Nooooooo. Okay before I start reviewing this episode, I want to say that I straight up don't remember how this goes down in the book. I do know that our dearly departed character of the week played a significantly reduced role in the books, and didn't hang out with Claire and Jamie as much as he does in the show. I also know that I care a hell of a lot more about him in the TV version than I did in the books... in fact, I don't really remember his literary counterpart. Let's get to talking about this.
Cons:
This was one of those episodes that hit every emotional angle it needed to, and also had a lot of forward motion in the plot... but at the same time, I did feel like the top half of the episode was a little sluggish in terms of the pacing. We've been building up to actual battle for a long time, pretty much all season, and to have to wait so long for the fight within this episode didn't feel like the tense ramp-up that I think it was meant to.
Also, in regards to the death, they made it painfully obvious what was coming, which took away a bit of the horror of it all. But that's a small thing, and I was certainly still devastated.
Pros:
So, despite what I just said about the buildup being a little slow, there were many good things about it. Claire's part in the episode wasn't as bombastic as Jamie's, but it was still effective and poignant. She leads a group of women in preparing to treat the wounded in the upcoming battle, strengthening the resolve of the frightened wives and family members and also shoring up her own reserves of strength for yet more war. It was so lovely to see Claire maintain such a strong presence, especially knowing that she suffers from PTSD.
The historical accuracy of this episode was really cool too. The Scots defeat the British in the battle at Prestonpans due to one man informing the Scots about a secret way through a boggy marsh that will allow them to sneak up on their enemies. It feels a bit too neat and tidy, but that's how it really went down. The brevity of the battle, too, felt true to real life and most unlike a lot of staged battles we see in movies and TV. It took about fifteen minutes in real time.
The historical accuracy of this episode was really cool too. The Scots defeat the British in the battle at Prestonpans due to one man informing the Scots about a secret way through a boggy marsh that will allow them to sneak up on their enemies. It feels a bit too neat and tidy, but that's how it really went down. The brevity of the battle, too, felt true to real life and most unlike a lot of staged battles we see in movies and TV. It took about fifteen minutes in real time.
Charles Stuart got a fair bit of subtle development here. He declares that the battle to come is not totally honorable, and once they've won, he has mixed feelings about their victory. This isn't a victory over foreigners. It's a victory over fellow British citizens. Prince Charles insists on compassion for the wounded British, and asks that they be treated alongside the Jacobites. While this might seem naïve or even downright idiotic of him, it nevertheless shows a lot of inner strength and moral righteousness. I think my favorite scene with Charles was when he tries to go out and lead his men into battle, and Jamie detains him, saying that the rebellion won't survive without him. Jamie says that Charles' father, King James, will likely be unable to properly celebrate his victory if he cannot share it with his son. Charles says his customary phrase, "mark me," followed by the admittance that his father doesn't care for him very much. I don't know what it was about that moment, but it had a bit of humor tinged with a lot of sadness. Charles is undeniably a weak sort of ruler, and one we might even ridicule or despise for his ignorance. But the idea that he is doing all of this, and is willing to risk his own life on the battlefield, for a father who does not love him... well, it's all sorts of heartbreaking.
Dougal acts as a bit of a foil for Charles Stuart this week, which I thought was a very interesting role to place him in. Jamie uses Dougal to test the British officers' range, putting him in the line of fire. Later, Jamie stops Charles from putting himself in danger, highlighting the fact that Dougal would be an acceptable loss, and indeed a good martyr, while Charles is indispensable. While Charles is benevolent towards the British soldiers, who he regards as his subjects, Dougal is cruel to the British, brutally slaughtering wounded men begging for mercy. Dougal has always been a character that it's easy to hate, and this episode doesn't make me like him any better. But at the same time, Dougal is not an unambiguously bad character. He's fighting for what he believes to be a just cause, and he has no room in his heart for compassion towards the enemy. In some ways, it's hard to blame him - the British soldiers have never been kind to the Highlanders. But that's in the abstract. In the concrete, it's hard to watch Dougal kill men who are just as human as any of our leading characters.
Dougal acts as a bit of a foil for Charles Stuart this week, which I thought was a very interesting role to place him in. Jamie uses Dougal to test the British officers' range, putting him in the line of fire. Later, Jamie stops Charles from putting himself in danger, highlighting the fact that Dougal would be an acceptable loss, and indeed a good martyr, while Charles is indispensable. While Charles is benevolent towards the British soldiers, who he regards as his subjects, Dougal is cruel to the British, brutally slaughtering wounded men begging for mercy. Dougal has always been a character that it's easy to hate, and this episode doesn't make me like him any better. But at the same time, Dougal is not an unambiguously bad character. He's fighting for what he believes to be a just cause, and he has no room in his heart for compassion towards the enemy. In some ways, it's hard to blame him - the British soldiers have never been kind to the Highlanders. But that's in the abstract. In the concrete, it's hard to watch Dougal kill men who are just as human as any of our leading characters.
In the end, it all comes down to Jamie, who sends Dougal away, giving him a "promotion" to the head of an auxiliary force. This will get him away from Charles, who does not take kindly to Dougal's cruelty towards their enemies. This is another situation where I can't quite remember how it goes down in the books, but I continue to love the way the show is portraying the dynamic between Jamie and Dougal. Jamie is doing Dougal a favor in sending him away, but he's also depriving Dougal of the opportunity to be in the thick of things. It's a complicated situation, that's for sure.
I think the greatest gift of this episode was that it really highlighted how brutal war can be. There was no sugarcoating going on here. We got hints of the glory of battle: Jamie's blood-and-dirt-soaked body cutting down the British left and right, the cheers of victory when the battle ended... but there was also ample evidence of the horrors of this violence. I'm not sure how they did it, but every time one of the Jacobites cut down a British soldier, I winced, because I felt the loss of a human life. It didn't matter that they served as antagonists in that moment.
Of course, the brutality of the war is best highlighted in two characters fighting on the side of the Scots: Fergus and Angus.
I think the greatest gift of this episode was that it really highlighted how brutal war can be. There was no sugarcoating going on here. We got hints of the glory of battle: Jamie's blood-and-dirt-soaked body cutting down the British left and right, the cheers of victory when the battle ended... but there was also ample evidence of the horrors of this violence. I'm not sure how they did it, but every time one of the Jacobites cut down a British soldier, I winced, because I felt the loss of a human life. It didn't matter that they served as antagonists in that moment.
Of course, the brutality of the war is best highlighted in two characters fighting on the side of the Scots: Fergus and Angus.
To start with, little Fergus gets his first look at the realities of war, and the poor guy is understandably shaken. Fergus wants to fight, but Jamie and Claire tell him no. Fergus sneaks off anyway, predictably, and gets caught up in the middle of the fighting. But rather than getting injured or killed, as one might expect from such a plot development, Fergus comes out unscathed physically. But he kills a man, and watches dozens of others die horribly around him. Claire is horrified when she realizes that Fergus is gone, and relieved beyond all imagining when she sees that he's alright. Fergus' innocent little face as he reveals that he's killed a man is a serious punch in the gut. I'm really excited to see where Fergus' character goes from here, because I think this will leave an unavoidable mark on his poor little soul.
And finally we get to Angus. Rest in peace, my ribald comic relief friend. In some ways it's a cheap trick, killing the lighthearted comic character. It's been done before in many shows, many times, to up the stakes. Angus is one of those characters that I didn't think much about. He was there, he was funny, I sort of enjoyed the way that he and Rupert managed to go from being Claire's irritating shadows to being her friends, but I could have done with or without him. And then this episode comes along and makes you feel every bit of the anguish of his passing. I mentioned earlier that his death doesn't really come as a surprise, which is a bit of a flaw... but the reason it doesn't come as a surprise is that they really wring every bit of drama and sadness out of it that they can, both before and after it happens.
First, you get Angus and Rupert listening as two of the other men exchange promises to each other. Each agrees to protect the other's family should one of them die in battle. Angus attempts to make the same deal with Rupert, who angrily rebukes him, insisting that neither of them are going to die. Later, Angus coerces Claire into giving him a goodbye kiss by saying that he might die, and Claire will regret denying him his final wish. All of this indicates that Angus is afraid to die, but also well aware of the possibility. In contrast, Rupert is in denial about the possibility of death. This heavy foreshadowing is turned on its head when Rupert is grievously injured during the battle. An explosion goes off and knocks Angus out, but he appears to be unharmed. He sits by Rupert's side, just watching him breathe and praying for him to be well. Claire believes Rupert will recover. Then... Angus dies, quite abruptly. Turns out, he was bleeding internally the whole time. Rupert gets up and sings with another one of the men who has lost his dear friend. Still suffering from his own injuries, Rupert hardly seems to feel the physical pain as he drinks to the death of his best friend Angus.
What I really admire about the portrayal of Angus and Rupert is that it is, in all seriousness, a love story. The absence of a sexual or explicitly romantic element to their relationship in no way negates its weight. This show is obviously centrally focused on the very romantic and sexual relationship between Jamie and Claire, but other relationships are shown as just as powerful and meaningful. Jamie and Murtagh's bond of family and loyalty. Jenny and Jamie's siblinghood. Jamie and Ian's friendship and brotherhood. Jamie and Claire's paternal connection to Fergus. Each of these relationships is strong enough to sustain a lot of love and drama. Angus and Rupert, while primarily used for comic relief, have been each other's partners in life for many years. Their love for one another was never a focal point, but this episode made me understand exactly what Angus' death will do to Rupert, and it's not going to be pretty.
Also, I think Angus' death is going to have a profound effect on Claire. After exploring her PTSD in last week's episode, this is yet another example of Claire standing by and watching as somebody dies in front of her. As a medical professional, that has to cut to the quick.
First, you get Angus and Rupert listening as two of the other men exchange promises to each other. Each agrees to protect the other's family should one of them die in battle. Angus attempts to make the same deal with Rupert, who angrily rebukes him, insisting that neither of them are going to die. Later, Angus coerces Claire into giving him a goodbye kiss by saying that he might die, and Claire will regret denying him his final wish. All of this indicates that Angus is afraid to die, but also well aware of the possibility. In contrast, Rupert is in denial about the possibility of death. This heavy foreshadowing is turned on its head when Rupert is grievously injured during the battle. An explosion goes off and knocks Angus out, but he appears to be unharmed. He sits by Rupert's side, just watching him breathe and praying for him to be well. Claire believes Rupert will recover. Then... Angus dies, quite abruptly. Turns out, he was bleeding internally the whole time. Rupert gets up and sings with another one of the men who has lost his dear friend. Still suffering from his own injuries, Rupert hardly seems to feel the physical pain as he drinks to the death of his best friend Angus.
What I really admire about the portrayal of Angus and Rupert is that it is, in all seriousness, a love story. The absence of a sexual or explicitly romantic element to their relationship in no way negates its weight. This show is obviously centrally focused on the very romantic and sexual relationship between Jamie and Claire, but other relationships are shown as just as powerful and meaningful. Jamie and Murtagh's bond of family and loyalty. Jenny and Jamie's siblinghood. Jamie and Ian's friendship and brotherhood. Jamie and Claire's paternal connection to Fergus. Each of these relationships is strong enough to sustain a lot of love and drama. Angus and Rupert, while primarily used for comic relief, have been each other's partners in life for many years. Their love for one another was never a focal point, but this episode made me understand exactly what Angus' death will do to Rupert, and it's not going to be pretty.
Also, I think Angus' death is going to have a profound effect on Claire. After exploring her PTSD in last week's episode, this is yet another example of Claire standing by and watching as somebody dies in front of her. As a medical professional, that has to cut to the quick.
In all, this episode accomplished its goals very well. I'm devastated about Angus, and increasingly anxious about the horrors of the war to come. Knowing how it all turns out doesn't help much. Honestly, the fact that we know they're going to fail and yet I'm still on the edge of my seat proves to me that this is some good television. Onwards to more pain in the coming weeks!
8.5/10
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