Season 3 is here! My intention is to write an “Insta-Reaction” post for each episode soon after viewing, to share some initial thoughts, questions, reactions — you name it.

Warning:

I may be talking about events from this episode, other episodes, and/or the book series… so if you’d rather not know, now’s your chance to walk away!

Outlander, episode 305: “Freedom & Whisky”

The official synopsis (via Starz):

Brianna grapples with life-changing revelations and Claire must help her come to terms with the fact that she is her father’s daughter. Roger brings news that forces Claire and Brianna to face an impossible choice.

My take:

Major plot points:

This episode is 99% Claire — the focus is on her life in Boston following her return from Scotland, her relationship with Brianna, and the decision she must make about whether to attempt to return to Jamie again.

• Claire is clearly a skilled surgeon, but her professional success and close friendship with Joe Abernathy still don’t fill the hole in her life.
• At a ceremony honoring Frank, Claire is confronted by his long-term mistress. Awkward.
• Roger shows up to experience “an American Christmas”, but also to hand something to Claire — proof that Jamie was alive, living in Edinburgh and working as a printer, only a year before.
• Claire initially rejects Roger’s information, insisting that she can’t leave Brianna. But Brianna convinces Claire that the time has come to find the man she loves.
• Claire heads back to Scotland, through the stones, and ends up back in Edinburgh in 1766. She finds A. Malcolm’s printshop, and enters to see Jamie working over the printing press.
• Claire and Jamie lock eyes… and then Jamie faints.

Insta-reaction:

This was, by necessity, a slower episode — especially relative to the previous four, with their emphasis on Jamie’s travails post-Culloden. Here in 305, the drama is mostly internal. It’s all about the choice facing Claire — a choice she never really believed she’d have to make.

On the one hand is the man who still haunts her every waking moment. It’s been 20 years, but she’s never forgotten or stopped loving Jamie. But until Roger shows up with his new proof, the idea of actually seeing Jamie again was just a dream, not a real possibility.

And of course, on the other hand, there’s Brianna. Can Claire make a decision that will result in probably never seeing her daughter again? Claire has a powerful, touching conversation with Brianna about all she’ll miss — seeing Brianna marry and walking her down the aisle, being a grandmother to Brianna’s children — and simply being a part of her daughter’s life.

Brianna is a young woman who’s been through a lot in the past year, losing the only father she knew and finding out the truth about her real father, and now faces losing her mother as well. She handles it with grace and poise. She NEEDS Claire to go, to find her father and make sure he knows that he has a daughter. Brianna still isn’t fully formed as an adult, but she insists to Claire that it’s time. Brianna will be okay — now it’s time for Claire to find Brianna’s father.

The scene at the ceremony for Frank struck me as a bit unnecessary. Why bring Frank’s mistress back into the story? She accuses Claire of selfishness, of refusing to let Frank go when he could have had years of happiness with someone who really loved him. Now, we know that Claire did offer Frank a divorce after the debacle the night of her graduation. So why force this scene now?

In thinking about it, it ties in with the scene earlier in the episode in Brianna’s history classroom at Harvard, when the professor discusses Paul Revere, then talks about the difference between historical facts versus what gets passed down through time. History depends on whose version we’re hearing. So back to Frank — did he tell the other woman that he’s the one who chose to stay in the marriage? Perhaps her version of history feels real to her, but it’s based on her source, who didn’t share all the information with her.

And speaking of Brianna’s history class… The professor informs Bree that she’s failing the class. Bree suggests that she’s just not smart enough, which is nonsense. Before Frank’s death and the trip to Scotland, she was an outstanding student. Clearly, Brianna has been through some life-altering events. As she sits in class, she’s drawing sketches of campus architecture rather than taking notes on the lecture, and later, giving Roger a tour, she becomes animated talking about the intricacies of the building’s design. Brianna is a history major, following in her father’s footsteps, but this is a clue that her true passion lies elsewhere. It’ll be interesting to see how much more of Brianna we see this season, and whether her career/education path gets more attention.

Roger, as always, is a sweetheart. He’s so awkwardly romantic with Brianna, and he cares for Claire so much. It’s not just the historian in him that gets him to keep digging for Jamie when it seemed they’d hit a dead end. Roger is now entangled in the story of Claire and Jamie (and Brianna), and he doesn’t want to let go of the connection.

And finally, after soul-searching and conversation upon conversation, Claire decides to go. She makes herself an 18th-century-appropriate traveling outfit with lots of hidden pockets so she can store her penicillin, syringes, and other 20th century must-haves (the show calls it her Batsuit!), and she’s ready to go.

Claire says goodbye to Brianna and Roger in Boston. It would be too hard to have Brianna with her at the stones — perhaps she wouldn’t have the strength to really leave her. And next we see, she’s in Edinburgh!

From Boston…

… to Edinburgh!

Finally, finally, we get the start of Claire and Jamie’s reunion. There’s absolute joy on Claire’s face as she finally sees Jamie working at the printing press. And then Jamie hears her voice! He freezes, slowly turns and sees her, and then passes out! Well, naturally — Claire has been on a journey back to Jamie for months, but Jamie has had absolutely no warning. It’s taken him 20 years to come to terms with losing Claire and rebuild a life for himself, but he never expected to actually see her again. And then there she is, suddenly, standing in front of him! Fainting dead away is a reasonable response, given the situation.

And…. fade to black! That’s the end of the episode. Oh, it’ll be a long, cruel couple of weeks until we see what happens next, but we can be sure that good things are in store for Claire and Jamie!

Insta-reaction wrap-up:

Another strong episode for a fantastic season. I can already imagine that there’s some grumbling going on among fans who can’t stand being Jamie-less for a full episode (or thereabouts), but anyone who’s read the book knows that we’d caught up to as much of Jamie’s life as we could expect to see as of the end of last episode. Yes, there are still some years to cover, but we’ll find out more about those when Claire does. Meanwhile, knowing that he’s a printer in Edinburgh is all that was truly important for the sake of getting Claire to finally go to him.

I’m glad that the show took a shortcut along the way, showing Claire stepping out of the taxi and into 18th century Edinburgh. We didn’t really need to see her arrive in Scotland, go to Craigh na Dun, travel through the stones, then find transportation to Edinburgh. We know that’s what happened without seeing it on screen. A book can take the time to show every detail, but in this visual medium, with a limited amount of minutes per episode, it was more important to get Claire to her destination than to spend time on the journey — especially since we’ve seen her go through the stones twice now, and Geillis once. We know how it works, so the show was right to get straight to what matters most, bringing Claire and Jamie together.

Thinking about the stones and time travel for a moment more, it’s lovely to think about the differences in Claire’s journeys. The first time she went through, it was purely by accident. She made no decision, but was pulled through without knowing what was happening. The second time, she went through the stones to save her child. It was deliberate, but done very much against her will and desire, and felt like the end of her real life. It was a moment of despair and heartbreak, from which Claire never truly recovered. How lovely, then, that Claire is owning her life and destiny here by choosing the stones this time. She’s fully cognizant of what she’s leaving, and makes the decision to go back in time in order to consciously choose a life with Jamie. Such a beautiful testament to the love she feels for him and its power.

On a different note, I enjoyed the scenes showing Claire and Joe Abernathy*. They’re colleagues, but also friends — probably the only friend Claire has. Claire tells Joe a partial truth about Jamie — that he was her true love and Brianna’s real father, and that she may have a chance to reconnect with him. Joe is supportive and enthusiastic (yet another person pointing out to her that no one really bought the fairy tale that she and Frank were happily married). Joe offers Claire reassurance that she’s still attractive.

*Side note: It’ll seem odd and unimportant to anyone who hasn’t read the books, but the scene with the skeleton in Joe’s office isn’t just a throwaway. It may seem weird in this episode, but there’s a reason to include it. ‘Nuff said.

It’s odd to see poised, careful Claire showing this type of vulnerability, wondering if Jamie will still want her now that she’s 20 years older. I was a little disappointed by her deciding to cover up her gray hair before leaving for Scotland. What will she do when the roots grow back in? Can she make a hair dye from acorns or something? Still, this too shows the internal fear which she hasn’t shared with Brianna. She knows she’ll always love and want Jamie, but she really doesn’t know what his life has been like over the past 20 years. Will he still want her, love her, or have room for her in his life? She’s stepping out into the unknown with no guarantees at all. I suppose I can understand her doubts and fears, as she looks at her gray hair and (completely unnoticeable) wrinkles. (Wouldn’t we all love to look like Caitriona Balfe as we age??) And this highlights how truly brave she is. It’s not just the danger of the time travel and the uncertainties inherent in the passage through the stones. Even if all goes according to plan and she finds Jamie, she really has no idea what he’ll be like and whether she can restart a life with him.

And she goes anyway. Like I said, that’s bravery — and love.

A final note:

Oh, the cruelty of whoever puts together the Starz calendar! We now have a two-week wait for the next episode, which means we won’t see the Claire and Jamie reunion until October 22nd. How shall we bear it?

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Season 3 is here! My intention is to write an “Insta-Reaction” post for each episode soon after viewing, to share some initial thoughts, questions, reactions — you name it.

Warning:

I may be talking about events from this episode, other episodes, and/or the book series… so if you’d rather not know, now’s your chance to walk away!

Outlander, episode 304: “Of Lost Things”

The official synopsis (via Starz):

While serving as a groomsman at Helwater, Jamie is pulled into the intrigue of a British family. In 1968, Claire, Brianna and Roger struggle to trace Jamie’s whereabouts, leaving Claire to wonder if they will ever find him.

My take:

Major plot points:

Since Claire and Jamie are still apart (spoiler alert — not much longer now!!), this episode follows two separate timelines.

In Claire’s world:

• We’ve now caught up to where Claire’s story left off at the end of season 2. Claire, Brianna, and Roger are determined to find Jamie.
• They realize that time moves equally in both time periods. Since it’s been 20 years since Claire came back through the stones, they begin searching historical records to try to find out where Jamie was 20 years after Culloden.
• They’re able to trace Jamie through his time at Ardsmuir, but the trail runs cold once the prison closes.
• Out of options, Claire gives up and heads back to America with Brianna.
• Brianna and Roger share a kiss before she leaves.

In Jamie’s world:

• Jamie is a groom at Helwater, serving the household of the Dunsany family. Lord Dunsany knows that Jamie was a Jacobite, but advises him to keep this a secret, as Lady Dunsany hates all Jacobites, having lost her son at Prestonpans. Jamie goes by the name Alexander MacKenzie while at Helwater.
• The Dunsanys have two daughters, Isobel and Geneva, and Geneva is a pistol.
• John checks in on Jamie regularly, as promised, and the two have resumed their chess games and their friendship. Things turn awkward when John’s brother Hal shows up, since he knows who Jamie really is.
• Geneva is promised in marriage to the Earl of Ellesmere, a man old enough to be her grandfather. She’s pissed.
• Geneva blackmails Jamie into sleeping with her. She wants to lose her virginity to someone young and desirable, unlike her husband-to-be.
• Geneva is soon married, pregnant (with Jamie’s child), and then dies in childbirth. Ellesmere knows the baby isn’t his (they never consummated the marriage), and threatens to kill the baby, but Jamie kills him instead, earning the eternal gratitude of the Dunsanys.
• Lady Dunsany is so grateful that she offers Jamie his freedom, but he declines so he can remain near William, his (secret) son.
• After many years, the resemblance beween Jamie and Willie is becoming obvious, and he realizes it’s time to leave. Willie is heartbroken, and so is Jamie.
• John marries Isobel, who is Willie’s guardian. John will raise Jamie’s son.

Insta-reaction:

Oh, this season. This show. It’s just so ON. Killing me here.

Jamie’s story is the dominant one in this episode, with good reason. What happens to him in the years shown is just way more important and dramatic than the month Claire et al spend doing research. I mean, I’m glad they’re doing it, but let’s be real — how exciting is it to watch three character sift through papers and take notes?

Therefore, onward with the Jamie side of things.

Kudos to the show on the marvelous casting choice for Geneva. Sadly, we’ll only see her this one episode. Actress Hannah James was fabulous in PBS’s Mercy Street (watch it if you haven’t yet!) — and it’s funny, but when I watched Mercy Street, there were certain scenes where she reminded me of Claire, so it feels appropriate to have her playing against Jamie in this episode. She did a wonderful job of capturing Geneva’s strong will and high spirits, yet also captured the vulnerability behind the bravado in the crucial scene with Jamie.

Speaking of which…

I was glad that the show made some changes from the book in terms of the sex scene between Jamie and Geneva. In the book, there’s a moment that has generated endless (really, I do mean endless) debate among readers — namely, at the moment of penetration, Geneva tells Jamie to stop because she’s changed her mind, and he says no, and goes right ahead. I’m not getting into it here — was it rape? If he didn’t live up to his side of the bargain, would she take revenge? Look, book readers have been talking about that scene for AGES. I’m just happy the TV series didn’t go there.

Instead, we see Jamie in an impossible position. He hates what Geneva is demanding of him and has no intention of complying — but she’s got him by the you-know-whats. She’s making threats not only affecting his parole, but also making clear that even his family back at Lallybroch could be endangered. So Jamie is very much coerced into having sex with Geneva. But Jamie is Jamie, so even though he’s there against his will, once he shows up in Geneva’s room, he’s kind to her. He knows she’s scared, but she makes clear that she’s determined to go ahead with it. Jamie gives her permission to watch him undress, and asks permission before touching her. He tries to guide her through the process so that she’ll take pleasure from it, which she clearly does. She even declares her love for Jamie, but he (kindly) points out that what she feels isn’t love, just the aftermath of really good sex. (Well, he didn’t say it quite that way, but that’s the point.)

The confrontation with Ellesmere is a little confusing (although highly dramatic). If Ellesmere and Geneva never had sex, why did he wait until she gave birth to freak out so completely? It’s not like he couldn’t tell that she was pregnant.

I liked Isobel very much. She’s the meeker of the two sisters, but has her own thoughts, and I enjoyed her interactions with Jamie, from her confessions of feelings for John to her sorrow and anger over Geneva’s death to gratitude toward Jamie, and acknowledgement of his role as William’s father. Knowing the book, I think I know what’s next for Isobel, but it would be nice to see her down the road too.

Okay, and then there’s the moment when Jamie offers his body to John, as a payment for his request to John to take care of William after Jamie’s departure. Seemed a bit out of the blue to me. It’s been 7 or 8 years since Ardsmuir, and the two men have reestablished a friendship based on respect. Why would Jamie feel the need to offer himself in this way? Clearly, John would do anything for Jamie, no sexual bribes needed. Jamie has some very screwed up notions about sex, methinks… although who can really blame him, after everything he’s been through. John, bless him, expresses gratitude as he turns down Jamie’s offer. They’ve cemented their friendship for sure, and John is set to be Willie’s stepfather.

I did like the little moment when John tells Jamie that he’s getting married, and Jamie asks “to a woman?” Yes, Jamie, to a woman. Unless John can figure out how to time travel to the 21st century, he really doesn’t have too many choices, does he?

So sad to see Jamie leave poor Willie behind. I would have liked to have seen more of the two of them together, but the scenes we did see were enough to establish the strong bond between them. Jamie’s hand-carved snake is a wonderful, personal gift for Willie, as is the secret baptism Jamie gives him when Willie declares that he wants to be a “stinking Papist” too.

Back to Claire for a moment — it’s hard to see her giving up, but I suppose she feels that they’ve reached a dead end and that there’s no hope left for finding Jamie. I was surprised to see Fiona giving Claire the pearls. It’s hard to believe that Claire would have given the pearls to Mrs. Graham, but I suppose this was part of her letting go of the past (just like allowing Frank to burn her 18th century clothing — that still makes me mad!). Perhaps the pearls here are meant as a foreshadowing of sorts, although Claire doesn’t know it yet. They’re a piece of her past that she thought was long gone, but they’ve now come back into her life. What else from her past will she find? (Hint: Jamie.)

Insta-reaction wrap-up:

I feel like this showing is coming together in a smooth and seamless way that’s hard to define. Maybe it’s just that I wasn’t thrilled by the Paris plotline last season (note: I thought the acting and production were fabulous, but the storyline itself was problematic in several ways). Trying to change history and stop a rebellion is big and outrageous, and in some ways takes the emphasis away from the personal. So far, in season 3, the stories are intensely personal. It’s all about the characters and their journeys — maybe that’s why I’m loving it so much.

I’ll admit that I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the 3rd book in the series, Voyager. The first third or so, showing Jamie and Claire’s time apart, just blows me away, most especially Jamie’s 20-year struggle post-Culloden and all that he’s suffered and experienced. Later on, the book starts feeling kitchen-sink-y to me. I’ve warmed to it over the course of subsequent rereads, but the fact remains that certain plot elements hinge entirely on the unlikeliest of coincidences, and there’s just so much thrown in (voodoo, slave uprisings, and pirates, to name but a few) that it’s a difficult book for me to fully swallow.

Given all that, I’d say the show is doing a remarkable job. They have a tremendous amount of ground to cover this season. Voyager is a big book (870 pages in the paperback edition!), and there’s just SO MUCH PLOT. With 13 episodes in the season, a lot will have to be condensed in order to fit. So yes, book fans may complain about details being omitted at Ardsmuir or Helwater, but ultimately, the show has a story to tell and has to put all these story threads together in the best way possible to create a beautiful TV show — even if characters or actions end up on the cutting room floor or have details swapped out.

Episode 304 covers crucial years in Jamie’s life. After the sorrow of losing two children, as he mentions to Lord Dunsany — baby Faith, stillborn during season 2, and Brianna, who while alive is lost to Jamie nonetheless — Jamie finally has a child of his own. And while he can’t claim Willie, he can love him with all his heart, and that, I think, makes all the difference. Jamie now has meaning in his life, after all those empty years after losing Claire. And even though he’s forced to leave Willie behind by the end of the episode, he’ll always hold Willie close in his heart. Jamie Fraser is no longer alone, and that’s a beautiful thing.

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