Outlander: Brotherly Love

The title is appropriate, and not just because a lot of the action took place in the occupied city of brotherly love. There was indeed a lot of love – brotherly, cousin-ly, brothers from other mothers.

And oddly, with several unknown parents in the mix.

Jamie and Ian and Jenny

Ian's death definitely hurt. He was such a huge part of Jamie's life, his closest friend as well as his brother-in-law. I loved that knowing of Claire's origin gave Ian more hope of heaven and miracles. And that Jamie laid Ian down to die in the laird's bed, his own.

The scene in the graveyard, much like the rest of the episode, spoke of family, of generations of love. It was such a stroke of luck that Jamie arrived in time to say goodbye to Ian and be there for Jenny. The idea of Jenny going to the new world is interesting. It's likely that she has never been anywhere in her entire life. I wish she hadn't said no.

Roger and Buck and Geillis and Dougal

Geillis didn’t recognize Roger from 1968. It couldn’t have been that long for her, could it? Was it that he was twelve years older now and in the wrong time?

Dougal's entrance made me jump right out of my chair, and I laughed out loud as Dougal kissed Geillis' hand and flirted with her. Buck didn't realize that he was watching his parents meet! Who gets to do that? Nobody!

And Roger has apparently found out what happened to his own father, who was in the RAF and disappeared during the second World War. Of course Roger's father could be a time traveler, and the two-hundred-year gap would work for the middle of the war. Note how Roger carefully kept Geillis from seeing the dog tags. She would know what they are. I thought it was hilarious that Geillis made an outright pass at Roger, who flattered her while carefully rejecting her advances. With Buck right there and Dougal, too, the whole sequence felt incestuous.

Did Buck become ill because of the trip through the stones? Is he going to be okay, or will he die in the past? Is Roger about to meet his own father? And where the hell are little Jemmy and Rob Cameron?

Arch Bug and Ian and Rachel and William and Rollo

I'm so glad that the threat of Arch Bug lurking in the background was resolved, and that it was so beautifully circular, with William saving Ian's life this time. Ian even had a serious arm wound, like William did when Ian saved him. Okay, so they're cousins, not brothers, and William doesn't know they're cousins, but it was a brotherly sort of thing that also echoed Jamie and Ian Senior.

Rachel so deeply preferred Ian to William that she carelessly threw her shopping basket at William's head when Rollo took off into the crowd. And Rachel's response to Ian's offer to convert to her religion was pretty much perfect, that no, she wanted him for himself. A lovely bit of acceptance there that bodes well for a marriage.

Claire and Lord John and Henry and Mercy

What lovely street scenes, interiors and gardens in occupied Philadelphia, or wherever it was in Scotland that stood in for it. All of the Philadelphia scenes made me think about both sides of Jamie’s family coming together as one. (I've always thought of Lord John as sort of like Jamie's other wife, raising his son without him.)

It's shuddery to even consider enduring two bouts of surgery without anesthetic. Fortunately, Henry Grey got a happy ending in a pain-free, successful surgery, and possibly a future with rebel Mercy Woodcock (what a great name). Denzell Hunter's utter enjoyment of the operation was so much fun, too. Denzell is the first doctor in the past that Claire can work with like a partner. He sees her for what she is and he loves her skills. I bet he'd even be cool with her being a time traveler.

Of course, since coincidence and fate run rampant through Outlander, Mercy is Walter Woodcock's widow, and Claire was able to give her closure. And of course, Claire would help Mercy spy for the Continental Army. I thought she'd even gotten away with it when she freaked out the officer by talking about exploding bowels.

So here we are at the end. The Euterpe, Jamie's ship, was lost at sea. Yes, tell me that the male lead in this monumental love story has died offscreen. But it did give us some terrific performances by Caitríona Balfe and David Berry in reaction to the same event – Claire and Lord John both losing the love of their lives.

Lord John stayed strong because he had to, for Jamie's sake. Claire lost it completely, so devastated that she collapsed into bed and emotionally drowned in a montage of memories. If Claire manages to rally, and we know she will for the sake of the people she loves, and if she should marry Lord John, Jamie's son William will be her stepson. Like I said, this episode just felt to me like both sides of Jamie's family were finally coming together.

At least until Jamie comes back. He's coming back, isn't he? Come on. We didn't see him get on the ship. We didn't see him die.

Bits:

— The post-credit scene was of the Liberty Bell. Which is still in Philadelphia today, for those of you who might not know.

— Lord John resigned his commission but was still wearing his uniform to provide protection for Mercy Woodcock, who is for independence.

— Captain Richardson, the officer who sent William on his unsuccessful mission to the Dismal Swamp, was the one to tell Lord John he was about to arrest Claire... first assuring himself that Claire wasn't John's mistress.

— The flashback to Jamie and Ian Senior as children was dated 1729 in the credits. Roger met Ian Senior’s father in the last episode ten years later, in 1739. Or is it 1740?

— Jamie's letter to Claire mentioned that he met with friends of "Mr. Franklin" while he was in France.

— Yes, this was pretty much all in the book, condensed and rearranged a bit.

Quotes:

Ian Senior: "I must say... I ken Claire had a few years on you, but I never guessed it was two hundred."
Jamie: "Two hundred and seven."
Except there's an extra two in there. She's only five years older than Jamie.

Denzell: "Thee is a rare breed, Claire. 'Tis a joy to see thee again."

Rachel: "Thee is a wolf, too. And I know it. But thee is my wolf. And if thee hunts at night, I know thee will come home."
Ian: "And sleep at thy feet." She wants him for exactly who he is, and he feels the same. This was the first time he used plain speech with her.

Claire: "I would feel it in my heart if his had stopped. Do you understand? Mine would stop, too."

Any one of these major events could have carried an entire episode. Was it all too much? Four out of four enormous plotlines,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

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