The Watch is one of those episodes in the series that is better served when you know what is going to happen afterwards. At the time I first watched it, it didn't really stand out, kind of just a filler episode moving the story to the next point. But really, this episode is significant because it's really the last episode before Outlander delivers almost two full seasons of misery, anguish, violence, and despair to our main characters. Season 1 is primarily a story of romance, and even though there is a time travel element to it, there is little focus on the future. The story we follow is often one set in the present, the concerns are always immediate. Claire getting to the stones, Claire escaping Randall, Jamie finding a way forward in his marriage, in his competing loyalties to his uncles, reconciling with his family, escaping Fort William, escaping the Witch Trial, Claire's decision to stay in the past, the list goes on and on. Each of those decisions are made with eyes on the present, on the immediate.
Looking back, this is the first episode where the focus of our main characters begins to turn towards the future, towards Claire and Jamie's life moving forward, and you begin to see the consequences of the type of marriage that our hero and heroine have undergone. The love is there, the spark is there, but the future is uncertain. It's in these understated moments that Outlander shines. Often times is says the most in scenes that would be throwaways in other shows. There need not be big confrontations or long winded monologues to build tension, and Outlander is adept at showing it. You see it throughout the episode, Jaime's refusal to commit to a life of robbery with the Watch, his decision to give up the gold to Horrocks, his and Claire's discussion about the prospects of a family, all moments about two people trying to figure out how they are going to spend the rest of their life together.
Claire's revelation that she may be barren is a reminder of the insane circumstances that brought the two of them together. It was an arranged marriage, quickly made to keep Claire out of British hands. She never expected to actually fall in love, never expected to have children, so the idea of starting a family and building a life together with Jamie never was a consideration. While he's supportive you can see the disappointment in his face, the sadness at the prospect that he may never be a father, though he is as supportive of Claire as he can be. It's a moving scene and probably the most poignant one of the episode.
The arrival of the Watch, and Mr. Horrocks for that matter are not plot defining on a series level but do serve interesting purposes. On the one hand, after Jenny largely stole the show in the Lallybroch episode, you get to see Ian take on a larger role. It's a strange dynamic because while the Watch are thieves and extortionists he respects them, and respects McQuarrie. This will not be the last time there is this type of character dynamic, a relationship of sorts between someone in power and someone being controlled, but there is something compelling about it. In a show that becomes more and more about broken people overcoming trauma, Ian is the most easily recognizable example, and McQuarrie makes him feel like a soldier again, not a cripple.
All in all, this episode sticks out to me because it makes me contemplate how Jamie and Claire's life might have been different had he not been captured by the Watch. Would they have been able to have a relatively quiet and peaceful future at Lollybroch? Anyone whose watched the show moving forward knows that his capture sets forth a chain of events that really set up the rest of the series. Perhaps it is symbolic of Outlander, that in a series which thrives on understated quiet moments between its characters, an understated, and relatively unexciting episode sets the stage for the rest of the series.
Looking back, this is the first episode where the focus of our main characters begins to turn towards the future, towards Claire and Jamie's life moving forward, and you begin to see the consequences of the type of marriage that our hero and heroine have undergone. The love is there, the spark is there, but the future is uncertain. It's in these understated moments that Outlander shines. Often times is says the most in scenes that would be throwaways in other shows. There need not be big confrontations or long winded monologues to build tension, and Outlander is adept at showing it. You see it throughout the episode, Jaime's refusal to commit to a life of robbery with the Watch, his decision to give up the gold to Horrocks, his and Claire's discussion about the prospects of a family, all moments about two people trying to figure out how they are going to spend the rest of their life together.
Claire's revelation that she may be barren is a reminder of the insane circumstances that brought the two of them together. It was an arranged marriage, quickly made to keep Claire out of British hands. She never expected to actually fall in love, never expected to have children, so the idea of starting a family and building a life together with Jamie never was a consideration. While he's supportive you can see the disappointment in his face, the sadness at the prospect that he may never be a father, though he is as supportive of Claire as he can be. It's a moving scene and probably the most poignant one of the episode.
The arrival of the Watch, and Mr. Horrocks for that matter are not plot defining on a series level but do serve interesting purposes. On the one hand, after Jenny largely stole the show in the Lallybroch episode, you get to see Ian take on a larger role. It's a strange dynamic because while the Watch are thieves and extortionists he respects them, and respects McQuarrie. This will not be the last time there is this type of character dynamic, a relationship of sorts between someone in power and someone being controlled, but there is something compelling about it. In a show that becomes more and more about broken people overcoming trauma, Ian is the most easily recognizable example, and McQuarrie makes him feel like a soldier again, not a cripple.
All in all, this episode sticks out to me because it makes me contemplate how Jamie and Claire's life might have been different had he not been captured by the Watch. Would they have been able to have a relatively quiet and peaceful future at Lollybroch? Anyone whose watched the show moving forward knows that his capture sets forth a chain of events that really set up the rest of the series. Perhaps it is symbolic of Outlander, that in a series which thrives on understated quiet moments between its characters, an understated, and relatively unexciting episode sets the stage for the rest of the series.