In the season’s first episode, we saw Jamie (Sam Heughan) take on the position of Indian Agent for the Crown, mainly because he didn’t want Richard Brown (Chris Larkin) in the role instead. We start “Allegiance” with Jamie fulfilling his Indian Agent responsibilities by traveling with Ian (John Bell) to meet with the Cherokee. 

The Cherokee understandably want guns from the Crown and a promise that their land won’t get taken from them by the new settlers. Jamie, however, is conflicted in whether he will convey their request — he knows there’s a revolution coming and that he’ll be fighting against the Redcoats when it does. If he conveys the Cherokee’s desires to his local Redcoat liaison Major Macdonald, the Cherokee may fight against the revolutionaries down the road, something that Jamie wants to prevent.

When Jamie and Ian come back from their trip (after a humorous scene when a bashful Jamie politely refuses the advances of two Cherokee women), Jamie decides not convey the request to Major MacDonald. Ian is upset with the choice — he wants to give the Cherokee all the help they can, especially when Brianna (Sophie Skelton) breaks the news that things don’t turn out so great for the Indians. We also find out at the end of the episode that Ian had a child when he was with the Mohawk. This revelation makes Jamie realize that Ian’s family (or allegiance, if you will) is to both the Frasers and the country’s indigenous people. Since Ian is Jamie’s family, this makes the Indians his family by extension. And so he changes his mind about relaying the Cherokee’s request for guns to the Crown. Is Jamie changing history by doing so? We don’t know yet, although the momentous music that plays when Jamie seals the letter to the Crown suggests he may be.