The opening credits for Outlander Season 7 Episode 7 “A Practical Guide for Time-Travelers” lingers on a Tufty Club badge that’s being pinned on young Jeremiah “Jem” MacKenzie’s (Blake Johnston Miller) tartan scarf. By the end of the episode, this seemingly innocuous bit of flare is deathly important.
**Spoilers for Outlander Season 7 Episode 7 “A Practical Guide for Time-Travelers” now streaming on Starz**
Over the course of three episodes, new character Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) has morphed from misogynistic dam worker to curious Gaelic student to straight up kidnapper. In this week’s episode of the Starz hit, Rob Cameron tricks Roger (Richard Rankin) and Brianna (Sophie Skelton) into letting them think Jem’s invited to a movie and a sleepover with Rob’s nephew when in fact, Rob seems to have figured out the family’s secret: they’re time travelers. When Roger realizes that Rob has kidnapped Jem, he and new Nuckelavee bestie Buck MacKenzie (Diarmaid Murtagh) rush to the famous Craigh Na Dun stones. Roger is terrified to recall that he added a note in his “Practical Guide for Time-Travelers” that Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek) believed that blood sacrifice was necessary to move through time via the stones. This horror is compounded when the only thing he and Buck find at Craigh Na Dun is Jemmy’s scarf with the Tufty Club pin.
So Rob Cameron is a new Outlander villain and Jem’s life is in danger, but what you might be wondering is what the heck the Tufty Club even is. So what is the Tufty Club? And how is Jem’s little Easter egg a callback to Outlander Season 5?Like we’ve seen him in another swoon-y period drama? Here’s what you need to know about Tufty Fluffytail, the historic Tufty Club, and Roger’s enduring love of all things Tufty on Outlander…
What is the Tufty Club? The True Meaning Behind Jem’s New Pin on Outlander
The Tufty Club was created in 1961 to capitalize on the popularity of a road safety mascot named Tufty Fluffytail. Tufty was created by Elsie Mills in 1953 for The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. He was a squirrel who taught children the safe way to cross the street and other bits of road safety. The great Bernard Cribbens, who would go on to play Wilfred Mott in Doctor Who, voiced Tufty in various television spots over the years.
The Tufty Club’s heyday was in the 1960s and 1970s, but it continued to be a thing well into the ’80s. At one point in the early ’70s, two million British children were members. So, yes, Jem probably would have been a member in rural Scotland in the early ’80s. More importantly, Roger definitely grew up with Tufty Fluffytail in the ’60s. And Outlander fans already knew this as he name-dropped Tufty all the way back in Outlander Season 5…
When Was the First Time Outlander Mentioned The Tufty Club? All the Way Back in Season 5…
The first time Outlander ever introduced viewers to the Tufty Club was all the way back in Outlander Season 5 Episode 2 “Between Two Fires.” Newlyweds Roger and Brianna are hunting in colonial America when Roger complains about how unnatural it is for him to hunt squirrels (in a scene you can see if you click through the tweet above).
“The whole thing goes against nature, Bri. It’s like shooting at Tufty Fluffytail,” Roger says.
“Um…at what?” the Boston-bred Brianna asks.
“You’ve never heard of Tufty Fluffytail?” Roger asks. “Should have known that reference’d be lost on my American wife.”
“Tufty is a squirrel who teaches children about road safety. Sort of like your Smokey the Bear. Sort of. But there are clubs.”
“Wow. Sounds exciting,” Bri says sarcastically. “But I think I’d rather be in the militia.”
So, yes, Outlander has explained The Tufty Club to us before, but it was two seasons and two centuries ago.
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