In the “Send for the Devil” episode of Outlander, it was nice to see that good deeds were rewarded, rather than punished.

Mr. Whittaker (Tomisin Ajani), the father of the twin babies that Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan) helped birth in a previous episode, paid them back by coming to Jamie to warn him about a Machiavellian plan that Captain Charles Cunningham (Kieran Bew) had in the works. Whittaker overheard Cunningham plan to capture Jamie and take him to Captain Ferguson, a member of the King’s army, who would try him for treason and hang him, thus giving Cunningham control of Fraser’s Ridge.

But did he have enough men on his side? Jamie had just taken a trip outside of the Ridge to try to recruit Patriots to his militia since there weren’t enough men on the Ridge. And will his deal with Cleveland mean he will have to fight at King’s Mountain, where he is allegedly killed per Frank Randall’s book?

“As per book, Jamie does have enough men still on his side—he’s the landlord and knows everyone who lives on his land, most of whom also know (and like) him, though some may be swayed toward Cunningham, either because of political beliefs, or doubt as to who might come out on top in a struggle (self-preservation being usually No. 1 when it comes to making this sort of decision),” Outlander creator and bestselling author Diana Gabaldon tells Parade.

Courtesy: STARZ

 “On the other hand, he can’t be sure how many men will follow Cunningham; most folk in those days wouldn’t share their political opinions outside their family and close friends. This is why the Masonic Lodge is important; Masons acknowledge a mutual loyalty, and the gathering [outside of the formal meeting] brings all the men in Lodge [nearly every male of age on the Ridge] into close contact with each other—things can be spread in a very short time. On the other hand, it also means that Cunningham is betraying the brotherhood of the Lodge, which presumably he would only do if he had a real belief in loyalty to the Crown.

“And yes, Jamie’s deal with Cleveland will take him to King’s Mountain. (Thus adding to Jamie’s sense of impending doom).”

One reason that Cunningham has no doubt in moving ahead with his plan is his conviction that he won’t die for seven years, so he should come out of the conflict with no problem. His belief was from a message he had talked about previously at Lodge, saying it was told to him by his son, who died in battle. He seems to truly believe he got a message from the other side.

“Captain Cunningham does indeed believe it,” Gabaldon says. “As per book, Captain Cunningham was a sea captain. The show decided he should be an army man, presumably so they could play up his having fought for the British at the same time Jamie was fighting for the Americans, so, a natural animus.

“The thing is…Cunningham is a sea captain. A man who will take on the sea is a man who will take on anyone else, too. More importantly (for purposes of the book), a sea-captain is used to making his own decisions in the midst of chaos and danger—unlike an army commander who’s always within a day’s ride of Headquarters. (I laid out this description in an online group talking about this issue, and got a reply from a retired rear admiral, saying, “Unsurprisingly, I agree with you.”)

“But he’s also (in the book) described (by himself) as a “Blue Light” captain. A Blue Light captain would be an evangelical Christian, who insists that his crew abide by his principles, i.e., no grog, no swearing, etc.  Ergo, we know (if we have been reading the book…) that Cunningham is a) very tough-minded and independent, and b) has a deep belief in Christianity, including a belief in the afterlife.

“So yes, when his son (apparently drowned) suddenly opens his eyes and tells his father that he’ll see him again in seven years—and then promptly closes his eyes and dies for good—he certainly believes it.

“And as Jamie says to Claire, ‘A man who believes he can’t die is dangerous.’”

Another major story point in Episode 5, albeit one with a little foreshadowing, is when Bree (Sophie Skelton) said to William (Charles Vandervaart) that a lot of his friends were Patriots after they met Denzel Hunter (Joey Phillips) in the Patriots camp. William then saw his cousin Ben (Alex Bhat), who he thought was dead, but Ben was wearing a blue uniform.

Ben is the heir to the title Duke of Pardloe, but now he’s a traitor to the crown. What does that mean for William? When he first saw his cousin, he hugged him, but then he punched him. Plus, William has had carnal knowledge of Ben’s wife, Amaranthus (Carla Woodcock), in that same episode. Should he confess it? That didn’t work out well for Lord John (David Berry).

Courtesy: STARZ

Poor William. He just can’t catch a break where women are concerned.

“Well, William has had relatively little experience with women,” Gabaldon explains. “He had sex (and something emotional going) with Jane [Silvia Presente], but then failed to save her from death, which would probably dampen anyone’s spirit for a bit…

“He has rapport with Rachel [Izzy Meikle-Small], but she’s a) in love with, and b) married to Ian [John Bell].  Fanny [Florrie May Wilkinson] has a crush on him, but she’s much too young for him to consider.

“As to his relations with Ben, he’s outraged: 1) Ben pretending to be dead, thus causing deep sorrow to his family, and 2) having done it to conceal the  fact that he’s changed sides (which is even worse, to a more or less career soldier like William — and Ben’s father and uncle).

“On the other hand, since Ben has (apparently) abandoned his family, what’s going to happen with Amaranthus (for whom William has a strong attraction, evidently reciprocated).  So, he more or less has to go home and tell Lord John (at least) that Ben is alive, and — not being without finer feelings — doesn’t feel he should go on messing with Amaranthus (especially if she already knew about Ben’s not being dead—she does, in the book, but may really not, in the show). “So, if he has to tell Lord John, for reasons of conscience and family loyalty, I don’t think he can reasonably ask Lord John to NOT tell Amaranthus.  (Assuming she didn’t know already, and in fact [per book], she does.)

Outlander will air new episodes each Friday at midnight ET on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms; and at 8 p.m. ET/PT/7 Central on the linear network.