You can probably tell by the episode title that sex is central to Outlander Season 7 Episode 12, which makes sense. Lest we forget, Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Lord John Grey (David Berry) had weird, primal, “I’ll pretend you’re Jamie and go to town” sex after their marriage last week. And while it was spurred on by grief and anger, there’s just one little problem: Jamie (Sam Heughan) is still alive, and he’s back, and he’s not going to take too kindly to a dude who’s had unrequited feelings for him for years bonking his wife. Juicy!
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. When we last left them, Jamie was using John to get away from the soldiers who’d come to arrest him as a traitor. Jamie’s papers were in order when he arrived in America, but he had something on him to deliver to the rebels and refused to be searched. John doesn’t understand why Jamie came to his house, but it’s pretty clear: Claire, his wife. Well, Lord John’s wife, but Jamie doesn’t know that yet.
John, however, blurts it out eventually: “I have had carnal knowledge of your wife!” Jamie wants to know why, and John points out that they thought Jamie was dead, and Claire took it hard. He admits going to her in grief and drunkenness, and they were both pretending the other was Jamie. That earns John a nice punch straight to the face, as well as a further beating that’s interrupted by rebels. They have an issue with the fact that John is a soldier — or, rather, was. Jamie points out that John is his prisoner and he wants to question him about a “personal matter.” However, they want to take John themselves, and Jamie lets them.
When John is taken to the rebel camp, John is told that General Wayne will hang him because of a massacre that happened just a few days prior where many rebels were killed in their beds. However, John thinks he has a bit of leverage, and that’ll be up to General Washington to decide whether it’s of use. Luckily, in the medic tent, he comes across Denzell (Joey Phillips), who treats his injuries and helps him escape.
In the meantime, Jamie goes to see Daniel Morgan (Barry Morgan) to deliver a message from their friends in France. Morgan then introduces him to none other than George Washington (Simon Harrison), though it’s not the first time the two have met. Washington is impressed with Jamie’s dedication to independence, as well as his cunning in helping the cause. Washington wants him to command a battalion, and Jamie accepts the honour. Brigadier General is Jamie’s new title, but he’ll have to get Congress’ approval first.
William (Charles Vandervaart) goes to see Claire after finding out that Jamie’s his real dad, and he’s more than a little shocked and confused. He doesn’t know what to call her now, but she points out that she’s still his step-mother, regardless of the circumstances, which is true enough. William’s biggest issue seems to be with the idea that his mother was a whore, which Claire tries to assure him wasn’t the case. He breaks a few vases before storming out in anger, which, I guess who could blame him?
He then goes on a self-pitying walk, where he meets a prostitute who invites him in for a drink. I’m sure that’ll make things better! She really is happy to hear him whine about how sad his life is, but he pulls his pants down ready to get to business. When she laughs, he knocks the drink out of her hand and a tussle ensues before William is kicked out.
The following day, William sees Rachel (Izzy Meikle-Small) and Young Ian (John Bell) together, and while he’s pleased to be reunited with his crush, his smile fades quickly when he realises she’s not alone. He’s even less thrilled to hear that they’re getting married, and William punches Ian in the face by way of congratulations. His anger clearly isn’t just about Rachel, but about Ian not telling William about his true parentage. Ian is then arrested for assaulting an officer, though Rachel threatens to sort things out if William doesn’t. He kisses her, but is obviously rebuffed.
Heading… somewhere after his meeting with Washington, Jamie happens upon Young Ian being marched off by soldiers, with Rachel on horseback close behind. He says nothing, but when he finds William, he threatens his son: Get Ian released, or Jamie will go to the Red Coats and let them know that William is the son of a rebel leader. William gives his word, but damns Jamie to hell on his way out. However, he does do what he’s told — Ian is released.
Back at the brothel, William rejoins the other Red Coats and pays a very hefty amount for the night with the prostitute, called Arabella (nee Jane), who previously kicked him out. He insists he wouldn’t hurt her and apologizes for how their last encounter went. He doesn’t want sex — or, well, he does, but he’s trying to control himself. Instead, he wants to sleep beside her. Spoiler alert: they do a lot more than sleep!
When Jamie finally arrives back at Lord John Grey’s house, he confronts Claire about the fact that they slept together. She’s contrite, but also clearly doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal since there was no love between herself and John. She also admits that she was drunk on brandy and trying to justify ending her own life, which hits Jamie hard. She doesn’t know who started it, but she insists it was based in grief. Jamie does seem willing to forgive, but he just has one question: “Did he bugger you?” Anal sex is obviously a step too far. Claire’s so offended that she marches out after calling him a bastard.
This back and forth goes on for a while, before the inevitable end: a Jamie and Claire sex scene! ‘Shippers will be living for this after such a long drought, that’s for sure. Even better, it happens on the dining room table! Being set against scenes of Lord John escaping as a Rebel prisoner is a bit weird, but whatever, let’s go with it. It’s short and not all that sweet by Jamie and Claire standards, but beggars can’t be choosers!
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.