Ian and Rachel’s wedding was fun and different. I liked that it was Quaker because I have a lot of admiration for the Society of Friends, especially their long history of nonviolence and active opposition to slavery.
And I loved how proudly parental Jamie and Claire were. Ian is their son, for all intents and purposes, and their approval and joy, lovely to see. The parallels were obvious: Jamie and Ian are both violent men who have chosen healers for wives. Both Claire and Rachel have chosen – were not forced – to go off to war with their husbands.
The extended wedding night scene went on too long for me, but I understood what they were going for, a callback to Jamie and Claire's wedding night, with Rachel turning out to be bolder (and more like Claire) than Ian was expecting. The conversation in bed suggested that there would be honesty and frankness between Ian and Rachel in their marriage. That bodes well.
The one thing that made me uncomfortable was Ian's observation that Rollo was getting old. Ian adopted young Rollo in 1766, which would make him at least twelve, definitely getting up in years for a dog. Sigh.
Denzell's report about helping Lord John escape from hanging made Jamie worry. We did get a brief scene with John cleverly explaining his fetters to a rebel patrol and taking an alias, Bertram Armstrong. The Reverend Peleg Woodsworth of the 16th Pennsylvania wasn't an historical figure, although with a name like that, he should have been.
Jemmy rescued himself from the power station by remembering what Bree had said about being imprisoned there, while Mandy used her mystical connection to Jemmy to help find him out on the road.
But then the cops ruined everything by treating Bree as if she was lying and cheating on her husband. To give the cops some credit, Bree was lying because she couldn't very well explain the gold and the time travel shenanigans, and maybe the cops sensed that. But it was still sexist and frustrating. And now Rob Cameron is in the wind with the keys to Lallybroch. (How did he get out of the priest's hole? The door was latched from the outside!)
It was nice to see Fiona again and of course, Fiona and Ernie are the only people Bree could turn to in a time travel emergency. It did feel for a moment that Jemmy was going to wind up going through the stones at the dam to 1739 with Roger and Buck, didn't it?
For me, the best part of this episode was Roger's all too brief reunion with his father, Jeremiah. It was beautiful and poignant, and possibly the best performance Richard Rankin has given in this series.
I could see what talking with the father he'd never known meant to Roger when he couldn't even acknowledge aloud what was happening. His heart was in his eyes, and his last words that Jeremiah couldn't hear were "I love you." I'm actually tearing up again typing this.
We really don’t know what the stones are or why they exist. Did Roger and Buck end up in 1739 because Roger momentarily thought of his own father? Did the stones, or fate or God or whatever, send Roger back deliberately to save his father’s life? Roger repeatedly told Jeremiah to think of his wife Marjorie when going through the stones. I suppose if Jeremiah thought about his own baby Roger instead, he might end up in the walls of that dam, or lost in the tunnels. What a horrible thought.
Marjorie was killed in an air raid in the London underground. Why did Roger see a flash of himself with his father in the underground after Jeremiah left?
Buck supported Roger with just his presence while Roger talked with his father. Buck and Roger have clearly bonded during this bizarre adventure they're having together. And yet, Roger chose not to tell Buck that Buck had watched his parents meet. It has to be painful for Roger to lie to Buck after all they've been through together.
I think Roger should tell Buck. Shouldn't he? Doesn't he owe it to him?
Book Versus Series
In book eight, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, the widowed Jenny came to America with Jamie. I can understand why they decided not to do this since Jenny was recast, even though the actress did a fine job.
Secondly, there was an entire plotline that appears to have been eliminated. While in England studying medicine, Denzell had met and fallen for Lord John’s niece, the Duke’s daughter Dorothea Grey, called Dottie. William Ransom had assisted with their romance by faking a relationship with Dottie. The Duke and Dottie were in Philadelphia and Claire treated the Duke for a major illness. The wedding in this episode was a double ceremony where Denzell also married Dottie.
And again, I can see why they left this out. It’s a nice story – I particularly enjoyed the rich and privileged Dottie’s sincere efforts to become Plain – but a double wedding may have been a bit cute for this show. Plus it strains the bounds of coincidence, doesn't it?
Bits:
— This episode’s post-credit scene was a black and white newsreel of a Spitfire plane in the air.
— The title "Hello, Goodbye" was obviously about Roger and Jeremiah.
— The wedding outfits were Plain but clearly of good quality. Rachel looked beautiful. Ian wore only one ornament, his Mohawk armband.
— Jamie donned his new uniform for Claire, a callback to when he put on the British uniform he hated. "At least this time it's the right color."
— Henry is still recovering from his operation and still spending time with Mercy, although they're no longer living together.
Quotes:
Jamie: "Your Auntie Claire had been married before when I wed her. So I was the virgin on our wedding night. And I was given a great deal of advice beforehand from my uncle Dougal, and Rupert, and Angus."
Ian: "Any of it good?"
Jamie: "God, no."
Jamie: "I think ye already ken ye should be gentle about it. The only useful thing was what my wife told me on the night. 'Go slowly. Pay attention.' I'm sure you canna go far wrong with that."
Ian: "Was she gentle with you?"
Jamie: "God, no."
Jamie: "Do ye think I should say it's all my fault for being a bad influence on Ian?"
Claire: "If the spirit moves you to. But personally, I'd advise you and the spirit to stay out of it."
Jem: (to himself) "On your feet, soldier. As Granny would say."
Cop: "No need to be hysterical, Mrs. MacKenzie."
Bree: "Oh, you haven’t seen hysterical."
Roger: "In your time, Winston Churchill is prime minister. In mine, it's a woman named Margaret Thatcher."
Jeremiah: "A woman?"
Roger: "She serves Queen Elizabeth the second, King George's daughter."
Jeremiah: "You've got to tell me something. Please!"
Roger: "We win the war."
Jeremiah: "We... we win?"
Roger: "Aye. We lose a hell of a lot, but we win. Because of men like you."
Jeremiah was on a secret mission to photograph Nazi concentration camps in Poland. Wow.
Bree: "I know Roger. He will never come home without our son. Never."
That's true. So now what?
What do you guys think? Three out of four Spitfires?
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
I'd give it three out of four spitfires. I agree with everything you said here, from loving the wedding ceremony to thinking that the love scene went on a bit too long.
ReplyDelete(I also loved Jamie, a Catholic, wondering how long the ceremony would take. Every time I've gone to a Catholic wedding--which is most weddings I've attended!--the first question everyone asks is "Is it going to be a full mass?")
Are Claire and Jamie living in Lord John's house now? I'm getting some of my interiors confused, I think.
Although I've never quite cottoned to Roger, I am enjoying his adventures with Buck and his brief reunion with his dad.