Episode 801: "Soul of a Rebel" (SPOILERS!)

Here are my reactions to Episode 801 of the OUTLANDER TV series, titled "Soul of a Rebel".

*** SPOILER WARNING!! ***

There are SPOILERS below! If you don't want to know yet, stop reading now.

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The episode opens with a long scene involving Jamie, Claire, and a smuggler named Vasquez. Jamie heard about Vasquez from Mrs. Abbott, who runs the brothel in Philadelphia where we first met Jane. Vasquez sold Jane and her sister Fanny to the brothel as children in order to pay a debt.

"The captain -- Pocock was his name -- was foolish enough to bring his family. A wife and two daughters." So that's where Jane and Fanny got the surname Pocock.

Vasquez describes in graphic terms how he killed the father and raped the older girl, and then threw the mother overboard when she "caused too much trouble".

"Only death would shut her up," he says, laughing.

Throughout this scene, Claire has been standing quietly in the background, watching but not saying a word. At this point she steps forward quietly and stabs Vasquez in the back with a knife. Jamie doesn't react with shock or surprise, indicating (at least to me) that they planned this; it was premeditated murder! That's wildly out of character for Claire, and I didn't like it. Jamie disposes of the body, and he and Claire return to their lodgings.

Claire is absolutely furious afterward. The depth of her rage (and her motive for murdering Vasquez) is easier to understand when you consider that she believes that this woman Vasquez killed (Jane and Fanny's mother) is none other than Jamie and Claire's stillborn daughter, Faith, somehow resurrected (!!) and grown to adulthood. As preposterous as that sounds (and I for one think it's complete and utter nonsense!), Claire is convinced because:

- Fanny has a locket with her mother's picture and the name "Faith" inscribed on it.
- She heard Fanny, in the final scene of the Season 7 finale, singing an early-20th-century song that she could only have learned from a time-traveler.
- Fanny said she learned the song from her mother.

So Claire leaps to the totally illogical conclusion that "their" Faith somehow survived, married a sea captain and bore two daughters, and then was killed by this man Vasquez. How is that possible? The only explanation she can think of is that Master Raymond must have had something to do with it.

"But why? Why would they steal our child from us?" Claire asks, through tears. She wonders what this daughter would have been like, who took care of her, and so on, tormenting both herself and Jamie with questions they'll never be able to answer.

Unlike in the book, here Jamie doesn't question this Highly Improbable speculation, or try to convince Claire it's not true. He simply tries to comfort her. And finally, 8 1/2 minutes into the episode, we have the first bit of dialogue that comes from the books. It's from the very end of WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD:

“Ye lost your parents young, mo nighean donn, and wandered about the world, rootless. Ye loved Frank”--his mouth compressed for an instant, but I thought he was unconscious of it--“and of course ye love Brianna and Roger Mac and the weans ... but, Sassenach--I am the true home of your heart, and I know that.”

He lifted my hands to his mouth and kissed my upturned palms, one and then the other, his breath warm and his beard stubble soft on my fingers.

“I have loved others, and I do love many, Sassenach--but you alone hold all my heart, whole in your hands,” he said softly. “And you know that.”

(From WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 145, "And You Know That". Copyright © 2014 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

"She was loved, Claire. I have to believe that," Jamie says, and he holds Claire close while she cries.

I did not like this opening sequence at all. I think the whole "Faith" storyline is absolute nonsense, I really hate the whole idea, but after this episode, it's clear that the writers haven't given up on it (despite the fact that it makes no sense!) That really upsets me. We get no explanation (plausible or otherwise) of how or why Faith lived, other than the vague thought that Master Raymond must have been involved. Jamie and Claire just accept that they miraculously have another grandchild, Fanny, never mind the fact that it's completely preposterous! It feels to me like a really awful fan-fiction story, and I don't find any of it remotely believable.

If the thought that "Faith lived" upsets you, just remember two things:
- "The books are the books, and the show is the show"
- Diana Gabaldon has been very clear that this whole "Faith is alive" subplot is something they invented for the show. As she said after Episode 716 came out:

But the bottom line here is that No, Faith isn’t/wasn’t alive in the Outlander novels, she’s not going to be, and neither Claire nor Jamie will ever think so.

If you haven't seen Diana's explanation of how this Faith storyline came about, look here for what she said, and my take on it.

Finally, we see the new opening credit sequence for Season 8. The new version of the OUTLANDER theme song is sung by Annie Lennox.

The "title card" for this episode is literally just that. We see Frank Randall typing the title of his book, THE SOUL OF A REBEL, on a mid-20th-century manual typewriter.
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As the main part of the episode begins, we are in Savannah, Georgia. Claire wakes to find Jamie sitting in a chair, looking tired and stressed. He's still thinking about Faith, and Fanny. Should they tell Fanny what they've learned?

"How can we explain it to her, when we don't know how it's possible ourselves?" Claire says, and I totally agree!

Suddenly they hear a child giggling in the hallway outside. Jamie opens the door to find all four of Fergus and Marsali's children waiting to greet them. So now we know where we are: in Fergus and Marsali's home in Savannah, where Fergus runs a printshop. It's great to see Fergus (Cesar Domboy) and Marsali (Lauren Lyle) back on the show. They have definitely been missed! I liked all of the scenes with children in this episode.

Fergus seems to have settled comfortably into his role as a printer. He looks happier than we've seen him in a long time. Jamie walks around the shop, knocking on the walls, until he hears a hollow sound indicating the location of a secret compartment. Inside, Jamie finds a stack of pamphlets or something similar.

"The British dinna forgive sedition," Jamie says in a tone of warning.
"Well, I'd better not get caught, then," Fergus replies.

Jamie is still very concerned. This bit comes straight from BEES:

“Da knows it’s dangerous,” Bree hastened to say. “He wouldn’t want you to put yourselves in any danger. But if you—”

“Pfft,” Fergus said, and pulled the cork. “In these times, there’s little one can do that isn’t dangerous. If I’m going to be killed for something, I should like it to be something that matters. If it’s entertaining, so much the better.”

(From GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 67, "Réunion". Copyright © 2021 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

The next scene, with Jamie and Claire sharing a plate of cookies with Fergus and Marsali and their children, comes straight from the book.

With his own good instincts, Jamie waited until the mob had reassembled and were eagerly sniffing the warm cookies. Then he carried Mandy back in and deposited her among the other children without comment.

“Thirty-four?” he said, assessing the array at a glance. “One for Oggy, aye?”

“Yes. How do you do that?”

“Och, it’s no difficult, Sassenach.” He leaned over the platter and closed his eyes, inhaling beatifically. “It’s easier than goats and sheep after all--cookies dinna have legs.”

“Legs?” said Fanny, puzzled.

“Oh, aye,” he said, opening his eyes and smiling at her. “To know the number o’ goats ye have, ye just count the legs and divide by four.”

(From GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 9, "Animal Nursery Tales". Copyright © 2021 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

After the children have gone, the adults have a chance to talk privately. Referring to Fanny, Fergus says, "A brothel is not an ideal place for a child, but it is home, if that's the only home she's known." Of course he should know; Fergus, like Fanny, spent much of his childhood in a brothel.

The Frasers say "au revoir" to Fergus and his family, and head home to Fraser's Ridge at long last! I love the gorgeous scenery as they approach western North Carolina, including a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. Fanny is awestruck by the beauty of the landscape, and she can't believe it when Jamie and Claire assure her this is her home.

It's good to be back, though I do miss Claire's reaction from the book, her pure joy at coming home at last.

In the next scene, we're back in Savannah, at Lord John's house. John answers the door with a crying infant in his arms. (His irritated "You woke the baby, damn your eyes!" comes from BEES chapter 31, "Pater Familias".) His visitors are a British army officer, and William, who is clearly very hung over. He sprawls on the couch looking deathly ill. Lord John confirms to the messenger that William is indeed who he claims to be, i.e., the Ninth Earl of Ellesmere.

"Yes, I understand the confusion, given that his Lordship currently appears more like a HIGHWAYMAN than an Earl!" Lord John says, with a pointed look at his son. I loved that.

The baby, Trevor Wattiswade Grey, turns out to be the son of William's cousin Ben. (Wattiswade is Ben's mother Minnie's maiden name.)

Before we can begin to absorb this news, the scene switches back to Fraser's Ridge. Jamie, Claire, and Fanny are looking over the site where the Big House once stood when Ian arrives. He's delighted to see Jamie and Claire. Jamie wants to know what happened to the corn crib and the stables that used to be nearby, but before Ian can answer, we're back with Lord John and William in Savannah again. These rapid scene changes are disconcerting, and I didn't care for them.

I like this next scene between Lord John and William very much! William's shock and grief at the news that his cousin Ben is dead is very believable. John, too, is clearly upset. He explains that a young woman claiming to be Ben's widow showed up recently on his doorstep with her baby, and he invited her to stay. This next part isn't in the book, but I liked it.

William is understandably skeptical. ""Wait. You'd never heard of this wife until after you received word of Ben's death? I don't believe it."

But Lord John has seen proof of the family connection: the woman carried a bundle of love letters sealed with Ben's signet ring. I liked William's angry reaction to that:

"Any charlatan hoping to profit off our family's grief could falsify love letters! Clearly you've been hoodwinked by some...some damn woman!"

And at that moment, the woman in question appears in the doorway. "Some damn woman, am I?" she says. Oops!

Lord John introduces her as Amaranthus, Viscountess Grey. Her reaction to William is cold, calling him a drunkard and a fool. Not the best way to make a first impression, to say the least!

Meanwhile, back on Fraser's Ridge, Jamie and Claire (and the viewers) get their first look at the New House, a large two-story structure roughly the same size as the house that was destroyed in the fire. Ian announces proudly, "Built your new house for ye!"

Jamie and Claire just stare in amazement at the house.

Ian explains, "I took the plans ye made before you left, called everyone together -- the Beardsleys, the Lindsays, and some of your other Ardsmuir men. Tore down the stables and used that lumber for a start."

I was rather taken aback by this (Ian as construction foreman? It seems awfully unlikely, to say the least!) but I don't really mind. I suppose it's the best solution the show writers could think of that would enable them to have a nearly-completed house ready to move into as soon as Jamie and Claire arrived. It looks suitably rustic, in a way that the former Big House never did.

Ian's wife Rachel comes out to greet them. She's obviously pregnant, but not quite ready to deliver just yet. As she and Claire walk away toward the house, Jamie turns to Ian and says, "Moran taing dhut," which means "Thank you very much" in Gàidhlig.

Looking around at the inside of the house, I find myself wondering where on earth Ian got the money to buy those expensive glass windows, but I'm not inclined to quibble all that much. We'll hope the New House will be decorated somewhat less ornately than its predecessor!

Ian tells Claire that some of the furnishings came from a new trading post that Hiram Crombie (one of the Presbyterian "fisher-folk" who arrived on the Ridge in Season 6) has set up near the meeting-house.

i like the idea of a trading post close by. Certainly it will be much more convenient than going all the way to Salem or some other settlement when they need to buy things, and it will give them an easy way to introduce new characters when they need to. I hadn't really pictured Hiram Crombie as a shopkeeper, but it will be interesting to see how that plays out.

"I'm so overwhelmed," Claire says, and you can hear it in her voice, too. What an incredible gift Ian and Rachel have given them!

Jamie takes Fanny upstairs to see the unfinished upper story, including a room that Jamie says will be hers. She reacts with amazement. It seems clear that she's never had a room of her own before. I like her smile when she says, "It suits me well."

I really liked the next scene, with Jamie and Claire alone in their new bedroom, reminiscing about the night that Faith was conceived. The details they remember are different from the way it happened in OUTLANDER, because the sequence of events is a bit different between book and show, but I'm very glad they included this bit from the book:

“I wanted…” he whispered. “I wanted you. Had to have ye. But once I was inside ye, I wanted...”

He sighed then, deep, and moved deeper.

“I thought I’d die of it, then and there. And I wanted to. Wanted to go--while I was inside ye.” His voice had changed, still soft but somehow distant, detached--and I knew he’d moved away from the present moment, gone back to the cold stone dark and the panic, the fear and overwhelming need.

“I wanted to spill myself into ye and let that be the last I ever knew, but then I started, and I kent it wasna meant to be that way--that I’d live, but that I would keep myself inside ye forever. That I was givin’ ye a child.”

(From GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 1, "The MacKenzies are Here". Copyright © 2021 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

Awwwww! Such a bittersweet moment, because the child Jamie gave her that night would turn out to be Faith, now lost to both of them forever.

In the next scene, we get our first look at the new trading post. "I didn't expect all this!" Jamie says, and I agree. I love the attention to detail in this set, making us feel as though these people are in fact living in the 18th century.

And here's a familiar face we haven't seen in a while: Amy McCallum, with her sons Aidan and Orrie. It turns out that she's now married to Evan Lindsay, one of Jamie's Ardsmuir men who lives on the Ridge. This is a change from the books, where she married Bobby Higgins. Since Bobby doesn't exist on the show, I think it makes sense.

Moments later, we see another familiar person: Hiram Crombie, the owner of the trading post. We haven't seen him since Season 6. Hiram says, "I've discovered that I'm quite gifted at procuring things that people need."

Hiram shows Claire his small stock of medicinal herbs and such. Claire asks if he has any Jesuit bark (a treatment for malaria), and a stranger overhears her.

"That's another name for cinchona bark, is it not? Mrs. Beardsley was asking for the very same thing just yesterday." (You may recall that Lizzie Beardsley suffers from malaria.)

And that's how Claire and Jamie met Captain Charles Cunningham, who will be an important new character this season. Cunningham and his mother are new settlers on the Ridge. He's described as Crombie's "partner" in running the store. He seems friendly, but Jamie bristles a bit at being addressed as "General". He takes the opportunity to speak privately to Cunningham to correct that impression.

"Having resigned my commission following the Battle of Monmouth, I have no further association with the Continental Army."

Cunningham says that he is retired after serving thirty years as an officer in the British Army, but he still prefers to be addressed as Captain.

Jamie is suddenly wary. Cunningham seems friendly enough, but he definitely bears watching!

"I understand that you, too, were at Saratoga," Cunningham says.
"Aye. And we would have been on opposite sides of the same battlefield."

Even though he's no longer serving in the army, if Cunningham is a Loyalist, a supporter of the British side in the war (and the book makes it clear that he is), that could spell trouble!

I liked this exchange between Jamie and Claire:

"He says he's done with the war, though I do wonder if the war is done with him."
"I suppose someone could say the same about you."
"Trust me, Sassenach, I'm done. Whether the war likes it or no."

I'm not so sure about that!

Meanwhile, back in Savannah, Lord John and William are having a private conversation. William is depressed, and John is trying to snap him out of it.

"Idleness and wallowing do not suit you, William." He's right. William still feels guilty over Jane's death, even though his father assures him he's not to blame. He needs to be doing something, to take his mind off of what happened. But he doesn't want to return to the army.

John suggests that he return to England, to take care of his estates there now that he has "attained his majority", i.e., reached the age of twenty-one. But William doesn't want to be the Ninth Earl of Ellesmere anymore. He feels he's not entitled to it, because he's a bastard. Unfortunately, his father informs him that he can't just renounce his title.

The scene that follows is just terrific! Wonderful acting by both Charles Vandevaart and David Berry. It's almost word-for-word from the book, except that in the book, William is speaking to his Uncle Hal.

“What do you mean, I can’t? Whose business is it whether I renounce my title or not?”

Uncle Hal looked at him with an affectionate impatience.

“I’m not speaking rhetorically, blockhead. I mean it literally. You can’t renounce a peerage. There’s no means set down in law or custom for doing it; ergo, it can’t be done.”

[He goes on to explain that the King might possibly revoke a peerage in the case of something really serious, like treason, but that's very rare]

“If you consider treason and the betrayal of your King, your country, and your family a suitable means of solving your personal difficulties, William, then perhaps John hasn’t taught you as well as I supposed.”

(From GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 33, "Spoilt for Choice". Copyright © 2021 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

Finally, fed up with the way William is behaving, Lord John insists that he go at once to Amaranthus and apologize for his rudeness.

Back on Fraser's Ridge, Lizzie Beardsley presents Claire and Jamie with a hive of bees for a homecoming gift. I was happy to see Lizzie's daughter, Claire. (In the books, Diana Gabaldon hasn't yet given the child a name, but you may remember the very harrowing childbirth scene in ECHO chapter 11, "Transverse Lie", where she came into the world.)

Jamie's explanation of the custom of "telling bees" is straight from the book, although in the book it was John Quincy Myers who provided the explanation. I wish they'd shown a few bees (even CGI ones) buzzing around that hive.

“Bees are real sociable,” Myers explained, and blew one of them gently off the back of his hand. “And they’re curious, which only makes sense, them goin’ back and forth and gatherin’ news with their pollen. So you tell ’em what’s happening--if someone’s come a-visitin’, if a new babe’s been born, if anybody new was to settle or a settler depart--or die. See, if somebody leaves or dies,” he explained, brushing a bee off my shoulder, “and you don’t tell the bees, they take offense, and the whole lot of ’em will fly right off.”

(From GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 13, "What Is Not Good For The Swarm Is Not Good For The Bee (Marcus Aurelius)". Copyright © 2021 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

Suddenly we get a glimpse of Mandy's Raggedy Anne doll, and Roger's voice calling, "Hallo, the house!" Sure enough, it's the MacKenzies, returned at long last!!

I loved seeing this -- the hugs, the tears of relief and joy as they're all reunited. We didn't get to see that moment in the book (the final scene in WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD), and I'm glad to see it here.

The scene where Jamie reads GOODNIGHT MOON to Mandy is just adorable. I had forgotten, until I saw this, that Claire recited part of this book to Jamie while they were on board the Artemis in Season 3. Much as I love the GREEN EGGS AND HAM scene in BEES, I assume they couldn't get permission to use it on the TV show, and I think GOODNIGHT MOON works very well as a substitute.

Bree's gift to Claire is a Merck Manual, just as in the book. I love that, although her reaction is subdued compared to the way it's portrayed in the book. Jamie's reaction to THE LORD OF THE RINGS (“Frodo Baggins,” he read aloud, and looked up, baffled. “A Welshman?”) makes me laugh out loud.

Once Jem and Mandy are asleep, the adults finally have a chance to talk. Bree pulls one last book from her bag and hands it to Claire. It turns out to be THE SOUL OF A REBEL: Scottish Roots of the American Revolution, by Franklin W. Randall, Ph.D. Bree says she hasn't read it.

And just when I had almost managed to forget all about the Faith nonsense at the beginning of this episode, Claire says to Bree, "There's something we need to tell you, too, about Fanny, and your sister, Faith" No!! Just NO! I don't want to hear about this anymore!

Fortunately for the viewers, the scene changes again, and we're back in Savannah with William, who has come to the gazebo in the garden to apologize to Amaranthus.

I admit I'm not a fan of Amaranthus in the books, but I'm willing to give her another chance on the show. She comes off as far more likeable here than she does in BEES. Not throwing herself at William, not openly after his money or title, just engaging in a little polite conversation. Making small talk, admiring baby Trevor...it's all very innocuous. Whether it will stay that way in future episodes is an open question.

"I promise, I shall do all I can for Trevor. And for you, Lady Grey." Uh-oh, William, don't make promises to total strangers you've only known for five minutes!.

The next scene is not in the book. Back on the Ridge, Jamie and Bree are out hunting in the woods, talking about the threat posed by Rob Cameron and the Nutters back in 1980. Suddenly they encounter a pair of corpses hanging from a tree, with the initials G.R. (for "George Rex") carved in their chests. So they were Loyalists, and obviously this is meant as a warning.

The next scene, with Mandy and Mrs. Cunningham, is one of my favorites in BEES, and I thought they did a great job with it! The actress playing Mrs. Cunningham, Frances Tomelty, is perfectly cast; she really does look and sound like an older version of Miss Gulch, the bicycle-riding woman from THE WIZARD OF OZ.

“You are a very impertinent child and your father should beat you.”

Mandy went very red in the face and scrambled to her feet, standing on her new seat.

“You go away!” she said. “I fwush you down the toilet!” She slapped her hand at the air, miming a handle. “WOOOSH!”

“What in the name of perdition do you mean by that, you wicked child?” The woman’s face was growing rather red, too. I had stopped in fascination, but now set down the buckets, feeling that I had better take a hand before things escalated. Too late.

“I put you in the toilet and I fwush you like POOP!” Mandy shouted, stamping her feet. Quick as a snake, the woman’s hand shot out and cracked against Mandy’s cheek.

(From GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 15, "Which Old Witch". Copyright © 2021 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

Just as in the book, Mrs. Cunningham has come to bring Claire the Jesuit bark she was looking for at the trading post, as a peace offering of sorts. So maybe she's not the Wicked Witch of the West after all.

The next scene begins with Jamie reading Frank's book by firelight. Notice the dedication at the beginning of the book: "For my Dearest Deadeye", which you may remember from MOHB was one of Frank's nicknames for Brianna. Jamie flips to the author's photo on the dust jacket, and suddenly he hears Black Jack Randall's voice in his head: "Is it my face you see looming in the darkness?"

I found that absolutely chilling, as a reminder of Wentworth, and very effective!

The final scene, between Jamie and Claire, comes partly from the book. Jamie wants to know why Claire never told him about the resemblance between Frank and BJR. (In fact, she did tell him, long ago, but it's been more than thirty years and I guess they've both forgotten.)

“Well, to begin with--he didn’t, really. I mean--the first time I met Jack Randall, I was startled by the resemblance”--and a few times thereafter--“but that seemed to wear off. It’s--it was,” I corrected myself, “only a superficial physical resemblance, and once I was acquainted with Jack Randall…” A surprisingly cold sensation centered itself on the back of my neck, as though the gentleman in question were standing behind me, eyes fixed on me. “He didn’t remind me of Frank at all.”

(From GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 76, "A Thief in the Night". Copyright © 2021 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

Jamie wants to know if Frank was an honest man. Can he trust what's written in this book to be accurate? And when Claire asks why, he tells her the truth: his name is in Frank's book. In BEES, Jamie reveals this first to Ian, not to Claire, but the gist of it is the same:

“He mentions my name fourteen times, but never makin’ enough of it to be able to tell whether it’s me or someone else. He never comes right out and says, ‘Jamie Fraser of Fraser’s Ridge,’ or ‘Broch Tuarach,’ or anything o’ that sort.”

“Why are ye worried, then, Uncle?” “Because he says there’s going to be a battle nearby us—at a place called Kings Mountain. And Jamie Fraser’s killed in it. Will be, I mean.

(From GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 62, "A Stranger's Face". Copyright © 2021 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

I thought that was just the perfect place to end this episode! Very suspenseful, especially for viewers who haven't read the book!
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I hope you enjoyed this recap. Please come back next week for my recap of Episode 802, and look here for my recaps of all of the previous OUTLANDER episodes.

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