Underground Recap: Rosalee and Noah Get Revenge + Cato Gets Closer to Harriet

Daniel is severely punished.

Daniel was caught teaching other slaves how to read and had his eyes damaged by his overseers. He now struggles to do his masonry work and appears to be blind.

Cato dangles Harriet Tubman in Patty Cannon’s face.

Next, we see Cato meeting with his captor Patty. He shows her the notes from Donahue’s book, and she becomes angry after Donahue points out that Patty’s career will mean very little if she doesn’t capture Harriet Tubman.

“Her trigger finger was shaky, as pierced by a single question… why haven’t I caught Harriet Tubman?”

Cato informs her that there is a “map” of the Underground Railroad, which is the song from the Macon 7 used to escape in the first season. Cato then teaches her the song and the show’s theme song makes its return.

Rose’s little brother James seem to enjoy his newfound “freedom.”

James is shown getting dressed by the other slaves on Christmas. He then walks into a room in the big house where he sees Rosalie struggling to be fitted into her old house dress, due to being pregnant. Another house slave is trying to tighten a corset over Rosalie’s belly, as she stares menacingly into James’ eyes.

Ernestine is captured by August and the other slave catcher as she tried to escape. They are seen rowing her down a river with her hands bound. Ernestine asks “What [Patty] want with me?” The two reveal that Patty captured her to help find Rose.

Georgia and Elizabeth reunite.

Elizabeth greets Georgia at a food drive she’s overseeing and Elizabeth says that hearing Harriet speak was “life changing.”

Georgia tells Elizabeth that Harriet returned for money to help with Noah and Rosalie’s return trip. However, their donations are drying up as rumors about Georgia’s past as a slave swirl. It’s also becoming harder to keep the boarding house afloat with the money running low. They are interrupted by an old friend of Elizabeth, Laney, who came back from India. She gives Georgia a condescending look when she asks for a donation at the food drive. Laney tells Georgia that she can’t spend any money without her husband’s permission. She then asks Elizabeth for tea in the future; “just the two of us,” she asks before walking away.

Noah learns of James’ betrayal.

Noah sneaks behind and captures Corra while in the barn they reunited in. He demands to know who she told about his and Rosalie’s return.

“Who did you tell,” he demands as his hand covers her mouth. “You was the only one that knew.”

Corra yells out, “James!” Noah asks for more information as he now holding her by the throat. As she struggles, she manages to yell, “He hates y’all!”

“You blaming me, when y’all changed the plan.” When she asks Noah if he knew about Rosalie being pregnant, he stood silent.

Noah reveals a new plan in which he needs to get the mistress captured, in order to get Rosalie freed. “We take the big house, we can walk out the front door.”

James enjoys Christmas morning.

James pulls the gift from the mistress from under the Christmas Tree, which is a saddle. She tells James, “It will be perfect for your new pony.” Rosalie and James share eye contact again, and James appears to be uncomfortable. Once the mistress sees this, she stops playing her piano and then slaps the house slave that got Rosalie dressed multiple times.

She then tells Rosalie to go to the cook house and eat. “I want my property nice and healthy.”

Elizabeth receives encouragement from Harriet.

Elizabeth tells Harriet she is frustrated with asking others for money and not receiving it. Harriet then tells a story of how she went to New York City to ask an abolitionist for money. She mentions it was a struggle but, “with the Lord on our side, they must do their part.”

After the abolitionist told her he couldn’t donate any money to the cause, she continued to sit in his office for days as others quietly placed money in her pockets to support the cause.

Noah and Cora work on their plan.

Corra reminds Noah of the “tradition” of select slaves selected to spend time in the Big House for Christmas. They need to find someone they can trust who will be down for the rescue of Rosalee.

They spy on a group of prospects, but Noah still isn’t sure he can trust anyone, especially since James betrayed Rosalee.

Ernestine appears to bond with August.

As they are under fire from slave catchers from the plantation from which Ernestine escaped, Ernestine jumps out of the boat while August and the other slave catcher hired by Patty, Smoke, are too distracted to pay attention.  They are able to catch her and August and his partner find out that Ernestine is addicted to inhaling opiates. “It seems August ain’t the only one with a vice. It’s like I’m with a doggone Church Revival,” says Smoke.

Later, all three of them are dredging through the swamp northward. Ernestine asks what happened to Rosalie (she now knows that Patty is looking for Rose), but no answer is given. However, August and his partner see that Ernestine had been attempting to lay a trail for her Master’s slave catchers to find them.

That evening, they all set up camp and sit by the campfire. Ernestine starts speaking regretfully into the firelight about her sons.

August tells Ernestine that he “had her in his hands,” however, she hurt his son. He then shares his drink with Ernestine. “They’ll always be our babies,” say Ernestine.

Later in the night, Ernestine escaped into the forest with dense fog as her cover after asking for permission to relieve herself. Smoke catches up to her and a struggle ensues. August ends up killing Smole in the fight and recovers Ernestine.

He notices that her shoulder is dislocated and painfully pops it back into place after he gives her the opiates to inhale.

Noah confronts James.

Noah tells James that Rosalee is pregnant. “I just found out I am going to be a father, meaning you gonna be an uncle.” He then tells James that Rosalie will still try to escape with him and he needs to join them.

Elizabeth and Georgia steal funds from a church.

Harriet reveals a plan to steal money from a church. They have a woman release snakes into the sanctuary, which will scare the churchgoers. As this happens, Elizabeth and another woman run out with the church offerings. When confronted by the Priest, Georgia pulls out a long gun and convinces him to go back inside and mind his business.

T.R. is checked by James.

T.R. confronts Rosalee in their Father’s study as she is searching for a trap door. When T.R. is angered by Rosalie, he calls another slave into the room to slap her, but Rosalie stops this. Then James comes into the room and shuts everything down, threatening to tell the Mistress that T.R. is showing out.

T.R. walks away, leaving James and Rosalee in the room alone.

James is angry that Rosalee returned and tells her that he saw Noah and was told the plan. However, he tells Rosalee, “I ain’t leaving. This is my family now,” and then exits.

Georgia, Elizabeth and Harriet have a celebratory Christmas dinner.

Georgia, Elizabeth and Harriet sit down for Christmas dinner. Georgia tells them that the money is enough for train tickets to get Noah and Rosalee home.

Noah gets even with Bill.

“I’m not leaving this plantation with you still breathing,”  Noah tells Bill.

After a brief struggle, Noah manages to strangle the overseer with the whip used on the slaves, until he dies.

Elizabeth blackmails Laney.

Elizabeth goes to her Laney’s house to ask for a donation. After she tells Elizabeth she will not donate to a cause Georgia is involved in, Elizabeth demands money every month from her or else she will tell her husband the times she cheated on him with numerous other men.

Rosalee burns down her past.

Noah comes into the dining room with a gun and demands James, the Mistress and Rosalee leave.

In a flashback scene, he says, “you can’t trust anyone,” as it is revealed that he decided that he couldn’t trust any of the slaves to carry out the plan.

Rosalee strikes James upside the head with a serving plate so he can be carried away from the house against his will.

As Noah and Rosalee brings James and the Mistress outside, T.R. aims a riffle at Noah and Rosalie. An ensuing gunfight leaves T.R. shot in the knee and the Mistress shot in the shoulder. After the Mistress brags that her men will find them and bring them back, Rosalee burns down the plantation.

Cato gets closer to Harriet.

Cato used the song lyrics to end up at Harriet and Georgia’s hideout. This means Cato led Patty right to the abolitionists in Ohio.

 

What are your thoughts on the episode?