‘Outlander’ Recap Season 5, Episode 2: “Between Two Fires”

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Outlander Season 5 Episode 2 (“Between Two Fires”) is that things are really heating up for Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) and the Regulators, who pull the ol’ tar and feather routine on the enemy with gusto in the episode’s opening scenes. It’s pretty clear that this is going to become one of the main focuses of Season 5, as Jamie (Sam Heughan) reckons with being torn between his personal politics and his sworn oath to Lord Tryon (Tim Downie) who “gifted” him the land that is now Fraser’s Ridge.

Lieutenant Hamilton Knox (Michael D. Xavier) is on hand to aid Jamie in his sham search for Murtagh and he’s a bit of a jobsworth (British slang for someone who takes their job way too seriously and is a total stickler to rules even if they make no sense). Knox’s motivation becomes clear since he’s desperate for Tyron to give him his own “prosperous” patch of land (i.e. he’s a bit of a brown-noser). Jamie will need to watch out for Knox since he seems hip to the fact that Jamie’s sympathies lie with the Regulators. Spoiler alert: by the end of the episode, we’ll realize that Knox isn’t as big of douche has he initially presents himself to be.

The other takeaway is that medicine sure has come a long way since the 1700s. After a man from the settlement dies because he was plied with folk remedies that made his condition worse rather than helping him, Claire (Caitriona Balfe) is distraught. After all, her1960s medical knowledge is far beyond what is available in her current time period, and she’s definitely treading a dangerous path by performing an autopsy on the man to discover what he died from (appendicitis, if you’re curious).

Why not bring some of that advanced medical knowledge and treatment to the 1700s? Well, because it’s unethical for time travelers to change the course of history, perhaps, and because if she gets found out as some kind of a witch, she’ll likely be burned at the stake? Perhaps that’s what leads to Fraser’s Ridge burning down in the coming years, as Roger discovered in Jamie and Claire’s obituaries?

She does let Marsali (Lauren Lyle) in on her little science experiment and Claire wants her as an apprentice since she was inspired by watching Marsali butchering the meat for dinner. Marsali isn’t into the idea of “defiling a body” at first, but Claire manages to talk her ’round in a few minutes flat, especially when she teases the idea of sewing the body up afterward “like a seamstress” in front of the younger woman. Sure, why not? I think the 18th century is costing Claire a bit of her sanity, frankly, especially with the whole “I’m going to make Penicillin by letting two dozen loaves of bread go moldy” situation, but bless her for trying.

In a local village, Jamie and Knox meet the previously mentioned tarred and feathered gent who’s angry that he was injured for simply enforcing a tax that the Regulators didn’t want to pay. Jamie is visibly appalled at the man’s wounds as he didn’t believe the Regulators would be capable of such a thing, but it’s still hard to discern if this is a performance for the benefit of Knox and Co. or if he legitimately feels this way (likely the former).

The English did manage to arrest some of the Regulators who, when questioned by Jamie, are pretty pissed off that he’s with the Red Coats now. They also warn him multiple times that war is coming, which seems pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point since we’re only two episodes into the season. In the meantime, Knox gets a little sword-happy and decides to stab one of the Regulators, Ivan, in the stomach and he dies, which makes his later actions even more perplexing.

Jamie later visits the Regulators in jail and restates his aim of “preserving as many lives as possible” before breaking them out of their cells. But wait! Things get way more interesting when Knox reveals himself as a sympathizer the very next day, telling Jamie that he needs more men and sending him off to gather them before telling him to come back prepared for war. Knox, you sly dog! I guess Ivan was an unfortunate casualty in a very melodramatic performance piece?

The only half-interesting thing to happen with Roger (Richard Rankin) and Brianna (Sophie Skelton) is the “revelation” that Roger would love to go back to the 1960s. Not surprising, nor is it surprising when Claire supports the idea of them leaving since the 1700s are way too dangerous without… antibiotics? They can’t leave yet, but that’s fine because Roger is all cut up over discovering that Brianna has been drawing endless portraits of Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speleers) in her sketchbook. Uh oh.

Speaking of Bonnet, he’s joined the ranks of high society in Wilmington, making his grand reappearance at what seems to be a gladiator-style fight club where he fatally wounds a man with a knife before claiming he stopped short of killing him in order to “set a better example” since he’s a father now. Something tells me this won’t end well.

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.

Stream Outlander Season 5 Episode 2 on Starz