‘Outlander’ Season 2 Spoilers: Who Did Claire Tell About Black Jack? Episode 3 Recap

Claire has a secret in “Outlander” Season 2. In the last episode, she discovered that Black Jack Randall is still alive despite his injuries at Wentworth Prison. She had to tell someone in episode 3, but Jamie’s world would be turned upside down by the news. So Claire turned to a friend in episode 3 of the Starz drama.

The third episode kicks off when Jamie (Sam Heughan) comes home at dawn, just before work. Prince Charles (Andrew Gower) is keeping him at the brothels a little too often. Jamie goes off to do business, but Claire (Caitriona Balfe) begrudgingly has to go to tea with Louise (Claire Sermonne). Claire is clearly getting bored, but she learns something interesting on this visit.

Mary (Rosie Day) suddenly says that she can’t marry a Frenchman because they have sex with women. She believes men from her country don’t do that. When Claire hears that Mary lived in Sussex, she flashes back to the 1940s. Frank’s (Tobias Menzies) family tree goes back to Mary Hawkins, who married Black Jack Randall (Menzies). Claire goes home and realizes that Frank’s existence depends on Black Jack staying alive for at least another year.

She returns home to find Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) and her maid Suzette (Adrienne-Marie Zitt) having sex. She isn’t too concerned about their affair. She’s just annoyed and is rather rude to Murtagh. She apologizes and reveals the reason for her mood: Black Jack is still alive. Murtagh says they can’t tell Jamie. It’ll set him back and distract him from stopping the Battle of Culloden. They agree to keep it between them.

Jamie seems to be doing well in his political game. He plays chess with Duvernay (Marc Duet) and feels comfortable asking for a favor. Duvernay has already told him that King Louis (Lionel Lingelser) won’t fund the Scottish rebellion. Jamie asks Duvernay to tell Prince Charles the same thing.

While Jamie does business, Claire runs into the Comte St. Germain (Stanley Weber) when she goes to the apothecary to get a form of birth control for her maid. She questions how Master Raymond (Dominique Pinon) could be so friendly with his supposed enemy. He reasons that sometimes it’s good to keep your enemies close.

While she is with Raymond, she vents about her life. She feels useless, and Raymond recommends using her medical training. The charity hospital needs volunteers.

Claire is revitalized by just the idea of helping people, but Murtagh says Jamie won’t approve. “He’ll be happy if I’m happy,” she claims.

At the hospital, Claire meets the woman in charge of it all, Mother Hildegarde (Frances de la Tour) and her dog Bouton. Claire is happy to empty bedpans and clean wounds. She even tastes urine to see if someone has diabetes, which impresses Mother Hildegarde.

While Claire helps the needy, Jamie has to go to the brothel for another meeting. He is shocked to learn that Charles already has most of the financing he needs from British aristocracy. Charles offers France an alliance with Britain if they give him the small amount he needs, and he wins his war. It’s a good offer, and Duvernay promises to bring the offer to the king.

Jamie is in a bad mood when he returns home, so he is even more irritated when he discovers that Claire isn’t there. When she returns in a great spirits, Jamie lashes out and tells her that she shouldn’t be working in a hospital when she is pregnant. She explains that she just wants to have a purpose. Jamie thinks she should focus on changing history.

Jamie reveals that their mission isn’t going well. Claire points out that Britain and France aren’t going to become allies in this century, so they have to figure out if Charles was bluffing.

Claire knows that the political maneuvering is all on Jamie and says she’ll help him in any way she can. Jamie is irritated that he came home to lean on his wife, and she was nowhere to be found. However, Claire reasons that she needs something to make her happy while Jamie is off with important men. “When do I get to feel good? When do I get to find meaning in my day?” Jamie asks.

He goes back to the brothel and sees a kid (Romann Berrux) pick-pocketing various patrons. He chases him down outside and empties his pockets. Jamie finds the wooden snake figure that he’d lost as well as a bunch of money. Instead of turning the kid into the police, Jamie enlists him as his new spy.

Jamie and Fergus (whose original name was Claudel until Jamie changed it) go back to the house. Fergus tries to charm Claire by complimenting her breasts before Jamie tells him to go take a bath. Jamie explains to his wife that they’re using Fergus to steal Prince Charles’ letters and get information.

The letters are in code. One is filled with sheet music that they need decoded, and Mother Hildregard happens to know piano. Jamie visits Claire at work to ask for help decoding the letter. The nun says that her friend Johann Sebastian Bach has written things very similar. The letter’s music just changes the key in each line. The flats and sharps all indicate different rules. It’s a complex code, which makes Jamie and Claire more curious than ever. Jamie finally cracks it, and discovers the English backers are real.

Forty thousand pounds has been promised to Prince Charles, but that’s not quite enough to cover a war. The writer says that he looks forward to meeting Charles for the first time to confirm the funds. The letter is simply signed S. They realize that S must be the Duke of Sandringham (Simon Callow). They need to convince the Duke that this is a bad investment. Jamie thinks this is amazing news because now they know where to go.

Jamie is ready to celebrate, but Murtagh and Claire know that this is terrible. The Duke will bring his secretary, Alex Randall, and Jamie could discover that Black Jack is alive and well.

“Outlander” Season 2 airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. EDT on Starz.