How could it not be? It’s one of the best scenes in the book series as well, lovingly dog-eared and underlined, pages worn smooth from so much reading and re-reading. And now … so much re-watching.
Top Ten Moments from Outlander 306: A Malcolm
1. The Open
This episode opens with one of our favorite views: Jamie’s scruffy chin. Female fingers attempt to straighten his cravat into perfect order, and viewers gasp a little bitt – because SURELY they have not skipped over all that print shop reunion from the end of episode 305 to post-coitus Malcolm’s. But SIKE: that ain’t Claire. Relief and not-relief flood us as French Lady reveals herself and her intimacy with our hero. UGH.
Ever since the creation of Frankfiction and Jamie POV, we’ve been lauding any time the show gives a glimpse into things that the books don’t. Again, there aren’t that many ways to truly surprise avid readers of the novels with new developments and tidbits; we tend to know what’s up. Plunging viewers into a day in the life of Jamie Alexander Malcolm reminds us that there is a world he in habits that we aren’t always privy to. A. Malcolm didn’t appear on the scene when Claire walked into his shop that day; he’s built a business and a clientele. He has cohorts and employees and French Female Friend. Who she is to him is a bit of mystery. Is she his mistress? Is she just a paramour? Worst case … is she his wife? While readers think they know the truth of their relationship, the way their intimacy is played leaves us hanging with a ham hock of anxiety – adaptations can go awry. And those long looks he’s giving her are SUPER FRIENDLY.
We Noticed That Too: Why are all the madams in the 18th century, French? Did Scotswomen just not have the same entrepreneurial spirit? Where my #BossLass at?
2. A Malcolm, Printer
Edinburgh is well represented as Jamie steps out onto High Street from his … abode. Everything from the close quarters to the cobblestones reminds us that Jamie is living yet another new life … not a farm boy in the highlands, not a warrior, not a Parisian wine merchant, not a prisoner, not a fugitive, not a horse groom. He’s a business owner, a cosmopolitan one. From his herringbone shawl to his ADORABLE tricorn hat tipping, Jamie is a man about town. He looks proud of himself and his accomplishments and his establishment. Jamie rubbing a smudge off his printer’s sign is just about the most adorable thing I’ve seen him do all season.
All this serves to remind us that Jamie has essentially moved on. His life is full, successful and his own. Hell, he even sucks to work for. Like all bad managers, he lets his friends sleep in the back room, get free stock and make fun of his dutiful apprentices.
Good news is, he’s still a traitor. No reason not to stick with what you know when you are also learning a brand new trade in a bustling new city with no skill set but WARRIOR NO A MONK to put on your CV. So, Jamie didn’t have to bank it all on his printing press and prowess. It seems like he’s got a profitable side business of sedition going down with his new comic relief gang.
Watching him be so capable at his new (ish?? – I guess we as viewers don’t really know how long Jamie has been in Edinburgh setting himself up as A Malcolm) profession is it’s own kind of hot.
We Noticed That Too: Jamie is his Uncle Colum’s nephew in breeks (ie Sam’s been skipping leg day).
3. Second Firsts
But enough of all that because Claire just showed up, and Jamie just fainted, and we are finally back to where we were when the last episode ended. The tentative nature of their every little moment together in this scene (which is straight from the novel – for good or for ill, it’s what Diana wrote almost verbatim) reminds me that this is a scene full of firsts all over again. The first time Jamie and Claire met he fell off a horse and woke to her face over him. Their first kiss had less of this tentativeness since it happened at their wedding in front of God and Dougal, but this one and that one were both full of longing and fear. Claire is a glorious mess of nerves, and Jamie one of confusion. She’s afraid to touch him, he’s afraid to be touched. She’s unsure that he’s fine with seeing her again, he’s unsure that he’s actually seeing her again.
We Noticed That Too: Her first declaration, “I thought you were dead” speaks to two decades of pain: where she has been and why. The only thing that could have ever kept them apart for that long – his death.
4. Pictures of You*
*3rd Fave The Cure Song
After Geordie breaks apart their tearful reunion which surely was about to culminate in the hottest of sexes ever to be had after one party muttered the term “alepot” … Jamie somehow resists the painfully adorable eye-averting Claire to go and get more breeches. 
Refusing to take his eyes off of her (and probably still wondering if she was really there), he asks her to come with him. And then does a terrible job of explaining his emotions.
But this adorable back and forth about getting older, glasses and grey hairs leads to one of my favorite moments of the episode, and maybe my absolute favorite JAMMF moment from the books. Claire gives Jamie so much information to digest in this exchange. They have a daughter. Her name is Brianna. She knows about him. Her first word was dog. Oh and she looks just like you; here’s photographic proof. Also, photographs exist.
It’s a lot. There’s a reason parents are meant to watch their children grow over the passing years. Seeing the changes from one age to another can be traumatic. I often look back at pictures of my girls and can’t understand where the roundness in their cheeks went or how their limbs are so long now. It hurts. The pain and ecstasy that Jamie is in right now overwhelms me a bit.
As much as he seems overwhelmed, I do wish he’d spent more time studying her face, even asking questions. Yes, it’s a television show and things need to keep moving. But I kind of hate how looking at a smiling Bree makes Jamie immediately hop to Willie and how proud he is of him. The rush to get the bikini joke truncates the import of the moment of Jamie as first-time legitimate father. But don’t worry … Drums is Coming.
5. Who Did You Do?
It’s here that Claire begins to play the less popular, less fun version of the game “Who Would You Do?” with Jamie. A game that never ends apparently, since she keeps it up throughout the entire episode. Once the Willie cat is out the bag, Claire’s first thought is of the hussy who birthed him. Of course, she’s diplomatic about it, but she is GAGGING to know the deets.
Jamie’s no dummy. He catches on and asks about whether or not Claire was able to get back with Frank, and whether or not they lived together and were happy. She doesn’t mention the separate beds or the mistresses, and she leaves Jamie to draw his own conclusions about her sex life.
But this episode could have easily been titled, “WHO DID YOU DO?” because it’s practically the thing that Claire can’t get out of her mind.
As soon as Jamie takes her to his room in the brothel, Claire’s face is screaming “WHO DID YOU DO? HER? AND HER? AND EVERYONE HERE?”
6. Fergus
The second of many reunions with Claire will be my favorite. Cesar Domboy is perfection as Fergus, an older replicate of the boy we’ve known for two seasons. He is breathlessly happy to see Claire again, and it’s so sweet. I can’t wait to see more of him as the season go on. He’s fantastic. One quibble.
We Noticed That Too: The writers are deftly avoiding the source of Jamie’s upcoming “legal” trouble while still keeping what readers know is Jamie’s willful obtuseness about the whole thing.
7. Mr Willoughby
That’s right. One of our least favorite parts of the books, one of those parts that we have begged the writers again and again on Hangoutlander to simply remove from the adaptation ended up being well-handled. Small changes make this character less of a caricature. I do wonder how he plays on screen to those who haven’t had the *ahem* pleasure of meeting Book Willoughby. But even if he pings some sensitivity meters, at the very least, Claire is receptive and respectful to him.
We Noticed That Too: Jamie treats him a bit like a recalcitrant dog. Ugh, come on, James.
8. Say What You Mean To Say
Next up on Jamie’s list of Doing It All Kinds of Wrong, he takes his new-found wife to his comfy room in the town whore house with NARY A WORD OF WARNING OR EXPLANATION. Just … here are some tits and ass in your face, Claire, let’s hope your good opinion of me is intact.
I’m sure in other corners of the fandom there are those who might think Claire’s reaction to her erstwhile and current husband’s living arrangement is a little shrewish. Maybe give the hero of your story the benefit of the doubt. But in my mind, if she’s anything, Claire is a little TOO conciliatory. <<< “Are you that good a customer?” “No, she’s a customer of mine!” “RIGHT! A customer of your DICK!” >>> that sounds about right.
If only these two had a couple of pop songs in their back pocket to let them know that they are not hitting the high points of what they need to say to one another in this moment. Because Jamie realizes that Claire’s pique is predicated on the idea that she really really cares where he’s been sleeping and with whom, like a wife would. Claire, however, is just realizing that Jamie spending all day introducing her as his wife has been a sweet, sweet balm to her potentially rejected soul, but that doesn’t mean he truly wants her.
And still … these revelations aren’t getting them to the material point. Jamie asks point blank, “Why did you come back? Do you want me?” Claire says yes, but never makes him declare the same back. SAY WHAT YOU MEAN, GUYS. We are dying over here. Don’t you have writers????
8. Tit for Tit*
After what is LEGITIMATELY THE WORST voiceover in Outlander history where Claire begins the modern evangelical American cliche of “Date Your Spouse,” we are treated to the longest mutual undressing sesh in TV history. If that’s not a real stat, I’m still calling it. Jamie and Claire undress one another in a scene meant to be reminiscent of their wedding night. The same jitters and tentativeness, but with years of knowing and longing and aging between them as well. Undressing that takes FIVE MINUTES. I know that sounds like a short amount of time, but it feels interminable watching it happen. For comparison, foreplay took one minute. And thrusting took 45 seconds. I am not here for that amount of realism.
We Noticed That Too: Maybe they take body aging a bit too seriously.
9. Young Ian
He’s trying SO HARD to be respectful, but he is cagey as hell. Oh, next week is going to be a doozy.
10. Post Coital Claire
This girl has had it coming. She deserved that 45 second, wheezing orgasm. She deserved that sweet, moonlit glow face to face sesh, and she deserved Jamie skipping breakfast. She’s been waiting 20 years get it, and she got it. 
We still have SO MUCH to say about this supersized episode of Outlander, so join us tomorrow night at 10pmEST/7pmPST LIVE for Hangoutlander! And check out Nikki’s ON SET interview with Sam Heughan all about what we’ve seen so far in season three!
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