We get some more time with Christie in “Temperance.” After being put out he had to wait for Claire while she was attending to her grandson who almost drowned, the preacher declares he wants the hand surgery so he can start beating his daughter again.

Christie won’t use Claire’s “devil potions” for the surgery, however. Who needs ether after all when you can pray? This leads to a humorous scene of Christie yelping in pain while he and Jamie read from the scripture.

Christie makes it through, and Claire has him spend the night for observation. The two have a long and awkward scene at night about his hand, among other things. It’s clear that Christie respects Claire on some level, but then Claire goes and does “witchy” things like talk to the cat when she’s feeding it or reading novels he thinks are trash.

“Is Tom afraid of women or is he just afraid of sinning?” Claire asks Jamie later, remarking how Christie didn’t even want Claire to touch him when she was examining his wound. Jamie bafflingly replies by saying that sometimes men got it on in Ardsmiur because they were lonely, but that Christie never partook. (The conversation also sets up that Tom might not be Malva’s biological father, which may explain why he seems fine with his wife burning in the pits of hell.)

Christie is still with the Frasers this episode — he apologizes to Claire at one point and stands with the Frasers when an elderly couple calls Christian an abomination. We also see him, however, back at beating his daughter, so it’s clear he’s still terrible, and it’s clear he might be wavering in standing with Claire and Jamie.