SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
The most prominent spoiler was from Starz when they announced the early release of episode 501 on the app so that fans could celebrate Valentine’s Day with the Frasers. So, kudos!
Now for the recap, right off, I want to give a generous round of applause for the new opening credits–beautiful. It touched my heart as did the opening scene.
A younger Murtagh walks in slow-motion toward Jamie (a wee Jamie☺), shortly after Ellen, Jamie’s mother’s passing. Devotion is pledged and promises made, which hits at the heart of the episode’s key themes– nostalgia, accepting what is, and preparing for what will come.
Next, we move on to adult Jamie who is nervously watching the unskilled Roger attempt to shave using a ‘cut-throat’ razor. It’s Roger and Bree’s wedding day, and Jamie doesn’t want Roger to kill himself before he weds. Jamie pulls out his spectacles and takes the blade out of Roger’s hands. It’s endearing, considering the beating Jamie gave Roger last season. The entire “trust-me” moment is well-played.
Claire’s voice-over then catches us up on the changes to Frasers Ridge. The community has grown. The house Jamie has built is substantial and befits a man (and a family) of his stature. It is also one of several on Fraser’s Ridge.
Claire and Brianna are preparing for Bree’s wedding. Jamie is also on the scene as he gathers some traditional gifts for the bride-to-be—something borrowed, something blue, something new (funny moment, because the ‘new’ is whiskey). They touch upon a frequently mentioned concern throughout the episode: Roger’s lack of useful skills for a man living in pre-Revolutionary War America. Jamie also throws some serious shade (whenever he can) at Roger’s only ability, his singing, which won’t keep food on the MacKenzie table.
But Brianna is undaunted. When Jamie asks, “Are you ready?” Brianna’s response is Je seus prest. Jamie’s word from season one Outlander before he faced off with one of his uncles. So, we know Brianna will make this marriage work.
The wedding ceremony goes off without a hitch. There’s even a flashback to the wedding of Jamie and Claire. Remember, I mentioned nostalgia? The post-wedding celebration is a community affair, as well, as that season one wedding. There are familiar faces in attendance, including Aunt Jocasta and her manservant Ulysses, Fergus and his wife, Marsali, Lord John, and Governor Tryon, who brought Lieutenant Knox (and other British soldiers), who provide the underlying tension of the episode. Lest we forget, Jamie is on the wrong side of the approaching American Revolution. And his charge from Tryon has been to track down the notorious Murtagh Fitzgibbons.