Previously...
There'll be a battle in about a year's time
at a place called Kings Mountain
and that James Fraser dies in it.
I found Ben.
He claims it was at your behest that he feigned his death.
You've been concealing the truth.
I felt I had to. Can you blame me?
You were protecting yourself and Trevor.
Whatever feelings you have beyond what is familial duty
would be improper.
I have had carnal knowledge of your wife.
Percival Beauchamp,
although his name isn't Beauchamp.
Perseverance Wainwright.
He's an unscrupulous bastard, loyal to no one but himself.
Beauchamp is right about one thing.
Richardson is a spy.
He wanted influence over Hal, and he asked me to spy on you.
So you've found Captain Richardson?
I have indeed.
Where is the black-hearted scoundrel?
You needn't look far.
Where in God's name am I?
And what am I doing here?
First, I'd like to apologize.
I have no personal animus against you.
If I could have managed this without involving you,
I would have done so.
And what of your personal animus against my son?
Or have you forgotten your involvement of him
in this political farce of yours?
I'm sorry about that as well.
Oh, God damn it, you insufferable fool.
What is it that you want?
Are you familiar with a man named Neil Stapleton?
I might have heard the name.
But if so, it's been some time.
Well, perhaps I should have inquired
as to whether you knew him in the carnal sense.
I believe you'll find that to be
an accurate account of acts which occurred
between the two of you.
He didn't write this of his own free will.
No sane man would.
What did you do to him?
Bribery? Torture?
Is he still alive?
Do you care?
Of course you do.
If he were dead,
you could claim this document was a forgery.
But Mr. Stapleton is, in fact, still alive.
However, he is in London.
Fortunately, I have additional testimony...
nearer to hand.
Sorry, John.
I'm not brave.
You've always been so, but I never have.
So you forced a confession out of him as well?
Unnatural acts.
And what does it say here?
Incest.
Is that right?
Dear me, Lord John. Dear me.
You've gone to rather a lot of trouble for nothing,
Mr. Richardson.
I do not give a fig what you do with those documents.
A gentleman does not submit to blackmail.
Oh, funny.
Almost all of them do.
Then you'll be so good as to explain yourself at once!
I have a list of persons whose actions will lead
to a particular outcome in this war.
Your brother, the Duke of Pardloe,
is one of them.
What on Earth are you talking about?
He intends to give a speech to the House of Lords
recommending the withdrawal of funds for the war.
Should that happen,
the British government will lose both the war
and the American colonies.
That cannot be allowed.
And-and if I am to accept this wild assertion of yours,
what do you expect me to do about it?
Persuade him not to make that speech.
I require him to give a different one instead,
one which keeps the war funds going.
I believe your life and honor
are the only things that will ensure his doing so.
If you think that,
then plainly, you do not know my brother.
And what if he declines?
Then the scandal will thoroughly discredit him
and everything he says.
And you'll be hanged for sodomy.
Either way, I get what I want.
You ignoble bastard.
You'll remain here as my guest
while copies of these statements
are sent to your brother.
What happens to you after that
will depend upon His Grace.
Take it you're not here to liberate me.
I would if I could, John.
Please believe me.
What, then?
A sentimental goodbye from the foot of the gallows?
Richardson has sent me to try and persuade you.
Will you not do as he asks, John?
Convince Hal not to give that speech.
He'd listen to you.
I don't want you to die.
Well, I share that opinion, but no, I won't do it.
I want to say two things to you.
First...
I'm sorry.
I'm truly sorry.
And I believe that, for what it's worth.
- And the second? - Is, I love you.
I had hoped you'd come say goodbye.
Richardson won't allow me to write to anyone.
Any last words, I mean.
If you can, I need you to go to my house.
Of course I will.
If you meant what you just said,
for the sake of any love that you've ever had for me,
go and find my son
and tell him that I love him.
Please.
Give him this.
He's my son. It should be his.
Goodbye, Perseverance.
Live up to your name.
*CREDITS*
_
I once believed time could be reshaped
by sheer force of will,
like water wearing away at stone.
But with Jamie's fate seemingly carved
into history's bedrock,
I found myself searching for any crack,
any fissure through which hope might seep.
Thank goodness you're here.
I wasn't sure if you'd received my message.
It's been seven weeks.
Has there been any word from him?
None. I've been in a state.
Are you sure he didn't have a journey planned?
His horse is stabled.
All his belongings are in the house.
Did ye inquire at British Headquarters?
Yes. They know nothing.
Has my Uncle Hal arrived?
Not yet.
There was a letter that he'd been delayed.
He's likely still on business for Parliament,
assessing the war effort.
However, uh, this package came for him a few days ago.
The-the man who brought it, an odd fellow,
seemed quite melancholy,
said it was for the Duke of Pardloe.
He asked after you too, William.
Said he had a message for you.
What was the message?
I pressed him to tell me,
but he wouldn't say or give me his name.
Said he had to relay it to you in person.
Then he just left.
Oh, that's Trevor.
Will you excuse me?
Well, open it, lad.
"Your Grace, I am informed that after your time here,
"you are to return to England, where you will address
"the House of Lords in regards to the American War.
"I've taken the liberty of appending
"a direction that this address might take
"in terms of support of the war.
"Should you choose not to heed the suggestion,
"be apprised that copies of the accompanying documents
"will be forwarded to all London newspapers,
as well as to each member of Parliament."
Son of a bitch.
This is about my-my father's... proclivities.
Apparently, it's about to become public knowledge.
Not if we get to John first.
He's clearly still alive.
Whoever has him intends to keep him
until the Duke returns.
We need to find and burn all copies of these letters.
Look at the signature.
P. Wainwright.
Is that our friend Percy, do ye think?
- You! - William.
Where is he?
Where is my father?
- I don't know. - You're lying.
I saw that statement you delivered for my uncle.
Speak!
He'll kill me if he finds out I've told you anything.
He's a madman.
Who?
His name is Richardson. Ezekiel Richardson.
Richardson.
I'll kill him after I kill you.
I swear. I didn't want to be involved.
It was a mistake.
I was meant to wait for the Duke to arrive
before delivering that package.
Then tell us where Richardson is holding him.
I don't know.
I was blindfolded when they took us there
and again when they brought me back to town.
We traveled by boat.
Uh, it took quite a while, perhaps a few hours.
And the place we went to itself was a boathouse.
That could be any of the estuaries hereabouts.
I would never have left John.
But I could do him no good.
And I thought- well, he told me, in fact.
He-he told me to go and to find you.
He wanted me to give you this.
I've never once seen it off his hand.
May I?
There's something scratched on the inside.
Pharos.
It's Greek.
Lighthouse.
Did that have some special significance for your father?
Not that I know of.
I've never heard him speak of a lighthouse.
Nor me.
Then it must be that he's being kept near a lighthouse.
Do you ken of any nearby?
There's one on Tybee Island.
Richardson is insane.
He's a turncoat who joined the Continentals.
But now he says he wants the British to win.
Your father is alive.
Get your uncle, the Duke, to do as Richardson says.
If we don't find my father, or if we do and he's dead,
there will be nowhere safe for you.
There's a boathouse up ahead.
Is anyone about?
I see someone.
May I look?
That's Richardson.
Bastard is going fishing.
He seems to be alone.
He'll likely be awhile, then.
I've had enough of you.
You'll be laughing from the other side of your face
if you carry on like that.
Bloody fool.
Fuck.
Ye look good with a beard, John.
You're no oil painting yourself.
Looks like they're biting.
Mrs. Fraser, what-
what are you doing here?
Yes, it is Mrs. Fraser now.
The circumstances being what they are,
I'm here on behalf of my former husband
rather than my current one.
And you expect me to believe you've come alone?
No, not at all.
What are we planning to do with this waste of humanity?
We'll deliver him to a court-martial.
He's a traitor to both sides.
They'll draw lots to see who gets him.
I suppose we will see
who appears in the broadsheets now.
John.
Were there any other guards?
There may have been.
I only saw two, but it was difficult
to discern the voices.
Now you and William search outside.
I'll retrieve the boat.
How did you find me?
Percy Beauchamp.
That debauched little snitch.
You've no idea what you've done,
what you're unleashing by stopping me.
What are you even trying to do?
Last I saw you,
you were on the side of America,
side of freedom.
So what's changed?
I fear an American victory may do little
for the cause of freedom.
So many in America may not be free,
not for years to come.
How do you feel about slavery, Mrs. Fraser?
I abhor it
on both philosophical
and compassionate grounds, of course.
Why?
Did you think I'd declare myself in favor of it?
You might have, but I'm glad you didn't.
I don't expect you or anyone else to understand,
but it's something I care deeply about.
You see, my great-great-grandmother
was a slave.
Her name was Abilene Meadows.
She bore a child with the man who owned her.
I see.
There's an abolitionist movement in England.
Do you know about it?
I've heard of it.
If it takes root,
the King will sign an act of abolition
which outlaws slavery
and frees Britain's slaves in their colonies,
over 800,000 of them.
But that's not nearly the number in America
who may not be free,
not for 85 more years,
who continue to be enslaved and suffer and die.
It's the Revolution which allows slavery
to flourish here unchecked
and then leads to another bloody war...
The Civil War.
W-what did you say, madam?
You're talking about
the North and South.
Sherman's March. Gettysburg.
Abraham Lincoln.
You're a time traveler.
1945
and 1968.
First time was an accident.
Second wasn't.
1968?
This can't be a coincidence.
You're here to help me.
You must be.
I can assure you, I'm not.
But surely you understand what I'm trying to do.
Racism, segregation, the Jim Crow laws,
the-the reverberations of slavery,
it could all go away.
How?
It-It's actually quite simple.
If the Patriots don't win,
then the American colonies remain under British law.
Their existing slaves will all go free.
The Civil War won't happen, can't happen.
That alone will save the lives of over 600,000 soldiers
killed on the battlefield.
That seems simple to you?
I have pinpointed several persons
whose actions will affect the trajectory of this war.
But Harold Grey is the key.
If I don't stop him, after a brief stay here,
he'll return to England and give a speech
to the House of Lords insisting that the expense will be
disproportionate to any benefit
in retaining Britain's colonies.
Lord North will abandon the war,
Britain will lose, and slavery will continue here unabated.
But if Harold Grey is key,
then why not just kill him?
I don't need him dead.
I need him to reverse his position.
If I kill him,
someone else will give the speech he intends to give.
I need him to deliver a different speech,
one that convinces Britain to stay in the war and win.
Lord John Grey is my leverage.
You can't win a war that has already been lost.
I understand your urge
to try and change the course of history.
I- I...
I admire it.
The past leaves a lot to be desired.
But it won't work.
Christ.
You've tried, haven't you?
Yes.
When? What war?
Culloden.
The one that ended the Highland clans
and destroyed their way of life,
the one that saw 1,300 souls die
in under an hour.
We tried to stop it, my husband and I.
Just because you failed, it doesn't mean...
Alamance.
You tried twice?
No matter what side we fight on,
no matter how hard we fight,
what has happened before always happens again.
So you've stopped trying, have you?
You've given up trying to change history?
You haven't, have you?
I can see it in your face.
I try to change my own history.
But changing your history can change everyone's.
Don't tell me you haven't ruined lives,
taken lives, even.
You're right.
I have.
But I have also saved lives.
You know, maybe I'm not here to change history,
but maybe I'm here to be a part of history.
You know, when I first touched those stones,
it wasn't a choice.
I didn't try to come here, but I did.
And I don't know if it was- if it was fate
or destiny or God.
But what I do know is that I'm supposed to be here,
is that I am meant to be here.
This is my time.
Well, I believe I'm meant to be here too.
I'm meant to be doing what I'm doing.
What if it's the universe
correcting a mistake, righting a wrong?
But who are we to say?
What is this ability we have for
except to try and make the world a better place?
Let me go.
Let me do what I believe is my part in history.
Give me your word.
Give me your word
that you won't harm anyone again,
and I'll let you go try.
I give you my word.
You won't regret this.
That was for William.
If I had another shot, I'd put one in you for me
and another for Hal too.
For a moment, I'd seen in Richardson's eyes
what I'd carried in my heart, the desperate hope
that somehow I could write a new chapter
in Jamie's story.
But as the life ebbed from his body,
my foolish dream died with him,
reaffirming that history writes itself.
Thank you, both of you,
for saving my life and my reputation.
For the sake of our history,
I couldna let ye die at the hands of that bastard.
And I have decided,
to forgive you for what happened.
We need never speak of it again.
What did you just say?
You forgive me?
Aye.
Be assured that while I thank you, sir,
for today's good deed, I do not forgive you.
I do not forgive your pigheaded treatment of me
for the past two years!
Pride goeth before the fall.
Dinna quote the Bible at me, Claire.
No?
Then look at me.
Tell me you don't love that man,
and I'll never say his name again.
Damn it, woman.
Ye ken it's a Fraser family trait
to be as stubborn as a mule.
My grandsire was said to have never
apologized once in his life.
The one beheaded at Tower Hill?
Aye.
Perhaps he should have tried being a bit more conciliatory.
When you lay wi' Claire,
you said you were both fucking me,
that it was me you were reachin' for.
That felt like a betrayal of our friendship.
What happened with Claire, that was-
that was born out of grief.
Then I said what I said, trying to explain something
that was impossible to explain.
I never meant to hurt you, Jamie, but you,
you nearly beat me to death for it,
and might have if those soldiers hadn't come along.
And if you're not able to forgive me
after everything I've done for this friendship,
then perhaps there is no friendship.
I have wronged ye, John.
And...
I am sorry.
My pride...
kept me from seeing clearly.
Ye've done more for me than I can ever repay.
When you and William embraced at the boathouse,
I saw the love between ye.
I had the making of him until he was six,
but I ken well who shaped him after that.
You made him the man he is.
And I ken well what ye had to sacrifice to do it.
I have sacrificed many things.
But raising William was never one of them.
He's the greatest gift of my life.
And I thank you for him.
No.
No, thank you, John.
But, uh...
you deserve better.
What more can I do? Tell me.
My honor must be restored.
You owe me that.
Aye. Ye owe me a beating.
When last we played, you thrashed me soundly.
I would like to claim my revenge.
Shall we?
Enjoying the quiet?
Your fathers are having a much needed conversation.
I'll never get used to that.
You don't even realize how much you are like both of them.
Did you know that Brianna had two fathers?
She told me.
Her husband, he had two fathers.
Swiftest of Lizards, Young Ian's son,
he has two fathers.
And I, technically, had two fathers.
I only knew my real father, Henry,
until I was five years old.
And I hardly remember him.
But his brother, Uncle Lam, raised me.
So many people in your life now
were raised by a village.
And if I do say so myself, we're doing just fine.
It's still strange.
I feel like I've been caught between them,
like I'm a rope in a tug-of-war.
They both just want what's best for you,
which means they will fight for you
with everything they have.
But how can I love both of them without betraying the other?
William,
love isn't a betrayal.
It's a gift.
You love them for who they are,
just as they love you for who you are.
But who am I really?
Fraser? Grey?
You're their son.
That's all you have to be.
I'm happy I was able to meet James Fraser.
He's an impressive man.
He is.
So you've forgiven him and your father, I suppose,
for keeping the truth from you?
I've learned that forgiveness is seldom a single act.
You have to keep doing it.
Do you think that perhaps,
maybe with time,
you can forgive me?
I understand why you did it.
You had to protect Trevor.
A few months ago, everything seemed clear,
black and white.
Now I see the shades of gray.
Does this mean that you might reconsider our future?
I'm afraid there's no future for us.
But you protected me, even after I lied to you.
You must love me, William.
You wouldn't want me to lie to you, would you?
I wish you well.
And I hope you find love and happiness.
We returned to the Ridge
after Jamie reconciled with Lord John and William.
But even as we brought in the harvest,
I couldn't stop myself from counting the days
we had remaining.
What history had written about Jamie's fate
at Kings Mountain haunted me.
But at little Davy's first defiant cry,
I was reminded that Jamie and I had been
rebelling against time itself from the very beginning.
How's my newest grandson?
He's grand.
Oh, I'm so glad you and Mama got back in time for the birth.
I was terrified of going through it without her
and you.
'Twas an honor welcoming David William Ian
Fraser MacKenzie into the world.
What is it?
Ye ken I fight at Kings Mountain.
Something Frank wrote in his book.
You're not coming back, are you?
He says I will be killed there.
Well, if-
if that's what it says,
just don't go to Kings Mountain.
I have to, mo nighean.
No, you don't.
Not only to protect our home, our lands,
though that alone would be worth it.
But if Frank is right, then this battle could be
the one to end the war in the backcountry.
If we win, and he says we will, then we need no longer fear.
No longer fear?
What I fear is losing you,
is Jem and Mandy and Davy growing up
without their grandfather
and losing all of those years that I lost with you.
Da, I-I finally have you in my life, and I-
I can't imagine it without you.
Please, please don't go.
Maybe Daddy wrote this for you so you'd stay home
if you knew what would happen.
Aye.
Aye, the man had no cause to love me.
But he loved you.
And he knew one thing about me, same thing I kent about him-
that we would protect you with our lives.
But I know the only way to truly protect you
and everyone I love...
is to fight.
John.
Didn't expect to see you...
Alive?
You can't be serious.
I've never been more serious in my life.
You betrayed us, Percy.
You betrayed me.
For that, you must answer.
Please, John.
You know I had no choice.
He threatened to kill me.
And yet here you are, alive and well.
Richardson, however, is not.
I didn't mean for it to come to this.
You must believe me.
There is another option.
You sign this affidavit confessing to the scheme
to malign my character, extortion,
and kidnapping.
You will let the law decide your fate.
But Richardson is dead.
There's no threat to you now.
I can't take that chance.
There very well could be copies that exist.
If the confessions do resurface,
the affidavit will render them null and void.
And if I refuse?
It will be your signature on that paper or your blood.
Either way, you will pay for your treachery.
What will happen if I sign this?
I will give it to the authorities.
Someone will come for you, and you will be arraigned.
Your crimes will be laid bare
and justice will be served.
You will live, likely in prison,
until your death.
I never wanted to hurt you.
Make your choice.
Will you ever forgive me, John?
May God have mercy on your soul.
What're ye doin' hidin' up here in the middle of the day?
Looking for some peace.
Doesna look as though ye're writin'
in your medical journal.
No monstrous drawings or pictures of wee beasties.
No.
What are ye doin'?
"People disappear all the time.
"Young girls run away from home.
"Children stray from their parents
"and are never seen again.
"Most are found, eventually.
"Disappearances, after all,
"have explanations.
Usually."
It's a hell of a beginnin'.
You're writing your story?
No.
I'm writing our story.
Fraser!
The time has come, Fraser.
Ferguson's on the march into North Carolina.
Gather your men, all you can get.
We muster with the rest of the Overmountain men
at Sycamore Shoals in two days' time.
You owe me, Fraser.
You said so yourself.
Cleveland's words echoed
like a death knell across the Ridge.
The battle I'd so dreaded now cast its shadow before us.
And though I had conquered time itself,
I stood powerless as it marched my beloved
towards a fate I could not change.
*CREDITS*