Outlander: Heaven and Earth (3x10)

This was a great episode, with one kind of big exception. Let's start with that before getting in to the good stuff.

Cons:

What the hecking heck, Jamie? Stop being so mean to Fergus! Jamie spends this episode locked up for trying to take over the Artemis and chase down Claire. He asks Fergus for his help in escaping, but Fergus has some natural qualms about this. If he does this, they will be committing a mutiny with little chance of success, and Claire is more than capable of taking care of herself. Jamie says some truly awful things to Fergus, accusing him of not understanding real love. He basically tries to manipulate Fergus by saying he'll give his blessing for his marriage to Marsali only if Fergus helps to spring Jamie free. Fergus considers it, but then refuses, because if he gets caught, Marsali will be all alone with nobody to protect her from the men on board. Eventually, Marsali saves Jamie by convincing the captain to let him go, under an oath that he will not rebel.

I can understand Jamie's frustration and pain over being separated from Claire. But his words to Fergus in this episode are just downright cruel. As Fergus and Marsali both point out to Jamie, Fergus' refusal to help free Jamie is not just for Fergus and Marsali. It's for Jamie as well. Fergus is trying to stop his foster father from making a terrible mistake. I wish we could have seen a heartfelt apology, at the very least, for such heinous words.

Besides that, the stuff with Jamie was just generally much less interesting than what was going on with Claire in this episode. He pukes a bunch because he's seasick, he yells at Fergus, he gets let go. I hope next week gives him better material to work with.

Pros:

The one light in the darkness of the Artemis plot thread is the stuff with Fergus and Marsali. We're seeing just enough to understand them as a couple, giddy and in love. Despite the fact that Marsali was rude to Claire, we actually root for these two to be together. Marsali is an intelligent and kind woman, and her understanding and support of Fergus does a lot to make me like her. In one of the scenes while they're talking, we see Marsali helping Fergus to clean off his stump and re-attach the wooden hand. It's a very commonplace routine, clearly something they've both done a bunch of times.

Turning to Claire - Caitriona Balfe was incredible. She totally stole the show. Also, the writing is superb. A lot of plot happens in this one episode, but I didn't feel for a second like things were being rushed or squeezed in. I had time to get to know poor Elias enough that his death really shook me. I understood the cook's hatred, the young captain's reluctant yet respectful use of Claire's skills. The woman milking the goats made a real connection with Claire as well, despite the language barrier. I was riveted by all the scenes on the Porpoise.

Mostly, the cool thing about this is that Claire gets to take charge. She's in this position of power over her male patients and the other sailors, and for the most part they take her seriously, especially when she can provide results. Claire is good at what she does, and she takes pride and purpose in it. It's lovely to see her prodigious abilities come into play in this story.

The ending is really awesome, too. Claire jumps overboard to make it to land, all to try and find Jamie and warn him that he's going to be arrested in Jamaica. Again, we see Claire taking charge and making real moves to protect her family. One of the reasons why all of this is so satisfying is that we watched Claire take a back seat to her own happiness for the first several episodes of the season, and now finally we see her taking charge again.

This isn't a particularly long review, but I think you get the gist - Jamie's stuff was kinda rocky, but Claire's more than made up for it. And while I don't think Reunion 2.0 is going to be quite as satisfying as the first one, I'm still looking forward to seeing Jamie and Claire continue their epic struggle to be together.

8/10