This week Outlander is well and truly back on track: Claire and Jamie are all loved up, more difficulties en route arrive, Jamie is in Highland Fling mode and the spectre of Stephen Bonnet casts a shadow at Fraser Ridge.
While standing in for Jamie (Sam Heughan), Roger (Richard Rankin) shows that his previous career as a 20th century Oxford don has little prepared him for life as an 18th century military strategist. On entering Brownsville (where everyone seems to be called Brown: I can see what they did there) he and his men are soon under fire, given that one of their number, a certain Isaiah Morton (Jon Tarcy) has lain with one of the local lasses and her family want Isaiah dead for bringing shame on their family. Roger decides to calm things down by handing Isaiah over and getting the locals drunk.
It might be a practical (and temporary) solution but it’s at odds with 18th century ideas of honour, leading to some of the men deserting from the fold, and when Jamie finds out he can’t hide his disdain at what Roger has done. Of course, by the 1960s when Roger was an adult the concept of honour was more or less obsolete. For Jamie, born and bred in the 18th century, it’s the cornerstone of his very being. Clearly, trying to fit in with the mores of a time so different from your own is no easy matter. In fact, one of the recurring themes of this series so far is that of Roger constantly feeling emasculated thanks to having grown up at a time when masculinity was perceived along very different lines to how it was defined in the 18th century. It also doesn’t help when your father-in-law is the epitome of an 18th century man.
Once Jamie is in town and learns that, as a married man, Isaiah is unable to ‘do the right thing’ by Alicia (Anna Burnet), Jamie frees him, tells him to leave town and assumes responsibility for him. As soon as the townsfolk learn that Isaiah has fled, matters come to a head, and Jamie does the exact opposite of what Roger did and stands his ground. In stark contrast to Roger’s behaviour, it also underlines why Jamie is such a natural born leader of men.
But it’s not just the idea of masculinity which comes under the microscope here. This episode underlines the unfortunate status of women in the 18th century, whose marriages are regarded as nothing more than business deals for the enrichment of their families. And God forbid, you become a fallen woman like young Alicia. Considered first and foremost as property, an unmarried woman who is no longer a virgin means she is of little monetary value to the family and therefore ‘worthless’. No wonder Alicia’s family want Isaiah’s blood – literally.
Meanwhile back at the Ridge, Brianna (Sophie Skelton) is spooked to discover that some Irish stranger has gifted Jemmy a small coin. Given that coin was rare (most people bartered instead of using actual cash) that is some gift, and Brianna immediately worries that Stephen Bonnet is back. With so many people at the Ridge away with her parents, Brianna wisely decides to move back into the big house with everyone else. How spooked she is soon becomes clear when Jemmy disappears and she assumes Bonnet has taken him. Luckily, the ever sensible Marsali (Lauren Lyle) is at hand not only to find Jemmy but also to talk to Brianna and calm her down, unaware of the genuine fears that Brianna is grappling with. I’m not sure of the maths but at the most Marsali can only be in her early 20s and it’s great to see how her character has evolved into such a capable, young woman.
Claire (Caitriona Balfe) too is called on to provide words of comfort to a distressed Alicia who becomes even more upset when she hears her beloved already has a wife. To top it all, she then admits to Claire that she may be with child. It’s a pretty safe bet this won’t be welcome news among the Brown clan. Talking of the Browns, her father Lionel Brown (Ned Dennehy) seems to be taking an unhealthy interest in Claire if his staring is anything to go by. I’m just hoping this isn’t a hint of something nasty about to happen to our heroine.
But besides comforting teenagers in love, Claire realises she has to take Keziah (Paul Gorman) back to her surgery in order to operate on his tonsils. Jamie entrusts Roger with taking Claire back to the Ridge much to the chagrin of Roger who feels it’s a slap in the face. Claire, in diplomatic mode for once, reminds Roger that Jamie has entrusted him with the one thing he loves most. One suspects (along with Roger) that the real reason is that Jamie feels Roger is better off for everyone’s sake if he’s out of harm’s way.
As the night progresses and the festivities are in full swing, Lionel Brown is still in full glaring mode at Claire, while his son and daughter-in-law offer to look after the Beardsley baby and Jamie proves what a talented man he is by performing a sword dance.
This is followed by one of those Claire and Jamie scenes which allow women all around the world to have a bit of a swoon. During a moonlight walk in the woods, Jamie asks Claire if she’d like to keep the new born Beardsley babe as a way of him and Claire finally being able to raise a child together – the one thing he has wanted to do ever since he met her. Although Claire also regrets that Jamie and she were never parents together, Claire takes a far more practical approach believing the child is better off with the young Browns who have recently lost a child themselves. This romantic interlude comes to a swift end when, as luck would have it, Alicia chooses a nearby spot to try and kill herself. Evidently a bad shot, Jamie disarms her and the Frasers take her home where who should turn up but none other than Isaiah Morton, insisting on seeing Alicia. Impressed by their genuine love for each other, Jamie, Claire and Roger help them make their escape from Brownsville.
Finally, in this episode you finally get the impression that the mechanics of the story are beginning to fit into place. Firstly, Roger’s growing dissatisfaction with life in the 18th century and his role within it; then there is the fact that Claire and Jamie have to part (that’s never good); the spectre of Stephen Bonnet getting closer and closer; and, last but not least, the possibility of Claire and Jamie’s involvement in helping the young lovers to escape leading to unfortunate repercussions. I’m guessing the camera, lingering on shots of Lionel Brown as he glares at Claire, have been included for a reason. Most importantly, a decent amount of screen time is devoted to the cornerstone of Outlander, the relationship between Jamie and Claire. It’s great to have Outlander back on track.
