This episode could not get here soon enough! I don’t know about you but waiting that extra week to see this reunion caught me by surprise! Normally I welcome surprises but not this time.
The reunion between Jamie and Claire was just as magical as I’d hoped it be and more. I think what intrigued me the most was their first kiss. How many times had they kissed before and yet, there was such hesitation from Jamie. It was endearing. He seemed almost fearful, as if she’d just vanish into thin air if he touched her lips. I feel the reason he asked to kiss Claire was because he was afraid she may not want the same in return. I felt there was some real insecurity in this question, as romantic and thoughtful as it was.
I loved when Claire was describing Brianna to Jamie simply because of how Jamie reacts. The emotion was so real. Also, he is flabbergasted by what photographs are and I think it’s here that our minds realize, “Oh, yeah, it’s 1775. There weren’t cameras.” Once he gets over his fascination, he appeared genuinely taken aback by all of the details Claire had given to him of their daughter. Sam Heughan did a great job in this scene portraying the love and devotion he had to Brianna even though they had never met. I could see from the first time he looked down at the phone of baby Bri that he was instantly in love with her.
Jamie lost track of time, forgetting he had to meet someone at the tavern (or brothel) and when he asked Claire to come with him, I smiled at the sincerity of it. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away,” was Claire’s response. I’m not that Jamie could relate to the expression but he went along with it anyway. I found this slightly amusing. (He does this later, too, when he’s leaving Claire in bed, telling her to stay put, and she replies back, “…my legs are like jello.” I’m not sure that he even knows what jello is!)
While out in the marketplace, Fergus sees Claire and the reunion is heartwarming. The way Claire takes Fergus’ face into her hands shows the love Claire has for him. I giggled along with Claire when Fergus answers, “I have,” when she declares what a handsome young man he has become. I had to give Claire credit for coming up with such a brilliant response to her whereabouts the last twenty years when Fergus asks where she has been. Jamie backs up her response by telling Claire that she wasn’t lying, she was in America. I laughed again when Claire says, “I thought it would be wise to leave out the whole ‘200 years into the future part’.”
The brothel was the most interesting part of the entire episode for me. Of all the places Jamie could have ended up, he ended up there! I never saw that coming. I feel like maybe there is more going on with that than what Jamie has so far confessed to. He says he’s not a customer of the brothel but I wonder what else is happening that we don’t yet know about.
I felt sorry for Claire as she walks into Jamie’s room for the first time. It’s the least romantic environment for a reunion such as hers and Jamie’s but I think she realizes that these surprises were to be expected. Claire states that she knew that Jamie had another life while she was away and even though I could see it hurt her, she understood. Later, after intimate conversation over dinner, Jamie asks for Claire to go to bed with him. This is where things get heated! (As they usually do when it comes to these moments between Jamie and Claire.)
The time spent between Claire and Jamie in their passionate moments were intense. I felt that these scenes were made to be slow and to take their time in order to give us, the audience, the idea of how long Jamie and Claire had waited for this. They took in every single second together, savoring it, and breathing it in. I could feel that. It was beautiful to see the two of them coming together, in love, and finally becoming one once again.
Jamie ends up leaving Claire in the morning to go do business and Claire finds herself hanging out with the brothel women downstairs. They mistake her for one of the “new girls” and give her some amusing insights into their line of work. I smirked as I watched how cool Claire remained as she listened to the women jabber on. Once Madam Jeanne appears and reveals the truth, I found myself smirking at how Claire doesn’t rush off. She finishes her meal and her coffee/tea then retreats to her room. To Claire’s detriment she finds herself shut inside her room with a strange man who was looking for Jamie and his ledgers. The episode ends with this man grabbing Claire and threatening to rape her. I was praying this was not going to be the end…yet, here we are.
We await yet another week to see what happens to Claire and to see what kind of mess Jamie has gotten himself into.
Mindy Campbell
Latest posts by Mindy Campbell (see all)
- Outlander: Season 4-“Savages” - January 14, 2019
- Outlander: Season 4-“Common Ground” - December 26, 2018
- Outlander: Season 4- “The False Bride” - December 16, 2018
It’s also comical to mention that the Stones’ song possibly referenced by Claire “wild horses” wasnt recorded until 1969-70 and released in 1973. However, with 1968 just being a year prior it is almost suggestable that Claire a friend or maybe even Brianna is a far more “worldly” woman in both time periods than we even know of. Or perhaps it’s just inaccurate, but interesting…