Or can Jamie save him from self-destruction?
“Is this baby supposed to be in the river?
Where are the child’s parents?
Robert Wilson/Starz
I’m getting a Moses vibe.
Wait a minute, those little boys are trying to catch the baby.
Is this an accident?
Oh, there’s Roger (Richard Rankin)!
Run, Roger, run!
Grab the baby before it reaches the waterfall!
Why is Roger yelling at the children?
Weren’t they trying to help save the baby?”
Germain confesses that the other young lads thought his newborn brother was the devil’s seed.
So they dumped him in the river.
Welcome to another happy storyline on Fraser’s Ridge, folks!
And Fergus (Cesar Domboy) leaves the room a sullen shell of himself.
Claire follows and Fergus finally shares what’s been bothering him since Christian’s birth.
First of all, he knows his son won’t be treated like everyone else.
He’s not confident he will grow up happy.
He befriended a dwarf named Luc and found him one day in the alley with his throat cut.
His master cut up Luc’s body and sold the parts for divination.
How Fergus is anywhere near functional is beyond me.
What will happen to Christian then?
When he refuses the ether, Jamie pipes in.
If Jamie can take it, so can Tom.
Tom doesn’t need either.
He has the Bible and will speak the words of God to help him through the pain.
Jamie finishes with Psalm 23, and all three recite the last verse from memory.
Malva (Jessica Reynolds) watches through the window.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, that something is not right.
Is she watching to see him in agony?
Does Malva want to know how to heal an injured hand?
Is she anxious that the surgery will work and her awful father will have use of that hand?
(We see it in action later in the episode, as he beats his daughter.)
Ian (John Bell) interrupts Malva’s spying and offers to walk her home.
During this small jaunt, Ian does his best to try and figure out Malva’s deal.
Shouldn’t she be dating someone by now?
And why is her father worried about Malva’s eternal fate?
Surely, she’s done nothing wrong at such a young age.
Malva smiles at Ian, warning him that looks can be deceiving.
She also casually mentions that her mother was hanged as a witch.
These are the moments when my Spidey sense begins to tingle.
Is she going to rebel with the Mohawk?
He gives them a choice for their punishment.
They can either touch baby Christian, or touch the hot poker.
Except it’s not technically a victory for Fergus.
He’s back to drinking and even forgets to feed his own children dinner.
She wants to know how to help Fergus get back to his former self.
He was supposed to protect his wife and children.
Marsali barks that he can’t save anyone when he’s drunk.
Besides, she can protect herself.
Just like she did with Lionel Brown (Ned Dennehy) when she killed him stone cold.
And she feels no regret.
This is what we call a mic drop, people.
Fergus doesn’t see it that way.
Instead, he feels emasculated because his wife is protecting herself.
He roars for Marsali to get him another drink and she does.
Marsali pours the whiskey right over his head and kicks him out of the house.
She instructs him to come back when he’s acting like a man.
Claire gets Tom something to eat and has a quick chat with the cat.
Tom overhears and wonders who is in the kitchen.
Claire skips to the good part and asks Tom if he thinks she’s a witch.
He quickly answers no, but confirms that he does believe in witches.
He never mentions his witchy wife, though.
What is Tom’s point, you ask?
Because SPOILER: he’s not.
This guy is the worst.
Claire assures Tom that it was an act of kindness on Jamie’s part.
He would have done it for a stranger.
Then she excuses herself to go upstairs to ask Jamie why Tom is such an oddball.
Is he afraid of women?
Is he tempted to sin?
Jamie explains that Tom turned inward after prison, when he was sent to the colonies.
Claire does some quick math, trying to figure out when Malva was conceived.
According to her age, wouldn’t she have been born when Tom as in prison?
Jamie assumes Tom must have met Marlva’s mother when he was here.
Then he changes the subject.
We learn the truth when Jamie finds Malva picking mushrooms for her father in the woods.
Malva thinks Jamie’s third degree is weird, but she affirms both questions.
If Claire’s math is correct, this means that Malva can’t be Tom’s biological child.
Or someone lied to Malva about where she was born.
Further proof that Tom is the worst.
Claire helps him with his hand exercises, which will provide the opportunity for him to whip his daughter.
Jamie often recited stories in prison and it helped distract the men.
Prayer would have been a better pastime, but Tom will allow it.
Claire offers him the bookTom Jonesand he takes it.
Later, he returns the borrowed book with the note, “This is filth.
I thought better of you.”
Two steps forward, three steps back.
It’s the same with Fergus.
While drunk, he picks a fight with a couple who think Christian is “grotesque.”
Later, Jamie notices Fergus walking strangely through the forest.
He screams his name when Fergus pulls out a very big knife to cut off his hand.
Jamie knocks him to the ground as Fergus begs for death.
He feels it’s the only way to save his family.
Marsali can marry again.
Someone who will protect her and the children.
Jamie realizes what Fergus is saying.
Roger saved Christian from the river.
Jamie doled out the punishment.
Even Marsali took matters into her own hands.
He vows that he is nothing.
He kept them together while Jamie was in prison.
He helped Jamie at the print shop and makes the finest whiskey in the land.
And Fergus did it all with one hand.
The world called Fergus useless.
He’s the only person who can show his son what a useless man can do.
And now I’m crying.
Jamie assures Fergus that he can do this.
He kisses him on the forehead, hoists him off the ground, and takes him home to Marsali.
Here come the waterworks again.
Major MacDonald is happy to give the Cherokee ammunition as Jamie requested.
In fact, the thought was well-received.
This surprises everyone, until MacDonald hands over the day’s paper.
Claire reads a headline the Boston Tea Party and lowers her gaze.
