Outlander: A Most Uncomfortable Woman (7x04)

Oh boy oh boy, things are a-happening!

Cons:

So, I honestly really liked Jamie and Claire's sex scene in this episode, but as a small note: I'm not a fan of the slow-pan away from them on the bed, over to the shot of them in the mirror; it's just so cheesy and feels played out. Isn't there a different way to do a sort of fade to black situation?

Ian and Rachel are just... bland nothingness to me, sorry. I don't really care for them much in the books either. I like Rachel as a character, but the romantic entanglements she finds herself in are always a bit of a snooze fest. The way they played up the connection of Ian and Rachel in the brief time they met just felt so forced, like, oh, a young single woman and two young single men! We've got to have romance blooming immediately! Kind of lazy, honestly.

I feel like Tom Christie's horrible abusive behavior is sort of ignored here? Like, we can feel some measure of sympathy or gratitude for the man, sure, he saved Claire's life after all. But he was an absolutely horrible father to his children and I feel like the show has come around on Tom too much, presenting him as more sympathetic than I think he's supposed to be.

Pros:

That said about Tom, I did really like the scene it prompted between Jamie and Claire. I'm on record as saying that Gabaldon's sex scenes as written are kind of mediocre. But one thing she gets really right is the vibe that Jamie and Claire genuinely have fun with each other. Their flirting, teasing dynamic is always something that sparkles off the page, and it's also when I think the chemistry between our on-screen Jamie and Claire works best, too. I loved Jamie half-joking half-serious offering to kill Christie, I love how Jamie can be kind of jealous but also feel sorry for Tom. I love the two of them bantering about how well Jamie knows her, as they climb into bed and chase all thoughts of other lovers and admirers out of one another's heads. Super cute.

Also shout-out to how awkward and embarrassed Claire was when talking to Tom. "Your gallant feelings towards me" indeed. So funny. We also have the mystery of the obituary cleared up, as it seems Tom had heard the news of the fire on the Ridge, and had had something posted, believing Claire and Jamie both to be dead.

I'm going to jump to the year 1980 now, as learning the truth about the newspaper clipping puts an interesting snag in Roger's current mindset. He's feeling uncertain about his place in his life, as he watches Bree get a job, and doesn't know what his own purpose is, or how to provide for his family. He's feeling complicated about his faith, because he now believes that he and Brianna definitively changed something about the past by going back to save Jamie and Claire. That shakes his understanding of a fixed universe where God's will prevails. And I like that they kept in the aspect of Brianna getting a job and Roger feeling insecure about it. It's not very feminist of him, but it's hard to hate him for how he feels, either. He does tell his wife he's proud of her, and he is: he's just got his own complicated feelings about masculinity to work through, too.

I think the kids they've got playing Jem and Mandy do a pretty okay job, and book readers will know where all this business of the missing food is going: I'm really excited to see how that plays out. It's some of the best material Roger gets in the books, and ties back around to some old plot developments really nicely. I'm still kind of in shock that we're getting this whole plot thread on the show at all, to be honest.

Back to the 18th century: Jamie has been waylaid and tasked with joining the rebellion properly at Fort Ticonderoga, and he and Claire set off in that direction. Ian plans to join them, but he's going to travel ahead separately, in order to see if he might be a liaison between the revolutionary troops and some of the tribes nearby. On his way, he meets William Ransom, who has been sent by a man name Richardson to deliver top-secret letters to various contacts.

I really, really loved Ian and William on screen together. The strange affinity of this relationship, where Ian knows who William really is, and William just knows that Ian is a strange man with face tattoos who's related to his old groom from childhood... it's such a bizarre setup and the tension there works really well. There's some instantaneous affection there, I loved the two of them talking about the Mohawk death songs, William saying his secret Catholic name "James" as he's listing who he is... and Ian giving William the strength to face the possibility of losing his arm from his injuries. I liked their vibe so much that I was a little sad to meet the Hunters, because I know where this is all going from the books. Still, I'm pleased to have seen that connection flourish! (Although I didn't need the vivid and detailed shots of William's infected wound - yuck.)

As the episode ends, Jamie and Claire have reached Fort Ticonderoga, and the next saga of our tale begins. How long will this detour last before they can get back to Scotland? What will they have to endure on their way there? What will William and Ian and our new friends Rachel and Denny get up to next? I'm excited to see it all play out.

8/10