Tonight's drink is Scottish breakfast tea.
An episode from Jamie's perspective was a really good idea, particularly for this part of the story. We've had a break, so it's less jarring to not hear Claire's voiceover, and not only rescuing Claire on a gambit from Black Jack, but establishing more progressive rules for their marriage works really well with the perspective of the 18th century man who married a 20th century woman.
Am I crazy or was the opening theme song different for this episode? I'm a big fan of Bear McCreary and I enjoy the them, but this week I think it sounded a bit different, like the instruments had been changed.
I love the chemistry between the three major characters of the series, Jamie, Claire, and Jack. Jamie's such an innocent, earnest-seeming guy, Claire is this capable, strong woman, and Jack is this thoughtful sociopath. I just wish we could take a break from rape for a few episodes. I do understand that this is 1744 and that the audience needs to se that Jack's an evil man, but every time it happens the protagonist, who the audience is connected with, is deeply disempowered and likely emotionally scarred. It fractures the character of Claire a bit, where on the one hand she's a strong-willed person who doesn't live by other people's whims but on the other hand she's very often a damsel in a particularly horrible kind of distress.
During the Outlander break, I really got into watching Agent Carter on ABC. The show follows a woman in the late 40s or early 50s working for an American intelligence service but having to deal with fairly awful sexism of the time. There's one episode where she finally gets to cut loose and show what she's capable of and it floors a lot of the misogynists on the show. She's suddenly put in a situation where she demands respect, and after like six or seven episodes of seeing her constantly have to put up with sexist nonsense, it was like coming up for a breath of air. I'm starting to think Outlander needs an episode like that at some point, an episode where Claire gets this massive personal victory, and the men in her life actually see that she is every bit their equal. Some moments a bit like this have been peppered in, like when Claire treats the boar wound (one thing I can say about Outlander, it's never boaring), but tonight it was more her fighting back when Jamie was trying to spank her and then pouting after, which didn't feel like a moment of personal victory. Granted, it was nice that Jamie realized that Claire is not just another woman and that his love for her should also translate to respect for her, but it wasn't quite the "fuck yeah" moment it could have been.
It's nice to have a "fuck yeah" moment in a tv show every now and again. Like Claire rescuing Jamie and then getting off an amazing zinger that gives Black Jack an "oh shit" face.
God, Scotland is absolutely gorgeous. We need to organize a subreddit field trip.
The shouting match between Jamie and Claire was played very real, which I have to sat I like quite a bit. Characters fighting on television is a terribly common occurrence, but very often fights are used to clumsily reveal elements of character that are better shown through action or are used to sneak in exposition about story. This fight, though, makes absolutely perfect sense and it's exactly what the characters would and should do. They're both stubborn people of different times, and that difference in culture was bound to boil over eventually, particularly given the incredibly stressful situation they've both found themselves in. Jamie has every right to be pissed that Claire ran off again, even though Claire had a good reason to leave. Claire has every right to be furious that Jamie is treating her like a child, even though Jamie is really progressive for his time. And while what they're fighting about from the dialogue makes sense and is sharing what they're feeling, the reality under the surface is that they were both terrified and care deeply for each other, and maybe they're taking out their terrified frustrations on each other a bit. And then Jamie finally lets himself feel the fear ad the confusion, and of course it's Jamie and not Claire that has that moment. Claire's thoughtful, but she doesn't like to back down. When Jamie backs down, it gives Claire a second to reflect and both of them realize they're just happy to both be together and safe. Really, this was a strong scene.
And then there was spanking. Unfortunately, this was spoiled for me, but it was still a very striking scene (no pun intended). I was vaguely aware that marriage in a time before modernity often featured the infantilization of the wife, and that relationships between husband and wife were shockingly, even creepily paternal from various history and gender studies classes back in college, but it had never really occurred to me that a husband would spank his wife the same way a father might spank a child, as punishment for undesirable behavior. The implication of that deeply unequal relationship is disturbing, particularly given how long patriarchal societies just like the 18th century Scotts or even far worse have continued throughout human history. And here comes Jamie, who honestly is an honorable man who is capable of empathy and caring for others every bit as much as he cares for himself, someone who loves Claire completely, and even he (granted, within a historical fiction) completely buys into a husband treating a wife like a disobedient child. Questions of whether or not spanking is every appropriate aside, the deeper implications of this scene are difficult to ignore. I hope our civilization continues moving forward.
The music choice in that scene was a little odd. The scene was pretty dark, but the music made it seem like the scene was supposed to be funny. Having not read the book, I'm left wondering how it is that the author characterized and contextualized this scene. Was it just upsetting? Was it played for humor? Was it vaguely sexual? I guess I'll find out after season 1 is finished.
Wait, if Jamie had stabbed Jack to death, could that have risked erasing Frank from history? If Jamie becomes the next Laird and dies, could Claire become Claird?
I'm looking forward to seeing more of this political intrigue in the coming stories, where the Scotts are getting divided between the rebels and the crown. I've been trying to avoid doing any reading on the Jacobite Rebellion, but having this all going on in the background and slowly seeping their way in, creating clan tension, is fantastic. I think more shows would benefit from a backdrop of significant historical events that can add an additional layer to story and character alike and to provide a strong motivation and something for characters to react to other than other characters. Plus, I get the distinct impression that Claire knows a great deal more about this particular time in history than I do, and it may be a matter of survival or personal motivations for justice and equity that she use her knowledge to interfere with the historical course of events as they
Holy cleavage. Well, I guess this awkward meeting was inevitable. They may be a rigidly patriarchal society, but loyalty to one's spouse certainly existed. I'm glad Jamie very carefully buy honestly let Laoghaire (had to google that spelling) down. I'm a little irked Jamie felt her up, and he probably should have let her down before he and Claire married, but at least he's mostly respecting both women. Laoghaire should know better than to go after a married man, and frankly to slut-shame Claire behind her back. I was never wild about Laoghaire as being characterized as "a girl", because it diminishes her as a person, but she does seem to play the part. And I'm sure she's supposed to be quite young, at least younger than Jamie, maybe 18? Her wiki says she was born in 1726, and this is 1744.
Ah, here we go. Alright, Jamie's swearing fealty equality to Claire, that he will never lay hands on her again, and that if he does he should be killed by "holy iron". Welp, now they're kissing. I think I can see where this is go... yep. It's fun to see the evolution of their relationship. They're crazy about each other, but they have quite a lot working against them, which I think is part of why so many people see Outlander as such a compelling romance story. Plus, this is a handsome couple. Catroina Belfe and Sam Heughan deserve quite a bit of credit for making these characters so believable and relatable. The writing is incredibly strong, but writing for a show is only going to be as effective as the avatars for the characters, and these two are terrific. And I bet they look forward to coming to work every day.
Great episode, glad the show is back after the torturous break. Taking a quick look at the episode guide, it looks like we have new episodes every week without break through to the season finale in May. I can't wait to listen to the podcast when it comes out (I'll post it when it comes up). I'll post this message as soon as the official episode discussion goes up.