Outlander Season 3 Episode 13 Recap: Eye of the Storm

There is good news, though, namely that the island of Jamaica is populated solely by characters of this show. Just as the insufferable Leonard is about to whisk Jamie away to face murder charges, he’s stopped by a (for once) welcome squad of redcoats. Next thing you know, John Grey—tipped off to the situation by Fergus—is going toe-to-toe with Jamie’s teenaged pursuer, outranking him in a battle of military jurisdiction.
Best Friends Never
For her part, Claire is also a prisoner. While snooping around the slaves’ quarters, Claire’s scooped up and deposited in Geillis’ parlor. Here we learn just how far Geillis has traveled on the paranoia train. From her perspective, Outlander is the story of how a conniving British know-it-all traveled through time to thwart her reasoned and reasonable plans to restore Scottish sovereignty.
To prove that she couldn’t care less about Geillis’ psychotic nationalism, Claire makes a mistake. She divulges that for the last 20 years she’s been in the 20th century, raising her daughter, a bouncing 200-year-old baby. With that admission, Geillis has the final piece of her prophecy puzzle from last week. All she’s got to do to summon a new Scottish king is kill Brianna. Mother of the Year, Claire.
There is one other notable item in their exchange: for the first time, we get a real discussion about the mechanics of time travel, or at least how Claire perceives them. Claire tries to explain to Geillis that, no, you don’t need to sacrifice your husband to travel via the stone network. “I think it has something to do with who’s on the other side, drawing you to them,” she says. “That might be so,” Geillis admits, “but I’d just as soon have blood. A girl can’t be too careful.”
You get the sense that the dead husband bit was always just a perk to Geillis.
As she tries to find a way out of Geillis’ Haunted Mansion, Claire spies young Ian being hauled off into the darkness. On her way to catch up with his captors, she bumps into Jamie, newly freed by John Grey. There’s little time for a reunion, however, as they’re drawn toward some kind of island ritual that evokes memories of the witch circle at Craigh na Dun.
Being historically bad at sneaking, Claire and Jamie are discovered, only to be saved by Willoughby. Apparently, after last week’s episode, Willoughby and Margaret Campbell’s date continued, and she was invited to these proceedings out of appreciation for her “gift.” Things have gotten serious for the two; Willoughby discloses that they plan to run off and start a life together.
But not before we get one more of Margaret’s bizarrely on-point visions. She seems to channel Brianna for a moment before repeating the name of a nearby cave, Abandawe, where there’s another set of stone circles. As Claire figures out that Geillis plans to travel to 1968 and kill her daughter, Willoughby stays behind to defend Margaret and to kill her abusive brother who conveniently wandered up to reveal important details about the prophecy. RIP Archibald, you served your expository purpose, you scoundrel.
Let’s Avoid the Time Warp Again
For two people who fail miserably at stealth, Claire and Jamie are generally skilled with navigation. In short order, they find Abandawe and some real déjà vu. Claire warns Jamie that if she’s drawn through the stones, she may not be able to return. (Who’s to say how she knows?) Jamie then instructs her that she must go through the stones if anything should happen to him.

That well-rehearsed dialogue aside, the two descend upon Geillis, in the midst of going full Gollum, and a bound-and-gagged young Ian. This particular time portal works a little differently than Craigh na Dun; it’s a shimmering pool of time goo. While Jamie works to incapacitate Geillis’ bodyguard, Claire tries to warn Geillis away from the path she’s chosen.
Sometimes, though, warnings don’t work. Sometimes, for the sake of your child, you have to decapitate your problematic gal pal. And that’s just what Claire does, in one fell swoop. It’s an undeniably awesome moment, though it leaves Claire particularly shook. Remember the skeleton she saw back in Joe Abernathy’s office? Remember how Claire just knew that the woman had been murdered? It seems we now know why: she did the murdering. The time goo, man, it leaves a trace.
Whatever the mechanics, the day has been saved. But … it’s been saved a bit too quickly. It’s always concerning when things are tied up neatly with 20 minutes left in the episode. Either it means we’re going to get some extended love-making or some villainous scum is about to disrupt some extended love-making.
Sturm und Drang
We get the former—Jamie and Claire indulge in a night of unfettered nookie aboard the Artemis—followed by an act of God. The ship is soon caught in the middle of a ferocious storm. While the rest of the gang hangs below decks, Jamie and Claire end up as the only two above deck as a monumental wave swallows the ship.
Jamie manages to stay aboard, but Claire winds up in the drink, her hair looking as luscious and well-coiffed as ever. Thankfully, Jamie is part Scottish, part Merperson. Not only does he find his submerged wife, his kiss serves as her own personal snorkel.

We don’t know exactly what’s happened until the camera zooms in on Jamie, face down on an unknown beach, being poked in the butt by some cherubic little girl. She runs off and Jamie crawls to another body on the beach, this one Claire, who finally decides it’s time to resuscitate herself.
When the little girl’s quaint family arrives to inspect the bedraggled pair, we learn a couple of things. First, the Artemis and its other passengers survived; they’re marooned further down the beach. Second, we’re in Georgia, y’all!
Welcome to the Colonies, folks, where a whole new crop of British soldiers can harangue our favorite Scotsman and Sassenach. All that’s left to do is get ready for Season 4: Outlander Takes America.