Outlander: Savages (4x05)

I'm deceased because Murtagh.

Cons:

I get that Claire and Jamie are our protagonists, and that the Cherokee characters are obviously unfamiliar and strange to them, so in that sense it makes sense why the story frames them as "other." But this week's story features a real tragedy involving a family of German settlers crossing paths with some Cherokee people, and in the end the whole situation is lose-lose. While watching the final scene, where we see a man who has lost his children and grandchild get shot down by a distant and unseen Cherokee, it occurred to me that we're supposed to view this story as a tragedy for all involved. And, I mean, sure. But I feel like even when Claire acknowledges that the Cherokee are more in the right, we're still putting these two groups of people on equal footing, and ignoring the fact that every white person on this land, including Claire and Jamie, are thieves. I don't mean to be harsh, here, but the situations are not equal. The German settlers are more wrong than the Cherokee, even if they both do bad things.

Pros:

I do like seeing Claire on her own for the bulk of this episode. She spends time with her new healer friend (RIP), she helps deliver a baby, she tries her best to mediate a very tense situation, and she gears up to defend herself against a serious threat, all without the physical or emotional support of her husband. It's pretty intense, and although Claire is clearly scared and wishes Jamie were there, she's also capable of taking care of herself.

The opening scene of the episode shows Jamie, Claire, and Ian existing in domestic... well, not peace, but definitely harmony. I like that we get some moments that aren't overly passionate or loving, but are instead more mundane, even tinged with a bit of tiredness and stress. That's how life works. We do get the incredibly sweet moment when Jamie describes a birthmark that Brianna has behind her ear that he saw in a dream, and we sense the real yearning that both Jamie and Claire have for Brianna.

Jamie and Ian go to a nearby town to try and find potential settlers for Fraser's Ridge, but unfortunately they don't get any takers. Governor Tryon's tax collectors have screwed a lot of them over, so they're not willing to invest time into land that will be unfairly taxed. Jamie and Ian are about to head back home when they find the local blacksmith and... it's MURTAGH! This is a big deviation from the books, obviously, but I actually think it's brilliant. As these stories go on, it makes sense that the TV show would economize its characters. We need Scottish settlers that Jamie was with in Ardsmuir prison to be at Fraser's Ridge? Well, why not use a character that the audience already has an emotional connection with? Seeing Murtagh reunite with Jamie, and then later Claire, was extra-strength adorable. Especially the Claire stuff. The two of them have such a fun and interesting bond.

The plot thread with the regulators is something from the books, I believe, but here we're going in to more detail, and putting a real face on the issue early on. I like that a lot - it gives even more personal stakes to the coming conflict. Jamie was born to be a leader, but making a deal with Tryon is going to come back to haunt him sooner than he thinks. Having Murtagh be the face of this group is a great idea as well.

Back in the 20th century, we get a few brief scenes of Roger trying to track Brianna down and understand what happened and why she left. He finally finds an innkeeper who gives him a note that Brianna had left for Roger. Turns out, she found out about the fire, and went back to warn Jamie and Claire. She plans on returning, but left the letter in case she never could. The end of the episode shows Brianna at Craigh Na Dun, going through the stones to find her parents. Despite my qualms about Brianna's performance, I am undeniably very excited to see her reunite with Claire, and meet her father for the first time. I also love watching poor little Roger pine for her. He really is a good man, even if he can be a bit old fashioned at times.

That's all I've got for now. I'm exploding with excitement for next week's episode, obviously, because JOHN GREY! I got so excited for Murtagh, and now I get my absolute favorite character back as well? I can't wait! The scenes between Jamie and John in Drums of Autumn are some of my favorites in the whole book series. I wonder if they will dive in to their relationship a bit more on the show!

8/10