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Outlander: The Wedding

"I'll never forget when I came out of the church and saw you for the first time. It was as if I stepped outside on a cloudy day and suddenly the sun came out."

It is said that as soon as a couple marries and consummates their relationship, their story is over. In fact, it's when the story really starts.

I was initially surprised that the episode opened with a flashback to Claire's wedding to Frank. On the second viewing, however, the contrasts between the two really stand out.

Frank proposes to and marries Claire almost on a whim. Because he doesn't want a big church wedding, he assumes she doesn't either. I say assume because, although she asks him what he wants, he never asks her what she wants.

Leaving aside for a moment how much Frank will no doubt hurt his parents by not inviting them to his wedding, the way he approaches telling them verges on the frightening. He tells Claire that his parents will "never meet Claire Beauchamp." Instead, he will introduce her as "Mrs. Frank Randall." By marrying him, Claire's identity has been completely sublimated to his.

Jamie, on the other hand, insists on a proper wedding with only 24 hours notice. Claire will have a beautiful dress, not just the suit she happens to be wearing on the day. They will marry in a church, in front of a priest, in a manner that Jamie's mother would find appropriate. He wears his family tartan. He has a ring made for her that obviously has enormous significance, although we don't yet know what it is.

All of the preparation is just one clue that Jamie is already in love with Claire. As the evening progresses, it becomes even more clear. His actions and his words throughout the night (most of which are in the quotes section below) are those of a man experiencing deep feelings. The gift of the pearls was so simply done, yet incredibly powerful. There can be no doubt what this man is feeling.

It would be difficult to resist any man, especially one you already like, showing his emotions to that level. Claire doesn't resist. Throughout the course of this hour, we watch Claire begin to fall for Jamie as well. As they talked, as they had sex, she began to see him as someone worthy of loving.


There was a lot of sex in this episode, but instead of being gratuitous, it served a storytelling purpose. From the initial encounter which was strained and awkward, to the final encounter which was lovely and loving, we watched these two draw towards each other in an emotional, not just physical, way. As Claire wraps both of them in the Fraser tartan, they become a couple in front of our eyes.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention how wonderfully this show allows Claire to be a fully adult woman, one who is not afraid of sex and who, in fact, revels in it. The scene where Claire walks around the naked Jamie, just looking at him, took my breath away. She then climbs on top of him and introduces him to the pain can be pleasurable principle that was incredible to watch. What a subversion of the usual male gaze/male introduces female to sex trope.

The final scene with Dougal perfectly captures how far these two progress in only one night. His proposition is creepy in so many ways, but it succeeds in showing just how precarious Jamie and Claire's situation is right now. Claire's response, "I'm Jamie's wife," is wonderful. It not only effectively shuts Dougal down, it shows us that she sees her marriage to Jamie as something real. She will defend his honor now as ardently as she defends her own.

All wedding nights must come to an end, but, what a difference a night can make. As they are getting dressed, all of the awkwardness and tension is gone. They're teasing each other and kissing each other casually. But, as Jamie leaves and Claire rediscovers the ring that Frank gave her, she stares at her hands. Each is wearing a wedding ring and each represents a man she cares deeply about. As I said, this story is just getting started.



This episode was everything I wanted it to be and then some. Four out of four glasses of whiskey drunk to take the edge off.

Bits and Pieces:

— I want to avoid spoilers for those who have not read the book. To discuss differences between the book and the show, foreshadowing, or anything else that might spoil the story, head over to my review of the novel.

— I just have to mention once more the wonderful way this episode allowed a woman to introduce a man to sex. No accident, probably, as the episode was both written by (Anne Kenney) and directed by (Anna Foerster) women.

— Also, kudos to everyone concerned around that first sexual encounter. I was waiting for Jamie to be magnificent, but instead it was perfectly shown as his first time. Not knowing exactly what to do and over far, far too quickly was funny as well as sweet. Just what losing one's virginity should be.

— Dougal's actions are becoming more odd. The scene with Jamie before the wedding was disturbing. He tells Jamie that not only must he marry this woman, he must have real sex with her, not pretend sex. All of this while making inappropriate comments about the woman in question. Then, the scene where he makes Jamie thank him, again dressed up in a horrible sexual reference. I'm not sure what's going on with this man, but he is creeping me out on a level I did not expect.

— The one scene I would have loved to see was the pre-wedding sex advice from Murtagh, Ned, and Rupert. The scene we did get to see between Murtagh and Jamie was moving. Jamie's missing his mum, so Murtagh reassures him that he is marrying the right woman. I got a tear in my eye.

— Claire with a hangover was hilarious.

Quotes:

Jamie: "To a lady of grace, a woman of strength, and a bride of astonishing beauty. My wife, Claire Fraser."

Jamie: "You have my name, my clan, my family. And, if necessary, the protection of my body as well."

Claire: "Where did you learn to kiss like that?"
Jamie: "I said I was a virgin, not a monk."

Jamie: "I said I was completely under yer power and happy to be there."

Murtagh: "Your mother had the sweetest smile. Would warm a man to the backbone just to see it. Claire's smile is just as sweet."

Jamie: "They're Scotch pearls. They belonged to my mother and now they belong to my wife. They're one of the few things I have left of her and very precious to me. As are you, Claire."

Podcast:

TPTB have been reading all the criticism of these podcasts online; there is a lot of it. One recurring theme is how bad Dresbach is at these things, how she takes over the podcast, interrupting and talking over Moore. Although, disappointingly, she is part of this one, she mentions that she is going to try not to do that so much. She doesn't really succeed, but kudos for acknowledging the problem.

The second major criticism online is from the second podcast when Dresbach revealed a major spoiler. She does so again in this one, but it has been beeped out. Thank goodness, because I didn't want to know where the key comes from. At least, not yet.



This podcast was better than some of the others. Moore talked a bit about the changes from the book and why he made them which was interesting. As you can imagine, Dresbach talked a lot about the wedding dress. As much as I criticize her and am not a fan, I will forgive her this one time. The dress is stunning.

ChrisB is a freelance writer who spends more time than she ought in front of a television screen or with a book in her hand.

7 comments:

  1. I was absolutely in love with this episode.

    I've ventured out to other sites and reviews and strangely enough, some (guys) called it out because there was too much sex. Imagine that!

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  2. Nice to see Sam Heughan as Jamie carry a major part of an episode's load for the first time, and quite well done too.

    I don't know if it's that way in the books, but having Jamie as a virgin made all of the sex scenes wonderful, watching them grow closer scene by scene, with just enough lightness provided by the before the wedding flashbacks to leaven it all perfectly. Outlander's the best show this summer by a country mile.

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  3. Corona -- I ventured out yesterday as well to see how all the sex had been received. I was pleasantly surprised at how positive the reviews I read were. Many of the reviewers I read are women, but there it is.

    Milo -- Jamie is a virgin in the book. I was wondering if Moore & Co. were going to keep that detail and was so glad they did. It added so much to last night's episode. I agree with you. This show is among my favorites all year. If you haven't tried The Musketeers yet, do. It's my other favorite.

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  4. There is a comment you made in your review that I thought was really interesting - the fact that Frank does not ask her what she wants, and does not care for his parents' opinion, and, implied, that Jamie does. Now Jamie does not ask her want she wants, either (and he is obviously projecting somewhat onto Claire at this point, what she should mean and represent), but he is asking what his mother would have wanted, which considering the circumstances might be the next best thing to finding out what Claire would want...? Enjoying your reviews!

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  5. Anonymous -- you're absolutely right that Jamie does not ask Claire what she wants. But, he is marrying her for the sole purpose of protecting her from Randall. Unlike Frank, he must marry her and do so quickly.

    As I say, however, I believe that Jamie is already in love with Claire and wants this marriage to be "real." To that end, he wants a true wedding, not just some slapdash affair at the Registry Office.

    Ii think he sees a lot of his mother in Claire, a point which is emphasized during his conversation with Murtagh. By doing what he perceives his mother would want, he is doing what he believes Claire would want.

    As I re-watched this episode again (I'm ashamed to admit how many times I've already watched it), I was struck by the wedding. Jamie is so assured, so calm while Claire is visibly shaking. He takes her hand twice to support her as he is the stronger of the two in the moment.

    Another moment that struck me after I posted this review is what each man calls her. Frank calls her "Mrs. Frank Randall," but Jamie in his toast calls her "Claire Fraser." She has taken his name, but she is still Claire.

    Thanks again for commenting!

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  6. What a great summary of this fantastic episode. I especially like the way the contrasts between Jamie and Frank's behaviour leading up to the marriage ceremony is described. The chemistry between the two actors is just brilliant and the switching from scene to scene works so well. I could watch this 100 times.

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  7. An exceptional episode. It makes sense that Claire would be remembering her wedding to Frank, and it's interesting how much more romantic Jamie is in contrast. He goes to so much trouble to make his wedding to Claire memorable and permanent, while Claire is back at the inn getting drunk. And the way the wedding night moved from awkward to friendly to sweet to passionate was beautiful.

    Dougal is definitely creeping me out. An outright pass, and it's her freaking wedding night.

    This was the first episode where Murtagh stood out. He was acting as father to Jamie, and it was so dear.

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