Written by Diana Gabaldon, Ronald D. Moore, and Ira Steven Behr
Directed by Richard Clark

This is a character-driven episode that pivots the direction of the story. Up until now, most of it has been set at Castle Leoch where the MacKenzie clan chief resides. After this episode, we won’t see much of Castle Leoch again.

Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) are enjoying a little love in the morning when they are interrupted by Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) pounding on their door. He’s brought them news that the Duke of Sandringham (Simon Callow) has arrived. Claire warns them that the Duke is an ally of Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) and not to trust him. Murtagh wants to know how she knows, but Jamie protects her. They meet with Ned Gowan (Bill Paterson), who advises them to lodge a formal complaint about how Randall has mistreated the people under his assignment. With Randall disgraced, they would have a better chance of getting a dismissal of the charges.

Claire confronts Laoghaire (Nell Hudson)about the ill wish found under her bed. Laoghaire insists that Jamie is hers and is trapped in a loveless marriage. Claire slaps her. She apologizes to Laoghaire, but Laoghaire says he will be with her where he belongs one day. Laoghaire also tells her that she got the ill wish from Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek).

Claire finds Geillis in the woods during the full moon. She is performing a ritual much like Claire saw the women performing at Craigh na Dun in 1946. Geillis confesses she has a lover, Dougal MacKenzie (Graham McTavish), and is carrying his child. Geillis was performing a “summoning” of Mother Nature asking for freedom for Dougal and herself so they could raise their child together. As they walk out of the woods, Claire hears a baby crying. Geillis warns her not to go after it. Geillis tells her that the parents believe they have a changeling child and have placed it in the woods in the hope the fairy folk will come and take it and bring their real child back home. Claire goes anyway, not understanding what a violation this is to the superstitious locals.

Luckily, Geillis runs into Jamie, who finds Claire holding the dead baby. Jamie tells her she has a kind heart but doesn’t understand what she’s dealing with. It’s not about what she believes or what Jamie believes. The people in the village are provincial; they have never been outside of the village, and they believe the changeling died and their child is alive and well and living with the fairies.

Claire has trepidations about signing the complaint against Jack Randall, but she does. She then visits the Duke of Sandringham who defends Randall to her. Sandringham is dismissive of her until Claire brings up the topic of the Jacobite gold.

When she returns to Castle Leoch, Dougal is in a rage. He’s just learned that his wife died suddenly and he’s wracked with guilt and rage. Claire slips a sedative into a bottle and Angus (Stephen Walters) hands it to him. Geillis believes her prayers have been answered.

Jamie and Murtagh arrive to see the Duke of Sandringham. The Duke tells Jamie he’s been challenged to a duel by the MacDonalds. He asks Jamie to be his second. Jamie sees this as his only opportunity to secure his freedom. The duel takes place and honor is restored. As they are leaving, the MacDonalds taunt Jamie and a brawl breaks out. The Duke leaves and takes Jamie’s petition with him.

At a reception for the Duke at Castle Leoch, Arthur Duncan (John Sessions) collapses and dies. Claire knows he has been poisoned. Colum (Gary Lewis) asks Jamie to come see him. Colum is sending Dougal home. He wants him away from Geillis. He’s sending Jamie, Rupert (Grant O’Rourke), and Angus to escort him back there for his wife’s funeral. Dougal doesn’t want to leave Geillis, but Colum sees that Dougal isn’t thinking clearly. His anger at Dougal overflows onto Jamie.

Claire is staying behind, and Jamie warns her to stay away from Geillis. However, Claire gets a letter allegedly from Geillis asking her to come immediately. Geillis denies sending the letter. Claire warns her to get away from there. Before she can leave, the wardens come to arrest Geillis for witchcraft. They arrest Claire as well. As the wagon is driving away, Claire spots Laoghaire and knows she is behind the letter that brought her to Geillis’.

By The Pricking of My Thumb advances a number of stories. Murtagh first gets a hint that Claire is more than she is telling. He abides by Jamie’s promise not to question her further, but it’s obvious he doesn’t like it. The bond the two men share goes deep. Murtagh is Jamie’s godfather, and it would seem he takes that quite seriously. Later on, we’ll learn more about Murtagh’s relationship to Jamie’s family. Right now he seems to be a close friend and mentor. In the books, he’s not quite as handsome as the actor portraying him, which is something to keep in mind. His devotion to the family is the same, though.

Laoghaire is a character that will disappear for a while after the next episode. Even then, she only has a bit part in that episode, so By The Pricking of My Thumb is her last major appearance for quite some time. One would think life was more precious back then. What Laoghaire does by arranging for Claire to be at Geillis’ when they come to arrest her is attempted murder, and she’s pretty proud of herself for it. It would seem that life wasn’t as cherished back then despite how easy it was to die due to illness or injury. Claire keeps Laoghaire’s actions from Jamie, which will cause problems later on.

Had Laoghaire only done this, Claire would likely have still gone free. It’s her own actions of not respecting the beliefs of this time and place that make her an easy target, though. She’s angered the priest who serves the village and in this episode, she doesn’t realize people were watching the baby and seen her actions. This will have repercussions in the next episode.

The interaction with the Duke of Sandringham is interesting. There’s not much background given as to why he is covertly aligning himself with the Jacobites, but he seems to be the kind of person who aligns himself with what he believes is in his best interest, so he likely sees his star rising if there’s a Stuart king on the throne. The exact reason for this is unknown, but it’s something that people have to infer from the information given. What, then is his relationship with Jack Randall? Randall also seems to be an opportunist, but he also seems to be loyal to the king.

Jamie incurs Colum’s wrath for entering into a duel with the MacDonalds while under his roof. It’s the reason he sends him off with Dougal. He’s supposed to be the Clan Chief but it seems he has lost control of those under him. Dougal is supposed to be his enforcer, but he is acting in his own interests, not Colum’s or Clan MacKenzie’s. Colum saw Jamie as a possible option, but even Jamie is more concerned with his own self-interest rather than that of the Clan. Bringing on a war with the MacDonalds’ is not something Colum wants, yet the duel and Jamie’s actions afterward might just do that. It serves as a break-point between Jamie and Colum that makes Jamie’s actions later on easier.

This is a solid episode that develops a lot of the characters and serves to pivot the story’s setting. The next one will ensure that, but this sets the tone for Jamie and Claire’s story from here on out. 

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