I loved this episode! In the infamous words of Yelp, 10 out of 10, would recommend! I picked the Frank GIF because I think that at this point, if Frank had known about Claire’s third marriage, he would have thought the whole ordeal a little funny.
First off, we start with Bree and Fanny doing some shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch, I mean the Crombie/Cunningham Trading post. It’s no Claire’s at the mall (pun intended) but a pretty comb catches Fanny’s eye. She’s thinking pretty hard about it (poor thing probably never had anything pretty), when some weasel of a man walks up to her after Bree has steps away for a moment. He makes some creepy comments, and Fanny tells him off, calling him a “toad-faced footlicker.” Personally, I would have gone with something stronger, but it also shows Fanny’s age. No girl should be getting comments like that from a grown man. Ugh! Bree makes it back over and sees Fanny’s discomfort. Unfortunately, Fanny’s knowledge of the big world causes her to see these men for who they really are…soldiers. And probably British ones since they are seen being all cosy with Captain Cunningham. I wonder if they are licking toads for dinner?
Meanwhile, Claire is all cozy in her surgery making notes from her Merck Manual. I’m totally getting my cabin lust on with all the cute decor in there. My husband is gonna have me quit watching Outlander for how long my Amazon list is getting from this show. Jamie stops by with a letter from Lord John. I wonder if Claire was related to Helen of Troy because she may not have launched 1,000 ships but there is a war brewing here with this letter. Oh Lord John, you knew better, you little pot stirrer. Jamie’s drawers (knickers? Panties?) are all in a twist. Lord John wants Bree to come paint a picture of little Trevor (maybe to include with a letter to his brother Hal to finally break the news about Ben). But asking Claire was risky. Jealous Jamie rears its head and gets ugly and makes comments about aloes John swiving Claire. Claire tries to remind him that she was not in a good mental state, that she truly thought Jamie was dead. Poor Fanny overhears this all and with her brothel history, knows and understands more than she should.
First of all, hats off to Claire staying level-headed and calm. Season 1 Claire would be spouting off and yelling back at Jamie. It’s a delicate situation to be sure, but Claire shows her age and wisdom in trying to weather the storm instead of adding to it. I also love that her explanation for Jamie’s anger is that he’s Scottish, that like explains it all.
Poor Fanny’s insecurities and fears of losing the safety and a home with Claire and Jamie on the Ridge has her jumping to conclusions that Jamie being mad with Lord John and William means she’ll have to leave and work. Claire reassures her, but considering her history with awful people that have taken advantage of her and her sister and let them down, it’s pretty understandable why Fanny is so skeptical.
Speaking of trust, William doesn’t trust the Americans and is sharing his findings with Lord John. Lord John looks at William likes he’s just told him the wildest conspiracy theory. I mean what could be more ridiculous? The rebel colonists winning the war and setting up their own country? Wait a second…maybe in a couple years. Lord John at least throws William a bone and suggests that William attend the latest commanding officers dinner. William knows it’s also a chance to throw William back into society, but he’s willing to go if it means discovering more about Ben.
Meanwhile, Claire & Bree are in their sourdough era. I hope Bree got her kiln going again because those black pottery bowls are on point. Bree is trying to figure out why Lord John wrote Claire and why Jamie has a burr in his saddle about the whole ordeal. Claire tries to explain what happened after she thought Jamie was dead. Bree takes it all in stride and thinks the whole thing is hilarious, and even asks if she now has to call Lord John “da.” Part of me hopes she does when she goes to Savannah. The look on John’s face would be priceless. Also, I love the growth from Bree. This girl has lived since she first got mad at her mom in Reverend Wakefield’s house back in Season 2. Bree knows what it means to almost lose a husband and a child. There’s no anger or judgement or taking sides. It’s nice to see Bree and Claire as friends. But then again, after traveling to the future and thinking your mother is dead in the past, and that you might never see her again, well, you’re gonna tease your mom about her trysts instead of raking her over the coals. Plus, she saw her mom try to move on past Jamie and make things work with Frank. She’s seen her mom in grief mode, although she can recognize that now in retrospect. I think it’s helpful for Claire to have someone to joke with about it, instead of adding more anger and hurt. And Bree also doesn’t butt into the situation and try to patch things up between her parents. She lets them sort it out.
What Bree did mention to Jamie is the sketchy men at C&C’s trading post. Jamie pays Cunningham a visit about these men. The Captain claims they are just friends of his deceased son. But he’s not fooling anyone, like my middle school students caught in a falsehood.
Caught unawares is William when Amaranthus barges into his room while he is in a state of undress. The state of his upper body would make his biological father proud. Amaranthus takes a good look before bestowing a beetle embroidered waistcoat on William. She helps him into it but her hands linger on her upper back, making us all a little uncomfortable. I’m a William fan, so it makes me really uncomfortable. Amaranthus explains that she knows so much about bugs because her father is a bookseller and naturalist.
Back on the ranch, Bree and Roger are trying to use Lord John’s letter as safe passage to Savannah so they can get guns. Jamie doesn’t like it one bit between the Lord John connection, Roger and Bree using the Frenchman’s gold, buying guns, and war creeping onto the Ridge. Bree gives a look to Claire, asking for help. Claire follows him to their room. Jamie is pouring a dram (he must have the Ridge moonshine going again), and Claire tackles the whole situation. Claire takes a note out of my pre-marriage counseling book and how to deal with fights….if you can’t come to a solution, take your clothes off and fight naked. It’s pretty hard to keep the argument going after that.
I am loving this fight between Jamie and Claire. Everyone calls Jamie the king of men. But here he is just being a normal guy, jealous that someone else has had carnal knowledge of his wife. Besides, he should be glad she isn’t like Mrs. Cunningham, who has buried 3 husbands and contemplates sleeping in her funeral shroud. Claire is still a hottie at 60.
Again, I’m loving the growth from Claire…no throwing Leery, Mary MacNab, or even Geneva in Jamie’s face. She could have every right to. Also, Jamie could have given up Claire for dead and just done whatever he wanted, but he didn’t. I love seeing Jamie act like a little kid who is forced by his mom to apologize when he doesn’t want to. It’s pretty comical, and I love seeing this conversation happen in the bed with their back to each other. This is marriage…what Diana set out to write….this is it, the warts and all. You love that person with everything you have…doesn’t mean you both won’t make mistakes and hurt each other. Forgiveness takes time. It’s choosing to forgive time and again. It’s choosing to love that person time and again. Despite all of their shortcomings, that is the person you want to be with. How do you heal fractures, whether those hurts were on purpose or not (like Claire truly believing Jamie was dead)? How do you regain trust? It takes vulnerability and honesty, and really Jamie admitting that he’s afraid John is in their bed with them. This really stems from his PTSD with Black Jack. That was a fear, that Jack Randall would be the ghost in their bed too. Jamie just needs the reassurance that he is the only one in Claire’s heart and soul. He knows it, and yet little doubts can creep in over the years. He’s territorial and so Claire speaks back in the language he knows, by claiming territory back over him. Dang Jamie, all that wood chopping with Roger has paid off. I mean, Claire would be crazy to leave that. She may not scratch his back or put a knife to his throat like the vixen she was in Season 1, but a good love bite and grab of the jaw reminds Jamie of who they are as a couple. They find their rhythm and get a little workout in. Claire asks if this now out of “our system.” Jamie is surprised because it’s been his fears and insecurities that caused this. But Claire saying “our” lets him know they are a team. She’s recognizes her role in things, even if it was nothing she intended. He says yes. And then Claire flirts and plays with his chest hairs (throwback to Season 3 reunion) and asks if she broke the skin. Jamie gives the line of the episode “you do that every time you touch me Sassenach.” Agh! The first time I watch this, I was a little underwhelmed. But the second time, I caught all the nuances, the richness of the years spent together. Even better is the comment the next morning when Jamie says they discussed Claire’s third husband to see her gazing at the picture of her first in his book. Claire tops all of these wonderful lines by saying that she’s only in love with her second. They wonder together what Frank really meant by all this, the research about Jamie and publishing it. Diana said she’s writing a book about what Frank knew, and I canna wait to get my hands on it.
Meanwhile, William is trying to figure out what anyone knows about Ben, but doesn’t get far at the officers luncheon. But he does find out about Lord John being in charge of a Scottish prison called Ardsmuir. In the famous words of the sloth in the movie, “The Croods,” “dun dun dun!!”. Besides many ridiculous wigs in attendance, Lord John’s other ex, Percy is there. After a few uncomfortable leg squeezes, they make a deal to help each other. It’s hard to tell what Percy is, other than a double-agent that somehow has business with Fergus, and knows his French name Claudel.
Claire is getting some soil therapy by gardening when a girl stops by. Her mother is ready to have twins and needs help. It’s gonna be a rough one as the babies are tangled up and Claire can’t do a c-section.
Something I noticed on my rewatch that makes an interesting through-line is that all of the servers at the officers luncheon are black. Are they fighting for their freedom? And then we meet Mr. Whitaker, the husband of Claire’s patient, who makes it clear they are free and want nothing to do with white men. Just an interesting observation.
Another interesting observation is William giving Amaranthus Ben’s last effects. She does not seem thrilled or heartbroken. Just annoyed. She goes to put them in Ben’s trunk and that’s where William sees the missing tin soldier, supposedly left behind for Trevor. They take a walk and William again thanks Amaranthus for the vest. She traces the embroidery with her finger, explaining the different beetles. She correctly asses William doesn’t do what others expect of him. But then she kisses him. It’s brief, leaving William confused and seems more calculated by Amaranthus than attraction.
Back at the Ridge Emergency Center, Claire helps deliver a baby boy but the baby girl comes out still-born. Claire tries performing infant CPR, but it’s no good. Jamie tries to take the baby. He sees Claire thinking of Faith. She holds on, and we get shots of her hand and throat pulsing, as well as Master Raymond’s voice saying how her color is blue. All of a sudden, the baby cries and seems to be fine. Claire hands the baby to Jamie, who hands it to the mother, but both Jamie and Claire are shaken. As Claire and Jamie clean up, they try to sort out what happened. Claire pulls out the Ridge moonshine and recounts what happened with Master Raymond and how he revived her. She says what she felt with the baby is the same as what she felt with Raymond. It makes them wonder if that’s how Faith survived. But there’s still so many questions and so much that doesn’t make sense. Claire then asks what color her hair is, as she recounts what Nayawenne said about her coming into her full power when her hair is white. She removes her headwrap, and there is a new large white streak of hair. And bam! Claire is Frankenstein’s bride. Although I hope that when I go gray, my husband says my hair looks like moonlight and all the colors of the earth. Leave it to Jamie to making aging sound sexy.
Next we see Jamie leading Fanny to the cairn he made for Jane. She’s thrilled and tries talking to her. Unfortunately, they are interrupted by Benjamin Cleveland. He’s bragging? Warning? Goading Jamie on how he caught two British soldiers with a wagon full of guns. He’s already shot them dead and is ready to string them up as a warning. Fanny recognizes them as the awful men at C&C’s trading post. Jamie searches them and finds a note in one of their boots. Cleveland takes off but Jamie heads straight to Cunningham. He calls him out and figures out what Cunningham has really been up too and that he’s not retired. We see Jamie’s spy work from Season 2 come in handy. Cleveland may be annoying but he’s been right about Cunningham. If Mrs. Cunningham is the Wicked Witch of the West, then her son has been acting as the Wizard, giving what the people want and using it as a way to buy loyalty. Unlike the Wizard, who’s just a charlatan peddler from Kansas, Cunningham is much more dangerous. Cunningham tries to use this as a ways to get Jamie to switch sides to quicken the ending of the war. Jamie does know what will happen and who wins the war. Me-thinks Bree and Roger will be going to Savannah soon. All the while, Frank gets to say, “Told you so.”
As a book reader, I wonder how much they will continue to use Frank’s voice. I hope it’s the right amount and doesn’t become overdone.
Also, as book readers, my friends and I joke about Claire’s blue healing light as her “blue light special” for us oldies that remember K-mart. But I noticed for the first time that the curtain to Claire’s surgery is a a deep shade of blue….dun dun dun!
We opened the episode with dead specimens pinned in their collections. Is William being pinned too? Is Amaranthus a widowmaker?
By our preview, we see Roger and Bree make it to Savannah but not without issues. Captain Cunningham looks like he becomes Captain Creep. Will Bree and Roger get back in time with the guns for a Ridge showdown?
Cunningham’s cards are now on the table. We’ll have to see what happens next.
Tonight dram: a bottle of Bonterra Cabernet sauvignon. Sometimes a good glass of of red wine is all you need when talking about your ex’s.
Comfort food: In the books, Claire says how she planned to feed Jamie before telling him the truth about her and Lord John. She admits how she’s learned over time that helps when telling the truth that upsets others. While I’m not sure what would be best to serve Jamie, I do know my husband would take some chicken fried steak and gravy.