Image Source: Meaww
Synopsis:
The Regulator Rebellion reaches a boiling point, forcing Jamie to face his fear and confront the consequence of his divided loyalties.
Wow! So I guess Diana was right. After last week’s disaster episode, this blew everything out of the park. This is what I’ve been waiting for, and this by far is the best episode yet of the season. I think what Outlander is always great at, is war episodes, and yet again, they brought it. There was so much angst and definitely, many surprises.
From the get-go, Jamie and Claire seemed more themselves in this episode. I loved their conversation in their tent, and the sex scene was spot on. It was playful, and Claire trying to be sexy for Jamie, reminded me of Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to John F. Kennedy. Instead of Mr. President, Claire was all about calling Jamie, Colonel. But as far as the war goes, I was on the edge of my seat. I felt so bad for Jamie the entire time because, since the beginning, he’s been very reluctant to help the British. They were going after the Regulators, and Murtagh was the leader of that group. Well now, it has escalated to the final battle, and Jamie really doesn’t want to fight against them. Roger attempts to talk to Murtagh about standing down, but sadly, all doesn’t go to plan. When Jamie is handed the red coat by Tryon, the look on his face is so repulsed. I really felt for him, because all his life, he has been tormented by the British, and now, he has to put on the symbolic red coat, against his will. It just seemed unnatural, and even Claire couldn’t believe her eyes. When the war started, I thought it was interesting, that Jamie really had the realization, that he was going to have to shoot at his comrades. Tyron yelled at him and his militia to start fighting, and of course, they had to comply. Jamie really tried not to do much harm to the Regulators, but when we got to the moment when he crossed paths with Murtagh, I couldn’t believe how quickly Murtagh got shot. And of course, by the one person, that Jamie had a talk to about war in the tent, prior to the battle. That was such a slap in the face, and I think Jamie really didn’t have time to process what had happened. When they bring Murtagh to Claire, I loved how raw Jamie got. Him demanding Claire to treat his godfather, and Claire standing there in tears. It was heartwrenching. Poor Jamie wouldn’t take no for an answer, and that was one time, that Claire couldn’t help him. And being in the state that he was, I love that Jamie really gave Tyron a piece of his mind. I was glad that he said he was done fighting for the crown, and when he threw his red coat down, I was clapping with pride. But let’s backtrack a little bit. I have to talk about the scene when Claire was trying to help Isaiah. I was surprised that Isaiah came back to help the militia, but it sucked that he and Lionel Brown, had to reunite. So, we’re pretty sure, that Lionel shot Isaiah in the woods since he apparently knew what Isaiah was doing when he got shot, but I was completely devastated, when Lionel, knocked Claire’s syringe out of her hand and stomped on it. Like, what the heck!!! Wasn’t that Claire’s only syringe that she brought with her? I did some research, and syringes weren’t invented until 1844, so now what is Claire going to do? Maybe she’ll have to invent her own.
We were introduced to Roger “Mac.” Don’t know when that became a thing, but poor Roger got himself into a lot of trouble yet again. He rides to Hillsborough, to be by Jamie’s side, and is soon told by Bree, that the battle starts by Alamance Creek. He volunteers to ride over to the Regulator’s camp and try to knock some sense into Murtagh. Like I said before, sadly, Murtagh decides to go through with the battle anyway, and while Roger is walking through one of the camps, he recognizes the woman he helped on Bonnet’s boat to the Carolina’s. He tries to warn her about the battle and wants her to leave as soon as possible, and totally forgets about etiquette during that time, because he gives her a hug, and her husband intervenes. Funnily enough, the husband is played by Graham McTavish, who got a shout out from Jamie prior, because he played Dougal MacKenzie. But Roger gets beaten up and as bad luck would have it, found out that he was part of the militia. We don’t see Roger for the rest of the episode, until the very end, where while Jamie, Claire, and Bree are asking everyone if they’d seen Roger, they find several bodies hanging from a tree. We see that one of them is presumably Roger, because he is wearing Roger’s clothes, and has the white flag hanging from his pocket. It’s shocking to see that Roger was hanged, but something inside me is saying that it’s not him. I feel like he escaped somehow, and dressed someone else in his clothes, but that’s just my hope. I just need validation, when Jamie takes the bag off of the body’s head. If it is indeed true, that Roger is dead, I don’t know how I’m going to feel. I really haven’t liked Roger since the beginning, but he did try to make something of himself. I just feel like he didn’t accomplish much and I don’t know what that would mean for Bree. I just think if Roger could make it through the torture from the Native Americans, then he could find a way to get out of this mess.
