Claire and Brianna are taking a stroll on the beach and whale watching. Brianna remarks about how much she loves the Herman Melville novel, Moby Dick (which was written in 1851, but remember Bree is a time traveler). Brianna takes off her shoes and runs along the beach while Claire ventures off to hunt for some shells.
At Wylie’s Landing, a small boat pulls up. This must be Bonnet. Our heroes are ready for the fight!
The scene shifts between the beach and the landing quickly, spending a few seconds at each location, building the tension. By now, we realize things aren’t going to go as planned for either group.
At the landing, the men explain that Captain Bonnet is not coming, and they ask for the barrels of whisky they came to inspect.
So, as you might imagine, a fight ensues. Of course, Jamie and Young Ian aren’t strangers to fisticuffs, but Roger’s fighting skills (smh) aren’t top shelf (by any means). Nonetheless, our men win the scrimmage, and Jamie threatens one of the men–he wants to know where’s Bonnet?
We return to the beach, and Claire is searching for shells. A man’s boot appears on the screen, and we know it’s Bonnet! With his slimy charm, he approaches Claire, commenting on her beauty and her daughter, and also dares to ask about his son. Claire pulls a knife but loses that battle. Brianna sees the scuffle, runs toward them, and draws a pistol from her basket but alas the gun misfires. Bonnet says he wants only one thing, Brianna and his son, and he’ll let Claire go. Another brief battle ensues, ending with Claire unconscious on the beach, and Brianna kidnapped.
The next few minutes of this Outlander episode takes on a bizarre twist in my humble opinion. Bonnet has taken Brianna to his island, literally, and here he confesses he wants to be a real father to his son, Jeremiah. He shows Brianna a chest of dolls and some other toys he has for his son. And he sounds, well, damn it, sincere (the twisted fool, sorry, I hate Bonnet).
Anyway, Claire awakens on the beach, finds a horse, and rides off to find the menfolk. She locates them, heading back to Wilmington, we assume, and she delivers the news: Bonnet has taken Brianna.
Bonnet has a gift for Brianna, too. A gold dress and he invites her to join him for dinner. He doesn’t quite know how to be this gentleman, and he needs her help.
Brianna is disgusted, but she plays the part, biding her time, trying to find the right moment to escape. Meanwhile, Bonnet is asking her to teach him how to be a gentleman and a father, when Bree asks why he states that he wants to change, so the two of them can be parents to Jeremiah.
Brianna begins to teach him things, starting with dining etiquette. (Ugh, I hate Bonnet).
Later, she is alone with Bonnet in his bed chambers. He now wants her to teach him how to love. And this is when Brianna uses all her cunning to avoid another attack, and she convinces him to allow her to read to him. He can’t read. And she grabs a book from the shelf: The Art of Husbandry.
In a tearful (and somewhat heart-wrenching) soliloquy, Bonnet shares his deepest fear—drowning in the ocean. Talk about subtext, after Bonnet tells his tale, he asks Bree if she thinks any less of him now that he’s exposed his deepest secret. Her response: I could never think any less of you. (HaHa!)
The next morning, Brianna believes her plan is going well. She thinks Bonnet will allow her to return home to Fraser’s Ridge to retrieve Jeremiah. But before she leaves, he wants a kiss. Brianna’s persuasive/survival skills are strong, but she can’t fake a kiss, and Bonnet immediately knows she’s lying. He’s angry and grabs his servant girl, a woman we saw earlier at the brothel. Then in front of Brianna, he has his way with the woman to show Bree what she’s missing, he claims.
After Bonnet leaves for a few minutes, Brianna tries to persuade the woman that when she returns to Wilmington to find Bree’s family and tell them her location. The woman doesn’t want to betray Bonnet because he’s dangerous and accustomed to getting his way.