Outlander Season 5 premiere: The Murtagh situation

Outlander finally returns for Season 5 and brings us laughter and tears. But what will Jamie do about the Murtagh problem when he’s faced with the call to action?

Before you go on, please be aware that this post contains spoilers from “The Fiery Cross.” The Outlander Season 5 premiere had a lot of memorable moments, but if you haven’t yet watched it, you may feel you’ve done yourself an injustice by moving forward.

That said, let’s dig in. I won’t recap the whole thing for you but Outlander did a number on us this time. We saw a union, a reminder, a kilt, and learned a very bad guy is creeping around somewhere. There was also a lot of excitement and some tests of character on more than one man.

It seems like it’s been centuries since the show went on break. And for some of us, it seemed worse because we binged ourselves into the series only to be left with Droughtlander. Yes, it’s me, I am some of us.

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So I was more than excited when I got an official tweet on Valentine’s day telling me that I was special and I could view the episode early if I wanted to subscribe to the Starz app for only $5.00 per month for the first three months. I don’t fall for that kind of bait too often, but yeah, I really wanted it.

To compromise with myself and feel less like I just fell for the best marketing, I did a little research and discovered that my Xfinity service offered the same access for 6 months at that same price. I took the bait and watched the episode. Yay!

So according to people who have read “The Fiery Cross,” this episode was a significant trimming of the story. Also, (don’t laugh) until recently, I had no idea this was all based on books. I’m still a toddler in this fandom and that’s always a rough ride at first. But now I’m fully intrigued.

Following Episode 1, there is a little bit of commentary available and we get to hear how it was all done. What I found interesting was the discussion about the gathering, as they called it in the book, the wedding of Bree and Roger was basically the center point. But for the show, Outlander leaned us toward something more specific to our own agenda.

The Murtagh problem from Season 4

The Murtagh problem is what I was personally sweating when Season 4 came to a halt. We know that Jamie would never hurt Murtagh. He’s basically the man’s father and definitely his trusted best friend for all of time. Still, in order to get the land to establish Fraser’s Ridge, Jamie had to make some promises.

We know Jamie was told that he’d have to hunt down the outlaw, Murtagh Fitzgibbons. You do have to be careful when you sell your soul, you never know what “time to collect” will entail. But we also knew he would get to work on avoiding that assignment. Just how he would do that was something we had to ponder.

When we return for the wedding, it has clearly been a little while since we left. Jamie and Claire had gifted the cabin to Bree and Roger to raise their family and stay with them on the ridge. But they also had begun to build “The Big House.” It wasn’t yet finished, but with the wedding set there, we saw how amazing it was. Not an overnighter, for certain.

And during that wedding, we spotted a Redcoat amongst the party-goers. Yes, Governor Tryon wanted to make sure Jamie remembered that the powers that be are still waiting, impatiently, for the delivery of their outlaw. In fact, they feel it’s time for a hunt. Jamie’s stalling had been detected and was being put to an end, not indirectly.

The return of the kilt

After a classic Jamie and Claire conversation about how he can’t possibly kill his friend. Nor can he avoid the hunt that the Governor insists will take place in one week, he puts that much anticipated Scottish garb back on and marches out amidst the tents.

Lighting a cross on fire, he calls out the leaders of all the houses in his territory. What kind of genius is he? After talking with Claire, they realize that Roger will never be able to survive a hunt and battle. They also know that the settlers will have to be loyal to Jamie if he plans to go against the lawmakers in the future.

So he took the opportunity to pull on the heartstrings of his fellow Scots. By lighting that flame and telling the traditional tale of “The Fiery Cross,” he manages to get the head of every house to “symbolically” pledge fealty to him, making himself basically the first American Laird.

And they did do it. Jamie explained that this was a symbolic bonding ritual, no big deal legally, of course. The observing redcoats watched the silly Scottish tradition believing it was Jamie calling his neighbors to arms against Murtagh. Each man knelt before him, promising to rush his blade rather than stand against Jamie Fraser, ever.

At the same time, he gave Roger the title of captain, assuring that Roger would remain by his side through whatever was to come in order to keep him safe. But the trouble stood, Jamie will still have to hunt Murtagh. Of course, he knew exactly where he was this whole time.

Jamie and Murtagh come face-to-face

In the final scene, (a tearjerker, by the way), Jamie and Murtagh meet secretly in the woods. Jamie tells him some loving things from man to man. He mentions how he realizes Murtagh made a vow to follow him and protect him, to honor his mother. He tearfully told him that he released him from that vow as of this moment.

He told Murtagh that he needed to go now, to leave them and “be hard to find.” Basically letting him understand that he was going to participate in that hunt and they would be legitimately looking for him, so he should hide for real. Murtagh was sullen and knew it must be done. As the two parted ways, so did I part with the entire contents of wherever tears are stored in my face.

And I’ll tell you what else I noticed along the way. Murtagh also had a glorious night with his love, Aunt Jacosta. She informed him that she had received a marriage proposal. It was obvious she wanted him to say, “NO! Take me instead!” But he didn’t.

Then he goes on to say how he watched the wedding from afar and how wonderful it was, and so on. Then Jamie releases him from his vow because he’s done what he promised and now he must go. His storyline is totally wrapped. Outlander leaves a clear window here for Murtagh to die with all things resolved and complete.

At the same time, there’s the option of an uprising. Jamie can turn on his gifters and rebel with the subjects of the Ridge. The Redcoats may think it was a simple bonding moment, but those Scottish men gave their legitimate word to Jamie Fraser and they will die with honor. If Jamie rebels, they will stand by his side.

So it could go either way for sure. Will Murtagh disappear and that be the end of his story? Will he be only mentioned from here on, his existence nothing but rumor in the pubs? Or will he think it over and decide that his vow was forever, his woman is his, and he will not go quietly?

Outlander Season 5 has officially kicked off now and I am super excited. I was used to binging this show like so many others, just hitting the “next” button and not having to wait and see. But here we all are, waiting together for the other 11 episodes to air.

It’s hard but it gives us time to wonder and appreciate what we’ve seen and learned. It’s going to be OK! (Probably). At least we know that we have all of Season 5, (and even Season 6) ahead for sure. This is a big happy.

Do you think Murtagh will disappear for his own safety? Or will he be the Murtagh we know and find a way to fight back for the people he loves? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Outlander airs new episodes of Season 5 on Sundays at 8/7c on STARZ.