Last week Jamie left Helwater, his young son, and our broken hearts behind for Scotland with only that cover of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” on repeat to console us. This week opened with Claire wrist deep in a man’s abdomen talking about necrosis and bleeders. Sounds about right.
Jamie is self-sacrificing. Claire is a bad ass. We’re all caught up. Can we watch them make out now, please?
Top Ten Moments from Outlander: Freedom and Whisky
1. Brianna is over it
It’s Christmas time in Boston which means Brianna’s Fall Term at Harvard is coming to an end with bad news; she’s failing. Honestly, I’m more concerned with how Mrs. Crawley is going to handle hearing her husband speak with an American accent. Professor Lord Merton looks ready to head home to Downton Abbey for winter break, but first he wants to know what changed between the spring and now for Brianna. Uh, her dad died, Dickie, read the room. She gives him the blank stare of young adulthood matched with a smirk that says, “I went to Scotland over the summer and all I got was an 18th century highlander for a biological father.”
Bree’s life has changed dramatically. Her dad died unexpectedly in a tragic car accident, her mom is a time travelling bigamist, and she spent the summer flirting with a hot older man in the UK. In the grand scheme of things, flunking out of Harvard sounds reasonable.
We noticed that too: That photo of Frank cuddling baby Bree already replaced the picture of my kids as my phone’s wallpaper.
2. Roger is too pure for this world
Roger, you adorable man, you can’t just show up to people’s homes at Christmas and not expect to walk in on a family argument. It’s the American way. His sheepish face was eclipsed only by Bree’s joy when she realized it was him she was unnecessarily yelling at for ringing the doorbell. The joy didn’t last long though because Claire greeted Roger and told him Brianna’s private business about dropping out of Harvard all in one breath. Happy Christmas!
Obviously, Roger traveled unannounced across the Atlantic Ocean to shoot his shot with Brianna, make some new holiday traditions, and to tell Claire that he found Jamie. Way to bury the lead, Roger. Maybe next time instead of talking about Boston Cream Pies you could mention that you find the love of my Claire’s life right out the gate.
That’s right people, Jamie is alive in 1765 Edinburgh printing seditious articles that quote the Robert Burns poem Claire taught him. Which means, according to their parallel timelines, Claire could potentially be reunited with him if she went back through the stones. Pack your bags, Jamie is waiting and he still has all of his hair! There’s only one problem, she probably shouldn’t leave Brianna in the middle of her existential life crisis. Kids are such cockblocks.
3. Everyone deserves a friend like Joe
He pours you drinks after a long day at work. He listens to your dating drama without getting self-righteous. He tells you to “fuck fate” and pursue love because you deserve it, dammit. But most importantly, he compliments your ass when you’re feeling insecure. Is that a setting on Bumble BFF?
We noticed that too: The white lady in her late forties who was murdered in a Caribbean cave is definitely going to come up again.
4. Nothing bonds like daytime tv
One of the more important tasks that Outlander needed to accomplish this episode was to make us believe that Brianna was going to be okay when Claire inevitably leaves her. If they did so unsuccessfully it could be disastrous. It’s hard to cheer for the mom who abandons her kid in crisis.
Part of that process was done by showing us Bree’s analytical engineer’s mind. She’d rather discuss the structural architecture of Harvard’s campus than its historical significance. She’s straightforward, self-assured, and able to compartmentalize all of the insanity that is her current life. She’s her mother’s daughter. But, she did all of that off the sounding board of Roger, her perfect foil. Roger is soft where Bree is sharp, he’s calm when she needs an anchor, he allows her to be herself and is slowly filling that gap left in her life by the absence of both of her fathers. Brianna doesn’t need a man, but she may have found one she wants.
Plus, the way Roger looks at Brianna is going to fuel black market fan fiction for a generation.
We noticed that: If Richard Rankin doesn’t cosplay as 1960’s John Lennon he has missed his calling.
5. Sandy gets her say
I don’t know how I missed it the first time Sandy/Candy showed up on Claire’s doorstep to ruin everything, but she looks exactly like Jessica Biel. There she was blaming Claire for keeping Frank from her, and all I could think was, “I wonder how Justin is doing.”
Listen I get it, having Claire face-off against Frank’s long term mistress in a crowded room was just too tempting to resist in the writer’s room. Claire could realize that perhaps she has more in common with Sandy than she realizes, since they both loved men they couldn’t be with. We could be reminded that Claire wasn’t the only one who found her great love outside of their marriage. Plus, it would give Brianna the chance to learn her dad wasn’t the victim she always imagined. Despite all of that, it felt cheap. I am ready for Claire to move on in her life. Her chapter with Frank already felt closed, I didn’t need a reminder in the form of a scorned mistress.
We noticed that too: The 60’s seem great, but if I ever time travel I’m packing a eye shadow blending brush.
6. family therapy probably wouldn’t have been amiss
Up to this point Claire and Brianna’s relationship has had the typical power dynamic of adolescence, but in this episode we witness their gradual transition into the friendship of adulthood. Bree needs the assurance from her mom that, athough her conception was unexpected, she is not resented by her parents. Claire needs to be honest with Brianna and admit that Roger has found Jamie. With that, their relationship shifts. They need each other equally. There’s no relationship in the world like the one a mom has with her daughter, but it’s something special when that relationship becomes a mutual transaction.
Just like that they sold me on Claire’s decision to return to Jamie and leave Brianna behind. Although, if I’m being honest, it wasn’t a hard sell. Please bring back Jamie, we’ll be good.
We noticed that too: Claire can even make Apollo 8’s orbit around the moon about herself.
7. Happy (?) Christmas
Now that Brianna has signed Claire’s permission slip to go on a field trip to the 18th century, it’s time to celebrate their last family Christmas together. This time around Claire isn’t going to return to Scotland unprepared so her Christmas bounty included vintage coins, a book of Scottish history, Bree’s birthstone on a necklace to sacrifice to the standing stones and a pocketful of scalpels and penicillin. What more could a girl need? Well, I’m only speaking for myself, but I’m updating my Christmas list with never having to hear the Batman theme song played over a montage of Claire sewing ever again.
We noticed that too: Claire’s face when Brianna said, “You really do watch a lot of TV!” looked a lot more like Caitriona Balfe reacting to the way Sophie Skelton recited that line.
8. Time to say good-bye
Claire’s 18th century getup is made, her hair is dyed, her pockets are packed with 20th century contraband, and it’s time to leave Brianna and Roger behind. She has chosen to go through the stones alone for editing purposes because she wants her journey to be peaceful. That means she has to say good-bye to Brianna for what could be the last time while Roger hides somewhere around the corner as he is apt to do. Have I mentioned how much I love him?
When Claire gave Brianna her wedding pearls with the suggestion that she could wear them for her own wedding even my cold dead heart was moved. As a mother of three myself, I can’t imagine choosing a path that took me away from my children. It was a good reminder that, as much as Claire is leaving on a journey into the unknown, Bree is also charting a parallel course. No wonder they all needed a nip of whisky for the road even if the toast to “freedom and whisky” was a touch on the nose.
We noticed that too: How cute was Roger’s reaction to that lobster roll and Boston Cream Pie?
9. OMG It’s happening
I had to go back and re-watch Claire’s monologue in the taxi several times, because I was too caught up in the fact that, HOLY CRAP SHE’S IN SCOTLAND. Once I got over my initial elation, I really appreciated the juxtaposition with Claire’s explanation of what it felt like to travel through the stones in season one. If you’ll remember, she described it like the time she was in a car accident, turning and tumbling over and over without control. Seeing her sit in the taxi brought back that memory in such a successful way that I didn’t mind missing her trip back to the stones. Beside, SHE’S IN SCOTLAND! Go find Jamie!
We noticed that too: Did I mention she’s in Scotland, because I’m still freaking out over here.
10. I can’t breathe
After all of these years waiting for season three to premiere apart, it only takes a small boy running by to tell Claire where Jamie’s print shop is. The simplicity of that moment struck me. But who cares because Claire is standing in front of his door, and then the bell is ringing, and then…wait for it…Jamie speaks. JAMIE SPEAKS TO CLAIRE. I’m legit fan girl dying right now. The way his back straightened and he slowly turned when he heard her voice almost made me pass out. Turn around, Jamie. Claire still loves you. Put me out of my misery. Jamie’s face when he finally see’s her right before fainting to the ground is going to get me through a long winter.
We noticed that too: Where are the nearest standing stones so we can fast forward to the next episode?
We have to wait TWO WEEKS to find out how Claire revives Jamie. I hope she does it naked. See you then! And see you tomorrow for HangOutlander LIVE!
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