Does Marsali die in 'Outlander'? Marsali goes into labor with her fourth baby in Season 6, Episode 2 of 'Outlander.' What happens next?
Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 6, Episode 2 of Outlander.
In Season 6, Episode 2 of Outlander, Marsali (Lauren Lyle) goes into labor with her fourth child, Henri-Christian. From very early on, she exhibits signs suggesting that she will have a tougher time giving birth than ever before — leaving Claire (Caitriona Balfe) with no choice but to start brainstorming miracle cures.
First up: seaweed. Next: contemplating the prospect of a C-section. Marsali's at-times unreliable husband, Fergus (César Domboy), arrives just in time to save the day. What happens next? Did Marsali die giving birth?
Season 6, Episode 2 of Outlander casts light on various aspects of 18th-century healthcare and well-being. A period rife with superstition, the 18th century was characterized by the prevalence of customs such as sin eating and the use of midwives.
Take, for instance, a positively blasphemous scene in which Fergus starts to massage his wife's breasts in the hope of inducing labor — before taking things much, much further. (The method doesn't work, a report by Healthline spells out.)
Marsali gives birth to the baby just fine. As they learn, however, Henri-Christian is born with dwarfism — which immediately sets off the alarm bells for his already fickle father, Fergus.
In A Breath of Snow and Ashes, the sixth book in the Outlander series, Diana Gabaldon details a belief that the baby's dwarfism is a form of punishment for his parents' wrongdoings.
Marsali survives the birth. However, Henri-Christian's future is still up in the air. A promo for Season 6, Episode 3 features a scene in which the tiny baby is floating down the river in a wicker basket.
Elsewhere in Season 6, Episode 2, Thomas Christie (Mark Lewis Jones) tells Claire that his hand injury is an act of God — and as such, it can't be remedied.
In a previous episode, Thomas Christie suffers a horrific accident. Claire successfully fixes one of his hands, but he is hesitant to undergo an operation on his other hand. Thomas Christie changes his mind toward the end of Season 6, Episode 2.
Marsali and Fergus tied the knot in Season 3, Episode 11 of Outlander, during a cruise to the Caribbean. They welcomed their first kid, Germain, soon after the wedding. Their second, a daughter named Joan, followed shortly after.
Marsali gave birth to her third baby in Season 5, Episode 9 of Outlander. The pace with which Marsali and Fergus have been expanding their lively family has garnered a few curious comments over the years.
"How quickly were Fergus and Marsali pushing out kids because I blinked and suddenly Marsali's giving birth to her third in the forest," tweeted @zombief1ed.
"And Marsali is pregnant again ... or is this the same pregnancy from the end of Season 5?" tweeted @urbanoutlander.
Catch new episodes of Outlander every Sunday at 9 p.m. EST on Starz.
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