Yep, still good. This season is going to have to move along at a nice clip, honestly... I'm wondering if they're going to stick with the chronological storytelling, or jump us forward to the juicy reunion stuff and then tell parts of the story in flashback. At this point, I'm actually not sure what I think would be better... but this was an extremely strong opening and I'm beyond excited to see where we go from here.
Cons:
Okay, so, for the most part Jamie's side of the story was very strong. I really admired how they were able to keep me invested in what was essentially just Jamie lying there on the verge of death and contemplating the battle he's just miraculously survived. However, there was one moment towards the end that felt hokey, and that's when Jamie arrives back in Lallybroch. See, I can suspend my disbelief enough to believe that Jamie would survive the battle, and then survive execution because John Grey's brother (Hal, although we don't exactly get formally introduced at this juncture) happens to recognize Jamie's name. It's a little harder to swallow that Hal would actually go to the trouble of getting a cart to send Jamie away from the battlefield, and even though I know it happens this way in the book, I'm not entirely clear how he ends up safe and sound in Jenny and Ian's arms by the hour's end. How does a delirious, half-dead Jamie Fraser make it back to Lallybroch? Who was driving that cart? I don't know... maybe it just felt a little too easy, despite all of the hardship I know is to come.
Pros:
But all of that is nitpicking. Because - for real, this premiere was stunning. Let's start with the way they did the famous Battle of Culloden. We see Jamie, barely breathing, with a redcoat lying on top of him. Jamie's arm is around the man's shoulders, almost like they're holding each other. Around Jamie, we see the bodies of countless fallen Jacobites. Various redcoats patrol the field, killing anything that stirs with a swift stab of the bayonet. Slowly, we see snippets of the fight. We see Prince Charles calmly setting up to watch the battle, confident in victory. We see Jamie and Murtagh exchange quips. We see Jamie and the other soldiers charge fiercely into battle. Everything is disjointed, nothing makes sense. We see Jamie and Jack Randall make eye contact and rush each other, each intent on blood. We see Jack take a blow at Jamie's thigh, and finally we see Jamie stab Jack in the gut, mortally wounding him. As we continue to switch between the flashback and the present moment, we are finally greeted with the chilling sight of a dead Black Jack Randall and a barely living Jamie Fraser lying in a pseudo-embrace, their faces nearly touching.
Just. Wow. Oh God. This is the best way for Jack to exit the story. In some ways it's very underplayed, because he doesn't get any dialogue or anything. He's just... dead, now. And the way the battle scene crescendos, only to come to an end on that shot of the two men lying side by side... wow. Absolutely incredible and chilling and great in every way.
From there, we see the aftermath. Rupert has also survived the fighting, and he arranges for Jamie and the other survivors to huddle up in a nearby hut. They are quickly found by some British officers, one of whom we learn is the older brother of sixteen-year-old Lord John Grey. He is nameless here, but as mentioned above, I know him as Hal. This whole sequence of scenes was really devastating because of Rupert. He took charge with such authority and grace. He tried to plead for the lives of some of the younger men, but nobody was spared. He thanks the British for allowing them the honorable death of being shot, instead of the traitor's death of being hanged. Rupert and Jamie get a goodbye, where Rupert says he'll not go to his death angry at Jamie over Dougal's death. In a very effective move, we don't see anybody die, we just see the conversations happening inside, interspersed with very loud and shocking gunshots from outside. Rupert's death is totally invisible to us, but it feels visceral. It also feels like the final nail in the coffin of Jamie's past. We haven't seen Murtagh yet, but all signs point to his having died on the field. I actually got a little misty-eyed when Rupert talked about seeing Angus again in the afterlife. Those two really do belong together.
One of the more interesting things going on in this episode is the whole code of conduct during wartime thing. The Jacobites are relieved to be shot instead of hanged, the honorable British officer refuses to shoot men lying down, and says that any that are too injured to stand will be propped up for their execution. Most importantly for our story, Hal Grey honors the life debt that his little brother owes to Red Jamie. It might seem completely twisted and nonsensical to us, but there are rules for this sort of thing. There are ways to behave and ways not to behave, even in the aftermath of such an inhumane battle. Jamie had nothing to live for (or so he believed) and yet because he spared somebody's life, he gets to live. He's forced to live. I just really like the complexity of how this thing is playing out, honestly. And even if it came across a little bit cheesy, I was relieved to see Ian and Jenny, and to know that Jamie was out of immediate danger.
Let's turn now to the excellent plot in the twentieth century with Claire and Frank. They have moved to Boston, but Claire is really struggling to settle in to this domestic life. She struggles with preparing meals, speaks her mind to Frank's boss and gets in trouble for it, and won't let Frank touch her. Then, she has a rather troubling experience when giving birth to her child, as the doctor sedates her without her permission, knocking her out for the birth. When she wakes up, she's scared that her child is dead. However, Frank then enters, holding baby Brianna in his arms. It appears that the sight of their daughter has healed the rift in their relationship, at least temporarily.
I was reading another review of this episode and the critic pointed out something really interesting - in Jamie's plot thread, the incredible noise of battle is muted, and everything feels like it's coming from a great distance. In contrast, Claire's peaceful and quiet life in Boston is inundated with over-loud sounds - birds fluttering, clocks ticking, technology whirring. The sound design of the episode gives the scenes in Boston a claustrophobic air, and I think it works really well to get into Claire's mindset. Another good decision was in keeping Caitriona Balfe's face clear of makeup. She's going through an incredibly difficult life transition right now - there's no reason for her to look all dolled up.
One of the best moments in the episode is when Claire expresses a political opinion in front of Frank's male colleagues, and she is belittled and dismissed. She tries to stand up for herself a little bit, but she suppresses her anger in an effort to be a good wife to Frank. There's this great moment where Frank steps up and defends Claire a little bit. Claire had just observed that Harvard medical school is accepting women, and when Frank's boss scoffs at this, Frank steps forward and mentions that Claire was a combat nurse. This moment was so subtle because on the one hand, Frank could have said nothing. For a minute there, I was actually worried they were going to go another route, and have Frank be angry at Claire for speaking out of turn. But no. He does support her. On the other hand, Frank could have done a lot more. He remained obsequious to his boss and didn't jump in to defend Claire's right to a political opinion or anything else. It was the perfect way to keep Claire - and by extension the audience - on the fence about Frank. He hasn't done anything wrong, and in fact in some ways he's a saint for taking all of this in stride as well as he has. But he's no fierce feminist or defender of Claire's individuality either. Should we expect him to be? Perhaps not. But it's making us miss Jamie all the more.
The hospital scene was extremely upsetting. The fact that Claire's desires as a patient were so readily discounted is disgusting on so many levels. I think this moment is probably going to be another thing that pushes Claire to pursue medical school. It's so important that the trauma of losing Faith is coming into play in this critical moment. How gut-wrenching was it to hear Claire ask if her baby was dead, upon waking up and finding herself alone?
When the hour ended, I was shocked. I felt like I'd only been watching the episode for twenty minutes. It was engrossing, and scary, and sad (RIP Rupert and probably Murtagh). It made me excited for things to come (I want to check in with Roger and Brianna, and the older Claire! I want to see John Grey!) and it made me all the more anxious for the reunion we all know is coming.
9.5/10
Just. Wow. Oh God. This is the best way for Jack to exit the story. In some ways it's very underplayed, because he doesn't get any dialogue or anything. He's just... dead, now. And the way the battle scene crescendos, only to come to an end on that shot of the two men lying side by side... wow. Absolutely incredible and chilling and great in every way.
From there, we see the aftermath. Rupert has also survived the fighting, and he arranges for Jamie and the other survivors to huddle up in a nearby hut. They are quickly found by some British officers, one of whom we learn is the older brother of sixteen-year-old Lord John Grey. He is nameless here, but as mentioned above, I know him as Hal. This whole sequence of scenes was really devastating because of Rupert. He took charge with such authority and grace. He tried to plead for the lives of some of the younger men, but nobody was spared. He thanks the British for allowing them the honorable death of being shot, instead of the traitor's death of being hanged. Rupert and Jamie get a goodbye, where Rupert says he'll not go to his death angry at Jamie over Dougal's death. In a very effective move, we don't see anybody die, we just see the conversations happening inside, interspersed with very loud and shocking gunshots from outside. Rupert's death is totally invisible to us, but it feels visceral. It also feels like the final nail in the coffin of Jamie's past. We haven't seen Murtagh yet, but all signs point to his having died on the field. I actually got a little misty-eyed when Rupert talked about seeing Angus again in the afterlife. Those two really do belong together.
One of the more interesting things going on in this episode is the whole code of conduct during wartime thing. The Jacobites are relieved to be shot instead of hanged, the honorable British officer refuses to shoot men lying down, and says that any that are too injured to stand will be propped up for their execution. Most importantly for our story, Hal Grey honors the life debt that his little brother owes to Red Jamie. It might seem completely twisted and nonsensical to us, but there are rules for this sort of thing. There are ways to behave and ways not to behave, even in the aftermath of such an inhumane battle. Jamie had nothing to live for (or so he believed) and yet because he spared somebody's life, he gets to live. He's forced to live. I just really like the complexity of how this thing is playing out, honestly. And even if it came across a little bit cheesy, I was relieved to see Ian and Jenny, and to know that Jamie was out of immediate danger.
Let's turn now to the excellent plot in the twentieth century with Claire and Frank. They have moved to Boston, but Claire is really struggling to settle in to this domestic life. She struggles with preparing meals, speaks her mind to Frank's boss and gets in trouble for it, and won't let Frank touch her. Then, she has a rather troubling experience when giving birth to her child, as the doctor sedates her without her permission, knocking her out for the birth. When she wakes up, she's scared that her child is dead. However, Frank then enters, holding baby Brianna in his arms. It appears that the sight of their daughter has healed the rift in their relationship, at least temporarily.
I was reading another review of this episode and the critic pointed out something really interesting - in Jamie's plot thread, the incredible noise of battle is muted, and everything feels like it's coming from a great distance. In contrast, Claire's peaceful and quiet life in Boston is inundated with over-loud sounds - birds fluttering, clocks ticking, technology whirring. The sound design of the episode gives the scenes in Boston a claustrophobic air, and I think it works really well to get into Claire's mindset. Another good decision was in keeping Caitriona Balfe's face clear of makeup. She's going through an incredibly difficult life transition right now - there's no reason for her to look all dolled up.
One of the best moments in the episode is when Claire expresses a political opinion in front of Frank's male colleagues, and she is belittled and dismissed. She tries to stand up for herself a little bit, but she suppresses her anger in an effort to be a good wife to Frank. There's this great moment where Frank steps up and defends Claire a little bit. Claire had just observed that Harvard medical school is accepting women, and when Frank's boss scoffs at this, Frank steps forward and mentions that Claire was a combat nurse. This moment was so subtle because on the one hand, Frank could have said nothing. For a minute there, I was actually worried they were going to go another route, and have Frank be angry at Claire for speaking out of turn. But no. He does support her. On the other hand, Frank could have done a lot more. He remained obsequious to his boss and didn't jump in to defend Claire's right to a political opinion or anything else. It was the perfect way to keep Claire - and by extension the audience - on the fence about Frank. He hasn't done anything wrong, and in fact in some ways he's a saint for taking all of this in stride as well as he has. But he's no fierce feminist or defender of Claire's individuality either. Should we expect him to be? Perhaps not. But it's making us miss Jamie all the more.
The hospital scene was extremely upsetting. The fact that Claire's desires as a patient were so readily discounted is disgusting on so many levels. I think this moment is probably going to be another thing that pushes Claire to pursue medical school. It's so important that the trauma of losing Faith is coming into play in this critical moment. How gut-wrenching was it to hear Claire ask if her baby was dead, upon waking up and finding herself alone?
When the hour ended, I was shocked. I felt like I'd only been watching the episode for twenty minutes. It was engrossing, and scary, and sad (RIP Rupert and probably Murtagh). It made me excited for things to come (I want to check in with Roger and Brianna, and the older Claire! I want to see John Grey!) and it made me all the more anxious for the reunion we all know is coming.
9.5/10
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