Some fans may resent the episode’s focus on Fergus but there are also scenes that develop the other characters in a way previous episodes didn’t always offer. We see grandpa Jaime lovingly correct Germain so he can be a good big brother. Brianna helps Marsali endure. Roger offers spiritual and practical assistance to Ridge residents. This is a good thing for Season 6 as its clear either the writers are learning from past critiques or that new writers are taking a different approach to storytelling. 

Marsali understands some of the pain Fergus is going through but she can’t understand why Fergus is choosing to drink instead of being there for her and the children. She tells Fergus she poisoned Lionel Brown because he wasn’t there to defend her. Marsali’s decision to kick Fergus out until he can stay sober isn’t about scorekeeping, it’s about making sure she doesn’t go through again what she saw with her alcoholic father. This boundary setting also strikes a nerve with Fergus as his child is once again forcing him to confront his own disability. 

Although Jamie and Claire help try to help Fergus, a lot of their attention in this episode is turned to Tom Christie. He finally agrees to the hand surgery. He refuses the ether, and instead Jamie reads Bible verses to him. Tom also still has issues with Claire’s medical authority. Meanwhile, Malva is spying outside instead of helping Claire or her father. She runs into Ian more than once during the episode and their interaction is somehow flirty and creepy at the same time. Claire keeps Tom overnight to make sure there are no side effects from the surgery. She wants to take ether after the conversation about the punishment for Henri-Christian’s bullies triggers a memory about Lionel Brown but Christie’s complaints of pain and a fever prevent her from doing so.

While Claire is checking his wound, Tom quotes St. Paul to justify his misogyny but Jamie reveals later on this is likely a trauma response from their ordeal in Ardsmuir. Through these conversations, it’s revealed that the discrepancy between Malva’s birth and Tom’s release from Ardsmuir may explain the abusive family dynamic and also why Malva’s mom was convicted of witchcraft. Even though Tom eventually apologizes to Claire for being a jerk during the surgery, he slips back into his old ways by calling the novel Tom Jones ”filth” instead of being glad Claire gave him something to distract him from the pain.  

Usually, Quarter Day or the day Jamie collects rent from Ridge residents is a happy day. For Fergus, it’s a nightmare as Mrs. MacGregor calls Henri-Christian “grotesque” and scolds him for being publically drunk. Tom tells Mrs. MacGregor to be nice, but also has a tone of condescension to it. Fergus walks off and Jamie finds him attempting suicide with a knife. Fergus’ actions in the last two episodes clearly were building up to this moment. It doesn’t feel added for extra dramatic value but the culmination of months of severe depression. Jamie patches up the wound while talking him out of his alcohol-fueled depressive episode. Later on, Claire and Jamie walk Fergus back home to Marsali signaling his renewed commitment to sobriety and better mental health.  

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