Outlander: Send for the Devil (8x05)

Denzel! Ahhhh.

Cons:

So, this has been sort of building for me over the season thus far, but I think I'm ready to lock in an opinion and say that I think the Jamie and Claire part of this story is the least interesting part. It's not that it's bad, but the stuff with the competing militias, and time in the lodge, and Mrs. Cunningham and Claire's strange night waiting together... I find myself wanting to cut back to Roger, or Bree, or see how Ian and Rachel are doing. This isn't a strong negative, more just an observation. I think maybe part of the problem is that it feels like the story is treading water somewhat - there was a big exciting action sequence in this episode, and it was good, but I knew Jamie would be fine, because we've already got the Chekhov's Gun message from Frank hanging over our heads for later.

William and Amaranthus actually having sex on that bench made me laugh out loud. Like. Can't they just make out a bit and William offers to marry her? Or fade to black or imply that they go inside and lay down on a bed or something first. I was all for William fingering her outdoors but then suddenly she's in his lap and I was like... please do not. Jeez.

I know what they were going for, but when the explosion knocks Roger off his feet and we see an imagine of a little boy being knocked backwards... it didn't work for me as a shot, it didn't work in sequence with the rest of the scene. I think a really sharp cut to black would have been more effective and frightening. And then Roger is just completely fine saying prayers over the dead when next we see him, so it seemed a little silly to draw that out in the first place.

Pros:

I do really like the way Buck saves Jamie's life in this episode, and Jamie's decision to work with the nearby rebel militia members that he had previously rebuffed. It's this sense of things getting messier and riskier as time stretches on, things unraveling out of Jamie's control. It was cool too that the husband of the woman who Claire helped to give birth to twins was the one to come and warn Jamie of what was coming. Despite my complaint above about maybe not enjoying the scenes at the Ridge as much as the other things going on, I did think the pacing and atmosphere of the whole sequence worked really well, cutting between Claire and Mrs. Cunningham praying at home and discussing the outcome of the day, the way Jamie had his loyal few and they were marking who was against him, the scrabble one on one between Jamie and Cunningham, Fanny being an excellent physician's assistant when Jamie and Cunningham are both injured... there was a lot of good material here.

Roger Wakefield MacKenzie has got to have the award for biggest glow-up from books to show. In the books, he kind of pisses me off a lot of the time, but in the show I love him and want to give him a kiss on the forehead. I loved his befriending and later rescuing of the little boy. When I saw the back of that doctor's head I knew it was going to be Denzel and I gasped in happiness to see him lol. I love that the little boy lives, I love that Roger found his bravery and purpose within the chaos. The scene where he's with a dying man, telling him he's not alone, because God is with him, but also Roger is with him... that was quite beautiful! I also liked Brianna's reunion with him, the hug and the kiss and then the angry shove and the cursing. Very much Claire Fraser's daughter, that one.

I would have cut away from the actual sex-having for William and Amaranthus but beyond that, I did love William's journey in this episode. We see him being a kind and supportive friend to Bree, we see him with this intense attraction to Amaranthus (the way he stutters over her name was kind of swoon-worthy), we see him have a joyful reunion with Denzel and wish happiness on Ian and Rachel and the baby, and we see him hug, and then punch, his traitorous cousin Ben who it turns out is with the continental army. Surprise! I loved this twist in the book and I love it here too. It's such an iconic moment, William's face lighting up with joy, following his cousin indoors and pulling him into a hug, and then the dawning realization of what has happened. At this point, William is thinking of Amaranthus and the baby, he's thinking of his Uncle Hal, his other cousins... it's a mess. I love a mess.

I missed John this episode, but he managed to have a moment I enjoyed even so, sending a flag to Brianna to hang in the window if the continental army broke into the city. He wanted to make sure she was protected from harm, even if it meant letting her do a little treason in his house. What a pal.

That's all for this one. I'm starting to feel really sentimental, there are only five episodes left of this show before it's over for good!

8/10