**SPOILER ALERT**
SPOILERS LIE AHEAD! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN EPISODE 2, DO NOT CONTINUE.
**SPOILER ALERT**
The episode opens with the regulator group pulling some of the prominent men of the local town outside to tar and feather them. Murtagh is leading the group. I just assumed that when Jamie told Murtagh to be hard to find he would heed his advice and vanish, little did we know. I just hope that Murtagh doesn’t get caught and hung. While he technically isn’t even supposed to be here,(his character dies in a much earlier book) I have enjoyed the extra time that we have been able to spend with him.
Outside, Bree is sitting by a tree furiously sketching Bonnet from memory. The strokes from her charcoal are heavy-handed and dark. You can tell that she is not over it and it is eating her from the inside out. Suddenly a cart races past with a woman shouting help. Locals trust Claire enough now that they come to her for medical help. Claire seems shocked by the treatments that this woman has given her husband. She had given him mercury tablets. She basically killed him with her treatment. Claire could have saved the man had he come sooner. She late dissects the man to find out what had killed him. Bree comes in and is appalled by the fact that her mother is doing this to someone. Claire says that it was simple appendicitis and that she could have helped him had he come sooner. Claire is frustrated by all of this.
Jamie seems to be getting along well with the Lt. Knox that has been tasked by the Governor to take measure of what sort of man Jamie really is. Knox is pleased by what he sees so far. The only thing is that Knox thinks that he catches some sympathy from Jamie for the regulators. While that maybe I think its mostly for Murtagh. As they reach the town they see that the town has been ripped apart in spots and some places have been burnt as well.
They find out that the regulators have struck and they show him what they did to the three men. Jamie seems to be having a hard time with what has happened. They find out that three of the regulators have been caught, Jamie needs to know if any of them are Murtagh. When he and Knox are shown the three prisoners, Jamie is visibly relieved that Murtagh is not in the group. Jamie learns as he talks to the regulators in prison that they show zero remorse for what they have done. Jamie seems disturbed that they just don’t care. In the heat of the argument, Knox stabs and kills one of the men. Later Jamie is talking to Knox about what he has does and Knox states that he himself is no better than one of the regulators with his actions of the day. Later that night we see Jamie sneaking into the prison to speak to the prisoners and to set them free. That is when he learns that Murtagh in fact was in town and lead the tar and feathering of the three men.
Bree is teaching Roger to shoot a rifle. Roger thinks that Jamie doesn’t trust him which is why he got left behind at the cabin. Bree ends up showing him up by shooting at and hitting a wild turkey. Roger admits to her that he kind of wants to go back into their own time. Bree doesn’t want to leave because this is were her mother and father are. Her family is all here. This is a tough decision I don’t know if I could make that decision as well. Later we see Roger performing a funeral for the man that Claire couldn’t save.
After the funeral, Claire asks to speak to Marsali. Claire shows her that in fact, they didn’t actually bury the man. She and Roger just filled the coffin with rocks. Marsali is appalled by this whole thing. Claire tells her that she wants her to be her apprentice. Claire is realizing that she has a long way to go to teach these women anything about home remedies and how some are just not right. She thinks about it and comes up with an idea to write and distribute tips for staying healthy to those around her. Later we see Claire backing a ridiculous amount of bread. She has decided that she is going to try and make her own penicillin. Bree does not approve of her mother attempting to change history. She thinks she needs to leave it alone. Roger finds the pictures that Bree has been drawing of Bonnet. He doesn’t know what to think of them or it seems how to approach his wife about it.
The men Jamie release eventually find their way back to camp. Murtagh hears the tale of how the men escaped from jail. They actually question his allegiance between his godson and his cause. Murtagh says that Jamie is caught between two fires. His men claim that Murtagh is as well. Murtagh tells them that Jamie stands with his people not the Crown and Murtagh stands with his people and will fight with them when the time comes.
We flash to Capt. Bonnet. He is in a gambling hall of some sort while two women fight is out in the ring. AHHHHH Billy Boyd, I absolutely love him!! I totally forgot that he was going to be in this season! Ugh, I cannot stand Bonnet. He is just so vile and evil. He is fighting a duel with swords with some random man. The other man yielded and Bonnet proceeds to cut his eyes with a dagger. I suppose that it is better than him killing him. Bonnet says as such now that he is a father and has the child to think about. You can tell that he is now on a mission to find Bree and Jemmy.
I thought that this episode was a bit slow but the end did pick up. I spent most of the episode wondering why in the hell Murtagh was risking his life. I understand that he has a worthy cause but is it worth his life? I cannot wait to see what next week brings. I hope we see more of Bonnet and what his plans are. As much as I cannot stand the man his storylines are definitely interesting
