Outlander: The Happiest Place on Earth (7x02)

Dang, I'm honestly incredibly surprised about some stuff in this episode!

Cons:

As an overall note, this episode just felt incredibly crowded with incident. The fact that the episode in which we learn the end of the Christie storyline, with Allan telling his story and meeting his fateful end, is also the episode in which Brianna and Roger have a baby, discover Mandy's health problem, and leave, and is the episode where we meet adult William for the first time, and is the episode with the fire that's been built up for several seasons... it's just so much to happen all at once! I feel like especially the start of the episode with Allan, coupled with last week's revelations from Tom Christie, all belong to an earlier plot thread that really should have been resolved separately from the Brianna and Roger leaving story, and the Wendigo Donner/fire story.

Mainly, I'm surprised that Roger and Bree are actually going into the future at all, with their kids. That whole plot development in the books is incredibly important, but I thought after they hinted at it and then bailed back last season, they were just going to skip over it entirely. A lot of plot happens in these books, I wouldn't have been surprised if they'd given this whole thing a pass. I am excited to see how it plays out, I guess, but it does make the fact that they decided to go and then changed their minds before, kind of ridiculous.

A couple of small complaints that I keep making... the voiceover still feels clunky in some places, and the actress playing Brianna is an undeniably weak point in terms of performance. There were moments where she did well this episode, but other moments where she felt stilted and out of place.

As a last complaint, part of this is that it's been a while since I've read some of the books, but the whole circumstances around the fire just felt messy and out of the blue? At first we had Wendigo showing up demanding gemstones with his gang of reprobates, but then suddenly Mrs. Bug is involved and shouting about the gold? It was incoherent and strange and made for a shocking episode end, but maybe too shocking, given everything else going on beforehand.

Pros:

I will say though, despite the somewhat muddied ending, I do think Wendigo Donner is a fascinating figure. I loved the sinister nature of his presence in the house, and when Claire told Jamie his name, and Jamie immediately lunged for him, furious, having heard of his involvement with the Browns... that was good stuff.

In all, I did think all the sappy stuff with Bree, Roger, Claire, and Jamie and the kids worked really well. First we get to see Claire and Jamie so excited about their new granddaughter, each telling her what they'll teach her as she grows older - Claire will teach her medicine, Jamie will teach her to ride a horse. And then when it's revealed she has a heart condition, the dawning realization that the one thing they have left to offer her is a way back to the 20th century... it really is heartbreaking. The goodbye moments had everything. Super cheesy declarations of affection and lasting love from everybody. Jamie saying he's proud of Roger Mac. Bree telling her dad about Disneyland and saying that he's magical to her. Jamie and Claire embracing their grandson and telling him goodbye. It was a real tearjerker all around.

And I really loved the aftermath with Jamie and Claire too, that sense of life going on, but the weight of their grief hitting them so seriously. Jamie says a line straight from the book about how he will try and go on for Claire's sake, but for his own, he would not. They have been permanently separated from their family, and it's a real tragedy for them all to grapple with. The scene where Claire goes kind of frantic and jumps Jamie, but then breaks down and cries as they contemplate all the people they've lost... that really got to me.

Despite feeling weird as a pacing thing, I did think that the Allan Christie reveal was well-acted and written, the visceral disgust on Claire's face was very clear. And Ian's decision to kill Allan felt so true to his character and what we know of all he's been through. Ian is a character I love from the books but I feel a little less connected to in his show version, but the scene of him and Claire burying Allan together felt like a really strong moment for him.

I've saved the Lord John and William stuff for last, because of course I have. We only get one brief scene with William so far, so it's a little too soon to tell what to think of him, but I love that Brianna just can't stop smiling like a loon when meeting her older brother for the first (and only, as far as she knows) time. And Lord John being so pleased to see her, but also being baffled by her rather forward suggestion that they tell the Ninth Earl of Ellesmere the truth about his parentage, was really funny.

And then of course pardon me while I go on way too long about that John and Jamie scene because my goodness. I don't know how to explain the difference between the vibes here and in the books, because it's hard to pin it down... in some ways I enjoy John a lot more as a character from the books, just because we don't get to spend enough time with him on the show to fully appreciate his nuance, but on the other hand, what we do see of him on the show, I do enjoy a lot. In the books, the vibe between these two men is very complicated. Jamie feels a deep gratitude and affection for John because he has raised William, and he is also aware of John's feelings for him, and so does his best to be respectful and kind while also not being false to his own feelings on the matter. In the show, I swear to god, the vibe is like... they're wistful exes who still love each other but know their love can never be. It's so insane to me that in this scene they're calling each other by first names, and gently regretting that the war must put them at odds, and John placing the gem into Jamie's hands and curling his fingers over his palm... that's romance, okay?

It's so funny because I don't even ship them, I just think it's fascinating that the show has decided to lean in really hard on the idea of there being this fraught, extra tension to this relationship, that these two men love each other in a way that is in some ways indefinable. They essentially share the love of a parent for their child, in William, which positions them as having a partnership all their own. It's such a fascinating dynamic and I can't think of another fictional relationship that I feel this way about. I don't want Jamie to have romantic/sexual feelings for John, but I want him to have... "you are my co-parent and you're such a good dad to our child" thoughts about him, which he canonically does, kind of? Like, John making that joke about "we should be discussing suitable wives for William, not suitable regiments." You should, John? Why on earth would Jamie Fraser actually be involved in those discussions? It's so funny.

And such a tragic, beautiful moment. It happens via letter in the books, Jamie telling John that they must sever all ties. So I was very pleased to see it happen in person here. The lingering shots on both men's faces after they've parted, thinking it likely to be for the very last time... man, in whatever form it takes, Jamie Fraser and Lord John Grey love each other very deeply, and I'm very into it.

That's where I'll stop for now. I was pretty legitimately surprised at Bree and Roger taking off into the future, and I can't wait to see how that plays out in the coming weeks!

8/10