After jumping from timeline to timeline, I’m so glad we got to stay in one time zone and letting the fallout of Jamie’s “death” and “resurrection” take place. I felt like we finally got a chance for things to breathe and see our characters deal with the aftermath. We also saw William spiral out of control after discovering his true parentage and that everyone pretty much knew except him.

First of all, I love seeing Jamie kidnapping John. John is caught between happiness that Jamie is alive and agony because well, THE BIG EVENT. They make their way out of town and finally have a chance to talk for a second. John being the honorable man that he is, blurts out the truth. “I have had carnal knowledge of your wife.” Even better is Jamie’s response. It’s like when your parents prank you as a kid and sneak vegetables into a casserole or dessert. Kinda like chocolate zucchini cake. When one of your siblings figures it out and spills the beans, you’re in disbelief. The chocolate zucchini cake tasted so good though. It can’t be true. There CAN’T be zucchini in there. But the silence coming from your parents lets you know that it’s true. Usually someone doesn’t care and moves on. But there’s always one kid is sitting there upset that they’ve been betrayed. And Jamie feels betrayed. He gives Lord John a beating to the point that his eye is probably gonna start looking like chocolate zucchini cake.

Speaking of betrayal, William is feeling it too. He’s trying to keep it together and figure out what to do. Claire, while euphoric that Jamie is alive, tries to tone it down and help William as much as he can. But it’s like a ticking time bomb, and boy does it go off. Let’s be real, there was no way this was gonna go well, however tactful Claire was. Telling him that at least there’s chocolate chips in the chocolate zucchini cake would not help him at all. William loses it, and the house loses too. I wasn’t originally a big fan of William when I initially read the books but he’s a character that’s really grown on me with time. So seeing Hurricane William touchdown was wonderful, in the craziest way.

Poor John is given over to American forces and he goes on quite the ride. Finally, we are seeing Lord John Gray as more than a man who just pines after Jamie. We’ve seen him as a soldier, leader, politician, and father. But it was great to see him be resourceful, his humor and sarcasm (last time I saw you was in the sister-in-law’s drawing room eating cucumber sandwiches), and above else, his honor. To be upfront with Jamie right away about his carnal knowledge of Claire and take the brunt of Jamie’s anger was probably also saving Claire from Jamie’s wrath. To see him gleefully say he wasn’t married to Claire anymore was hilarious too. Major props to the make department on Lord John’s eye. It just keeps looking worse and worse.

We do find out that Jamie was busy in France. Claire can’t keep from spying and Jamie can’t keep from bringing Rebel messages either. Lovely to see Daniel Morgan and George Washington again, although I’d doubt Washington would have had flags and desk set up in a barn somewhere. He finally makes it back to Claire and they hash out all the details. It was beautifully done and felt very much like the book. I think Jamie never really realized what his “death” did to Claire. I think he always thought that even though they were apart after Culloden, that she was safe, protected, and had a husband to take care of her. He didn’t know what it did to Claire to have to go to the future and keep living. If it hadn’t been for Bree, she probably wouldn’t have. In fact, seeing Claire detail what Jamie’s death did to her and her trying to go to LJG’s social events reminded me of Season 3 when Claire is trying to pull it together to attend Frank’s staff parties.

The only bad was the sex scene. Seeing Jamie and Claire get it on in the safety of Lord John’s house intercut with Lord John’s attempted escape just made everything feel wrong. Maybe it was supposed to make the audience feel like this all wrong. However, what felt like should have been a lovely reuniting after great dialogue and arguments, just felt disjointed. I would have rather they show Jamie and Claire reunite physically and during a little pillow talk, Claire ask Jamie again where Lord John is. Then cut to Lord John trying to escape. What was a beautiful scene in the book got ruined by poor editing choices.

While Hurricane William kept blowing around town, it was good to see William more than a dutiful soldier and son. We saw some Fraser temper. And now he’s really on a journey to discover who he is. His scenes with Jane were wonderful. Again, I didn’t enjoy her in the book but she was wonderfully brought to life. It makes me sad for what’s to come (#spoilers). Also, for those who’ve read up to Book 9, does Jane look like Bree? Which takes me back to the chocolate zucchini cake and wondering what is real….

Til next time… Slainte!

Today’s Dram: Jameson Cold Brew. Sadly, they’ve recently discontinued this. It’s a perfect pairing with desserts and goes down wayyyyy to smoothly. If you can find this unicorn anywhere, get it!

Today’s Comfort Food: Chocolate Zucchini Betrayal Bundt Cake. It’s delicious…or is it?