Over the past two or three seasons, the character of Roger MacKenzie has become somewhat central to the narrative of the hit STARZ historical romance Outlander as the fresh couple of Roger and Brianna took up much of the screentime.
Roger is one of the more layered characters on the show and has been portrayed effectively by Scottish actor Richard Rankin. Roger is one of the time travelers in the series that has gone on to show a few others who could slip through time, besides Claire herself, over the years. Here are a few details about him that might have escaped notice.
Nicknamed ‘Dogface’ By the Mohawk
Fans know that when Roger was mistaken for being Brianna’s rapist, he was sold off by Young Ian and Jamie to the Mohawk. The Mohawk kept him captive for months until finally he was rescued by Jamie, Claire, and Young Ian who sacrificed himself for Bree and Roger’s sake.
What some might not have noticed is that during the time that Roger was with the Mohawk, the latter had a name for him which when translated into English meant something akin to ‘dogface’.
Roger’s Controversial Nature Could Be Reminiscent Of Dougal MacKenzie
Roger Wakefield MacKenzie might be one of the primary characters in the popular romantic fantasy at present but none would disagree that he has a rather controversial nature.
Roger was initially depicted as a good-humored, adorable young man but soon went on to behave erratically, such as when he hesitated to return to Bree after finding out about the sexual violence she had suffered. It’s possible that Roger, being a direct descendant of the dicey, quick-tempered Dougal MacKenzie, exhibits the same flashes of conflict and moral dubiousness at times, although at the end of the day he is devoted to what he loves or believes in.
He Met Geillis In The 20th Century
Roger MacKenzie has been one of the most unique examples of the quintessential time loop, and the mysterious ways that time travel works in the Outlander universe.
In a fascinating turn of events, Roger met Gillian Edgars in Scotland who then traveled 200 years into the past, became Geillis Duncan, and gave birth to Roger’s direct ancestor, William MacKenzie.
He Doesn’t Know He’d Met Other Ancestors Along The Way
Curiously, and this might be a fact that escaped notice in season 5, Roger also met other ancestors of his while traveling to find Brianna in the 18th century. He came across Morag MacKenzie who was traveling with her little son Jeremiah while traveling in The Gloriana.
Even more interestingly, he was confronted by the grown-up William ‘Buck’ MacKenzie, Dougal and Geillis’s illegitimate son, when he went to warn Murtagh to keep a low-profile during the Battle of Alamance. Fans were in for a lovely surprise when Graham McTavish who played Dougal appeared briefly as the much younger but aggressive ‘Buck’ MacKenzie. However, Roger as yet is not aware that in ‘Buck’, Morag and little Jeremiah, he had met his own ancestors several generations prior.
Roger Is Very Distantly Related To Brianna
Not many would have realized this but Roger is actually very distantly related to Brianna Fraser from Jamie’s maternal side of the family.
James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser was nephew to Dougal MacKenzie, and Brianna is his daughter, born 200 years into the future, thus making her some sort of great grand-niece to Dougal. On the other hand, Roger is the direct descendant of Dougal himself, making him distantly but definitely related to Brianna somehow.
He Is Thus Also Related To Jamie
By this logic, if he is related to both Dougal and Bree, Roger Mac is also related to Jamie himself. If Roger is Dougal’s descendant, and Jamie was the latter’s nephew, then it translates into Roger being a distant descendant of Jamie too.
At the end of it all, Dougal MacKenzie’s affair with Geillis Duncan determined the fates of Jamie, Brianna as well as Roger as the MacKenzie clan manifested itself in all three, however mildly.
Roger Restarted Bree’s Christmas Ritual
Roger paid Bree a Christmas before Claire left through the stones to pave her own way with Jamie Fraser. At this time, he gifted Brianna a copy of A Christmas Carol.
Bree had told him that her parents, Claire and Frank–who she still considered her father–used to read out this Dickensian classic to her every Christmas. Roger, very sweetly, tried to help Bree reminisce in her own way by jump-starting the ritual once again.
The Plum Pudding Tradition
Young Roger used to have a Christmas tradition of his own. While living with Reverend Wakefield, he would visit the children’s home with toys for the festive season, sing “O Come All Ye Faithful” to entertain the children, and then dig into Mrs. Graham’s delicious plum pudding.
Of course, in season 3, he is shown to be experiencing what he calls an ‘American Christmas’ to start building a new Christmas tradition of his own, although really he wanted to see Brianna all along.
The White Hanky As A Symbol Of Peace
When Roger volunteered to warn Murtagh to stay out of range of the redcoats during the Battle of Alamance, Jamie gave him a white handkerchief, a symbol of peace that he could use in case he was caught by the Regulators who would see him as a hostile.
However, seeing how things transpired and Roger was strung up and almost hanged to death, the hanky clearly was of no use. It is unknown whether Roger actually got the chance to wave it at his adversaries as they would have ganged up on him, but even if he had, obviously it didn’t help at all, and it was the same white hanky tucked away in his pocket that finally helped his saviors identify him.
The Ballad Of Richard Rankin
Roger MacKenzie is something of the local bard for James Fraser of Frasers’ Ridge. He sings beautifully although the running gag is that he is a misfit amidst the plow-wielding farmers of Scotland who are building a new life in the New World.
Some might have missed the fact that actor Richard Rankin who plays Roger is actually a talented singer himself and every time Roger is seen strumming the guitar or singing to his little son, it is really the ballad of Richard Rankin all along.