‘Outlander’ Season 2, Episode 12 Spoilers: “The Hail Mary” – Claire Uses Medical Background to Care for Alex; Mary’s Connection to Randall Family Revealed?

‘Outlander’ season 2’s episode 12 will find Claire attempting to care for Alex using her medical background as a nurse. Meanwhile, Mary’s connection to the Randall family may finally be revealed.

The synopsis for “The Hail Mary” posted on Carter Matt stated, “As Jamie puts all of his efforts into turning the Jacobite army away from the impending slaughter at Culloden Moor, Claire attempts to comfort the sick Alex Randall.  She is stunned when Alex reveals an outrageous plan to save the mother of his child.”

According to Movie News Guide, Claire (Caitriona Balfe) will find herself caring for sick Alex (Laurence Dobiesz), brother of the notorious Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall (Tobias Menzies). It was reported that Alex is stricken down by a disease that needs immediate attention. Claire would have to use her medical background to help Alex deal with his condition.

The “outrageous plan” stated in the synopsis may have something to do with Mary Hawkins (Rosie Day), who is revealed to be the ancestor of Claire’s modern day husband Frank.

The preceding episode, entitled “Vengeance Is Mine”, also featured the decapitation of main character Duke of Sandringham (Simon Callow) in the hands of Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix). This surprised fans of the original novels authored by Diana Gabaldon since the small screen depiction was different from the books.

Showrunner Ronald D. Moore explained, “In the book, the death of the Duke happened off camera. Murtagh left them and came back with just the head in the bag and presented it to Claire. We just thought that, for TV, that wasn’t going to be dramatically satisfying. You wanted to see it happen.”

He added that they wanted to portray the scene on-camera but at a certain moment that would climax Mary’s plot arc as well. Murtagh killed of Duke of Sandringham after Claire realized that he was responsible for her and Mary’s brutal rape in the streets of France. Claire finally gets a sense of closure for the incident.

According to Variety, Balfe revealed Sandringham’s death was  more of a personal victory for Mary than for her own character. She said, “More for Mary Hawkins than for Claire… It’s always been this very slippery relationship between them anyway, and I think time and time again Claire, against her better instincts, has had to make alliances with him or somehow be involved with him, but I think she’s always known that this man is more devious than he appears, and to find out that he orchestrated that attack, and for his own goddaughter, it disgusts her. But I loved that Mary Hawkins finally gets justice and she gets it by her own hand, and Rosie Day did such an incredible job.”

‘Outlander’ season 2’s episode 12 is scheduled to premiere on Starz on June 25, 2016.