Tom Christie makes a shocking confession of love in the season 7 premiere.
Outlander fans rejoice, the Droughtlander is finally behind us! It’s been months since Claire (Caitriona Balfe) was thrown in jail for the murder of Malva Christie (Jessica Reynolds) and her unborn child, and now we see Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Young Ian (John Bell) race frantically across the countryside to rescue her from the gallows.
If we look at this situation through a glass-half-full lens, Claire won’t be swinging anytime soon since the courts in Wilmington have been closed due to unrest in the streets. Surely languishing in a cell for who knows how long gives Jamie a massive advantage toward the plan to liberate his wife, right?
Wrong. Of course, news has spread that a healer is in prison, and since there’s turmoil in the streets of Wilmington, the governor has requested Claire’s presence on his ship, where he and his pregnant wife are currently marooned for safety purposes. The governor’s wife isn’t too keen on having a merry murderess figure out why she’s so sick, but when Claire claims food poisoning and gives the woman ginger tea instead of bleeding her out, all is well.
When Claire hears that the governor plans on setting sail, she begs him to let her go to shore to get his wife some much-needed supplies. The governor suggests she make a list of things to send to shore, but she cannot leave the boat. It is her patriotic duty to be at his beck and call.
Later, Claire attempts a different tactic as Major MacDonald (Robin Laing) walks through the door. For those who don’t remember, he’s a bad guy who thinks something fishy is going on with Jamie since he resigned as Indian Agent.
MacDonald bad-mouths Jamie, wondering if he actually cares about the crown or not. Then he outs Claire for being in jail for murdering a woman and her unborn child. This makes things all sorts of awkward for Claire. Particularly since he didn’t know her crime and she’s been brought on board to care for his own unborn child.
Fortunately, there’s hope for Claire. None other than Tom Christie (Mark Lewis Jones), the true question mark of this story, drowns his sorrows in whiskey for losing sight of Claire on his watch. Is he a good guy? Is he on our team? Who knows. But Claire has the bright idea for the ship’s lieutenant to deliver her list to Mr. Christie because he can get everything she needs. Including “vir meus,” which Google tells me is loosely translated to “my man.”
Tom finds Jamie and Young Ian and gives them the good news. He knows where Claire is located! And the next thing we know, we spy Jamie sailing through the mist on a dinghy boat, hoisting himself over the rail and into the arms of his bride. Then they make out a little too heavily for the lieutenant, who berates them for being inappropriate. I cheered.
Jamie beseeches the governor to let his wife go, but the father-to-be isn’t having it. Instead of handing Claire over, he offers Jamie a proposition. If he can scrounge up two hundred men and report to crotchety Major MacDonald, committing those troops to his campaign, he will release Claire.
Of course, Jamie agrees. What else is he supposed to do? He kisses Claire goodbye and promises to see her in the morning, as I wonder how he will find that many soldiers in one night.
Speaking of confusing things, Bri (Sophie Skelton) and Roger (Richard Rankin) are off in their own little world, oblivious of Claire’s woes, trying to pursue Roger’s ministering career. When the reverend asks Roger to offer the prisoners some comfort from the Bible, Roger sarcastically advises that they should float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. One man sharply shouts, “Ali,” and Roger’s face pales.
Clearly, this man is a traveler, and Roger recoils when he learns that it is Wendingo Donner (Brennan Martin). He’s one of the men who stood around while Claire was beaten. However, Roger discovers that this guy is desperate, scared, and probably froze when push comes to shove. He wants to get home, and Roger wants to help him escape. This infuriates Bri, so Roger amends his plan to pray for Wendingo instead of giving him a pick ax and some food for his journey.
Back in Wilmington, Jamie instructs Young Ian to go back to Fraser’s Ridge because he’s going to play pirate and steal Auntie Claire from the governor’s ship. Tom intercedes, suggesting a new plan.
He’s going to turn himself in for Malva’s murder. Bad guy. I knew it.
Jamie respectfully declines, reminding Tom that he doesn’t need his help. But Tom insists. There’s nothing Jamie can say to change his mind. He’s doing it.
After a few tears, Tom sheepishly asks Jamie what he would say at Tom’s funeral if given the chance. A heartfelt Jamie summons the strength to call Tom honorable, stubborn, and someone who he respects. So he’s a bad guy who is doing a good thing?
Claire peers through the mist, and instead of her beloved, she sees Tom Christie floating toward her to board the ship. He requests a private audience with her and not only confesses the murder of his daughter but his love for Claire herself. He claims Malva was a witch, just like her mother, and he was also protecting the world from future witches by killing her child.
Through tears, Claire tells Tom that his life is worthy. He knows. Otherwise, this sacrifice would not matter. Tom turns himself in, and Claire returns to Jamie’s strong, waiting arms.
Then Jamie takes those solid arms and allegedly wraps them around the neck of Richard Brown (Chris Larkin), who is the man who took Claire away from Jamie in the first place. According to Jamie, Young Ian and his Cherokee friends are hunting down Richard’s family one by one so they won’t ever hurt anyone else. The last thing we hear is Jamie commanding Richard to make peace with the lord.
So long, villains. Hello, revolutionary war.
