Outlander: “Between Two Fires” Review

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Episode Synopsis:

As Jamie continues to hunt Murtagh with the aid of the zealous Lieutenant Hamilton Knox, he’s forced to consider whether or not he’s on the right side of history.

This episode was all about the past and the future, and how to walk that fine line of whether or not to mess with history. I really felt for our main characters, because they really had some inner conflicts with themselves to deal with.

Claire was really struggling with how to use her medical knowledge, and I think she really has to be careful this season, with how she progresses her research. It sucks that in this time period, not much has been discovered in the medical field, and there are many sicknesses happening, that could be avoided altogether. Hearing that people are trying to cure themselves with poisonous substances, that they don’t know about, really is frustrating, when you’re someone like Claire, who knows they’re poisonous. I like that she is trying to make the settler’s more aware, and I thought it was a nice touch, that she wrote out pamphlets about what to use in certain situations. But like many things, if people start questioning her knowledge, things might take a turn for the worse. I think at this time, it’s good that Bree is trying to make that aware to her mother, but it’s really playing devil’s advocate, because, if Claire is able to cure more people, that would be good for the future. My only worry at this time, is her trying to create penicillin. Like her and Bree said, it won’t be invented for another 100 years, so that’s taking a risk. Lastly, I’m loving that Claire is taking Marsali under her wing as her apprentice. I’m excited that Marsali is willing to learn and hopefully her and Claire can do some wonders together.

Jamie is struggling for other reasons. He’s having a hard time going against his fellow highlanders but knows that he needs to be on the British’s good side if he’s going to be on the right side of the war. Like Claire, I think he needs to be careful because if they find out that he’s been helping the enemy, he could be in a whole lot of trouble. I personally am having a hard time seeing who is in the wrong, because on the one hand, it was just plain cruel for Murtagh to tar, and feather people who he doesn’t want to pay taxes for, and on the other side, Lt. Knox made his own mistake, by killing a man, without having a fair trial. I think both sides are in the wrong at this point, and I’m glad that Jamie is being a double agent. I’m just worried now for Murtagh because I think at this point, he’s going to go against Jamie’s vow to make himself scarce. I’m having a bad feeling that he might meet his end this season.

Bree and Roger were ok in this episode. I actually liked Bree way more in this episode, because she had more to do with the plot, and I thought she was a voice of reason. Roger, on the other hand, needs more to do. At this point, I’m sick of seeing him sing in every scene. Is that really all he’s good for at this point? I do like seeing the struggle between him and Bree, in terms of returning back to the future. I’m interested to see how that’s going to pan out in the end, but what I thought was also interesting, was that Claire told Roger, that she wanted him, Bree and Jemmy to return to the future sooner rather than later. It had this nice juxtaposition because, on the one hand, Bree had told Roger, that they wouldn’t have to worry about Jemmy getting in a car accident in the future, but Claire made it clear, that if Jemmy so much as scrapped his knee, he could possibly die. That in itself, makes it clear, that they need to go back. I think it’s going to be really hard for Bree, because she still getting to know Jamie, and she won’t want to leave her parents behind, but I think Claire is right; they need to go back.

In the last scene, we see that Bonnet is alive and well, and I’m not sure what to think about him. He’s obviously heightened his status since he’s escaped prison, but I’m not sure what his role is going to be this season. I feel like we already have a lot going on, so at this point, I feel like his role isn’t needed, but we’ll see.