Synopsis of 1×10: Jamie hopes the Duke of Sandringham can help remove the price on his head; Claire works to save an abandoned child.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
With the Duke of Sandringham near Jamie and Claire both hope that he is able to remove the price on Jamie’s head. After the events of last episode, they’re hoping to benefit off of the Duke’s connection with Jamie in an effort to conjure up a pardon. The episode returns back to Claire’s narration as we return to a familiar flashback in which we are reminded that Sandringham was hypothesized by Frank to be Randall’s beneficiary, as well as a Jacobite sympathizer.
Using this knowledge to her benefit, Claire approaches Sandringham with this as a bit of leverage on Jamie’s behalf, without Jamie’s knowledge. Although Sandringham is immediately cautious of Claire and realizes quickly she’s not someone to be trifled with, he manages to abide by her wishes while also benefitting himself.
The duel is quick and relatively painless, with the Duke apologizing to the Macdonald over some unpaid debt. But before both sides can walk away, some jabs sent back and forth from Jamie to the younger Macdonalds turns sour and a tussle ensues. It’s hardly too serious, as Jamie is able to fend off and incapacitate all of the young men, but gets injured himself in the process.
She tells Claire that the ill wish was bought from Geilis Duncan, and Claire is off to find the woman. We’ve known for a while that the village considers Geilis to be some sort of witch, and when Claire is redirected by a maid in her house to the woods we get our suspicions confirmed. Performing some sort of summoning ritual, Claire witnesses a ritual akin to the one she witnessed at Craigh na Dun. It’s a nice call back to a beautiful scene and the musical cues from that scene are a testament to Bear McCreary’s skills as a composer.
Dougal seems emotionally wrecked, as he is drunk and fighting every man within the Castle until Claire sedates him. However, things take an interesting turn when the Duke visits and there is a celebration, and during the celebration Geilis’ husband dies from cyanide poisoning. Both Claire and Colum recognize the orchestration when they witness Dougal and Geilis’ expressions.
And, of course, just as Jamie leaves, Laoghaire takes it as her moment for revenge. She lures Claire to Geilis’ home and in the middle of the night they are both arrested for witchcraft and taken in chains while Laoghaire watches from the sidelines.