This was an especially hard episode to watch, as it focused on the children. My eyes watered, and before long I couldn't hold back the tears.
On the plantation, the scene opens up with Sam and Ernestine preparing James to go out into the fields. He's picking cotton with his little hands, which eventually becomes bloodied despite the salve Sam tells him to put on his hands every hour. The first day is especially hard, with him not wanting to drink the water, cutting eyes at the overseer (who won't take his eyes off of him), and not making weight. Before he goes up to have his cotton weighed, Sam switches bags with him. So he's able to make weight, but Sam gets lashes for being under. Pretending to sleep, James listens to Sam and Ernestine talk as she tends to Sam's wounds. Sam tells her James isn't drinking the water, because he's used to the clean water in the big house. He tells her James is cutting eyes at the overseer, and that he's probably not going to make weight the next time. He asks her why Tom sent James to the field after telling him he would be sending James to work with him in the shop (Ernestine says it's because of the reverend), and then he asks her if she can do something to help James get out of the field (I assume he meant either talking to or sleeping with Tom). Ernestine tells Sam James is so small she can't see him from the porch, and that Sam looks like his father when he's out there. To which Sam tells Ernestine what happened to his father won't happen to them. She also tells Sam not to switch bags with James again, noting he can't be soft after earlier saying it's her fault he doesn't know he's a slave (Sam says it's Tom's fault). After overhearing this, James goes out the next day singing the song his mom taught him the day before to stay on tempo and pace, and drinks the water. He ends up making weight, but later he pours out some dirt from his bag that probably helped him make weight. In a conversation with Sam, he tells Sam their mom brought him some food. When Sam asks if he told her he made weight, he says yes. He says she said she was proud of him but looked sad. Then he says he thought they didn't want him to be soft.
When T.R. sees James at the weigh-in, he always yells out to James, as if they are still friends, and James looks at him and forces a wave. While running around the house, T.R. accidentally runs into the reverend, who tells him he's too old to be playing with toys and offers to take him to the stable to ride a real horse. Out at the stable, T.R. sees a slave whipping a horse and asks his father why the horse is being whipped. He's told the horse is being whipped to train him so they can ride him like the one T.R. is sitting on. When he says it looks like it's hurting him, the reverend tells him it's a "her" and goes on to say why it's more worthwhile to train the women so they can train up the others, and that if it starts at a young age you can get them to do whatever you want...all the while looking at Ernestine! Tom then decides to teach T.R. about running the plantation and how it will be his one day. He takes him to the weigh-in, where T.R. does another awkward greeting exchange with James, and then his father tells him to look as far as he can to his right, left, and in between. He tells him all that will be owned by him someday. T.R. asks if it includes the slaves, and Tom tells him it does.
Back in Tom's office, Sam comes to speak with Tom. Tom tells him he's teaching T.R. about the operations of the plantation, so he can say whatever he has to say in front of him. Sam comments on how nice Tom's desk looks in his office, and Tom agrees recalling Sam made the desk. Sam then mentions that that was the first time Tom paid him, and that Tom told him to save his money. He goes on to say Tom even mentioned he might be able to buy his freedom one day, placing his jar of saved money on the desk, noting it's at least $100. Tom tells him he's worth at least 5 of those jars and it would be an unwise business decision to let go of his best slave, to which Sam says he was not being clear. He said he wants to buy James' freedom. Tom tells him James is just a boy and asks what would he do without a family. Sam offers up having James stay with him, noting others who have paid him for his work and the possibility of him working in the city part-time. Tom is pretty much not hearing it, and just says he'll move James into the shop with him, and Sam takes his money back.
Later that night, T.R. goes to visit James in the field, and witnesses Sam running off. Inside James living quarters, T.R. tells James his father told him he can't see James anymore, Then he adds that his father also told him he would own everything one day, and that means he can do whatever he wants like his dad does. He tells James he'll make things better. James asks him if he thinks so and asks how long he'll think it'll take after T.R. says it may take some time. T.R. says ten years maybe more. He then reminds James that they promised to share everything and offered James half of his candy. James told him he didn't want his candy and then turned back towards his bed to tend to his bag for the cotton. So T.R. leaves, and James cries a little after T.R. leaves. T.R. then goes to his father to tell him he saw Sam running away!
While all of this is happening on the plantation, August and Ben are at the hospital where August's wife was before she ran away. Ben waits outside the office while August speaks with the doctor and overhears that his mother underwent a lobotomy! The doctor said she was violent at first, but more recently had become very calm and quiet, to which August said she was planning her escape. Having heard enough, and hearing the screams from below, Ben storms into the office demanding to see his mother's room. The doctor tried to prevent him from seeing it, but Ben grabbed the keys and ran down to see the room. In the room he found his mom had been writing songs she taught him all over the wall, which he told his father when he came down. His father was upset by the living conditions, a cell with a small mattress, despite all the money he'd been sending the hospital. Ben laid on the mattress and looked out the window, and then he proclaimed they needed go to the woods straight ahead to find her, noting that's the stage. He found her first with his lantern, but he saw her singing and looking almost like an angel. Until his father came, and told him to watch out, and went towards her. Then Ben saw how she really looked, lost, dirty, and out of it. She was singing though, and August began to sing with her. She realized it was him, and said his name, then they sang together as he guided her back to the hospital. As Ben sat with his mother outside the office, he asked if she remembered him. She said he looks just like his father. When she tried to touch him, Ben moved back. Then he asked if she remembered Jay. She said she did, and so he asked her if Jay ever told her the story of the two wolves. She chuckled and said he did. Then he asked her if his dad was the good wolf or the bad wolf.
Back near the Hawkes' house, while John is out of town, Elizabeth encounters Boo hiding in the trees. She talks to a scared Boo, and says she'll sit there and wait until Boo feels safe enough to come out. But then a man approaches and asks if she's seen a small girl runaway. Elizabeth says she hasn't, and the man says if he finds out she's lying he'll have to get the Marshall. After he leaves, Boo goes with Elizabeth to her house. Elizabeth attempts to bathe Boo, but Boo lets out a yelp when she was approaching the tub full of water. She had a flashback of her father holding her up in water. Throughout the episode she has several flashbacks of her father, including him telling her how God parted the Red Sea to help Moses and the slaves get away, and ultimately a scene where she sees Moses die from what looks like arrows in his back, as she hides in the bushes and men seem to be approaching. Elizabeth wipes her down and puts her in the bed. The next day she puts ribbons in her hair and they prepare to have tea. She asks Boo where she got the yellow ribbon from, and Boo says from Rosalee after the scary man took her mother. Boo asks her why God didn't split the water for her father like he did for Moses at the Red Sea and why God didn't help her mom and dad. She tells Elizabeth the scary man got her mom. Elizabeth asks her who the scary man was, and she tells Elizabeth it's the man Tom sent after them. Elizabeth asks her if her master is Tom Macon, and Boo confirms it is. So now Elizabeth knows this is a slave belonging to her brother in law.
Then, there's a loud banging at the door. Elizabeth hides Boo under the floor, and goes to the door. It's Kyle. He asks her if she's seen the small runaway girl. Elizabeth says she hasn't. Kyle confirms that John is out of town, and then asks her why there are two tea cups out if it's just her. Elizabeth tries to make an excuse, but Kyle confronts her on her lying, saying others already told him they saw her with the runaway. Then he looks down into the floor and sees Boo who let's out a scream. He pulls her out, and then proceeds to tell Elizabeth he doesn't know what John has her involved in but that if she was his he would protect her. He then says he would even hide her secrets, drawing close to her. Getting what he was hinting at, Elizabeth walks over to Boo and tells her she will be right back. And then Elizabeth leaves the room with Kyle. Hours later, Boo goes to find Elizabeth, and finds her sitting in the tub and proceeds to try to comfort her. Yes, that's right...Kyle made Elizabeth sleep with him in exchange for not arresting her and taking Boo away!!
As for Henry, Noah, Cato, and Rosa Lee, they are hiding out with one of the Native Americans, who's mother was a runaway slave. He takes Henry with him as they set up the marker to let the person who will help them get away know how many of them there are. Back at their hide out, the man has to leave, and Henry is left alone. He had mentioned to the man that he probably had several siblings, because he was born on a breeding farm, but that he did not know them and did not have any kin. With the man leaving, he was left alone, as Noah was spending all of his time with Rosalee. So he goes to see Cato, who is hiding something and goes off on Henry telling him not to come try to hang with him because Noah left him for Rosalee. He goes so far as to tell Henry that he wouldn't know anything about being with a woman, because he's a boy. It was sad to see how alone in the world Henry seemed to be in that moment. He went back to the location where they set up the markers, and there were sounds of horses in the background.
He returned to the hideout, and Noah asked him why he didn't tell him he was going so he could have gone with him. Then he told him he got some things to make ink to give Henry a tattoo, because he said he wanted one like Noah. As Noah tattooed him, he began to talk to Henry about thinking of a last name, because last names carry weight like Macon. Henry comes up with Henry Hamilton, and Noah responds, "Henry and Noah Hamilton." Later, Henry goes to the fireside by Rosalee who is cooking. He tells Rosalee she doesn't have to cook for them, and she says she likes to because it reminds her of home. He asks if she means the big house, and she clarifies she means her mother. Then there's a shot, as the bullet hits Henry someone yells out it's a warning shot and begins counting down, as they run into one of the shelters. Initially, I thought maybe the Native American man set them up, but now I'm thinking maybe they followed Henry back to the hideout after he went alone to the markers (explaining the horses that were heard). They couldn't think of how they could get away, because there were so many men. Henry mentioned there was gunpowder in one of the other shelters near the men and with fire they could blow them up. Noah goes out to attempt to get fire to the gunpowder, but is shot and falls. Henry then runs out and grabs the fire and takes it to the gunpowder. He's shot and very close to the explosion he's able to set off!!