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Outlander S6 Ep 3: Temperance
By Jennifer Still
Mar 21, 2022 at 6:30pm
The opening scene of Outlander Season 6 Episode 3, titled “Temperance,” sets the scene for much of what’s to come. This week, it’s largely about little Henri-Christian, born last week to a relieved Marsali (Lauren Lyle) but shunned by his father, Fergus (Cesar Domboy) because he was born a dwarf. Such a genetic condition wasn’t just taboo in the 18th century, it was seen as being from Satan himself.
Because of this, Henri-Christian’s older brother Germain teamed up with Aidan and other young boys in the settlement to test out a theory. If Henri-Christian is the “devil’s seed,” as their parents have told them, surely he won’t be able to float on water. To find out the truth, they took the baby in his basket and threw him on the rushing river. He was quickly carried downstream, but thankfully Roger (Richard Rankin) was nearby and managed to dive in and save the little one.
Fergus, for his part, is still struggling. He has his wife, who thought she was going to die, and a healthy little boy, but he’s tortured by the thought of what kind of life Henri-Christian will lead. During a heart-to-heart with Claire (Caitriona Balfe), he confides that in his native France, dwarf children are either left to the wolves or forced into prostitution to be used by men with “exotic” tastes. Not only that, but they also face danger on a daily basis, as Fergus revealed that an old dwarf friend of his named Luc was found in an alley with his throat slit, the madame of the brothel later selling his body parts off to be used in divination. Yikes.
After such a heavy chat, it’s hard to believe Claire can possibly be in the mood for Tom Christie (Mark Lewis Jones), who has the gall to complain that Claire took too long coming back to the house and that he’d been waiting for a while. He insists his one hand is now healed enough that he can have surgery on his other hand. However, he doesn’t want any of Claire’s “potions,” i.e. the ether, instead opting to have his arm strapped down while Jamie pours whiskey down his throat and reads scripture. Claire also offers a bucket for Christie to vomit in, should he need it.
While Christie is shouting the place down with his hand cut open, Malva (Jessica Reynolds) is really hitting it off with Young Ian (John Bell). Together, they discuss sin, family, and their eternal fates. Malva even shares that her mother was hanged as a witch when she was very young, which would explain her fascination with Claire’s “potions,” so to speak. They seem to really hit it off over the following days, nearly sharing a kiss in a field. This is going to end in trouble!
Back at Fraser’s Ridge, Marsali is desperate to help Fergus with his alcoholism but he’s having none of it. It’s safe to say toxic masculinity was alive and kicking in the 1700s (no surprise there) because he balks at the idea of being helped or protected by a woman. When Marsali says that she’s fully capable of pitching in and looking after the family, revealing that she actually killed Lionel Brown by filling a syringe with water hemlock and injecting him. This does little to assuage Fergus, and he ends up being ordered out after Marsali dumps a pitcher of alcohol over his head.
Claire is still having flashbacks to her ordeal with Lionel and his men that are provoked by the slightest comment. This time, it’s Jamie’s joke about them being the grandparents of “demon-born” Henri-Christian, and she quickly excuses herself to “check on Tom” who’s stayed overnight after his surgery for observation. One can’t help but feel that she’s headed to her workshop to grab the ether.
Before she can, however, Christie wakes up and begins speaking to her. He’s entirely unpleasant as usual, condemning her for not wearing a proper cap since she’s a “pious married woman” and quoting scripture. She tries to show him how to move the muscles in his hand so that they don’t stiffen up as it heals and even makes him some food before leaving him and heading back to bed.
In bed, she and Jamie discuss how weird Christie is about having any contact with a woman whatsoever. He explained that at Ardsmuir, men were so desperate for touch that they sometimes turned to one another, but Christie turned inward. Claire believes it’s as if he’s “afraid to sin” and she might well be right, though it certainly must count as sinning that as soon as his hand begins to heal, he’s back to whipping Malva repeatedly?
Towards the end of the episode, it’s Quarter Day, meaning rents and other profits are due. It’s a grand occasion, but then Fergus has to ruin it by getting way too drunk and getting into a fight with a couple, the Macgregors, who call Henri-Christian “grotesque.” Fergus throws alcohol in the woman’s face and begins pummeling the man before the fight is broken up.
It takes a heartfelt pep talk from Jamie himself later that day to figuratively smack some sense back into Fergus. The younger man has gone into a clearing to end his life, but Jamie is there to stop him and remind him that he’s worth being proud of and has a lot to offer as a father and a man in general. Seemingly, it took only those few words from Jamie to get him back to his old self because when they come back to Fraser’s Ridge, he promises Marsali that he will “never again”… drink? Desert her? He also takes hold of Henri-Christian and smiles a smile of pure joy at the baby. Well, that was simple.
We close things out this week with the arrival of the Red Coats. They’ve brought plenty of guns for the Cherokee, believing they will have the Native Americans’ loyalty in the coming war. Their arrival worries Claire, who seems to remember more about American history than most viewers will. However, we soon find out that the Boston Tea Party has just taken place, leading Claire to declare: “It’s starting. The storm, the war… it’s almost here.” That certainly seems to be the case.
Because of this, Henri-Christian’s older brother Germain teamed up with Aidan and other young boys in the settlement to test out a theory. If Henri-Christian is the “devil’s seed,” as their parents have told them, surely he won’t be able to float on water. To find out the truth, they took the baby in his basket and threw him on the rushing river. He was quickly carried downstream, but thankfully Roger (Richard Rankin) was nearby and managed to dive in and save the little one.
Fergus, for his part, is still struggling. He has his wife, who thought she was going to die, and a healthy little boy, but he’s tortured by the thought of what kind of life Henri-Christian will lead. During a heart-to-heart with Claire (Caitriona Balfe), he confides that in his native France, dwarf children are either left to the wolves or forced into prostitution to be used by men with “exotic” tastes. Not only that, but they also face danger on a daily basis, as Fergus revealed that an old dwarf friend of his named Luc was found in an alley with his throat slit, the madame of the brothel later selling his body parts off to be used in divination. Yikes.
After such a heavy chat, it’s hard to believe Claire can possibly be in the mood for Tom Christie (Mark Lewis Jones), who has the gall to complain that Claire took too long coming back to the house and that he’d been waiting for a while. He insists his one hand is now healed enough that he can have surgery on his other hand. However, he doesn’t want any of Claire’s “potions,” i.e. the ether, instead opting to have his arm strapped down while Jamie pours whiskey down his throat and reads scripture. Claire also offers a bucket for Christie to vomit in, should he need it.
While Christie is shouting the place down with his hand cut open, Malva (Jessica Reynolds) is really hitting it off with Young Ian (John Bell). Together, they discuss sin, family, and their eternal fates. Malva even shares that her mother was hanged as a witch when she was very young, which would explain her fascination with Claire’s “potions,” so to speak. They seem to really hit it off over the following days, nearly sharing a kiss in a field. This is going to end in trouble!
Back at Fraser’s Ridge, Marsali is desperate to help Fergus with his alcoholism but he’s having none of it. It’s safe to say toxic masculinity was alive and kicking in the 1700s (no surprise there) because he balks at the idea of being helped or protected by a woman. When Marsali says that she’s fully capable of pitching in and looking after the family, revealing that she actually killed Lionel Brown by filling a syringe with water hemlock and injecting him. This does little to assuage Fergus, and he ends up being ordered out after Marsali dumps a pitcher of alcohol over his head.
Claire is still having flashbacks to her ordeal with Lionel and his men that are provoked by the slightest comment. This time, it’s Jamie’s joke about them being the grandparents of “demon-born” Henri-Christian, and she quickly excuses herself to “check on Tom” who’s stayed overnight after his surgery for observation. One can’t help but feel that she’s headed to her workshop to grab the ether.
Before she can, however, Christie wakes up and begins speaking to her. He’s entirely unpleasant as usual, condemning her for not wearing a proper cap since she’s a “pious married woman” and quoting scripture. She tries to show him how to move the muscles in his hand so that they don’t stiffen up as it heals and even makes him some food before leaving him and heading back to bed.
In bed, she and Jamie discuss how weird Christie is about having any contact with a woman whatsoever. He explained that at Ardsmuir, men were so desperate for touch that they sometimes turned to one another, but Christie turned inward. Claire believes it’s as if he’s “afraid to sin” and she might well be right, though it certainly must count as sinning that as soon as his hand begins to heal, he’s back to whipping Malva repeatedly?
Towards the end of the episode, it’s Quarter Day, meaning rents and other profits are due. It’s a grand occasion, but then Fergus has to ruin it by getting way too drunk and getting into a fight with a couple, the Macgregors, who call Henri-Christian “grotesque.” Fergus throws alcohol in the woman’s face and begins pummeling the man before the fight is broken up.
It takes a heartfelt pep talk from Jamie himself later that day to figuratively smack some sense back into Fergus. The younger man has gone into a clearing to end his life, but Jamie is there to stop him and remind him that he’s worth being proud of and has a lot to offer as a father and a man in general. Seemingly, it took only those few words from Jamie to get him back to his old self because when they come back to Fraser’s Ridge, he promises Marsali that he will “never again”… drink? Desert her? He also takes hold of Henri-Christian and smiles a smile of pure joy at the baby. Well, that was simple.
We close things out this week with the arrival of the Red Coats. They’ve brought plenty of guns for the Cherokee, believing they will have the Native Americans’ loyalty in the coming war. Their arrival worries Claire, who seems to remember more about American history than most viewers will. However, we soon find out that the Boston Tea Party has just taken place, leading Claire to declare: “It’s starting. The storm, the war… it’s almost here.” That certainly seems to be the case.
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