‘Outlander’ Season 6 Episode 2 Recap: “Allegiance”

Adult breastfeeding, recreational ether usage, old ladies rising from the dead — Outlander Season 6 Episode 2 (“Allegiance”) has it all. It’s an episode in which everything and nothing happen simultaneously, but it does push us on towards some Big Events that are surely coming later this season. Perhaps most notably, Marsali (Lauren Lyle) has finally had her baby, though little Henri-Christian isn’t quite to his father’s liking. More on that one later.

We open with Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Young Ian (John Bell) heading off to meet with the Cherokees. Now that Jamie is an official Indian agent on behalf of King George, it’s up to him to keep the peace. Incidentally, the Cherokees aren’t quite happy with how things are panning out. They want white people to stop crossing treaty lines and they also want muskets, rifles, and any other types of guns they can get their hands on. Jamie’s nothing if not a diplomat, so he says he’ll consider their request, but given the coming war, he’s unsure how to proceed.

The Cherokee do seem to like him, though. So much so that they send two women to his bed that night to try and, erm, “service” him. Young Ian is rather amused by the whole situation rather than alarmed — either he has implicit trust that Jamie wouldn’t betray Claire (Caitriona Balfe) in such a way or he thinks doing so would be no big deal. However, Jamie implores him to use his limited knowledge of the Cherokee language to warn the women off. Ian chooses to lie and say that Jamie’s had a dream that instructed him not to lie with a woman until more guns are given to the tribe, which isn’t particularly ideal but does do the trick.

Of course, by the time Jamie makes it back to Fraser’s Ridge, he’s raring to go and instructs Claire that he “must have [her]” immediately. It’s a quick, room-destroying bout that neither of them could even be bothered to take their clothes off. He points out that if he was younger, he’d be wanting to go at it 24/7, but not anymore (though he could have fooled us!). Speaking of age, however, I suddenly realized last week that both Claire and Jamie are meant to be 60 years old. SIXTY! That single strand of gray hair they gave Claire and Jamie’s tiny reading glasses really didn’t do much to convey their inevitable inching towards senior citizenship.

On another note, while only featured sparingly, “Allegiance” makes it clear that much of Season 6 will feature Claire’s (Caitriona Balfe) declining mental health — or “unraveling,” as Balfe herself described it. After Tom Christie (Mark Lewis Jones) shows up for a checkup on his injured hand, Claire starts having visions of Lionel calling her “Dr. Rawlins” and goes into full PTSD meltdown mode. It’s not long before she’s knocking herself out with homemade ether again, and something tells me this isn’t going to end well.

During her waking hours, Claire is pretty preoccupied with Marsali, who’s that far on in her pregnancy that she should have popped by now. When she finally does get a contraction later in the episode, she knows that something feels very wrong and different from her other pregnancies. There’s a lot of fear, even from Claire, that Marsali may very well die in childbirth and her baby may not live either. Thankfully, we needn’t have worried as her son is born healthy, though Henri-Christian is a dwarf. The only person bothered by that fact is Fergus (Cesar Domboy), who managed to pull himself out of his drunken state long enough to come and help his wife’s labor along by “suckling from her breast” and then having a good old-fashioned romp in earshot of the rest of the Fraser household.

Prior to that, however, we get to see Jamie agonizing over whether or not it’s wise to tell the governor about the Cherokees’ request for weapons. On the one hand, they could get their guns and decide to fight for King George, which wouldn’t be in Jamie’s interests. If they don’t give the Cherokees weapons, they might join the rebels and fight alongside Jamie, which could be a better outcome. He ultimately decides not to pass on the request, especially since Claire’s knowledge of the American revolution is slim and she’s unable to provide any further guidance on the issue. However, by the episode’s end, he changes his mind and believes the Cherokees should be given a fighting chance, pardon the pun.

Elsewhere on the Ridge, Roger (Richard Rankin) performs a eulogy for an older woman from Christie’s camp who passed away… or did she? Mid-sermon, the woman begins gasping and isn’t as dead as everyone thought quite yet. Claire miraculously diagnoses her with an aortic aneurism and says she’ll be passing away for real in just a few minutes. She spends those precious seconds verbally destroying everyone in her presence before eventually taking her last breath. After, Tom Christie is so impressed with Roger’s verbal prowess that he invites him to give further sermons despite fact that he’s not actually a preacher. Christie also warns Claire never to enter the building again, obviously believing that she must have had something to do with the old woman’s mysterious rising from the presumed dead.

By episode’s end, Christie decides to take up Claire’s offer of having his hand fixed surgically, though she has no idea that what preempted this change of heart was his inability to whip Malva (Jessica Reynolds) with his belt for no reason. Claire informs him that until his other hand has healed, that won’t be possible. Hopefully, it never will be.

We leave things somewhat up in the air. Jamie has requested guns for the Cherokee, Marsali seems to be doomed to raising her fourth child without the support or even presence of Fergus, and Claire is struggling to stay afloat. There’s a real sense of foreboding here and we’re only two episodes in, so God only knows what’s coming.

Other notes:

• This episode’s most hilarious moment came when Brianna (Sophie Skelton) “invented” matches and literally no one cared and thought it was pointless. At least little Aidan was impressed.
• Most awkward moment had to be when Claire gave Malva the birds and the bees talk. Her informing the younger woman about the pleasures of sex was somewhat uncomfortable, especially for those who are familiar with Malva’s storyline in the books.
• What’s up with Lizzie and Josiah and Keziah? Are they, like, a throuple? They are, right? If so, LOVE IT!

READ NEXT: Outlander Season 6 Episode 3 Recap: “Temperance”

Jennifer Still is a writer and editor from New York who cares too way much about fictional characters and spends her time writing about them.