (yet again), Claire and William, William and Ian, Ian and Rachel, Rob and Roger, Roger and “the nuckelavee,” Continentals and English, English and Gaelic, and- finally- life and death. Like ley lines coming together, there is a shift in energy—often life-changing—when and where such things meet.

Which is apt, because a river confluence necessitates change. Just as water gathers energy as it accumulates from springs to creeks to streams to rivers, our characters this hour also move toward something larger, increasing in momentum and force as they go. We are seemingly headed for the Battle of Saratoga (and whatever fate awaits the MacKenzies in the twentieth century), but we are also moving toward the finale for the first half of this season.

At first glance, this episode appears more moderately-paced than its action-packed predecessors. Like a river, however, that perception is misleading. Anyone who has spent time in or on a river knows that dangers often exist below the water’s tranquil surface. Undercurrents, rocks, and drop-offs can render a peaceful river treacherous. And this, too, is a theme for this episode: the danger that exists beneath. As Captain Richardson explains to William, wars are won with the things that are not seen—state craft, spies, and turncoats are arguably more dangerous than the battles themselves. The fighting is what is visible, but the intelligence that is gathered is the quiet and deadly undercurrent.

And along that theme, one begins to wonder about Rob Cameron, who gestures vaguely to a nephew we never meet and seems all-too-eager to gather what information he can from the MacKenzies. If this episode teaches us anything, it’s that this man’s friendly, sweater-wearing suburban surface ought not to be trusted.

In the eighteenth century, the Frasers are fleeing with the other Continentals after Fort Ticonderoga falls to the British. In a turn of events that should surprise absolutely no one, Claire is captured by the British when she is separated from the group. She finds herself back at the fort, reunited with not only one grown and dapper William Ransom, but also her previous patient Walter Woodcock (who is looking not-quite as dapper).

Walter Woodcock’s death is detailed in this episode in a way that it was not in the novel, and so I have to think that his suspected pulmonary embolism is a deliberate, thematic choice by the writers. Think of the venous system of the body, with numerous small capillaries feeding into larger veins, ultimately confluencing into the vena cava before returning to the heart— it is a river system within the body. An embolism is an abruption to that river’s energy, flow, and life and it, too, is a danger that exists below the surface.

Ian, relatively protected by his Mohawk identity, makes his way back into the fort and attempts to surreptitiously escape again with Claire. His efforts are thwarted, however, when William recognizes Ian and certain pieces (but obviously not all) of the Fraser family begin to fall into place. But like his adoptive father before him, William owes a Fraser his life and, thus, a favor. “We’re quits,” he emphasizes to Ian, allowing them to leave during the distraction created by Jamie’s fire arrows. Oh, my sweet summer child…no one is ever quits in any Grey-Fraser dynamic. Ever.

In the twentieth century, Roger is invited to give a lesson on the Gàidhlig at Jem’s school and he is endearingly excited about the idea. Like a river moving forward, the invitation seems to re-propel Roger into motion. Is it any coincidence that the song he sings is of Calum Cille, a patron saint of floods…aka one who protects us in dangerous waters?

And out of the dangerous waters of folklore and into the reality of Lallybroch finally emerges our “nuckelavee.” If you aren’t a novel reader and didn’t recognize who that man is supposed to be (it’s a different actor than the one in Season 5), pay close attention to the end credits and list of characters. Things are about to get interesting!

Thus we end this episode with the waters rapidly rising around our characters. The stream of Ticonderoga refugees merges with the larger continental army just as Roger’s past is beginning to merge with his present. A shift in energy, a turn in the river bend, a momentum of current…life carries us forward where the waters meet.

Slàinte.

Screencaps provided by Outlander-Online.