Welp. That Happened.

And by THAT … I mean the penultimate episode of Outlander happened … it happened TO US. We didn’t just watch it; it violated us. I’d like for this post to serve as my reminder never to start a series of recaps called “My Top Ten Moments” because one day, inevitably, there will be an episode that makes me want to simultaneously throw up and cry for a good solid hour, and really … how can you pick your favorite TEN moments from that hour you spent in Starbucks trying not to hurl your Grande Americano all over their reclaimed velvet armchair?

It was a tough hour of television to watch … mostly because I kept anticipating the worst that I knew was coming. I was SO TENSE the entire time. Dreadful. Now that I’ve watched it again, I can appreciate it. Tough hour, yes, but SO worth it. So perfectly acted. Wonderfully directed. No editing glitches. No weird stretches of time. No filler. Just straight up tension and drama.

In other words: I certainly wasn’t bored this week.

So here are my top ten moments … the ones I liked, and a few I totally hated.

 

My Top Ten Moments from Outlander, ep 115: Wentworth Prison

1. This Convo

Outlander is a high stakes story with rich and complex characters, so there is little reason to wonder why people love it. But the reason I come back to it again and again, the reason I recommend it, the reason it feels like home when I pick it up to re-read it boils down to one thing: Jamie Fraser. I love him and his singularity. This conversation felt like it was ripped out of a character profile for Jamie.

He faces death head on, stoically, but doesn’t desire to go down without a fight. Not for himself, or his fear or his pride (though those things apply) but for this: “What grieves me is that my wife will never forgive me for getting myself hung.”

Gah, I missed you, Jamie. Whether you were totally absent from an entire episode*, or fairly unrecognizable in another**, small moments like this one resonate with those who love you and remind us why.

_{*The Search (lame)}

_{**Lallybroch (also lame)}

 

2. Early Emotions

The desperation and desolation rolling off Claire in her opening scene with Sir Fletcher is devestating. Add to it Murtagh’s gentle treatment of her, and I am a sobbing mess only 10 minutes into this episode.

 

3. Rupert

Grant O’Rourke’s voice might be my favorite of all the Highlanders, but it’s his insouciance that makes me love him. Who gets doused with ale and barely blinks? That guy.

 

4. Black Jack’s Center Stage

I like how now that Black Jack is back on the scene, he comes riding in … LIKE  A HERO … to stay Jamie’s execution. It’s a glorious little juxtaposition of his role as Jamie’s tormenter and his literal savior.

And I love how, like a nerdy teen getting ready for prom, Black Jack has put together this little opening gambit script. He’s bright eyed and ready to perform his seeming-impromptu speech that you know took him several hours in front of a looking glass to perfect. He could have just put “I Got Your Pardon Right Here in My Pants” in blue icing on a cake. Maybe he would have gotten a better answer.

5. Toe to Toe

Jack only thinks he’s the most calculating bastard in the room. If I hadn’t been a complete and total rubber band ball of tension during this whole episode, I would have stopped to admire HOW PERFECTLY Sam Heughan plays Jamie’s cold calculation.

6. I Am Beyonce, Always

Claire is so freaking boss in this scene, I swear. But the Beyonce I’m referring to here is Black Jack. “I may have what are called unnatural tastes, but I do have some aesthetic principles.” GUESS WHO IS AS GAY AS WE ALL KNOW HE IS?? I love being right.

Girl, this perm is ratchet as hell

7. Some Things I Super Hated

 

 

8. Hey, Bear, You are Kind of the Worst

Playing Jamie and Claire’s theme here was like nailing our useless hands to the table, aye? A bit of overkill, dontcha think?

9. This Tear

 

Sam, you are a wonder, truly. My barista thinks I’m “going through something” because of how inconsolable I was watching this scene. That effing tear.

 

10. It’s All in Meeeeeeeee

I mentioned this on twitter the other day, but I super hate the convention in romance that I call the “I’m Every Woman” trope. You know the one: Claire embodies it and so does Ellen Fraser. As my twitter friends so deftly reminded me … so does Jamie. It’s the convention that every available, warm-blooded, age-appropriate man wants the heroine. We just got Murtagh’s love story for Ellen Fraser last week, so to hear MacRannoch’s on top of it (and to see Murtagh’s Nick Jonas face as it was confessed) is Way.Too.Much. We get it. Ellen was hot. Are there no other women (or red-headed Highlanders) around to be courted? Yeesh.

 

Remember how I said was NOPE-ing out of this episode? Well I didn’t. But I might next week. I don’t know if I am welcome back in my Starbucks. That’s embarrassing. When did the tears start flowing for you this week? When did they stop? Were you a total rubber band ball of tension too? Tell me in the comments and we can commiserate together. ALSO … 

 

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