Synopsis:
On the way to Scotland, Jamie is pulled back into the Revolutionary War; William is sent on a covert mission; Roger and Brianna struggle to adapt to life in the 1980s.
We delve deeper into more characters’ storylines and get ready for the Revolutionary War.
Bree & Roger:
We’re entering the 1980’s and apparently, several years have passed. Jemmy and Mandy are older, but the timeline confuses me. If years have passed and the children have aged, why are we continuing at the same pace as Jamie and Claire? Wouldn’t they have left America by now? I wish that had been made clearer. But we see that Lallybroch is being renovated. I guess they put Claire’s bank account to good use if they didn’t opt for the gold route. Speaking of gold, Roger discovers that the musket ball in Jemmy’s box was made of gold. What they don’t know is that it was crafted from Jacobite gold. Bree and Roger decide not to bother Jemmy about its location yet, but I feel like we might see that moment soon enough, maybe in a dire situation.
Trying to settle back into normal life in the 80s, Bree finds a job and interviews to be a plant inspector at a dam. I thought this was a weird choice for Bree, but since she was living in the past and surviving off of nature, it would make sense for her to use her knowledge of engineering and nature to think she is qualified for the job. We see that Bree faces sexism when applying for the job, but I don’t know if this is exactly accurate. Yes, probably earlier on, she would have been given the cold shoulder. However, in the 1980s, women were starting to be given more equal rights for jobs, and I would think her education would have sufficed even in Scotland. If we were talking about equal pay, that’s a different story. Thankfully, Bree got the job, and I was proud of her for taking control of the situation.
On the other hand, Roger had to ruin everything. Roger gets on my nerves sometimes, and this was one of those times. I’ve always felt like he and Bree weren’t the ideal match for each other because their relationship started pretty rocky. He was kind of controlling, and he didn’t have much confidence. In this instance, when Bree told Roger she got the job, Roger didn’t react excitedly. You would think a husband would be happy for his wife, especially since she was hired for a job always given to men. Instead, he moped about not being the breadwinner. He told Bree that he felt like he was failing at taking care of his family, and sadly, this is true. I was disappointed that he didn’t follow through with becoming a minister, and he’s back to feeling lost. I feel sorry for Bree because she isn’t able to live to her potential because Roger is weighing her down. Let Bree have her victories.
And to top everything else off, Jemmy was taking after his father and getting on my nerves as well. He’s become quite a nuisance and is being the typical big brother and messing with Mandy. Also, we found out that he’s seeing Pixies and the Nuckelavee. This starts concerning Bree and Roger, and it made me wonder as well. Is there something magical going on around Lallybroch? Is Jemmy’s interaction with these creatures going to create a more complex storyline, or is this something we don’t have to worry about?
Jamie & Claire:
So far this season, this was my favorite Jamie and Claire episode. I miss their witty banter, and they lightened the episode. Taking a rest in the forest, Jamie tells Claire that he’s looking for an apple to eat. I love that Claire knows Jamie too well. She knew he wanted something more substantial, and just like a child, he’s not always keen on fruits and vegetables. She gives him some cheese instead, and their conversation about Claire having all her teeth is humorous. Jamie teases her with a piece of cheese and calls her an old crone. I had to look up the definition, and it says, “In folklore, a crone is an old woman who may be characterized as disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obstructive” (Wikipedia). I can definitely see why Jamie would jokingly compare Claire to that, but that seemed to be his humor throughout this episode, saying that Claire was sinister and dangerous.
While in Wilmington, Jamie runs into Harnett, who is part of the Sons of Liberty, and has to put traveling to Scotland on hold. I was so bummed that Jamie was basically threatened to join the war. However, being Outlander, we knew he would eventually fight in the Revolutionary War. Jamie couldn’t get a replacement, so he was stationed at Fort Ticonderoga. On a side note, did anyone else think of the Ticonderoga pencils when hearing of the fort? In true wifely fashion, Claire joins Jamie as well.
Our biggest surprise was seeing Tom Christie again. Claire literally ran into him while in Wilmington, and she gets a shock of a lifetime. Tom gave her a huge kiss, and this was one of my favorite moments. The look on Claire’s face was priceless—complete shock and bewilderment. Now, I still don’t understand Tom’s fascination with Claire. He already confessed his love for her, but now he had to kiss her? I felt this was out of character for Tom. He’s leaning into creeper territory. We got some insight into how he avoided getting killed. However, what was also a surprise, was that he wrote the obituary that Bree and Roger had found in the present. It’s no wonder that the news article was incorrect. Tom only heard about it from word of mouth, so he wasn’t certain Jamie and Claire were still alive.
Continuing with the banter, Claire tells Jamie that Tom kissed her, and Jamie’s reaction had me laughing. I always love it when Jamie winds Claire up. He jokingly asks if she likes it and if he should kill Tom. This leads to a conversation about jealousy, and we know they’ve had their fair share. Besides Tom, Jamie has always envied Frank’s time with Claire. However, on the flip side, Claire was equally jealous of Laoghaire. We also hear about their past. I loved these callbacks, and Jamie couldn’t resist telling Claire that he knew about her round ass before he ever kissed her. And we got a callback from season 4. I had to refresh my memory, but Jamie talked about being able to still bed Claire before her hair turned white. I had forgotten that Adawehi had talked to Claire about her healing powers. She said that once Claire’s hair turned fully white, she would reach her full healing power. I’m interested to know what happens when that day comes. But while undressing, Jamie reveals all Claire has done to him in bed. She clawed him, bit him, and stabbed him, which was an exaggeration. Their banter was funny because Claire tried to defend herself. She stated that she wasn’t in bed when she “stabbed” Jamie. And those stabbings were for healing reasons. This is why their intimate scenes are always enjoyable. They convey all kinds of emotions, and they are not always serious. There is nothing better than Jamie and Claire being playful together.
Young Ian & William:
Ian’s storyline seems to be gaining more traction this season, and it’s no wonder he crosses paths with William again. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to watching this story play out. However, I wonder if this will lead us to see William cross paths with Jamie during the war. We see that Ian is getting paranoid about Mr. Bug coming to get his revenge, and that makes me nervous. Now that Ian is on the edge, I’m scared he’s going to kill another innocent person accidentally. But besides that, Ian plans to follow in Jamie’s footsteps and help with the war. It is likely that he will fight alongside the Shawnee if they are on his side.
While in Wilmington, we get a sense of who William is and his personality. I did see some resemblances to Jamie, but he still seems naive. Jamie seemed like a much stronger person when we met him in season 1. We saw that William was willing to stand up for what he believed in. This was like when he intervened to try to save the prostitute, and he was seen in a positive light by his officers. That was definitely relatable to Jamie. He is given the task of being a messenger and delivering letters to some men as a result of the actions he took. Once he’s done his duty, he will be stationed in New York. Like Jamie, William has a run-in with a snake along his journey. He gets bucked off his horse, causing him to roll down a hill, and he punctures his arm with a stick. Immediately, I knew William shouldn’t have removed the stick because that would make the wound bleed faster. Thank goodness Ian came when he did. I feel like Ian has turned into this ninja that turns up at the right moment. Does someone need to die? Ian is there. Is someone hurt? Ian is there. It was nice to see them bond and know they have Lord John in common. It was interesting that when Ian mentioned William visiting the Ridge, William had no recollection. That means he doesn’t remember his time with Jamie.
Ian cleans his wound but takes him to Denzell and Rachel Hunter. It was so bizarre seeing someone besides Claire know how to treat a wound. It was amazing to hear that Denzell was a surgeon. Again, like his father, William almost had a limb amputated, but his arm was saved. Later that day, Ian says his goodbyes to Rachel, but I couldn’t help sensing some chemistry between them. Ian seemed to linger a little too long before saying goodbye. When William wakes up, we see some banter between him and Rachel, but he fails to tell Rachel he’s a soldier. He finds out that she and Denzell are heading north, and he decides to join them. It should be interesting to see what happens between them. This is because Rachel revealed that Denzell was kicked out of the Society of Friends because he supported independence. That means he and William are on opposite sides of the war. Will there be conflict during their journey or when they reach New York?
