Bonnet is Back, Weird Story Twists and Characters Being Saved in the Nick of Time.
CONTAINS SPOILERS.
Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speelers) is back and that can only mean more trouble for the Frazer/MacKenzie clan. We first see him in a brothel (of course we do) where mention is made of his involvement in human trafficking. This proves two things: he is most definitely the lowest of the low and that things may possibly not bode well for one of our female protagonists. Bonnet is in the company of Gerald Forbes (Billy Boyd). Boyd succeeds in making Forbes one of the most unpleasant characters we’ve yet to come across in Outlander. A crooked lawyer? Who would have thought?
Both men are busy plotting how to ensure Bonnet gets custody of Jemmy, swiftly followed by Jocasta (Maria Doyle Kennedy) and husband meeting an untimely end thus allowing Bonnet to get his hands on all of Jocasta’s wealth. Forbes, as well as being unscrupulous, is also clearly an idiot as he seriously believes that once all this has been accomplished and he is no longer any use to Bonnet that Bonnet will simply hand over 20% commission to him, whereas all us viewers are busy screaming at the screen ‘Bonnet will kill you, you idiot’. Basic Survival Rule No 1: Never trust a psychopath.
Meanwhile Jamie (Sam Heughan), Roger (Richard Rankin) and Ian (John Bell) are at Wylie’s Landing as part of their attempt to ambush Bonnet and kill him. In what seems to be a 180⁰ turnaround from the doubts he had in the previous episode, Roger is determined that he is the one to kill Bonnet. Given that Roger can’t even shoot straight and Jamie is an ex-soldier, Highland warrior and has already dispatched a couple of men in cold blood in this series alone, I personally would get him to do any killing. I presume Jamie so readily agrees because he suspects he’ll end up doing the dirty work anyway.
Unfortunately, their plans go awry when Bonnet sends some of his men in his place. Even more unfortunately for Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe), who are enjoying a fun bonding session on an empty beach, Bonnet has spotted them in town and has followed them there. It’s not long before Claire is knocked unconscious and Brianna is taken to some island hide out as Bonnet’s captive.
Then we’re treated to one of the weirdest story twists in Outlander (and that’s saying something). For some inexplicable reason, our resident psychopath Bonnet wants to play happy families with Brianna and Jemmy and wants Brianna to teach him to love. I can understand that he wants to claim Jemmy as his son in order to get his hands on Jocasta’s fortune. Maybe kidnap Brianna to facilitate such a claim. I don’t really get why he’s so keen to become a proper family with Brianna and Jemmy or that a man with his personality and keen intelligence would for one minute believe that Brianna would accept such a proposal.
Stretching plausibility even further, Brianna manages to divert Bonnet’s attention from the bedroom by pretending to read Moby Dick to him. (Seriously don’t ask). I’m not an expert on how men’s minds work but I doubt that is a tried and tested method. I’ve never read Moby Dick but if this scene is anything to go by it must be one hell of a book.
Brianna plays along. Unlike with Bonnet, her reaction is understandable. Often women do play along, ‘be nice’ in the desperate hope that their would-be attacker will become empathetic towards them and let them escape unharmed.
In the morning Brianna tries to convince Bonnet to let her go under the pretence that she will bring Jemmy back to him. She’s pushing her luck. Bonnet is no fool. He first appears to agree and then suggests they seal the deal with a kiss. This seems to be the final proof that Bonnet needs that Brianna has been leading him a merry dance. Furious, he decides to show her what’s what by having sex in front of her with Eppie (Leah Shine), a prostitute who also doubles apparently as a servant girl. It’s not a pleasant sight but it does show up Bonnet’s singular lack of understanding of the female psyche. Given a choice, Brianna like any woman, would rather be an unwilling voyeur than a participant. Left alone by Bonnet, Brianna begs Eppie to help her and get word to her family but without any success.
Meanwhile Roger, Jamie and Ian are trying to track down Bonnet with Roger and Jamie swapping their usual roles: Roger threatening Philip Wylie (Chris Donald) with a knife and Jamie as spectator. Wylie tells them about Bonnet’s favourite brothel and off Jamie and Claire trot to this particular house of ill repute.
As luck would have it, Eppie happens to be there. At first, Eppie is saying nothing but Claire, always in healer mode, notices that Eppie has one leg shorter than another and informs her how she can help her avoid being in so much pain. This unsolicited medical advice and some coin do the trick and Eppie tells Claire where they can find Bonnet.
Amidst all this we get to see what is happening at River Run with the arrival of Forbes. Boyd has created a fantastically obnoxious character from the moment of his rude dismissal of Ulysses (Colin McFarlane) as he enters, to his utter boredom at what Jocasta has to say and his growing anger when he realises that Jocasta is planning to give away a healthy share of her money before Bonnet and he can get their hands on it. Furious at what he sees as his future wealth diminishing with every bequest Jocasta makes, he attempts to suffocate Jocasta.
Ulysses then enters and kills Forbes. Ulysses, fearing he has arrived too late, at one point calls Jocasta by her first name rather than mistress. It’s easy to forget that being on first name terms with someone in the 18th century was a much bigger deal than it is now. Let alone a slave calling his mistress by her first name. It’s therefore a touching moment, indicating that there is far more affection between them both than a mere slave/mistress relationship would at first suggest. Fortunately, Jocasta is still alive but presumably Ulysses will need to make a speedy exit. As a black man killing a white man, even one trying to kill a white woman, this no doubt means certain death and presumably Ulysses’ escape will be one of the storylines for next week’s episode.
In the interim, things have gone bad to worse for Brianna who is being sold off as a white slave to a certain Captain Howard (Peter Warnock). In the nick of time the rest of the Frazers and Roger arrive with Roger besting Bonnet. Roger has certainly come a long way from the 1960s bookish Oxford don.
But then in a move that makes no sense neither Roger nor Jamie kill Bonnet. The reason? Brianna decides that she wants Bonnet to go on trial instead. Bear in mind that Jamie has wanted to kill Brianna’s attacker since he found out about Brianna’s rape; killing Bonnet was one of Jamie’s main concerns when he thought he was dying; Roger has just made clear he wants to kill Bonnet; and both men have just found out Bonnet was in the process of selling Brianna into sexual slavery. Secondly, given what she’s been through wouldn’t Brianna want to exact revenge there and then as well as save herself the anguish of going through a trial? Lastly, there’s the not inconsequential fact that 18th century justice could be bought and influenced, or that when it comes to crimes against women the woman has an uphill struggle in being believed even today. Nope, they decide a trial it is.
This move may make more sense in the novel. After all, you can get an insight into the inner workings of each character’s mind in a way that screen can’t – unless you include a hell of a lot of voice over but as the finale to the Bonnet story it simply doesn’t make sense.
Nevertheless, Bonnet is tried and sentenced to drowning. But as he is drowning, Brianna shoots him in the head with a musket. Roger asks her if that was her being merciful or to make sure that Bonnet was dead. Brianna leaves the question unanswered.
Thus we say good-bye to Bonnet, thank goodness. No reflection on the actor who played him but the baddie of the first two seasons, Black Jack Randall (BJR), was such a great character, impeccably played by Tobias Menzies, that it’s hard to imagine any other possible baddie measuring up to him. Also, unlike with Bonnet, there was no attempt to give BJR a backstory with tragic undertones as there was with Bonnet. At one point you think BJR is opening up and then he punches Claire in the stomach, and you realise BJR is just playing another of his games.
What was also striking about this particular episode is the psychology behind some of the characters’ actions didn’t make sense. Maybe this is due to the source material or the way TV has to abridge stories and storylines on account of the confines of the medium but it was jarring nevertheless. That said it was another engaging episode. And with Bonnet out of the way, it just leaves us wondering who the next fly in the ointment will be for our resilient protagonists.
