Outlander is back baby! Even though I’m blogging this on a rewatch, this episode still has those new season vibes. I love Outlander and started blogging about it during the second half of Season 7. In today’s world of show binging, it’s always interesting to me to watch Outlander week-to-week as it premieres and then go back and watch the show in it’s entirety. As exciting as it is to discover things on a weekly basis, it’s also great to watch again and see themes and plot breadcrumbs cleverly woven throughout the season. If you’re just discovering Outlander for the first time, I’ll do my best leave my season 7 overall observations below in a spoiler section.

First of all, we see Claire being put in jail. Things are not looking too good. However, Claire has some spicy inmates that keep it interesting but also cleverly give us and Claire the information she’s missed out on by living in the back country. Outlander never fails to have small characters give big performances that are memorable, and this episode is no different between the inmates, the governor’s wife, and then the governor and Major MacDonald both being a pain. 

Sinead O’Connor’s version of the Sky Boat Song is quite different than Raya Yarborough’s. Yet it ends up really encompassing a season of grit, loss, and wisdom gained from the hardships of life. In many ways it’s a great reminder of how old Claire & Jamie are supposed to be, even though they have great skin and hair. Maybe the mud on the Ridge makes for exceptional skincare.

Two things that never get old….Sam’s face acting, especially while we hear him quote Jamie & Claire’s vows (in his voice-over) and a reunion between Jamie & Claire. Their kiss on the ship is so sweet and then the soldier has to break them up. It gives me a good laugh every time.

Sadly Major MacDonald is still a jerk and the governor isn’t willing to budge of giving up Claire. If you didn’t know Tom Christie was in love with Claire, you should by now. He looks like a little school boy getting a note from his crush when he gets the letter.

Bree gives a great argument to Roger about helping Wendigo Donner. And yet morality for time travelers isn’t easy, as Roger well explains. Still, something about Donner doesn’t smell right, and it probably won’t turn out well to help him. Desperate men are dangerous.

Knowing who to trust, how hard to fight something, and when to surrender are tough things we all must learn. We see Claire constantly not being believed because everyone listening to the newspapers instead of the truth. Claire’s knowledge and skill as a doctor allows her to help others and yet puts her in danger. Just like knowledge of the future can put Roger, Bree, and Claire in danger. And yet here is Jamie, having to find another way to save Claire and put his trust in a man who has constantly been a thorn in his side many times and has backstabbed him. Does desperation make Jamie trust Tom? Or is it maturity in knowing that the best way of saving Claire may not include himself?

Poor Tom Christie. His tendrils of hair slipping out of its hair tie is giving me serious 90’s vibes. And yet, on a more serious note, to hear all the things Jamie has (land, means, clan, the protection of his body) and promised to use to protect Claire, compared to Tom having nothing to give but his life and his heart. And yet the greatest sign of love is laying down one’s life for another. On cue, a church bell starts ringing. “Ask not for whom the bell tolls for. It tolls for thee,” by Ernest Hemingway comes to mind. It also comes for Tom’s wannabe 90’s haircut. Obviously, Tom and Claire doesn’t see the same hair stylist because her bob looks amazing. Even after being drug around by the Browns, thrown in prison, and then on a ship, she still looks beautiful. No wonder Tom is in love with her.

If one were to rename this episode, I’d call it “Things are not always as they appear.” After all, it seems like Jamie and Ian will save Claire, but they don’t. Malva was Tom’s daughter and yet she wasn’t. Claire is accused of being a witch and a murderer, and yet she isn’t. Tom loves Claire, and yet in his mind, he shouldn’t. But taking her place helps Tom to have purpose, to make things right and keep Claire safe. It is a beautiful line in which he explains that he gave his love to people unworthy and it made a mess of things, but in taking Claire’s place, his love allows him to do something honorable for someone who is worthy of his love, even if she does not reciprocate. To have loved is enough.

In that sense, both Tom and Jamie seem to sacrifice a bit of their souls to save Claire. Tom takes her place and all the possibilities of punishment, while Jamie adds to his body count by taking care of Mr. Brown. We know from the books that all killing takes a toll on Jamie, even if knowing Brown is eliminated allows both Jamie and Claire to sleep better at night. We as an audience can’t help but cheer to see him gone. And yet seeing Jamie and Claire lie on that bed in shock and fatigue that it’s finally over, it’s apparent there isn’t quite a peace there. There is some relief, and yet Claire’s physical safety came with a moral and emotional price-tag that will take time to unpack. Again, things are not always as they seem. 

Til next time…Slainte!

Comfort Food: Bacon & Gouda Mashed Cauliflower…it looks like mashed potatoes but isn’t…but is still damn delicious.

Dram: Ardbeg….we need something smoky for all the fog we saw in this episode. Warning…this is very smoky and peaty. But again, damn delicious.

Song….this one was tricky. It’s a tie between Sinead’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.” I mean, that reunion kiss between Jamie & Claire gives all the vibes that they know how many days and hours since they last kissed. And yet Linda Rondstat’s “No Good” would definitely fit Wendigo Donner.

Season Spoilers…

We see some great bookends where Claire starts off in jail for murder with Jamie & Ian searching for her. They do eventually make it and with the surprising help of Tom Christie, rescue her. In contrast, at the end of season 7, we see Jane on house arrest dealing with a reporter, not much different than Claire dealing with all the rumors and gossip surrounding her failure to save Malva’s baby. Claire didn’t kill Malva, where Jane killed a British officer to save her little sister from being hurt. For William, seeking Jamie’s help is a surprising twist but sadly, they are too late before Jane’s desperation takes over and she ends her life.

In regards to Roger & Bree, their life is about to take a crazy 180 degree turn. Roger is a minister in training. He uses the Mohammed Ali quote about butterflies and bees. Ugh…it doesn’t ring true to Roger’s character, nor Bree saying “God luck.” Sadly, these still fall flat on a rewatch. It is interesting to see Roger put in a lot of time traveling morality situations this season. People give him a bad rap but I don’t think they could do any better.

Another bookend is Jamie complimenting Tom Christie as he says what he would say for Tom’s eulogy. Tom gave Jamie a lot of grief in Ardsmuir, as well as gave them all enough grief being on the Ridge. And yet Jamie is able to recognize that Tom has experienced loss and tried to do the best that he could. And he does the same for William at the end of the season, by telling William positive things about his mother Geneva, instead of all the mean things she did (and leaving out the part about the blackmailing). 

A beautiful bookend of love is Claire with Tom Christie and Claire with Lord John. They both loved her in their own ways and she loved them in hers, though not equal. Both saved her life in different ways when Jamie could not. While love looks different for many relationships, it still does great things and can bring out the best in people.

The last bookend has more to do with the side of Jamie we don’t always see in the show but we definitely see in the books. Jamie has his “Godfather” move, sitting in the dark corner of the room, waiting to pounce on Mr. Brown. While we the audience are glad to see Jamie take him out, it reminds the audience that Jamie is a dangerous, even though we are used to seeing his through the lens of Claire’s love. He is a violent man who has suffered and survived many things. He’s also very jealous when it comes to Claire. So when he damages Lord John’s eye with a punch, it shouldn’t surprise us. In fact, he’s showing restraint by not doing more. It doesn’t make his choices ok, but it a a good reminder. Just like in the Chronicles of Narnia, when Susan asks if Aslan is a safe lion because he talks and is kind. She is told “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.’” And while Jamie is a good man and Claire is safe with him, he is not safe for people who cross him.

Claire talking about losing a child with both the governor and his wife is a nice callback to Season 2 and yet creates another bookend with the Season 7 finale. And that’s all I’ll say about that for now in case some first time watchers still scrolled down for the spoilers.