Outlander: Wilmington (4x08)

Ultimately, I liked this episode, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't have some complaints.

Cons:

George Washington was a slave owner, y'all. Like, I get that it's fun when Claire runs in to real historical figures and geeks out over them, but this episode portrayed George Washington as a very kind, intelligent, honorable man, which... well... mileage may vary on how much emphasis you put on the "customs of the day," but the man was a plantation owner. There was an episode earlier this season focused on Claire's hatred for slavery, and yet in this episode she is just giddy and excited to meet such a famous historical figure, and doesn't even portray the slightest hint of disgust over the slavery aspect. Annoying.

Speaking of Claire's time-travel-y sensibilities, it occurs to me that Murtagh knows that Claire is from the future, and yet we have seen no evidence as of yet that Claire has told Murtagh about the revolution and what will happen. Seeing as how Murtagh is a somewhat prominent part of the Regulators, you'd think Claire would clue Murtagh in on the war to come, and perhaps caution him on how to behave. This is the first time that I've felt Murtagh's continued existence in the story didn't quite gel with the facts as we know them.

I know that Roger and Bree's fight happens in the book, and this adaptation is pretty faithful to that, but I have my problems with it. First of all, this seems like one of those classic misunderstanding plot threads that makes no real sense. Why couldn't Roger tell the full story? Say: "yes, I did know about the newspaper clipping. I debated on whether to tell you, and I'm sorry I hesitated, but then I did call you to tell you, but you'd already left, so I knew I had to follow you." That would be the truth! And Brianna would have every right to be displeased with Roger for keeping something from her, but maybe things wouldn't have blown up the way they did. Also, I know that Brianna pushes Roger away and tells him to leave, but it makes no sense that he would work so hard to find her, and then actually leave her on her own. I can understand their fight, but I can't understand the intensity of it.

Pros:

The best thing about this episode is that it's centered around this one place, where all of these wild coincidences occur. I don't mind that it doesn't make realistic sense, because it's so satisfying to feel the nexus of the story tightening, as all of our core characters get closer and closer. You get moments like Roger and Fergus crossing paths, and you get Fergus and Murtagh reuniting, which is something I didn't even know I desperately needed until I got it, and you've got Roger and Brianna finding each other, the intense relief of that long-awaited moment, and you've got Claire and Jamie visiting Fergus, Marsali, and baby Germain, and it's all just the cutest. Of course, all of these reunions and coincidences are just a prologue to the one we're really excited for: Brianna and Jamie. It looks like that's coming up next week.

I'm a sucker for Fergus and Jamie's relationship, so it was fun to see a few brief moments of it here. I also like Marsali and Claire talking about motherhood. It's heartbreaking that Claire has to pretend she's never had a child, but this conversation did a lot to heighten the anticipation for Claire and Brianna's reunion as well. I love how the themes of this season are building to such a natural boiling point.

I will never agree with how often Gabaldon uses rape in her stories to further the drama, but I understand that the meeting between Brianna and Stephen Bonnet is a big plot point in the books, and the show pretty much had to adapt it. So, with that said, the way that they chose to portray this rape was actually really interesting. We don't see much of anything, but we hear Brianna screaming and struggling, and it's really hard to handle. I was able to shut down my imagination so as not to think too hard about what was happening, but it was still vivid, and difficult to handle, and the focus was on the fact that Brianna is really alone, without allies, making her fight with Roger all the more poignant in retrospect. There's a whole room of people who can hear Brianna calling for help, and nobody comes. As if Bree hadn't been having a horrible enough day as it was.

Of course, part of what makes the day so horrible on the whole is how wonderful it started. I've had my issues with Roger's behavior in the past, but this episode showed how much Roger and Bree truly love each other, and it was wonderful to behold. The relief when they find each other is so palpable. I love that Brianna is so overjoyed at first that it takes her a moment to realize that Roger shouldn't even be in this century. The hand-fasting ceremony is sweet, their sex scene was just the right mix of tender and joyful, and I loved Bree shyly asking afterwards if it was alright, if she'd done it right. That was so cute and perfect.

One of the best recurring elements of this show, and indeed of the books as well, is when Claire is just a total medical bad-ass. The scenarios are always contrived and somewhat silly, but honestly I don't care. This week, a man's injury interrupts a play, and Claire and Governor Tryon have to team up to save him. It's a predictable story, one where people at first doubt Claire's competence, but then bow to her results, but I can't get enough of this kind of thing. I also like that the whole thing is a distraction so that Jamie can run to tell Fergus to warn Murtagh about a spy in his midst. It's the fun kind of political chaos that I love most about these stories. Also, Governor Tryon is obviously a villain, but it was fun to put a slightly human face on him by showing his concern and then exhilaration during Claire's operation, and his ultimate respect for her.

I'm sure I'm missing a lot of detail, but that's all I've got time to write at the moment. I thought this episode had a lot of strong elements, and I love the way everything is converging. That said, I'm definitely eager for next week's episode to just get here already!

8/10