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Avatar: The Last Airbender: Imprisoned (2005)
Avatar's Version of Braveheart
Not much else to say beyond the title. Again, not the worst episode, and certainly presents a compelling two sided look at fighting for freedom compared to surviving the war and living for the future, but also doesn't do anything earth shattering (see what I did there...)
In all seriousness, it's not bad, but doesn't really standout...
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The King of Omashu (2005)
A Mad Genius
Boomi is a fun character, I'll admit that and maybe that why I rated this one as high as I did. But really, I think the episode introduces something of an important concept, adaptability, the ability to act differently than expected or better, the ability to break free of expectation and act according to one's own dictates. I think this episode plays better at the end of the series because you see Ang constantly battling from being type cast, falling under the shadow of who the avatar is expected to be and what he's expected to do. Maybe we all need a mad genius to remind us to think on our feet and that it's ok to act outside of the box. This theme becomes more important later on, especially as Ang is forced to confront what he is supposed to do to stop the firelord. I think that's why this episode is probably overlooked, because it presents these themes under a more goofy vise than some of the later episodes that deal with the same subject matter more seriously.
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Warriors of Kyoshi (2005)
A Solid Avatar Detour
I think it's episodes like this why the first season of Avatar is generally thought of to be the weakest. Avatar is known for it's detour episodes, some of the best are ones that really don't even advance the main plot (we are looking at you tales of Ba Sing Se). This one puts misogynistic Sokka in his place, introduces Suki and I guess serves well as a complete 180 whereby Ang finally starts to get some of the benefits of being the Avatar but also learns the associated risk that comes with it.
I guess where the episode falters is subtlety. The messages the episode is trying to give you are clear, Ang's warned there are consequences for letting his status get to his head, and they do, Sokka whines about he's better as a man than girl's and promptly gets schooled by highly trained female warriors. It's blunt, it sends it's message, but without any time crunch or stakes, it just seems like a diversion to an interesting place that features later in the story.
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Southern Air Temple (2005)
Wait, Is This a Kid's Show?
Yeah, this is when it really became clear, this wasn't just some throw away kids show. The first two episodes fit the mold, goofy humor, incompetent villains, a banished prince chasing a child and his two friends with his overweight uncle. Well, the Southern Air Temple takes that mold and completely throws it away. Ang is convinced his people hid and escaped. Honestly, looking back on it, you could be forgiven from the first two episodes in thinking Ang might be right, but no, not today.
Child wakes up from 100 years in ice to learn that his father figure and every other airbender is dead, killed by the fire nation. Remember those incompetent antagonists from Episode 2, I don't. I mean, just listen to the line when Ang finally comes to the realization that he really is the last airbender, the touching moment when Kitara and Sokka reassure Ang that he's not alone, that despite all he's lost he has a family and... wait, this is a kid's show right?
On the other end, the Fire Nation similarly gets a dose of seriousness as Commander Zhao is introduced. Remember Zuko, a teenage prince obsessed with honor, well now he and Ang have to contend with an ambitious officer with an actual army of ruthless fire wielders at his disposal. Perhaps the Agni-Kai or fire duel is the most memorable part, as Zuko is able to use his Uncle's lessons to best his senior.
All in all, I remember this episode being such a shock because Avatar seemed like it was going to be a forgettable kids show, only to start throwing out weighty themes beneath the veneer of a Sokka food joke...
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Avatar Returns (2005)
"Ang"sposition
Ok, the title of the review is pretty pathetic, but if episode 1 set up the main characters around Ang, this is really his episode. True, it's the beginning of the journey, the beginning of the adventure, but this episode really serves to show who Ang is and the power of the Avatar. In episode 1, Ang is a "goofy kid" who does some cool glider tricks. In Episode 2, Ang almost singlehandedly destroys a Fire Nation Ship. I remember this episode standing out more when I first watched it years ago because I didn't exactly know what to expect. It was surprising to see how easily Ang dispatches of the enemy. True, the fire nation is portrayed a bit incompetently, but it also established Zuko as an enemy who will not give up, someone you know will be hunting down the protagonists to the bitter end.
All in all, it was a fun episode, but not one that really stands out when thinking about the memorable episodes of the show.
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Boy in the Iceberg (2005)
A Clever Opening Episode
My rating is probably a bit generous because I wouldn't exactly call the pilot episode the most entertaining twenty minutes of tv on air. Regardless it is a masterpiece. Anyone who has ever written a fantasy epoch like this knows the difficulty of worldbuilding, in that it is so reliant on exposition, it can be very boring. It's amazing how the creators could pack so much backstory in just one opening episode. (Anyone who has watch Shyamalan's disastrous movie knows what I'm talking about).
Think about it; from the first minute of opening narration, you already can follow the skeleton of the main story. Four nations corresponding to each of the four elements, water, fire, earth and air. There was peace between them until the fire nation attacked. The war has lasted 100 years and the fire nation is on the verge of victory. Only the avatar, who is the only one who can master all the elements could end the war, but he vanished. Sokka and Kitara's father and the men of their village left to the earth kingdom to fight the fire nation, leaving the two of them alone to look after their village. Two minutes, and there's your story.
As for the rest, not only are Sokka and Kitara's relationships established (Sokka, the brash and sometime misogynistic warrior who is trying too hard and likely overcompensating for being the last man left at the village; Kitara the motherly dreamer overcompensating after the death of her mother at the hands of the fire nation), but the villains of season 1 as well (Zuko, the banished prince obsessed with capturing the avatar to restore his lost honor; and Iroh, the wise old mentor father-figure for Zuko) and last but not least Ang, well ok, maybe Ang just is presented as a playful child in this one without much depth.
The point is, in the first episode, the show already sets itself up by cramming all of the backstory in the first twenty minutes, with a keen focus on the main characters. As a result, you know who these people are and what their motivations are from the get go. It makes it much easier in later episodes to then develop these characters.
That's what makes this episode a masterpiece, even though it's primary focus is background and exposition.
Outlander: Never My Love (2020)
An Ode to Caitriona Balfe
I can understand why this episode is so controversial, and while some, especially those that haven't read the books would despise this episode, as it is yet another situation of sexual violence, and one of the most brutal that I can remember being put on screen in quite a while. One of the difficult things about this is similar to the difficulty you have with Jaime's rape and Brianna's rape. Those moments are so important to their character arcs in the book, have such a lasting impact on the events following, that it's difficult for the showrunners to simply change the story. For example, what happens between Ian and Gellis could have been changed. The plot point is not one that has a particularly lasting effect in the story. Claire's abduction however is an event that has a profound impact on the story and on Jaime and Claire's relationship moving forward. I can understand too why the showrunners had this event happen at the end of the season. In Breath of Snow and Ashes, the abduction happens early on in the book. I think you can do this in the book, because you have 900 more pages to explore that trauma and tell other stories. There was probably a concern that if the abduction occurred in the beginning of the next season it would so dominate the story to the point where it becomes the entire focus of the next season. That's not to say that it cannot be prevalent, and the showrunners will have to justify their decision by giving it the treatment it deserves subsequently.
This episode is so difficult for me because of the duality of it. It's horrifying of course, I think not just because of the act itself but because of the physical nature of it. When Claire is rescued you can physically see the scars, see how shoe has been battered and abused in a way that differs from Jaime and Brianna. You can see in their emotions the trauma, and Jaime's hand was ruined by Randall, but Claire's entire face is battered and bruised, her body weak and unsteady, which draws attention to her expressions, which are cold, steady and distant. It's just such a visceral attack that it makes my skin crawl.
Yet, the episode is so beautiful as well. Throughout this season family has been the central theme, and as horrifying and gut wrenching as the abduction is, it's also heartwarming. Jaime comes to save Claire, she never doubts he will, but it is Ian, Fergus, Marsali, Roger, the Beardsleys even John Qunicy Myers that deliver Claire's vengeance. It's those people who Claire and Jaime have helped for so long that pay it forward, that rush to Claire's defense when she is in a position that you don't see in her in, weak, vulnerable, and helpless.
However, I think this episode has to be in the Pantheon of all-time great episodes of Outlander for no other reason than the fact that Caitriona Balfe is majestic in this episode. Honestly, after watching this episode, I have to wonder how difficult it must have been for the actors playing the rapists to act as the story required them to act. Clearly this is a work of fiction, as viewers you know that Caitriona Balfe wasn't actually raped on the set, but dear God is her portrayal so incredibly realistic. I can't fathom how talented an actress she must be such that she can command her soul to literally drain out of her eyes in the way she does in this episode. The command that you can have to make your body go limp and portray such weakness while also portraying a character who retains her dignity and who by sheer force of will refuses to be broken.
I think Cait's performance is so incredible because it illustrates the exact feeling Claire has after the attack in the book. In the book however, Claire is the narrator, she tells you what she is feeling, her thoughts, her innermost feelings. On screen, the fact that Cait is able to show us these emotions without the benefit of narration, without the benefit of much in the way of dialogue is truly amazing. And, to illustrate just how well it was done, in the book, Claire's feelings are much the same as in the tv series. Claire is confident Jaime will rescue her. After the attack, she has that same stoic sort of mix of shock and resolve that you see in the show. In fact, in the book, she actually sets her own broken nose immediately after the attack. And most importantly, many of her thoughts are outward in nature. Unlike Jaime, she's not shamed in the same way, doesn't want to kill herself, but rather is fearful that what happened to her will dredge up Jaime's memories of what happened to him.
And I think this is the point as to why Claire's abduction needed to happen for the series and what makes what happened so tragic. Claire is in the position of vulnerability and weakness, but knowing what has happened to the other members of her family, throughout the rest of the series she tries so incredibly hard to be strong, to overcome those feelings, and no become a burden to others. I think that's the difficulty for her, not in being vulnerable but being in a position where she needs to allow herself to be vulnerable to heal, allow herself to grieve, and allow herself to be healed, rather than the healer.
Ultimately, this episode will be judged by whether the show in Season 6 can touch upon the nuances of Claire's recovery. If they can manage that complexity this episode will be justified. If Claire's recovery becomes a rerun of Jaime and Brianna's recovery, they will have failed.
Outlander: Journeycake (2020)
An Emotionally Manipulative Farce
I think the review is really based on whether you read the books or only watched the tv series, because I think episodes like Journeycake are so detrimental to any good story, especially if the course of events from the book follow and the MacKenzies actually do return to their own time (eventually). I also think that what Journeycake does is it takes away from Roger's character. In the book, Roger decides to stay at the end, to commit, to stand with his father-in-law in the face of the coming storm. What ends up happening here is like a glitch in the stones which I don't favor.
Don't get me wrong, I can't say the episode isn't emotional or well done, but the problem is it's a giant fake out. It's an hour of build up that ultimately comes to nothing. Perhaps the most intelligent part of the episode was the reasoning behind Claire's abduction. Anyone who has read the books knew it was coming (and unfortunately knows what is coming next), but in the books the abduction was not directed at Claire specifically. She was taken for information on the location of whisky. Here the attack is targeted, specifically against her for being Dr. Rawlings. I think it adds so much emotional weight to what is a critical part of the story, though I'm sure little emotional weight will be needed for the finale.
Journeycake is emotionally manipulative and thus cannot receive a strong rating from me.
Outlander: Mercy Shall Follow Me (2020)
A Disappointing End to the Stephen Bonnet Saga
In episode 1 of Season 4, Stephen Bonnet had the potential to be a truly great villain, a different type of villain, one who could be charming in one moment, and slice your throat the next. It's not completely the tv series fault as Stephen Bonnet never lived up to the billing even in the books, but this final episode of the Bonnet saga really is a let down in so many ways.
I think it was a poor decision to center so much of his efforts in Season 5 on trying to take control of River Run, as well as the weird gentleman desires in this episode. It really took away from his ruthlessness from his identity. Black Jack Randall was a scheme, Sandringham was a schemer, the Comte St. Germain was a schemer. What made Bonnet so frightening was his unpredictability. Say what you will about Season 4, but Bonnet was so menacing because he was unpredictable. You never knew what Bonnet you would get. He was first and foremost a true pirate.
I think the showrunners probably felt that they needed to give Bonnet a reason for his behavior, to explain his motivations, but I think that actually diminishes what Bonnet was as a character. Sometimes the best villains are the simple one. Take Dougal for instance, you knew who he was and what he was about. There didn't need to be long soliloquies explaining his actions. He was what he was and it worked.
I also question Brianna's shooting of Bonnet at the end of the episode and why the tv series left it open as to why Brianna shot him. This is not to take away from Sophie Skelton, who probably gives one of her most compelling performances to date, but rather because I think it diminishes her character in some ways. In the book, she kills Bonnet after he's been in the sea for several hours. It's quite clearly a mercy killing, not premised on the need for vengeance or comfort in knowing he's dead. I can't help but wonder why the tv series felt the need to change that, or what message it was trying to send at the end.
In fact, that's the damning indictment on this whole episode. It's not entirely clear what message is being sent with this episode and on the whole just feels somewhat strange, like the showrunners were stuck with a story that they wanted to clear up before Season 6. In some ways that makes sense; Breath of Snow and Ashes is full of so many big moments including Bonnet's demise, getting rid of him here makes sense especially since it doesn't appear that the tv series really knew what they wanted to do with him in Season 5.
Outlander: Monsters and Heroes (2020)
A Biased Review
Sometimes you have to admit you're biased, and on this one I will admit, this is probably my favorite part of Fiery Cross. I think there are a few reason why. First, you see how far Roger has grown as a character. It is somewhat strange in the tv series, since in the story alot of time has passed since his hanging, while in the show it's been one episode, but you finally see Roger taking responsibility for defending his family. He'll never be a warrior, he'll never be Jaime. But he is ready to defend and fight for his family and fight for his son.
With respect to Jaime's storyline, what always stood out to me the most was the reason why he couldn't die, the reason why he had to fight to survive. Some reviews equate this with Season 1 but it's completely different. In Season 1, Jaime was ashamed, did not want to survive because he did not feel worthy to be Claire's husband after what had happened. Claire brings him back by making him understand that there is nothing to be ashamed of, that she does accept him regardless of the damage done. I think this episode shows Jaime's growth. Pride does affect his initial decision not to want his leg cut off, but he survives not because of overcoming shame (he is willing to lose the leg), but rather out of recognition that his entire family needs him, that he has a responsibility to defend his family. Claire brings him back but it's not just about her, it's about the storm that is coming and the need his family has of him.
As I enjoyed this part in the book, it's unsurprising that I enjoyed the episode as well as it is very similar and very well acted by all parties. I guess I can see why some might not like the episode, especially if you haven't read the book, since it may seem odd, but having read the book, there really isn't anything to complain about.
Outlander: Famous Last Words (2020)
Don't Understand the Reviews
I have to say I am surprised by the amount of negative reviews on this episode as I actually thought spending more time on Roger's trauma and Ian's return was a welcome addition. In my opinion, Outlander does traumatic moments like these so well because they often involve attacks that go at the center of the character's identity. When you look at what happened to Jaime, it was so difficult for him because he is a fighter at heart, someone who is willing to give his last for his family. So when Black Jack abuses him and he is forced not to fight back, not to resist, it strikes at the heart of who he is. You see this in Roger's story as well. His voice is his weapon; he isn't a fighter he's a speaker, and singer. In fact, in the book his nickname is the thrush because he is well known as a singer. So when his voice is taken from him it's such a blow because it hits at his very identity.
It was also so ingenious to have Ian and Roger face their trauma at the same time. These two characters were connected by what happened at the Mohawk Village and based on what has happened to both of them feel unwelcome, feel like outsiders. I guess the one big downside to this episode was the use of the silent films. I understand why they did it, but there were two big problems with it. First, the silent film nature of the flashbacks took away from rather than added to the presentation of the hanging. I think it would have made much more sense not to do so. Second, having seen the rest of the season, a similar trick is used again later on in the season with much better effect than here.
Having said that, I don't understand why so many people found the episode not to be enjoyable. Perhaps it felt a bit too much like Claire trying to ransom Jaime's soul in Season 1 but I think there is a difference in that Brianna had undergone similarly traumatic experience like Roger did. She was able to identify with his struggle differently than Claire in Season 1 who had not undergone a similar experience.
Outlander: The Ballad of Roger Mac (2020)
A Fond Farewell to Murtagh
Sassenach, Jaime's pet name for Claire... I always found this to be a true mark of genius by Galbadon, to take a slur, an epithet, a vulgar name for an Outlander and to turn it into a term of endearment. But more than that, when Jaime calls Claire Sassenach, it also has another meaning, a shared understanding of Claire's true nature. There is a reason why Claire revealing herself to Jaime is such an important part of the first Outlander story, because it is a secret shared between the two of them that is both intimate and dangerous. More than a few times, Claire and Jaime have been subject to danger because of this knowledge, because of this secret. Yet this information also sets them apart from others, it gives them a shared knowledge that only they have.
In the books, it takes over half the series before someone else from the 18th century learns of Claire, Brianna and Roger's true origin. Gellis, Frank, Mrs. Graham, and Fiona know, but they are future themselves. As such it was such a departure from the books when Claire and Jaime tell Murtagh of Claire's true nature, and a dangerous one at that. In essence, the tv series took this secret that was so intimate between Jaime and Claire, and allowed for Murtagh to take a special place as an insider of sorts, someone else who knew Claire's true nature and the true nature of Jaime's family.
What a payoff you get in the Ballad of Roger Mac. It's strange because through 8 books there has been alot of pain, suffering and death, but never the death of an insider like Murtagh, someone who has had a long history with extensive knowledge of Claire's true nature. When the characters lose Murtagh in this episode, it's more than losing just a family member, you are losing an insider, one of the only people to know who Brianna, Roger and Claire really are.
This is also an episode about betrayal, betrayal of one family member to save your own. In a way that's what happens to Roger; he is betrayed by his ancestors to save themselves. But of course, it is really Sam Heughan that steals the episode. The addition of the red coat (not in the books) was his idea, and when he puts that coat on, you can see in his eyes the ghosts of Wentworth Prison, of all the pain and suffering that coat has represented to him coming back. And it's so devastating because Jaime is single minded in sacrificing himself to save his family, and yet he can do nothing for Murtagh. To save part of his family, he is forced to sacrifice his godfather. God how heartbreaking as he begs Claire to save Murtagh. His unshakable belief in her that she can fix any wrong, save any man. It makes it so much worse because it's too late, he's already gone, and there is nothing that either of them can do.
This episode is a byproduct of the episodes in the season that came before it, all of the foundation leading to this single moment. This episode is clearly in the Pantheon of great Outlander episodes, one that is just as moving as the first time you've watched it.
Outlander: Better to Marry Than Burn (2020)
The Episode Greatly Exceeding the Source Material
In Fiery Cross, the marriage of Jocasta Cameron to Duncan Innis is an event that lasts what seems like forever spanning several hundred pages. The showrunners do a fantastic job truncating this event and shifting events to fit the wedding into the story being told, with the focus on Bonnet making quite a bit of sense all things considered. I have to say, all of the plot lines are really well done. It's nice to see Roger and Brianna finally working together to solve a problem, especially for Roger whose manhood and usefulness is often challenged by the 18th century men around him, Jaime in particular. Murtagh and Jocasta as well. Their story is particularly heartbreaking, as Jocasta simply has endured too much pain to risk her heart being broken again.
I think the best part about this episode is that you really get to see Jocasta and Claire compared with one another. I find some of the most fascinating episodes are when you see two characters who have many similar qualities and how their differences impact their lives and those around them. Claire and Jocasta are both strong and independent women, both have endured the loss of children, and tremendous emotional pain yet are survivors at their very core. Both are fiery, unafraid to do battle in a world dominated by men. And yet, much as Claire and Jenny are two strong-willed but different characters, Jocasta and Claire have a major difference as well that you see in this episode.
Claire is a match for Jaime in that she puts herself at risk. She's outspoken to a fault, unconcerned with civility, and often unafraid to put herself in the line of fire. Claire is the person who will go into the stables with Wylie alone, who will risk everything to go back in time for Jaime, who will challenge the accepted wisdom of the time at risk to herself. She's strong-willed and a survivor, but one who will put herself at risk and speak her mind. Jocasta is a survivor as well, but a different kind. A kind that will marry a man she doesn't love and spurn a man she does care for to protect what she has. A woman who will quietly position herself if a place of power rather than brazenly speak her mind.
And of course, this episode also harkens back to Season 2, and the idea of putting a desire for revenge above family but with an interesting twist. In Season 2, it was Claire that puts Frank existence ahead of Jaime and her child. She takes blame after Faith's death, because she knew what Randall did to Jaime, why he needed to fight him and why he needed revenge. She had insight and knowledge of Jaime's heart yet put Frank's existence ahead of her family in the 18th century. While the same situation is presented here, Jaime seeking revenge on his daughter's behalf (and revenge against Wylie for his inappropriate advances) the opposite is true. Jaime has inside knowledge this time, into what the gold ring means to Claire, as to why she wears it and why it is special. Jaime's acknowledgment of this is why I think their relationship is so strong, his ability to accept Frank's part in Claire's life while knowing her heart is his. And yet he is willing to risk hurting Claire for no other reason than revenge. Not to keep Brianna safe, not to do it for her sake, but because he wants to see the menace dead. It's understandable, and I don't think Jaime can be faulted, but it's these exchanges these conflicts that make Season 5 compelling as the characters are constantly challenged and posed with difficult choices that could hurt those around them.
Season 5 is tremendous and all the storylines in this episode are expertly told, expertly acted and resonate.
Outlander: Perpetual Adoration (2020)
Another Solid Installment in a Strong Season
Perpetual Adoration is certainly not the best episode, but it is another solid installment in what is a really strong season. I think the episode is slightly diminished due to some of the cuts that had to be made in the source material. The Perpetual Adoration ceremony has much more importance in the books and actually makes its appearance in the first Outlander novel as Claire attends while trying to ransom Jaime's soul from the clutches of Black Jack's violent attack.
I also didn't favor the change to Mr. Menzies story, in that in the book, Claire actually assists Mr. Menzies in ending his life due to cancer. I can see why the show changed this, there is a big emphasis this season on Claire's oath to do no harm. In fact, one of Diana Galbadon's biggest complaints was that the showrunners changed Dougal's death to have Claire complicit in it, saying that it was inconsistent with her status as a healer. But, I don't agree with that sentiment. In the books and tv series, when Claire does take a violent action it is important because she is a healer and does have her oath. It has meaning and importance when she does hurt or kill someone. It affects her, but it is also a part of her character. Remember, Dr. Randall-Fraser kills Gellis Duncan to save her daughter, kills the Comte St. Germain by handing him poison. In the books she kills or injures a few other people as well to save herself or her family. I think that's ultimately the difference with Claire, she's not a Quaker, she is willing to fight if needed, she just doesn't want to. It's against her morals and against her personality but she is willing to do it.
I actually thinks this fits with the tenor of the episode as you see a situation in which Jaime is forced to act against his own honor and own code for his family. I think the character of Knox is some ways harkens back to Tarren McQuarrie in season 1, a glimpse of where Jaime might have been if not for Claire and his family. Knox is seemingly a man of honor, who believes that he is acting in accord with justice, in accord with his oath to King and Country. Jaime's word and his honor are equally important, and Knox is someone who you feel Jaime respects, but his word to his family is above all.
You see this quite a bit in Jaime's conflict with Roger, and why Roger does not measure up in Jaime's eyes. Remember the heaven and earth speech Jaime told Fergus in Season 3, that's what family is to Jaime. To him, he would move heaven and earth, he would burn in hell itself to protect his family without a moment's hesitation, without a second thought. When Roger gives up Morton, he does the unthinkable to Jaime, he gives up one of his own. When Roger doesn't return to Brianna right away it is impossible for Jaime to forget this, because to him, it's unthinkable not to.
I have to say this is why I love Season 5 so much, because while an episode like Perpetual Adoration may not the best episode, it is incredibly consistent and believable. Jaime's portion of the episode is the strongest because it is a reminder of who he is. He will betray a man he respects like Knox for his godfather and for his family. He does it without hesitation, just like we've seen him do so many times, when he marries Claire, at Fort William, at Culloden, during the voyage to Jamaica. And it is interesting to see how Jaime's view of love, view of manhood are at odds with Roger who is no less in love with Brianna but is a scholar, is a practical man, who has a different sense of duty and honor than Jamie might have.
As such, Season 5 continues to be one of the strongest seasons to date.
Outlander: The Company We Keep (2020)
Trouble in Brownsville
There is not much to say about The Company We Keep other than that is a solid episode that continues to build upon the themes found earlier in the season. The thing that Season 5 does so well is that it is so incredibly compact. All twelve episodes center around the same themes and pose similar issues such that you never feel that an episode is out of place or doesn't belong. Again, I think this is an incredible achievement since Fiery Cross kind of plods along with different events that don't exactly connect as well together (in fact one of the major plot points, the Jacobite gold story is largely ignored for the tv series, at no great loss I might add).
So rather than go on about the episode, I want to take a brief moment to credit Lauren Lyle and the showrunners as a whole in giving Marsali a greater role in Season 5. Her performances have been exemplary for the limited time she's been on screen up to now and she is certainly worthy of having a greater part in the story. In the books, Marsali does become a more prevalent character, but more so in the latter books. She was always an interesting character because in some ways, she exemplifies what makes the latter half of the Outlander books good, the idea of having people in your family who are not of you blood, but who nonetheless love and are willing to sacrifice themselves for you. I mean, this is Laghorie's daughter, the same Laghorie who tried to have Claire killed as a witch, and yet her eldest daughter in many ways gets raised by and cared for by Claire as a daughter. The fact that a character like Marsali is given a chance to do more than in the book shows how the tv series can at times be better than the book, much in the same way that it improved upon the source material by giving Murtagh a greater role.
Outlander: Free Will (2020)
A Meaningful Side-Quest
I have to start by saying that I was never a big fan of the Fanny Beardsley side quest, certainly not in the book, as was indicative of the kind of strange meandering and plodding story that I did not find compelling in the Fiery Cross. But I think the tv series did the story justice because even though this episode is distraction of sorts from the coming war with the regulators, it is on message with over-arching theme of family that Season 5 builds upon with each episode.
You can really see in Season 5 how the contours of the story have changed since the beginning. In the first four seasons, and in the early books as well, Outlander is a pure romance, a story of relationships, largely Claire and Jaime, but also Marsali and Fergus and Brianna and Roger. It's those relationships that are the focus of the story, the relationships from spouse to spouse. Season 5 really starts to turn the focus towards family. Free Will is as much a story about family as it is about Jaime and Claire's relationship. The characters begin to contemplate loss and sacrifice in the context of a family unit. It becomes clearer as Season 5 goes on that the story has significantly changed. It's not just a story about Claire and Jaime anymore, it's a story about their entire family. Their decisions and tribulations aren't just confined to their own desires, but the needs of their family and the people counting on them in a way that has up to now been largely a periphery matter.
Free Will stands on its own as a kind horrifying side-quest, a heart of darkness sort of adventure that explores the worst in humanity. Yet it also works as part of the continuing story and fits with the overall challenges the Frasers are facing in trying to keep their family together and safe. After Season 4, it is nice to the show go back to its roots and center its story on a theme like this.
Outlander: Between Two Fires (2020)
A Very Intelligent Episode
Between Two Fires is the type of episode you saw in the earlier seasons of the tv series. It is a workman like episode, in that while the first episode of the season rebooted Roger and Brianna's relationship and set up the overarching conflict of the regulator arc this episode sets up the individual conflicts for the season. Jaime walking between two fires, finding himself in the middle of a conflict and trying to come out of it in the best way possible for he and his family. Claire trying to fight history, fate, and the intransigence of the 18th century through modern medicine, Roger trying to become a "man of worth" who is capable of providing for his family and earning his father-in-law's respect and Brianna, who is haunted by the ghost and threat of Stephen Bonnet.
It's just a very intelligent episode as much of the substance of the episode is not present in the books, but nonetheless feels faithful to characters and the story. I think adding Sam and Caitriona on as producers really pays dividends in this season, and I often wonder what impact they might have had on the storylines in Season 5. It's episodes like this that make Outlander so great because they put in the work, they build a foundation that makes the payoff more enticing and believable, something that was missing in the previous season. While not memorable, I think it is episodes like this in Season 5 that are going to give us a 6th and 7th season of Outlander because it's episodes like these that set up the truly memorable episodes that are forthcoming in this season.
Outlander: The Fiery Cross (2020)
The Best Premiere Episode in Outlander
There was so much riding on this episode. After the uneven Season 4 of the series, Outlander needed a reboot of sorts, a return to the type of emotional storytelling that made the series and the books so compelling. Not only was this a challenge, but Season 5 is based on the novel "The Fiery Cross", which in my opinion is actually the worst book in the series. The fifth book is very meandering, with two massive events and where in over 1000 pages, not all that much happens in terms of plot considering the length of the book. That's why it's so interesting that while Outlander the tv series suffered so much in its deviations from the book in Season 4, the tv series shines in Season 5 because its deviations from the source material.
The Fiery Cross episode is brilliant and the best premier in the series in my opinion. Roger and Brianna's wedding is incredibly wonderful, and finally does what the series failed so spectacularly at doing in Season 4, equating Roger and Brianna's relationship to Jaime and Claire's much more compelling relationship. To see the various couples and families coming together in celebration of Roger and Brianna's happiness was masterfully done, with the call backs to the earlier seasons finally feeling natural rather than forced as was the case in Season 4.
The episode also begins the redemption of Roger MacKenzie. Last season, his character was stabbed in the back by poor writing and inexplicable decisions on the part of the showrunners. In this episode, you finally see the real Roger MacKenzie. He's not a warrior like Jaime, nor does he have the clever street sense of Fergus, but he can be charming, he does have a big heart, and is devoted to Brianna. This is the character that was in the books and the Roger MacKenzie that you saw in Seasons 2 and 3.
Then at episode's end, you see the set up for the Regulator arc. In the book, the Regulator arc was not all too compelling honestly. Having Murtagh alive on the side of the Regulators definitely adds a facet to the arc that the book was surely lacking. The Fiery Cross is the best premier because it is able to do two things well, it resets Brianna and Roger's relationship from Season 4, and gives it a kind of fresh start and fresh feel while also setting up the events of the rest of the season.
Outlander: Man of Worth (2019)
An Up and Down Season Ends with an Up and Down Finale
Man of Worth is not a bad finale. It would be disingenuous to say otherwise. But like any finale, it is the culmination of everything that has come before it earlier in the season and so while it does have some great moments, it is missing many of the themes that made it's source material so great. Among the good are Ian's coming of age moment in staying with the Mohawk, Brianna and Roger's reunion (at least the season ends by finally giving us a Roger that resembles the one in the books) and Murtagh's soiree with Jocasta (makes a lot of sense there would be something there considering Murtagh's feelings for Jocasta's sister).
But, there is too much missing from it as well. I think the Mohawk storyline as a whole was overdone and really set back the flow of the season and took too much focus away from the other storylines. The Mohawk scenes in the finale were largely (except for Ian's decision) just sloppily done. Otter Tooth particularly gets shafted as his story is greatly desensitized for the tv series. In the book, his plan was much more realistic. He wasn't out to just indiscriminately kill white folks (probably that plan wouldn't work so well for the natives), but rather to get the Indians to unite together and gain more power in trade and commerce. His goal was to actually travel further back in time and get the native peoples to contain white advancement by refusing to give over land, and trade for weapons that could be used for defense. It was a shame to see the nuance get taken away and Otter Tooth to be merely some Native American terrorist.
The other glaring weakness in this episode and the second half of Season 4 as a whole is the loss of fatherhood as a major theme. Particularly, I think it was entirely unacceptable for the tv series not to have Claire and Jaime deliver Brianna's baby. It is a moving scene and more importantly, it is the scene where Brianna and Jaime reconcile. In short, the tv series never had enough of the ghost of Frank Randall. He was alluded to in earlier episodes but was never the focus. It's understandable that the show would want to show Brianna and Roger's adventure but Jaime's conflict with the ghost of Frank Randall was such an important piece of the novel, was such a driving force in Jaime's psyche and his own measure of self-worth that it was a shame to see it get the lack of treatment that it did, especially since in the book, Frank teaches Brianna to survive in the wild and to shoot with the understanding that Brianna may one day go to find Jaime.
So, in summation, Man of Worth is not a bad episode, but it also has quite a bit of wasted potential where the showrunners put too much of a focus on the wrong parts of the story.
Outlander: Providence (2019)
Puzzling
Puzzling, that's what this episode was to me, puzzling. I am a bit biased, this part of Drums of Autumn was least favorite, but Roger's storyline in particular with the Mohawk seems to drag on alot longer in the tv series than it did in the books. This episode was just odd, especially the entire Mohawk portion of the episode. I don't understand what the purpose was either. Roger MacKenzie is so incredibly betrayed in Season 4, and the showrunners have dragged the character through the mud and in this episode, relish in his suffering as he is beaten to a pulp. I guess my main problem with it is that again, book Roger never had a question about returning to Brianna at this point in the story. He felt terrible about leaving her in Wilmington and was hell bent on returning. I hate how Roger was made to be so selfish in Season 4. This was the guy who believed Claire's story, who searched for Jaime without any thought of reward. Now he's giving speeches about looking out for #1.
While I can understand why he might feel that way, it's his own selfishness that made him lose Brianna in the first place. Again unlike the book, his reasons for keeping the news about Brianna's parents to himself was selfish, he wanted her to be happy so she would marry him. It's just sad that Season 4 tarnishes Roger so badly and makes him unrecognizable from the source material.
With respect to Brianna's side of the story, I understand why Brianna went to see Bonnet, both in the tv series and books. It does match real life, how victims often confront and forgive their assailants, but it always kind of felt out of place to me.
This was just incredibly odd and I can't understand why this episode received the praise that it did. It was incredibly strange...
Outlander: If Not For Hope (2019)
An Episode Saved by Lord John
There's just something missing in "If Not For Hope." I think maybe it's a side effect of Brianna and Roger's underdeveloped "love story" but there's just something missing from this episode, that spark the truly great episodes have that make them memorable. David Berry's Lord John steals the show by giving a performance that is equally charming and fiery. And his rapport with Sophie Skelton does make the episode enjoyable, though there's just something lacking, that extra vibe that turns an episode from fun to memorable. When Claire and Lord John met earlier in the season, there was that underlying tension, like a simmering pot that threatened to boil over. Perhaps there is a missing intimacy of sorts, that prevents much of the episode from the hard-hitting heights of earlier installments.
While Lord John certainly saves what would otherwise be a very mediocre episode, I think this episode illustrates the difficulties Outlander has in telling a story without the presence of one or both of its main character. Despite the fact that they are only on screen for 10-15 minutes, Jaime and Claire again take control of the episode in their reconciliation. Sam is especially noteworthy, hitting the essence of the Jaime's pain in this situation. Jaime has lost three children at various points in his life and you can see the despair that he has lost his daughter again. It hurts him even more as Claire distances herself from him. You can see his confidence wane, believing that Claire and Brianna may think that Frank was a better man than he is.
All in all, perhaps this episode represents one of the problems with the second half of Season 4. Outlander is at its strongest when it focuses on Jaime and Claire and their relationship. Outlander has struggled to tell stories about its supporting characters and the second half of the season is really more of Brianna and Roger's story than Jaime and Claire's.
Outlander: The Deep Heart's Core (2019)
An Episode of Fits and Starts
The Deep Heart's Core is the perfect illustration of Season 4 in a nutshell, great moments and heartfelt acting diminished by uneven storytelling. The problem with this episode is that everything on Brianna's side of the story is compelling and heartbreaking. At the start of the episode the entire family is together, no two people more so than father and daughter. I have to say, Sam and Sophie get all the props for the beautiful scene when Jaime illustrates to Brianna that it was not her fault that she was raped. The shared pain that these two characters have is tragic but also allows them to have a shared connection that actually brings them closer together. By the end of the episode, all of the secrets that the family has held are finally revealed, and the Frasers are splintered. The duality of this episode is striking in that it illustrates how tragic events can both bring a family together and break a family apart.
More importantly, I think what the series always does well and in this episode to is that it never stacks the deck in a confrontation in one sides favor or another. A lot of the reviews come to Jaime's defense for his actions but he wasn't entirely innocent. I mean he accused his daughter of fabricating the rape allegations. But I think no one in the family comes out it with clean hands. Jaime acted rightfully in defending his daughter from the attacker, but specifically kept the information from both Brianna and Claire. Brianna and Claire are similarly devious in keeping Bonnet's identity from Jaime. They may have done it for the right reason (Jaime blames himself due to his aiding Bonnet) but their silence is also to blame for what happened to Roger. In the end, I feel like Claire and Brianna's anger towards Jaime is unwarranted but not necessarily unreasonable. Jaime did hurt them both by his actions.
The problem though is that while this side of the episode is thought provoking, the other side of the episode is tedious. Roger's trek through the woods does nothing to really further Roger's character or the plot. It could have very easily been a single scene and nothing would be missed. Roger's screen time in this episode just seems to break up all of the build-up in the part of the story you actually care about. Tension builds and then the show decides to take you back into the woods. Just doesn't make sense.
And, of course, the other problem is that I'm not invested in Brianna and Roger's relationship because the show has done such a poor job of setting it up. As a viewer I don't care if Roger comes back because he's done nothing to warrant my caring about him. Brianna seems to really love him and want him to come back and I can't really understand why considering his actions up to this point. Plus, it is not as if Brianna has been the most pleasant companion either. Brianna and Roger's relationship has no foundation and so it's difficult to get invested in Roger's return because of the way he has acted. I don't feel sympathy for him, I don't feel his connection with Brianna and so I think you lose something in the rest of the journey.
Again, Deep Heart's Core does good things, but too often those good things are watered down watching Roger and the Mohawk trek through the woods.
Outlander: The Birds and The Bees (2018)
A Perfect Episode
The Birds and The Bees may not be the most memorable episode of the series by any means, but it may be one of the most perfect. It's strange because Season 4, especially the back half is such a mess, but this episode hits all of the right notes, from the emotional reunion of parents and child, the life on the ridge, to Brianna's revelation and Roger's subsequent misfortune. It works so perfectly and the cast, I mean what can you say except that they are absolutely brilliant in the episode. This episode is emblematic of why I think Drums of Autumn was the best book in the Outlander series, because it just tells a beautiful story of a child being united with her parents and getting to know a father that she never knew.
And the episode is so perfectly balanced between Claire, Jaime, Frank (well his memory at least) and Brianna, such that you get to see Brianna's relationship with all of her parents. There's a part of me that actually enjoys Brianna's relationship with Claire the most in this episode. That's not to say that it isn't touching to see Brianna build a relationship with her father (the saddest scene is Jaime contemplating the fact that he will likely lose his daughter again when she returns to the stones), but I think there's often a tendency to have mother-daughter relationships that are strained. We actually saw this when Brianna was first introduced in Season 2. That's why it is so nice to see Brianna confide in her mother as a confidant. Part of the reason Outlander is so good is it's consistency, remember when Claire told Brianna in Season 3 that she was the person who knew Brianna best, you get a payoff when Claire correctly deduces that her daughter is pregnant.
All in all, it's just a great episode that hits all of the right notes without being too overdramatic or drawn out and sets up the conflict for the rest of the season. It is a shame that Season 4 turns out so inconsistent because this episode was a masterpiece.
Outlander: Wilmington (2018)
A Truly Despicable Episode
Do you know why Jaime and Claire's relationship works so well? Why their marriage and feelings for each other are so believable, even though their marriage starts out as an arranged marriage, one for survival rather than love? It's because Outlander puts in the work and builds a foundation to make it believable. Jaime and Claire have a friendship, have a connection before the marriage. It's not outlandish to think that Jaime and Claire would marry each other under the circumstances in Season 1 because the showrunners put in the work to build a relationship between the two. That's why when Claire decides not to return to Frank after the witch trial it's believable. You know that Jaime and Claire are in love not because you've been told they are, you see it, their relationship evolving from their original friendship.
The showrunners clearly need a reminder because everything about this episode with respect to Brianna and Roger is just so poorly constructed. You see, with what we've seen on screen up to now, there is absolutely no reason why Brianna would marry Roger, no reason to think that she would love him considering the way he's treated her, and honestly the way that she has treated him. This culminates in what can only be described as a toxic and emotionally manipulative relationship that does no justice to the original characters from the books. Clearly the showrunners need a refresher. First, the lead up to Brianna and Roger's marriage was all wrong. In the book, they actually did things together and dated for much longer than in the tv series. It was never a matter of love between them, but rather Brianna not being ready to marry Roger in 1970. Roger isn't happy, but agrees to wait for her, because there is no question that he loves her. That's why when they reconnect in the past, it makes much more sense that Brianna would agree to marry him. Without that foundation, Brianna's decision in the tv series doesn't make any sense.
Second, the tv series completely bungles the reason why Roger doesn't tell Brianna about her parents' death. The show inexplicably makes it a weird sort of selfish paternalistic matter, Roger saying that he and Fiona decided not to say anything because her mother was dead for 200 years and he wanted her to be happy so he could marry her. Once again Roger's character is tarnished for no reason. In the book, he had a legitimate reason for not telling her, he didn't believe the past could be changed. Based on Claire's story and her failure to stop Culloden, Roger didn't believe that telling Brianna would do any good, because the past couldn't be changed. It makes much more sense in the book for Roger not to tell her because why should Brianna risk injury and death when she couldn't save her parents anyway.
Third, because Brianna's character hasn't been built up at all, her rape by Stephen Bonnet is so incredibly hollow and manipulative. Jaime's rape at the end of season 1 works because it impacts his character without defining him. He has a personality and a story outside of what Black Jack does to him. Unfortunately, because Brianna is largely sidelined in the tv series and doesn't really have a character outside of being Claire and Jaime's daughter and now Roger's wife, Brianna's character largely gets overtaken by the event for the rest of the season. Her status as a rape survivor becomes her defining character trait which is just a shame considering her status as a main character in the books.
All in all, this formula leads to an emotionally manipulative episode that doesn't deliver any real connection with the characters. And, for the life of me, I can't understand why the showrunners think it is a good idea to draw comparisons from Brianna and Roger to Jaime and Claire. When Roger tells Brianna she's the most beautiful girl he's ever seen (call back to Jaime and Claire's reunion in Season 3) I want to throw up in my mouth because the show has done nothing to illustrate that Brianna and Roger would have anything close to what Brianna's parent have. It's even worse because the other half of the episode is Jaime and Claire at their absolute best, navigating the governor's social circles and working together to save Mr. Fanning and Murtagh. Cait and Sam once again completely dominate the episode and make you forget that the emotional investment is supposed to be with Brianna and Roger.
This episode is just so bad, not in the sense that it's poorly acted or produced, but just because this massive moment in the story does not resonate because of the writers inability to lay the appropriate foundation. And because the events of this episode set up the rest of the season, this episode is largely responsible for the collapse of Season 4 in the latter episodes.
Outlander: Down the Rabbit Hole (2018)
Outlander Turns Lemons into Lemonaide
Anyone who has read the books knows that Brianna's foray into the past was significantly altered for the tv series. Originally, Brianna meets all of her family members, and Laghorie at Lallybroch, and it is so poignant because her experience is almost the exact opposite of Claire's first foray into the past. When Claire arrives in the past, she is the Sassenach, exposed and alone, a stranger in a strange land. Brianna on the other hand arrives and finds that she has the large and loving family that she didn't have before, since Claire and Frank in Boston didn't have any immediate family there.
Unfortunately, due to practical considerations regarding scheduling the showrunners could not have a big gathering at Lallybroch like in the books. So, this was changed to have Brianna spend most of her time with Laghorie instead. I have to say, it was so well done and really gives you a Laghorie's perspective of the story up to this point. To see Laghorie caring for Claire's daughter in a similar way as Claire has been caring for Marsali shows you that maybe Laghorie is not the complete devil that the show has at times portrayed her out to be. She's been disgraced by Jaime, abandoned, left to fend for herself after Claire's return, and it's hard not to have some sympathy for her.
The other noteworthy portion of the episode was Brianna's flashbacks to Frank. Tobias Menzies was so spectacular throughout the series and Drums of Autumn was so premised on fatherhood, and the ghost of Frank Randall was so prevalent in the novel that it was nice to see the tv series finally lean into those themes, something I don't think Season 4 nearly does enough of.
Unfortunately though, there are two aspects of the episode the foreshadow problems in the second half of the season. First, Roger MacKenzie's storyline is relatively mediocre. Nothing really stands out in his portion of the episode. More importantly, this episode is emblematic of the tv series problem with Brianna Randall Fraser. The tv series gives her no agency, no character, no story of her own. In the book, her arrival at Lallybroch is rife with self-discovery, of Brianna finding out who she is. Unfortunately, too often Brianna isn't the center piece of her own story. This episode ends up being more about Laghorie's story than Brianna's, more about Frank's realization that Claire would return to the past than about Brianna.
This is a problem that comes up again and again in the tv series, and sure enough, the next episode spectacularly fails because of it.