Outlander: A Hundredweight of Stones

"Think of the deer, my dear."

I'm so loving this season. Half-season. Whatever.

Twists like the ones in this episode are a big reason why Outlander is so special. Tell me what other passionate love story will give you the heroine in bed with her beloved husband's gay best friend?

But it absolutely worked. Claire is such a passionate woman and has given up so much of her life for Jamie Fraser. She was literally screaming in an agony of grief and about to slit her own wrists. Lord John clearly felt much the same. It made sense that they would take comfort in each other. And I thought the Claire/John sex scene was done quite well. It was violent and disjointed and not at all sexy or romantic. (Note the scratches on his chest the morning after.)

Love their expressions

Clearly, their marriage is already over since Jamie walked back in through the door at the end of the episode, but Claire and John's scenes as a couple were all wonderful. They brought each other out of the depths of grief and always conversed with complete honesty. She did wear the dress he got her, attend the party, and wear his ring. It made me think that if, god forbid, Jamie really had gone down with the Euterpe, the two of them could have had a good marriage as close friends.

And I'm sure we’re all wondering now how Jamie is going to take this revelation. I can't imagine he will be pleased. Taking John hostage to get out of the house and away from the British soldiers was hilarious and a brilliant move. I'm sure the two of them will have a lot to talk about.

William will have a lot of consider as well, since he just discovered that his biological father was the estate's groom, not an earl – and that the man he loved as a father lied to him about it his entire life.

Lord John is probably right that his brother the Duke would never accept Mercy as his son’s bride. I will never understand why people feel such a deep need to keep other people from marrying the person they love. And giving John the benefit of the doubt, I can understand why after a lifetime of keeping his orientation a secret, he would oppose his nephew marrying a Black woman. Or possibly a rebel, but I'm sure the fact that she's a Black woman rebel is a factor. This is the eighteenth century, after all.

While most of the episode was (understandably) about Claire and John, there were some nice pre-marital discussions between Ian and Rachel that nicely complemented the theme. If they can talk so frankly, much like Claire and John did, it bodes really well for their marriage. I also liked that Ian and Rachel discussed Catholics not allowing marriage to Quakers.

1739 and 1980

Bazinga! Now we know that Rob Cameron didn't take Jemmy through the stones after all; the scarf with the Tufty the Squirrel button was just a clever diversionary tactic. Rob showed up in the Lallybroch kitchen in 1980 and outlined his plans to torture Jemmy for the location of the gold. He told Bree no one was coming to help her. And then she laid him out all by herself, even though he had a knife in his hand and all she had was access to a dish drainer. The misogynist underestimated her.

The 1739 scenes mostly confirmed that the Jeremiah MacKenzie that drew Roger to that time had to have been his RAF pilot father, not his young son. (Or "wee lad," as Buck would call him.) I really want Roger to find and meet his father, and then go the heck home.

I'm glad Buck has recovered. I've grown fond of Buck. He's proven himself a good friend to Roger. Almost makes up for getting him hung at Alamance.

Book Versus Series

Yes, again, pretty much what was in the book. There are a few things that might have been omitted, but I don’t know what will happen in the next episode and I don't want to inadvertently spoil anyone. I'll put them in the next review.

Although I honestly don’t remember if Henry and Mercy were a couple. Could someone remind me?

Bits:

— The post-credit scene was the white deer that John described to Claire when he was talking about his lover Manoke who lives at his estate in Virginia. They don't own each other; they just enjoy their relationship for the beautiful and unexpected thing that it is.

— Gold acting stars again for Caitríona Balfe. It's not easy to literally scream with grief and make it believable, and wow, did she ever. David Berry gets honorable mention just for the way he looked across the chess table at the other chair while quietly sobbing.

— The wedding was so subdued. I honestly don’t know which of them looked more upset. I liked that Claire looked at William, showing where her thoughts were.

— At the party, William introduced Claire to a young woman named Peggy Chew, and told Claire that he didn't dance with her because he missed Rachel Hunter. Peggy Chew was a real person.

— Claire has had so many names already: Beauchamp, Randall, Fraser, Malcolm. And now she's added Lady John Grey.

— On the dance floor, Captain Richardson outed himself as a rebel spy to Claire. Yes, tell me another one. Richardson is so shifty that I have absolutely no idea what his agenda is. I'm not surprised that Claire would refuse to spy on the Greys. She probably would have refused even if George Washington had asked her.

— Interesting parallel. Ian just lost both of his fathers. Well, he didn't actually lose Jamie, but still. And William just found and lost both of his fathers. Sort of.

— The locations and Claire's party dress? All so gorgeous. And OMG, that dress box.

— "A Hundredweight of Stones" is the episode title. What did it mean? Just the weight of grief? With the stones at Craigh na Dun thrown in, perhaps?

Quotes:

Ian: "Do Quakers believe in heaven?"
Rachel: "Some do."
Ian: "Is there a difference of opinion on the matter?"
Rachel: "We consider our life here on Earth to be a sacrament. There may be an afterlife, but as no one has come back to say so, it's a matter of individual speculation."
Ian: "Well, I havena been there either, so I'll no' say that's wrong. But if there's a heaven, there's at least a comfort to think Uncle Jamie's there, keeping my Da company."

Ian: "Emily chose me. I was grateful. But Rachel, with my whole soul, I choose you. I hope you will choose me."
The way he put this – I hadn't thought about it. But he didn't choose Emily. Just like he didn't choose to be Mohawk. This is a big life choice Ian is making for himself.

John: "I wanted all of it. And I was young and proud, and thought that if I could not have it all, then I would accept no less."
Claire: "Do you regret it? Not accepting his offer?"
John: "Ten thousand times. But at the same time, refusing him was one of the few acts of true nobility to which I would lay claim for myself."
John was right that if he had taken Jamie's offer, they never would have been lifelong friends.

Claire: "You once spoke to me of unbearable loneliness. How could you of all people wish that on your nephew, when the woman that he loves wants to spend the rest of her life with him?"
John: “Because I know what it is, madam, to have your love be a crime. To live in fear of discovery and of violence."

Claire: "There it is."
Jamie: "What?"
Claire: "My blood."

The Outlander storytellers gave this plot twist the time it needed to breathe, and I really enjoyed it. Four out of four incredibly ornate and detailed dress boxes,

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

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