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Directed by: John Dahl Written by: Ronald D. Moore First aired on August 9, 2014 Prologue: The episode opens on a brooding Scottish highlands scene, with storm clouds in the distance. Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe), as a voice-over, muses "People disappear all the time. Young girls run away from home, children stray from their parents and are never seen again. Housewives take the grocery money and a taxi to the train station. Most are found, eventually. Diappearances, after all, have explanations -- usually." As Claire strolls down the street in post-World War II Inverness, she stops to gaze in the window of Farrell's General Store. Spotting a display of vases, the voice-over continues, realizing that she has never lived in a place long enough to need a vase, and her yearning for that kind of stability. "It was a Tuesday afternoon, six months after the end of the war . . ." Flashback to Claire as a World War II battle nurse, struggling to stop the bleeding of a wounded soldier (Jack Eyers) in a makeshift medical ward in a bombed-out alley. A doctor (David Elliot) dashes over and takes over, and she stumbles out of the ward, exhausted. She becomes aware of car horns and a gathering of excited soldiers, laughing, crying and hugging each other. Another nurse (Clare Yuille) dashes up, excitedly presses an opened bottle of champagne into Claire's hands, and tells Claire that the war is over. Claire watches the growing celebration silently, and takes a swig of the champagne. Back to Inverness, six months later, as she's looking at the vase in the window... "Somehow in my mind, V-E Day, the end of the bloodiest and most terrible war in human history, grows fainter with each passing day. But I can still recall every detail of the day when I saw the life I wanted sitting in a window. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I'd bought that vase and made a home for it. Would that have changed things? Would I have been happy? Who can say? I do know this: even now, after all the pain and death and heartbreak that followed, I still would make the same choice." * Credits * Claire and her husband, Frank Randall (Tobias Menzies) are riding in a convertible along a deserted Scottish road, the wind in their hair, the sun shining, enjoying a second honeymoon six months after the war. The radio is playing bright 1940's music, and the voice-over continues to narrate that she and Frank chose to take a trip to the Scottish highlands to reconnect after being apart for five years. Parking the car on the street, Frank notices a red smear across an otherwise pristine door, and brings it to Claire's attention. She is startled to see blood, and when Frank is doubtful that it might be blood, she reminds him that, after being a nurse, she knows what blood looks like. They notice that several doors on the street have the same blood streaks, and Claire wonders if the houses are marked for a mystical reason. Frank reminds her that there is no where else on earth where paganism and mysticism are such a part of everyday life as the Scottish highlands. They enter their bed and breakfast, and the propriotress, Mrs. Baird (Kathryn Howden), explains that the blood comes from a black cockerel, and that it is the custom at that time of year to make a sacrifice to honor St. Odhran [whose feast day is October 27th]. Frank recognizes the name, to Mrs. Baird's surprise, and Claire explains that Frank is a historian, who will be taking up a teaching post at Oxford in two weeks. Frank goes on to explain that Odhran was buried alive voluntarily, and Claire grimaces. Mrs. Baird tells them it's a good time for a holiday, since it is close to Samhain, which Claire recognizes as Gaelic for Halloween. Frank explains that the church borrowed several of the pagan holidays. Mrs. Baird warns them that the holidays brings out ghosts, who wander about doing "good or ill as they please," to Claire's amusement. As they check into their room, Claire thinks about how much trouble they have had getting to know each other again after the war. He takes an experimental bounce on the squeaky bed, and wryly observes that there will be no "marital privacy," and that Mrs. Baird will probably be able to hear "any renewed attempts to start a family." Claire smiles, and Frank reaches for a book. Claire teases him about not "adding another branch to his family tree unless he shows more industry", and begins to bounce on the bed, making it squeak suggestively. Frank joins her as they playfully bounce, making Mrs. Baird downstairs look up at a slightly swinging chandalier speculatively. The teasing play becomes tender as they tell each other what they remembered of the other during stressful times in the war -- Claire remembers the sound of Frank's laugh, and Frank remembers that he would sketch Claire's hand because he remembered it so clearly. They kiss, and gradually they undress -- and the bed begins to squeak again, more softly. Mrs. Baird, downstairs, smiles to herself. The next day, during a drive, Frank points to an unusual rock formation on a nearby hill, and tells Claire that it is Cocknammon Rock, a place that the British used to use for ambushes in the 17th and 18th centuries. Claire glances at it with passing interest, smiling at Frank's absorption in history. She reflects that she is used to history, being raised by her archeologist uncle after the death of her parents, with a flashback to a young Claire (Elizabeth Bowie) at her Uncle Lamb's (Prentis Hancock) dig, lighting an unladylike cigarette for her uncle and admiring his work. As they stroll around the grounds of a castle ruin, Claire explains that Frank has become interested in his personal genealogy, and she has become interested in botany and medicinal plants. She examines plants while Frank takes a photo of Castle Leoch, the ancestral home of Clan MacKenzie, and realizes that Frank is pursuing his interest in the past to help him forget his job as an intelligence officer during the war. Frank comments that a distant ancestor of his, a British officer, worked in that area and may have actually visited the castle at some point. They continue to explore the castle, delving deeper into dusty, overgrown rooms. Claire sits provocatively on a table and gives Frank a "look." Frank observes mildly that it's a bit dirty, and Claire, raising her skirt invitingly, tells him that he can give her a bath. He comes over to her, and as his hand traces the line of her thigh upwards, he discovers that "Why, Mrs. Randall, I do believe you've left your undergarments at home," and proceeds to take advantage of the opportunity. That afternoon, while Claire is browsing through a book by the fire, Reverend Wakefield (James Fleet) and Frank are excited they have found evidence of his distant relative, British Captain Jonathan Wolverton Randall of the Dragoons, otherwise known as "Black Jack." The Reverend points out that Captain Randall spent a lot of time harassing the Scottish countryside. Claire comments that the Scottish still seem suspicious of the English, and remembers that the evening before, the barman at the pub called them "Sassenachs." Reverend Wakefield explains that she shouldn't be offended, it's simply their word for and Englishman, "or, at worst, an outlander." The housekeeper, Mrs. Graham (Tracey Wilkinson), brings tea, and invites Claire into the kitchen to join her. Claire drinks her oolong tea appreciatively, and Mrs. Graham tells her that she can read tea leaves. As Claire finishes her tea, Mrs.Graham begins to read the leaves, but is confused -- signs of a journey, but also staying in one place and several strangers. She takes Claire's hand to read her palm, and tells Claire that she has an unusual pattern, and has a pronounced Mount of Venus, which, "to be polite about it, means that your husband won't stray far from your bed," she says, laughing. But her life line is interrupted, divided, not broken. Claire is skeptical, but thoughtful. The Reverend and Frank join them in the kitchen, speculating on whether Black Jack Randall had a secret patron that kept him out of trouble -- the Duke of Sandringham, a suspected Jacobite. As they warm to their topic and jiggle the team tray, Mrs. Graham scolds them and rescues the tray, and Claire take the opportunity to return to the bed and breakfast. As she walks back, she passes the store to gaze at the vases, and then hurries on, reflecting that what she didn't know that "tomorrow would prove less important than yesterday." Later, in front of a mirror, she attempts to brush out her wayward hair, muttering "Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ!" impatiently at the tangles. As Frank is walking up to the building that night, in the wind and rain, he catches a glimpse of her in the window, at the mirror brushing her hair, and smiles. The smile disappears as he notices a figure in a kilt by the lamppost, head tilted up to also gaze at Claire. Frowning, he appraoches the figure from behind and asks if he can help him. The figure turns away quickly, and suddenly Frank is alone, looking around, wondering what just happened. As he hurries into the room, Claire is startled, commenting that he looks like he's seen a ghost. "You know, I'm not so sure I haven't," he says, staring out the window. Later, in front of the fire, Frank tells Claire about the figure disappearing, almost as if it were a ghost. Claire scoffs, but then Frank leads the conversation into patients that she had during the war, and wonders of any of them might have been Scottish, and might want to . . . reconnect. Claire realizes that Frank is delicately inquiring if she has been unfaithful, and is offended. Frank hastily assures her that if she had, it wouldn't matter, it's not unusual to want a little comfort, because he loves her, and nothing she could ever do could stop his love. She denies it angrily. He begs her to forgive him, and as their kiss deepens and they make love, Claire's voice-over reflects that they often used sex as a bridge to find their way back to each other, despite the obstacles they may encounter during the day. As they lay together in bed afterwards, Frank remembers that he wants to set the alarm. Claire lazily protests and reminds him that they had decided "no alarms", but Frank tells her that he wants to see the witches. At Claire's surprise, he explains that there is a group of Druids that observes ancient rituals at a group of standing stones called Craigh na Dun just outside the village, and he wants to go watch them secretly. Later, before dawn, Frank and Claire make their way up the hillside as Frank explains that the local legends have the stones being brought from Africa by a race of Celtic giants. "I wasn't aware that the Celts made a lot of trips to Africa," Claire responds, amused. They hide in the tall grass as they hear someone coming. A group of women, holding lanterns and wearing white robes, approach the stones, swaying gracefuly and begin to dance. Claire recognizes Mrs. Graham as one of the dancers, and experiences a feeling of being an intruder, watching something that she shouldn't be seeing. As the run rises, the dancing changes imperceptibly, and ends with lanterns raised towards a large center stone. The lanterns are extinguished and the spell is broken. Chatting brightly, the dancers leave, leaving the mist swirling in the dawn. Frank and Claire examine the standing stones, but hurry to hide as one of the dancers return, searching the ground and finding a hair ribbon. As the dancer sits down to rest, Frank and Claire quietly leave. In the afternoon, Frank is preparing for another meeting with the Reverend, and Claire is considering returning to the standing stones to retrieve a flower she can't identify from her botany books. They kiss goodbye, with plans to meet later for dinner. Back at the stones, Claire wraps a shawl around her simple white dress as she parks the car and makes her way back up the hill. She returns to the flower, and reaches to pick one -- and becomes aware of a noise like a rumbling, or distant voices. The sounds seem to come the large center stone and, cautious but curious, she approaches it, laying her hands on the surface of the stone. She describes a sensation similar to an evening car accident she had been in, a sensation of free-falling in the dark at high speed. Regaining consciousness, she finds herself lying on the ground in front of the stone. She scrambles up and hurries away towards the car -- but the road is no longer there, much less a car. Confused, she begins to walk, aware of indefinable changes in the landscape. Suddenly, she hears a gunshot. A few dozen yards away, she sees soldiers in red coats firing and running. Startled, she thinks that she has stumbled on the set of a historical drama, and watches in fascination as another group of men in kilts come dashing past. She is more deeply confused when she realizes that the "actors" are using live shot. She trips and falls in her hurry to get away from the group, and as she watches incredulously, one of the soldiers points his gun in her directions and shoots. She flings herself to the ground, gasping, and tries to evade them, and suddenly comes upon a British officer by a stream. She slides to a halt, staring at the officer -- he could be Frank's twin. "Frank? What the devil are you doing?" she says, incredulously. The man straightens, regarding her speculatively. "You're not Frank," she whispers, backing away. He introduces himself as Jonathan Randall, Esquire, captain of His Majesty's Eighth Dragoons (Tobias Menzies), "at your service," as he examines her in surprise. She turns away from him and begins to run, but he easily captures her with a well-placed sword block. She declares that her husband is waiting for her, and when he asks her husband's name, she tells him that it is "Frank Beauchamp, he's a teacher," but Captain Randall is skeptical and threatens her to tell him who she really is. She spits in his face and tells him in no uncertain terms to "take you hands off me, you bastard." "Ah, the speech of a lady, the language of a whore. I choose the whore," he declares as he brutally shoves her up against the the small cliff and prepares to rape her. Suddenly, Randall falls away, and Claire, spinning around, sees a man in a kilt with a hat pulled low striking Captain Randall unconscious. The man says something to her urgently in Gaelic, his hand outstretched, but she doesn't understand. He gestures again, insistently, and she goes with him reluctantly, exclaiming "Who are you? Where are we going?" The Scotsman tries to hush her when he spots more British soldiers, but Claire begins to cry out in fear. Exasperated, the Scotsman takes his knife and strikes her at the base of her head with the handle, knocking her unconscious to quiet her. She regains consciousness as her erstwhile rescuer (Murtagh - Duncan Lacroix) is riding towards a small thatched cottage, thinking that it may have been a dream, but realizing from the stench of man and horse that it is no dream. He leads her into the dimly lit cottage, where they join a group of Scotsmen, including Rupert (Grant O'Rourke) and Angus Mhor (Stephen Walters). Startled, they ask her rescuer questions in Gaelic, but she recognizes a few words -- "Sassenach", "Craigh na Dun." A man sitting near the fire stands up and walks up to Claire as the others draw back -- this is obviously the leader. He brings her closer to the fire to observe her, and in a bit of bravado, Claire lifts her chin and snaps, "I trust you can see me now?" She continues to use the name Claire Beauchamp, afraid that the men will try to ransom her and not wanting to lead them to Frank and possibly hurting him, too. He questions her rescuer, who tells the story of Claire "having words with a certain Captain of Dragoons of our acquaintance. There seemed to be some question whether the lady was or was not a whore." "And what was the lady's position in this discussion?" the leader inquires. Claire looks him in the eye and declares "I am not." The men smile and one jokes that they should put her to the test, but the leader stills their laughter with a stern, "I don't hold with rape . . . and we don't have time for it, anway." Claire isn't sure what to make of this reprieve, but realizes that she is now their prisoner. Her rescuer tells the leader, Dougal (Graham McTavish), that he doesn't think she's a whore, but Dougal dismisses the question abruptly as she wonders how to escape and return to Inverness. They are in a hurry to leave, but one of them is injured. A young man, Jamie (Sam Heughan), is seated huddled by the fire in obvious pain, his shoulder dislocated. Dougal asks Jamie if he can ride with his shoulder injured, but Jamie doesn't think he can manage a horse. One of the men declares that he will have to force the joint back, and they prepare to work on Jamie's arm. One grabs his arm clumsily and Claire, her nurse's training coming to the fore as she sees what they intend to do, suddenly says sharply, "Don't you dare! You'll break his arm if you do it like that!" Dougal steps aside in silent invitation for her take a turn. The men watch, wincing, as she grasps his arm. He gasps, and she reassures him that "this is the worst part," then gives the arm a deft twist as it snaps back into place with an audible pop. Jamie takes a deep, surprised breath and declares that it no longer hurts, but laire isn't finished. Turning to one of the men, she demands something to make a sling, either belt or some cloth. The man looks at her in surprise, but Dougal gruffly tells him to comply, and the man reluctantly hands her his belt. As she quickly makes a sling, Jamie observes that she's done this before, and she tells him that she's a nurse. His eyes quickly flit to her chest. "Not a wet nurse," she snaps, as she gives him instructions to care for it. Jamie thanks her and they prepare to leave. As they walk outside, Claire looks out across the valley expecting to see the lights of the town and, puzzled, and asks where Inverness is in the darkness. Jamie looks at her in surprise, points into the darkness and says, "You're looking right at it." Claire is starting to understand what has happened to her - there are no electric lights as far as the eye could see. Dougal lifts her up to ride with Jamie, with threats against trying to escape. It's raining again, and Claire is shivering in her thin dress. Jamie drapes his plaid around them both, "because you're shaking so hard it's making my teeth rattle," he teases her. Jamie mentions that they will probably be riding all night, and the next one, too, as Claire looks around in dismay. The group moves off, making its way through the forest. The next day, they are riding past a familiar looking rock formation -- Cocknammon Rock. She tells Jamie that the British uses it for ambushes and Jamie, looking around, agrees that it's a good place for an ambush, and rides ahead to warn Dougal. Dougal is suspicious and wants to know how she knows about an ambush, and she tells him that she heard it in the village. Suddenly, Dougal becomes aware of a movement in the brush, and snaps out a order -- Jamie promptly pushes Claire off the horse into the bushes with a battle cry, "Tulach ard!" and the group gallops away, pursued by ambushers. She tries to flee, but is quickly intercepted by a bloodied Jamie, who is intent on bringing her back with him. He tells her that if she won't walk, he'll toss her over his shoulder and carry her. Unwilling to injure his shoulder further, she gives up and goes with him. She scolds him for using his shoulder, and he tells her that if he hadn't moved his shoulder, "I wouldn't be moving anything else ever again." He boasts a bit about being able to handle a couple of Redcoats, "but not three," and then adds cheerfully that if it's hurt again, she can fix it later. "That's what you think," she tells him. As they join the others, they racously thank her for tipping them off "and giving us a wee bit of fun!" They offer her a sip of their whiskey, and she reluctantly takes it, after Jamie whispers that it will warm her up. Later, as the horses pick their way through the moonlit night, Claire becomes aware that Jamie is sagging in the saddle. Just as he begins to fall, she cries out, "Stop! Help, he's going over!" The group halts, and she quickly examines the unconscious Jamie's shoulder, discovering a clean gunshot wound. She declares that she must disinfect it to protect it from germs, but the group doesn't understand what she means. She asks for "iodine? Methiolate?" Blank looks. "Alcohol?" she demands, in exasperation. Relieved to understand one of her demands, they thrust a flask at her, and she pours alcohol on the wound, trying to clean it. Jamie jerks into consciousness. She scolds him for reinjuring his shoulder, and turns to demand clean bandages. More blank looks, and, muttering her favorite oath, "Jesus H. Roosevelt Chirst!", she bends to rip the hem of her dress for a bandage. As she tries to tie the bandage on, she lets loose with another exasperated curse at the slipping bandage, "you bloody bastard!". The men mutter disapprovingly, Dougal declaring he has never heard a woman use such language, and Angus suggests that her husband should tan her hide. Rupert intones that "Saint Paul says 'Let a woman be silent,'" but Claire is out of patience and snaps, "You can mind your own bloody business, and so can Saint Paul!" The men, shocked, are silent. She turns to Jamie and threatens to throttle him if he moves. He grins. "Threats, is it? And after I shared my drink with you?" Dougal tells Claire they have five to seven more hours to ride, and they can't stay there much longer. When she protests, Jamie explains that Captain Randall has probably sent out patrols, she asks if he knows Black Jack Randall. After a moments hesitation, he admits that he knows him, and if she can't fix him up well enough to ride, then they should leave him there with a loaded pistol "so I can determine my own fate." Quiet, she thinks about what he has said and then, more softly, asks why he didn't tell her he had been shot. "It didn't hurt much at the time," he shrugs. She tugs the bandage. "Does it hurt now?" "Aye." She looks him in the eye. "Good." He laughs, and accepting her help to stand, he says, "Thank ye, Sassenach. Truly." Then she says to him, "Well, then, on your horse, soldier." To her surprise, they are riding towards a looming and intact Castle Leoch, a castle bustling with activity. Confused, she remembers visiting the derelict castle two days before, "but how can I remember something that hasn't happened yet?" she wonders. So far, she had been assaulted, threatened, kidnapped, and nearly raped, and as they enter the castle, she reflects "and somehow, I knew that my journey had only just begun." Adapted from IMDb