At the end of episode 4, Claire was determined to return to Boston and live out her life as a 20th century surgeon. But we all know that's just not going to happen, because Outlander isn't about Claire, it's about Claire and Jamie. The episode begins slowly, with some minor drama in Boston, where Brianna is restless (a nice bit of foreshadowing her story line) and Claire is clueless, one of her standard modes. There's very little tension here, beyond wondering what will happen to Brianna. But it does slowly build, and in the final 10 minutes, boy howdy do the show runners crank it up.
I've read the books, but not recently, and I've determined to avoid seeing any spoilers about upcoming episodes. I'm watching the show with my DIL, who has not read the books, and I want to experience the show as she does, with fresh eyes and no idea what will happen from week to week. My knowledge of the books give me an idea of what is generally to come, but not precisely when, and this is made easier because as is the norm with these adaptations (looking at you, GoT), there's a lot left off the screen.
Our interest picks up when Roger arrives for Christmas with news that he's 'found' Jamie, in the form of a news leaf from Edinburgh that could only be written by him. And when Claire tells Brianna about it, Brianna tells her she must return to Jamie, in a very poignant scene that finally erases the last remaining discord between the pair since Claire told Brianna about Jamie back at the beginning of the season.
The montage of Claire sewing her period suit with all it's hidden pockets is quite funny when you realize it's set to the music from the Batman TV show, and recall that Roger had said she'd need a Batman utility belt to carry all the things she wanted to bring on her journey. We also learn that Roger is a fan of American TV, becoming quite invested in Dark Shadows during his stay in Boston. As child of the 60's, I appreciated these bits. There's a scene of Joe Abernathy uncrating a 200-yr-old skeleton of a white woman found in a cave in the Caribbean, who was apparently beheaded with a dull knife. This scene feels like a non sequitur, but it's importance will come to light later in the series, and there's a clue in Joe's description or the lady. Fans of the books will recognize the significance. We'll have to wait to find out if it could have been left out. My vote is yes.
Finally we get to the heart of the episode, the buildup to the reunion, and the tension really rises. My DIL was squirming in her seat, wanting to know if we'd get to see Claire and Jamie re-united, or if we'd have to wait another week. I felt just the same. I can't recall another episode that carried so much anticipation, or drew it out for so long. The Wedding in season 1 had us screaming "Just do it, already!", but the feeling here is different. Claire begins to wonder if Jaime will still find her attractive and, in a rare display of vanity, colors her hair to hide the gray. Instead of watching Claire go through the stones at Craigh na dun, we see her step into a taxi in Boston and emerge from a carriage in Edinburgh, 200 years earlier. This is a nice touch, as it evokes Through A Glass, Darkly in season 2, when Claire and Jamie sail to France, and Claire and Frank fly to America. Once back in 1868, everything is about waiting (pull back for a long shot of High Street), and waiting (close of up Claire's hand tracing the name 'A. Malcom' on the print shop sign), and waiting (shot of Claire reaching out to place her hand on the banister and slowly ascend the staircase), and more waiting (shot of the doorbell chiming, pan the interior of the print shop and pause on the book and candle) and so on. All this had me feeling frustrated with Moore and co. for drawing the whole affair out so long, while admiring them at the same time, for what they were doing to my emotions. Side note - Is the bell, book and candle a reference to witchcraft? Of course it is.
When Jamie heard Claire's voice, froze, stood, turned and looked up at her, my DIL and I both released our breath in a sigh. Finally! Our lovers were reunited! And then Jamie promptly fainted dead away, which was the perfect way to release all the tension we'd been feeling. Even better, I'd forgotten that part of the reunion in the books, although it's there. As always, we were immediately bummed out by the fact that it would be 7 more days before the next installment, but we agreed that it was wonderful to know Jamie and Claire were finally together once more. We also agreed that we both felt more anticipation for the next episode than usual, because we don't want to wait to see what happens when Jamie wakes up. Nicely done, show runners. Nicely done.
16 out of 19 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
