Warning: This article contains spoilers about Sunday’s episode of Outlander.
If adopting Jamie’s love child as his own son wasn’t enough, Jamie now wants Lord John to help cover up the fact that he’s decided to throw his lot in with the rebels in the American Revolution. After trying to suss out Jamie’s loyalties (the man is good at playing both sides!), Lord John gets Jamie to admit that he will be attending the Sons of Liberty meeting not as a spy, but as a supporter of the cause.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: In the beginning of this episode, the powers that be are sending Lord John to ascertain where Jamie’s loyalties lie. Do we think in this moment that Lord John is very certain that Jamie is loyal to the crown, or is he just saying that for the benefit of the folks he’s talking to?
DAVID BERRY: I’m very pleased at your question because I thought I played it quite obviously that he was a bit ambivalent about Jamie’s allegiances there. In that moment, his mind is going like, how do I protect this man? Does he deserve my protection? Of course he does, because I love him.
He does point out that Jamie asking him to delay the soldier’s raid on this meeting is a big ask, intimating that he might not be able to do it. But is there any part of him that seriously would not try to do that once Jamie asked?
In those words, the subtext is not about the soldiers. You’ve hurt me is basically the subtext. You’re asking a lot of me again. I’ll do it for you. But this is almost too much. I’m telling you here that you better not ask any more of me because I’m not willing to give it. This is him sort of asserting his boundary at that point. And he acquiescences to a degree, but he doesn’t give Jamie a full concession. He says, “I’ll delay them.” He doesn’t say, “I’ll call them off.” And he won’t because, on a personal level, he’s hurt by Jamie. It’s like, you’ve betrayed our friendship. I’m going to save you this time, but I’m not [going to go that far]. He’s trying to be as equivocal as possible.
But he follows it up with, “Be careful.” He just can’t help himself. He’s so hurt in that moment that he’s like, “Okay, you’re asking a lot of me, I’ll delay them.” And he’s saying, “Well, here’s this guy, he doesn’t care about his own welfare or my friendship to him,” but because he loves him, Lord John can’t help himself and says, “Jamie, be careful.” There’s a lot of partings and goodbyes in every Jamie and John scene. That’s something that I put a lot of effort into concentrating on, because the subtext every time Lord John says goodbye is he wants to say, “Goodbye, and I love you.” But of course he can’t say that. And that’s always the parting message that Lord John wants to give Jamie, no matter what the circumstances are surrounding that goodbye.
