Outlander: Monsters and Heroes (5x09)

This episode was chalk-full of so many adorable character moments!

Cons:

The main thing that got short shrift here was the killing of the buffalo. I don't care if the details are changed - I don't really remember the exact way it went down in the book anyway. What mostly annoyed me was that I didn't get a sense of what a big deal it really was, for them to snag a buffalo kill. Other things are going on - Jamie is on the verge of death, Marsali is having her baby... but I remember in the book, it was a huge deal that they managed to kill a buffalo. It could feed so many people. I wish that moment hadn't felt so out of the blue. It was disconnected from the rest of the story in a way that felt very... episodic? And sometimes that's how the story is, but it might have been better to either keep this part out, or shift it to another moment so we could give it the full narrative weight it deserves.

I understand tightening the pacing in order to create drama, but I was a little annoyed at Brianna running in at the very last possible second with her syringe, preventing Claire from amputating Jamie's leg. I never got the sense from reading the same part in the book that it was such a stark either/or situation here. Basically, if I recall correctly, Claire essentially opens up Jamie to the bone and pours penicillin mixture deep into the tissue, and then also injects it, all with the understanding that if it fails, they might still have to amputate. Here, it was presented like Brianna had come up with a miracle fix on the spot, and I didn't like the unnecessary heightened drama of that.

Pros:

Starting with the buffalo incident, while I questioned its place in the overall pacing of the episode, I did like the way the women all played a part, with Lizzie alerting them to the buffalo's arrival, Brianna creating a distraction to lure it away from the baby, and then Claire coming in with the kill. Jamie, grievously injured, hears the disturbance, but all he can do is pull himself weakly out the door in time to see his wife and his daughter be utter bad-asses. It's a great moment, and I wish it had been given more room to breathe in the episode.

In a big way, this episode is about Jamie's relationship to his various sons. His only biological son, William, is of course absent entirely and not even mentioned. But the episode does feature Fergus, Ian, and Roger, each with their own complex relationship to the patriarch. Roger gets the lion's share of the time, as is only right. The two of them fall into misadventure while on a hunting trip, as Jamie gets bitten by a snake. Roger cuts him, sucks the venom from the wound, and waits with him as it becomes clear that Jamie is burning up from infection. He creates a litter, and drags him a great distance, until Fergus and Ian come and find them and bring them home.

I like how not very much was really said between Roger and Jamie, and yet so much was resolved. At one point, feverish, Jamie does say that he has blamed Roger somewhat for hesitating before coming back to Brianna, but that he's glad he's there with him now. That's... about it, as far as emotional honesty about their complex relationship goes. So much is unspoken, in Jamie entrusting the secret of his plan to kill Bonnet, and in Roger saying he needs Jamie to live in order to teach him how to fight. In a later moment, Roger talks about how much the maggots are going to tickle, and Jamie says that Roger Mac is always a comfort to him. We can see from Brianna and Claire's amused and pleased expressions that they've noticed a growing warmth between the two men. There's a lot of subtlety here, as it's not like Roger and Jamie were openly hostile or cruel to each other before this. Things were... fine. Maybe slightly awkward. And now there's a new intimacy there, the fact that they've shared in danger, that Jamie had to trust Roger at his most vulnerable. Roger's relationship with Jamie is the thing I find most rewarding about his character, and I like the way it was handled here.

Then there's Ian and Fergus. The two of them have a bond that began with their time in Edinburgh with Jamie, and it was nice to see a bit of that returned here. As Jamie contemplates his injury, it becomes clear that his only chance to live might be if his leg is amputated. He makes Claire promise to let him die rather than let him live as an amputee. Ian... has some thoughts about that. He points out that his father Ian Sr., and Fergus, are both living as amputees and have happy lives. Jamie argues against it, and Ian says he's ashamed of Jamie. Later, Ian tries to stop Fergus from visiting Jamie because he worries Fergus will be upset by Jamie's attitude of preferring death over losing a limb.

Fergus, the darling little lamb, has a very different perspective on things, telling Ian about what he'd said to Jamie about being a "man of leisure" when he had first lost his hand. He was teasing, but there's a deep truth to the fact that Fergus depended on Jamie to take care of him, and that Jamie never betrayed that sacred duty. And here, Fergus says that he and Marsali try to focus on the gifts they do have, and not what they don't. He has a father who he loves, and he wants to be there for him in his time of need. That's... so very, very lovely, and I love Fergus a lot.

And I love Marsali Fraser more than words can say. First off, there's the moment at the beginning where she talks about how grateful she is to have Claire around in her advanced pregnancy. Not as a physician but... as a mother. Thinking about where these two started, and how far they've come, makes me so emotional I can hardly stand it. I love that she has taken a place in the story as Claire's apprentice. It's not from the books, but it gives her more of a presence in the story at this point, which is a great thing in my opinion. And then there's the hilarious family moment, where Fergus is playing with little Germaine and Joan, when Marsali goes suddenly into labor. Fergus is going to rush off to get Claire, but Marsali says no, it's too late, Fergus has to stay. He predictably blanches at that for a moment, but steps up and helps in the delivery of their third child, little baby Félicité. They're such a precious family. I really am curious to see how close their story remains to what happens in the books.

And we must talk about Jamie Fraser almost dying. Sam Heughan does a great job with a larger-than-life character. I think there are so many things about Jamie that he does a great job of capturing. But from reading the books, there's this quiet dignity to him, this intensity where you wouldn't dare to cross him, and not because of fear, but just because of his... presence. I don't know how to describe it exactly. I've never thought Heughan had quite encapsulated this commanding aspect of Jamie's character quite right, until this episode. The moment when he's lying, covered in sweat and white as a sheet, and he tells Roger he wants to lie in his own bed... I got chills. There was such a quiet strength, such a powerful intensity to his delivery of that line. It was present, too, in the moment where he asked Claire to give her word that she wouldn't take his leg.

Then on the flip side, you have his vulnerability, the fear in his voice when he's talking to Roger, asking him if he knows the last rights. Jamie isn't the type to overreact, so if he thinks he's dying, he has good reason. He asks to be brought to his own bed, and he asks for Claire to touch him, knowing the end is near, and knowing that his wife is the only thing that can prevent him from slipping away. Both actors performed masterfully in this scene. Jamie truly did seem to be on the verge of death, and Claire went beyond logic, beyond medicine, in her desperation to tether him to life.

So there you have it - it's crazy to think of how much of the season has already passed, given how much actually has to happen for the story to progress. While I had some pacing issues, and wish that a few things had been given more room to breathe, I was over-all very impressed with this installment!

8/10