The Christies are convinced Claire is indeed a witch because of her emergency caesarean section, and being the first to find the body. Tom insists that Malva be buried in the middle of nowhere as she was unmarried and pregnant. Jamie insists Malva and her baby boy are given a Christian burial. Many of the Ridge residents believe Claire killed Malva because of jealousy and or witchcraft. Hiram Crombie, the Bugs, and Obadiah Henderson all add fuel to the fanfiction and conspiracy theory fire.
Fraser’s Ridge still doesn’t have an official minister. Roger agrees to officiate Malva’s funeral but he’s also feeling doubts about whether he is the right person to do it. Jamie tells him that Roger’s killing of the man in Brownsville was not murder and he should not feel like he sinned. He’s also worried about the clash between his own feelings as a father and church doctrine on whether unborn children go to heaven. By the end of the episode, he realizes becoming a minister is indeed his calling. He tells Bree that he’s finally found something that’s just as good as how he felt teaching in the 20th Century. There’s enough time for Roger to formally train at the Presbytery in Edenton before Bree’s due date. The Ridge will just have to deal with a Presbyterian minister married to a Catholic.
Malva’s funeral itself starts off somber until Alan refuses to allow Jamie to act as a pallbearer. Ian steps in instead. Claire offers to carry the baby’s casket but then Alan grabs it from her. He blames all of the Frasers for having perfect lives while he is ruined. This is the most we’ve seen from Alan this entire season. Everyone interprets his anger like that of a grieving brother, and Jamie and Claire realize they should leave in order to deescalate the situation.
Lizzie has been exclusively hanging out with the Beardsley twins for quite some time now. It’s very obvious both of them have crushes on Lizzie, and she never managed to pick out which brother she should date. Ian is searching the woods for evidence of Malva’s killer and it’s suspicious that the Beardsley’s are now missing. There is no evidence Josiah and Keziah did more than talk to Malva during Claire’s ether practice in Episode 5 but they might have seen someone or something suspicious.
Lizzie finally reveals first to Ian, and then to Claire, that the brothers have gone missing because they are scared they’re going to get in trouble. Lizzie couldn’t decide which brother to court so she decided to sleep with both of them starting from when she fell ill with malaria earlier in the season. The Ridge was barely able to cope with Malva’s accusations of Jamie being the father of her baby, and they’re definitely not ready to understand Lizzie and the Beardsley’s forming the 18th Century equivalent of a polygamous triad. The episode avoids answering the question of Josiah and Keziah feeling attraction for each other but Lizzie’s description points toward Lizzie having two lovers.
Claire comes from the 1960s, so her main concern is if Lizzie is being mistreated or coerced in any way. Jamie has learned a lot from Claire about the future, but the 18th Century man he’s buried for a while comes back in full force with his reaction. He demands Lizzie picks one brother to be married to with straws. Jamie handfasts Keziah and orders Josiah to leave the Ridge. Jamie’s plan doesn’t quite work out, as Lizzie later asks Roger to perform the handfast ceremony with Josiah. After finding this out, Jamie half-jokingly calls this an “unholy trinity”.
