In Outlander Episode 114: THE SEARCH, a brave turn is taken, in that two of the most powerful characters are absent throughout the entire show. Jamie Fraser is missing – obviously – and Captain Randall is lurking just off screen.
Taking Jamie’s place is his sister, Jenny – a woman we are just getting to know and starting to love. Murtagh returns in full force, showing not only his comedic side, but also his most vulnerable. However, every episode requires a villain. In this case we have two: Seoirse Warden – the gypsy king with a heart of slightly tarnished gold, and Dougal MacKenzie – the war chief back to claim his unwilling prize.
Given the many Jamie point-of-view scenes added this half of the season, one might ask: Why is Jamie missing from this episode? I’m sure that question has been answered already by important people like Ron D. Moore. In my humble opinion, I think adding scenes of Jamie in the clutches of the English, making his escape, on the run in the Scottish countryside, hiding out in villages, chasing after Claire and Murtagh, and finally being recaptured – how’s that for a recap in a nutshell? – much, if not all, of the suspense would have been diminished.
This episode takes me back to SASSENACH and RENT – back to Claire’s single perspective on the road. We’re supposed to bite our nails, pull out our hair, sit on the edge of our seat, and worry with our heroine – and we do, all while learning a little more about Jamie through Murtagh and Dougal.
Matt Roberts is back with, what I consider to be, one of the most challenging scripts of the season. Luckily for us, it’s placed in the right hands – in those of a long-time and knowledgable fan of all Diana Gabaldon‘s novels. Matt’s appreciation and understanding of the material shows in this episode.
Metin Hüseyin, who is currently busy directing Episode 201, helms THE SEARCH. He draws the lighter edge of Murtagh out for our entertainment, lets loose the dark side of scheming Dougal, and coaxes Jenny’s loving ruthlessness to the forefront. He also marshals us between several different locales – from the intimacy of Lallybroch, across Scotland’s countryside and seaside shores, through village after village, and finally into the gloom of Dougal’s den.
And so, we join Outlander Episode 114: THE SEARCH with Lallybroch in commotion. Servants hustle about while Jenny (Laura Donnelly) carries bundled baby Maggie in her arms.
Ian (Steven Cree) is laid up on the red velvet couch in the main room, his arm in a sling and minus a leg. Keeping with the math theme from last week, Ian might want to consider keeping a spare peg leg on hand for such circumstances.
Claire (Caitriona Balfe) comes down the stairs with satchel in hand. She is going after Jamie, she tells Ian, who insists on hopping along. No time for sensitivity at a time like this.
“You’re missing your leg,”
Claire points out. Really meaning, “Nice job keeping my husband safe.”
Jenny is a little nicer, putting Ian in his place:
“You’re not going anywhere with a wounded arm.”
Ian insists Claire take a few armed tenants along, but she refuses, claiming the English will take Lallybroch away if anyone from the estate gets involved with whatever she has planned.
Disgruntled, Ian reduces his help to drawing a map of where The Watch was ambushed. Not sure why . . . as I point out to PocketJamie, why not just give Claire explicit directions to Lochaber Bridge?
You might be asking in all the excitement: Where the hell is Murtagh? Well, keep your panties on. He’s coming.
Claire takes Ian’s map and mounts up, surprised when Jenny emerges from the house, fully armed with two pistols stuck in her belt – one in the front and one in the back.
Jenny Oakley is packed and determined to save her “stupid fool” of a brother – never mind she just gave birth three days ago.
Jenny and Claire hit the road, following The Watch’s trail until they spot a number of scavengers, circling the sky in the distance.
They find the remains of the slain Watch men, Lunkhead Lennox – may he rest in peace – among them. Jenny says a quick prayer over each of the corpses, then returns to her search for Jamie. She picks up the tracks of a heavily laden – I think that’s redundant – cart.
“Hopefully, because there’s a large red-headed Scot weighing it down,”
Claire says, relieved not to have found Jamie’s body among the dead.
They continue their pursuit, following the tracks of the cart through the woods and over hills, until Jenny makes a much-needed pit stop.
Over a cup of milk, Claire reveals her plan to approach Lord Thomas on Jamie’s behalf – use her feminine wiles on Randall’s superior to bargain for Jamie’s freedom. SPOILER Is she planning to go as far as she does with the King of France? ‘Cause that’s what it would take.
More riding, chasing, and hunting for clues . . . Jenny miraculously spots a pile of horse poo on the trail ahead of them. She dismounts and races to it to determine whether it’s Scottish horse poo or English horse poo. English, she decides. They’re getting close.
Armed and in no mood to take any sh*t, Jenny and Claire creep up on the English, encamped near a stream.
No sentries around to guard their position. A bit over-confident, if you ask me. No Jamie either.
MacQuarrie sits in a wagon, alone, seemingly talking to himself.
They watch as an English courier breaks camp and decide to follow him.
Jenny follows directly into his path, dropping like a sack of potatoes in front of the courier’s horse in the hopes he’ll stop in time before crushing the bones of her body into tiny pieces. He does.
“You all right, madam? I almost trampled you.”
he states the obvious, getting down from his horse to fall for the oldest gag in the Highlands – and everywhere else.
Claire comes up behind the man, holding a dry-loaded and cocked pistol to his head.
Jenny sits up and does the same.
“Horse poo,” the man’s face says. Or maybe it’s “Hoors, ooh!” Not sure which.
Tied to a log, the helpless courier is at Jenny Murray’s mercy – of which she has none. She hits him with the butt of his own musket, asking him where Jamie is. He plays dumb. Jenny breaks out the branding iron. She’s done fooling around.
“I beseech you. Just tell us what you know and this will all end,”
Claire says after Jenny brands her mark on the bottom of the screaming man’s foot. He obviously has no training on how to endure torture and begs them to stop because he’s “just a courier.”
Boom. That’s all Claire needs to hear. She rushes to the courier’s satchel and pulls out the dispatch concerning Jamie. It seems the crafty Highlander escaped, and the patrol who let him get away in the first place needs help finding him. The dispatch is meant for Wentworth Prison, but Jenny has no intention of it ever reaching the warden. She tears it up, then informs Claire they have to ‘kill the messenger.’ You saw that coming, didn’t you?
But Claire was barely able to stomach the torture and can’t abide taking part in murder. Distracted by Claire’s judgmental lecture, neither hear Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) enter the grove. The sound of gurgling draws their eyes to Murtagh’s knife slicing the courier’s throat. Well, that’s settled.
They set up camp for the night, and the next morning, Jenny prepares to return to Lallybroch, leaving Claire in Murtagh’s capable company.
As a parting gift, Jenny gives Claire a spare dagger of Ian’s. (Okay, so he has a spare dagger, but not a spare leg?) Claire is to keep it in her garter. Pay attention, kids. I have a feeling that dagger’s going to come in handy at some point.
Not knowing whether she’ll ever see Jenny again, Claire dispenses advice for the future:
“Plant potatoes.”
At first, Jenny thinks it’s a weird English traditional farewell, but Claire warns her that a war is coming. (This is the 18th century. When isn’t war on the brink?) They’ll be famine and slaughter, Claire continues.
Understanding eventually dawns because Jamie told Jenny that his wife knew things and asked his sister to do whatever Claire advised. Jenny promises to send away to Edinburgh for the spuds and bids her sister farewell:
“God go with ye, Claire.”
“I can leaving knowing you’re gonna do whatever it takes to bring my brother back.”
Now on their own, Claire and Murtagh head for the nearest village. Murtagh has a sound plan. Put Claire to work as a healer and attract attention to themselves in the hopes Jamie will seek them out.
Claire tends to minor injuries during the day and tells fortunes in pubs at night, basically promising all the women of each village that “a very tall, strapping, red-haired man” will enter their lives.
“Seen anyone like that?” she asks one such woman.
“If I’d seen him, lassie, I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you,”
the woman married to a short, fat, lazy Highlander says. And I wouldn’t be writing this blog.
On stage, Murtagh does his part by doing the sword dance – sort of. He’s dancing and there are swords, but . . . he doesn’t seem to know the steps very well. Bless his heart. He’s booed off the stage.
They have no better luck in the next village. Murtagh does his thing again with Claire watching from the shadows, munching on an apple. When he finishes his street performance, to more heckling than applause, she suggests he “jazz” things up with a song.
“Jazz?”
he asks to the strange, foreign word. Oops. There goes the Prime Directive.
Claire gives Murtagh a demonstration, singing the lyrics to Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy – not knowing she’s just auditioned for their next big act.
Decked out in men’s clothing – an adorable, though foul-smelling, embroidered long coat and contrasting vest – she is thrust on stage. Claire begins haltingly at first, then rouses the crowd with a popular Scottish ballad sung to the jazzy Bugle Boy tune.
“F#@*,”
Claires says in introduction to the song. I expected a different title, but it is Scotland . . .
“Here’s to all you lads and lasses that go out this way. Be sure you tap her coggie when you take her out to play. Lads and lasses, toy and kiss. The lads dare think what they do is amiss. Because there’s Kent and Keen and there’s Aberdeen, and there’s none as muckle as the Strath of Boogie Woogie.
For every lad’ll wander just to have his lass. And when they see her pintle rise, they’ll raise a glass. And rowe about their wanton een, they dance a reel as the troopers go over the lea. Because there’s Kent and Keen and there’s Aberdeen, and there’s none as muckle as the Strath of Boogie Woogie.
A-root. A-toot. A-rooty-a-toot.”
Claire wins the crowd over with her lovely voice and the catchy tune. There goes the Prime Directive again.
They travel from town to village, even putting up posters for the singing Sassenach. While Claire takes to the stage, Murtagh takes to working the crowds, asking villagers if they’ve seen a tall, red-headed Highlander. They could really use a PocketJamie to help with the search. Too bad they didn’t think to take one along.
Their enquiries come to naught, day after day and night after night, but they do manage to capture the attention of a band of gypsies who are impressed with Claire’s song and the revenue it provides.
Coming upon a makeshift village of tents and wagons, they find out how impressed the gypsies are.
Claire and Murtagh join the crowd of revelers who are enjoying the performance of a real sword dancer. Sorry, Murtagh. Then Seoirse Ward (Martin Brody) introduces “The Sassenach” – not Claire.
There’s a new Sassenach in town (Siobhan Miller). She’s got the beat, a voice and a raunchier stage presence which the crowd seems to prefer. It is Scotland . . .
After the performance, Murtagh and Claire pay a visit to the man behind the curtain, accusing him of filching their song.
“Public domain,” Seoirse Ward claims. Murtagh is ready to jump right to the threatening portion of the confrontation, but Claire quickly intervenes.
Claire explains, in the name of love, she’s using the song to find her husband and doesn’t want him confused by two Sassenachs in the area. Unfortunately, Seoirse only speaks gold.
To Murtagh’s extreme displeasure, Claire hands over the entire Lallybroch quarter rent, given to her by Jenny to pay for bribes, food, lodging and such.
Seoirse promises to stop singing the song, but only one person in the tent is gullible enough to believe him.
Undeterred Claire and disgruntled Murtagh continue singing and dancing, hoping to hear word from Jamie, until finally they reach the far western coast of Scotland.
“If ye look hard enough . . .”
Murtagh says to Claire as she stares out over the ocean,
“. . . you might just see the Americas. It’s the only place you haven’t sung that damn song yet.”
Completely out of money and running out of hope, Claire and Murtagh make camp in a convenient cave along the shore. It’s difficult to say how much time has passed – weeks, most certainly. The stress of not knowing where Jamie is, worrying over his safety, wondering if he’s gotten their “message” takes its toll. As in the thieve’s hole, the claws come out. Claire needs to stay away from cold, damp – and especially rocky – spaces.
Murtagh’s self-controlled demeanor drops, and he blames Claire for their not finding Jamie.
“You’re stubborn, and you will not listen to anyone but your own self,”
he says, sure the dubious deal she made with the more popular gypsy act has caused Jamie to seek out the wrong Sassenach. Everything was hunky dory fine until she did that. Huh? What?
Claire fires back:
“Nothing about this search has been fine. Perhaps it has for you because you see Sam on a regular basis, er, you’ve never lost someone that you’ve loved.”
Murtagh’s eyebrows drop down almost to his chin. That’s the Fraser expression for “WTF?”
“You ken it all now, do you, lass?”
Standing in the mouth of the cave, unable to look Claire in the eye, Murtagh tells his tale of a broken heart and a love lost.
“I lost someone at a MacKenzie gathering many years ago. My face had less weather on it then, and she was a sonsy lass.”
“But she had another suitor. So, I thought to prove myself worthy of her, be the kind of man she’d desire, during the Tynchal Hunt – I alone killed a wounded boar, using just a dagger.”
“The MacKenzie was so impressed by the deed, he gave me the tusks. I made them into bracelets, and gave them to the lass as a wedding gift.”
Realization dawning, Claire pulls the boar’s tusk bracelets from her satchel.
“It was you,”
she says, holding them out to Murtagh.
“You think you’re the only one that loves Jamie? He’s a son to me.”
From the beginning, we’ve witnessed the special bond between Jamie and Murtagh, but it’s touching to hear the words from someone who hasn’t exhibited such a strong emotion since losing his heart to Ellen.
Claire breaks down, knowing Murtagh understands and that she’s not alone in her anguish.
The next morning, Claire abandons the bard garb, and they decide to go . . .
. . . back to the beginning.
They give up on the singing and dancing routines and stick to talking to people, trying to find out Jamie’s whereabouts.
Claire tells a few more fortunes, wishing she could read her own, when Seoirse Ward returns.
He has a message for Claire.
“You’re to go to Glen Rowan Cross with all due haste,”
he says, after first attempting to extort more money from her.
At last. A sign of life.
Murtagh and Claire ride with “all due haste” toward their rendezvous with Jamie, passing a hill which looks an awful lot like Craigh na Dun.
Claire calls out Jamie’s name as she and Murtagh run up the handicap ramp to Glen Rowan Cross, but who they find is the last person they want to see – other than Randall.
Dougal MacKenzie (Graham McTavish) makes a very Hitchcockian turn toward the camera:
“Sorry to disappoint you, lass.”
(Eerie. It’s almost as if he’s talking to me.)
It seems Dougal heard about the dancing Fraser and the singing Sassenach, knowing nothing could make Murtagh dance other than Jamie’s life being at risk. Dougal sent the message to the gypsies.
“You can stop your searching,” he announces. “I’ve news of Jamie.”
(Unified gulp.)
“He’s alive. He was taken at Achnasheen, drawn by your song. Met six redcoats face-to-face around a turn in a path. One recognized him.”
Dougal mixes in a little manipulation with his sympathy, when he tells Claire and Murtagh that Jamie was re-captured by the redcoats when drawn out of hiding near Achnasheen, seeking out the singing Sassenach.
“He’s in Wentworth Prison. Stood trial three days ago, condemned to hang.”
Claire is too devastated to speak, almost unable to breathe.
Murtagh steps forward, wanting to know when Jamie is to hang. Not long, Dougal tells him.
“We have to hurry,”
Claire finally says, turning to leave.
Dougal reaches a hand out to stop her.
Wrong move. Murtagh won’t have anyone, especially Dougal, touching his Laird’s lady.
Let’s get to the nitty gritty part of the conversation. Once Dougal has Claire alone, he basically tells her: “Your husband is a dead man and the only person who can protect you is me.” Bedside, of course. I tell ya. Men.
Claire’s eyes are wide open to the real Dougal MacKenzie. He wants it all – Lallybroch, rebellion, and her – not necessarily in that order.
He doesn’t deny it, but that doesn’t change the fact she has no one else to turn to for help. Guessing Colum’s not willing to assist, considering he didn’t lift a finger during the trial. Ian still has no leg. MacQuarrie is in shackles himself – or is he? The suspense is killing me.
However, Claire remembers Dougal never goes anywhere without his entourage of merry (often grumpy) MacKenzie men. She strikes a conditional bargain. IF Dougal allows the use of MacKenzie men to rescue Jamie; ELSE IF, she fails to save her husband, THEN she will marry Dougal. END.
Of course, we all know she really intends to hightail it back to Craigh na Dun if her plan fails. After all, who wants to hang out in the 18th century without Jamie?
Unfortunately, none of the MacKenzie men have a keen interest in dying at Wentworth Prison themselves, despite Claire’s speech on blood and honor.
All except for Willie (Finn Den Hertog), who is the only one to step forward.
“Jamie’s always looked after me, protected me – on the road, at Leoch – and I ken if it was me about to meet the hangman’s noose, he’d come for me . . . try to set me free. Whatever you call for, Mistress Claire, my life is yours to command.”
One becomes three as Angus (Stephen Walters) and Rupert (Grant O’Rourke) take up the charge, bowing to Willie’s implied triple dog dare.
The five of them mount, for whatever may come, with Claire leading Murtagh, Willie, Angus and Rupert on the approach to Wentworth Prison. Together they form . . .
The Reluctant Heroes,
The Dauntless Kid,
The Old Warrior,
and the Real Sassenach.
The search for a man becomes the rescue of a soul . . .
Episode 114: THE SEARCH is the last breather before the big bad. If you haven’t read the novel, I suggest you not read the indented paragraphs below as they contain major SPOILERS.
There’s been much build up to the next episode, all of which I’ve avoided – at least, as much as possible. I’ve read the novel. I sort of know what’s going to happen. I say ‘sort of’ because we all know Ron is going to do his best to twist the story and surprise us somehow.
No matter how many times I read the parts about Jamie’s torture and rape, my stomach turns to knots. But given my investment in the show, I am curious to see how Caitriona, Sam and Tobias hearten the tragic scenes. Of course, the tragedy doesn’t end in Wentworth. Jamie’s rescue treatment is almost as brutal, but necessary to save his life.
But let’s not allow expectations to take attention away from the last three episodes. From LALLLYBROCH and THE WATCH to THE SEARCH, the story has arced toward the climax of the season. LALLYBROCH has a massive amount of material packed into one hour, while THE WATCH is the most perfectly balanced of the mini-trilogy. THE SEARCH feels slightly stretched in the middle, spending a lot of time following Claire and Murtagh on the road, but also has several memorable and treasured scenes from the novel.
Duncan Lacroix gives Murtagh Fraser’s beloved character a gentle gruffness perfect in nuance. Jamie’s surrogate father deserves to have his story told, but even after this episode, there is still quite a bit we don’t know about this man full of regrets. Let’s hope we learn much more about him in Season 2.
Graham McTavish‘s Dougal MacKenzie returns as a tainted hero of sorts. He’s ambitious, but he’s not evil. Of course, the murderous intentions Jamie suspects of his uncle have been removed from the show. I don’t know if this is deliberate to ‘soften’ Dougal’s character, or omitted for other purposes, but Graham continues to portray the perfect ambiguous villain.
Tenacious sweetheart Jenny Fraser has ben perfectly epitomized by Laura Donnelly. This is the last episode in which we’ll see any of the characters from Lallybroch, until Season 2. It’s the one part of the series I wish could have been extended with additional episodes, but I’m extremely grateful we have at least sixteen in total.
Caitriona Balfe and Claire’s true strength just start to peak in this episode. Caitriona’s Claire has endured much adversity in two different centuries, but that’s all been preparation for what she’s about to face. I predict they are both going to blow us away.
I realize this might not be a favorite episode for many because of the lack of action and excitement (and missing Jamie), but I hope everyone appreciates the subtle performances by the entire cast. I would compare this episode to a stage play, where the focus is on the drama and comedy rather than the sets.
At the same time, we are gifted with some of the most beautiful backdrops yet. My favorite scenes between Claire and Murtagh are those along the coast, during the day and at night.
I’m fairly certain only a handful of people are reading this because of the Wentworth hype (and because I’m so late!), but please don’t let this episode go unnoticed. The next time you watch THE SEARCH, remember . . . Outlander is an epic adventure full of drama, suspense, and history. You do not want to hasten over any part of it.
Executive Producer Ron Moore is joined by screenwriter Matt Roberts during the podcast for Episode 114: THE SEARCH. It should be available for free on iTunes, or you can listen to it here. Ron also talks about Claire and Jenny’s relationship on the road, and discusses Murtagh’s noteworthy performance in this Inside Look.
Bear McCreary is back with another fantabulous musical post for the last three episodes: LALLYBROCH, THE WATCH, and THE SEARCH.
Outlander Episode 115: WENTWORTH PRISON premieres on Starz on Saturday, 16 May 2015 in the U.S.
For more goodies on this episode – yes, there is a: Jamie’s Top 30 Looks from Outlander Episode 114: THE SEARCH
And if you missed my previous recapped review, you can read it here: A True Fan’s Review of Outlander Episode 113: THE WATCH
Candida's Musings 
I love reading your reviews as my family and friends don’t want to go into detail, and the joys of both the novel and the film adaptation is in those fabulous details. My stomach was, and is, in knots thinking of what all the characters must experience. Thanks for caring enough to bring that to us.
Thank you, Rita! Sorry your family members aren’t fans. Luckily, my sister and mother are both fans of the novel. Even my brother is reading them, but he’s only seen the first half of the season. I’ll show him second half next time he’s in town. He does like the show but doesn’t have cable/satellite tv.
You can always come here to chat about Outlander!
Well Candida, I was ready to write this episode off (a little too much of the Claire and Murtagh dancing road show for me – could that gypsy guy have been any creepier??) – then I read your recap/review. You make some very valid points about the episode trail that leads up to Wentworth. I hadn’t looked at it that way and I agree with you. Sometimes we miss out on the journey because our sights are so set on the destination. So much so that I went back and re-watched it.
I did love seeing Claire and Jenny together (I, too, wish Lallybroch time could have been longer), Murtagh finally showing a bit of emotion and Dougal being depicted as a little darker. Also good to see the “Band” all back together again for one more raid. I can’t wait for Wentworth. Sam and Tobias are so good at their craft. I know they will leave nothing on the table.
As always, thanks for another great review.
Well, I’m glad to hear that. Ep114 is one of the closest adaptations to the novel. It was rather nice to focus on the characters, rather than politics and action – not that I haven’t enjoyed those parts of the series. I only mean, it’s good to “mix” things up.
Lol! “Uhh plant potatoes to you too, Claire…” I liked this episode. I know a lot of people didn’t because of the lack of Jamie but I love Murtagh and Laura’s Jenny so I was kept interested. I also liked the Boogie Woogie song and I really thought I was going to hate it when I heard people talking about it before I watched.
I wasn’t really dreading Wentworth to the degree that everyone else is until the end of this episode and then my stomach clenched up. Kristin dos Santos’ post about how we readers are NOT prepared for what it’s really going to be like just made things worse and now I’m physically nervous about it like when I have to give a speech or presentation. And I hate to say it but I think brave Willie isn’t going to make it . 😦 I hope I’m wrong.
I have been avoiding posts by entertainment folks. Personally, I find warnings like that a little annoying. I haven’t read the post but have seen it RT’d. Until the show airs, I think people who have seen episodes ahead of time should keep opinions to themselves – other than those associated with the making of the series and the author herself, of course.
Yeah it does come across as very “I’ve seen it and you haven’t, neener neener neener!”
Yep. Pretty much. Most people don’t seem to mind though. But the more articles I see like that, the more I avoid social media. Glad I have my blog to converse with people, or I’d never know what is going on! :op
well, another amazing episode reviewed by my favorite blogger! i am dreading the next two, as i have read the books so many dang times…you gave me hope that ron will indeed twist the novel into something i can stomach….many thanks….
wait eagerly every episode for your blog.. Jenny Oakley was right on !! Will miss her , as I understand she won’t be back for some time.
Yes, and given the shortness of the season, we may only see the Murrays in one episode.
Happy to have found your page and I look forward to reading your old posts, maybe during next season break. I LOVED the Claire and Jenny portion immensely, enjoyed Claire and Murtagh bonding on the road together, although I’m in the group that thought the middle could have been a little abbreviated. But, surprisingly, what really awed me was the scene at the water where Murtagh tells his story and Claire breaks down in a way she hadn’t since the show began, probably including the 4 years in the trenches! The whole scene was so powerful and the actors fantastic. It was short, but they dug really deep. Great work.
Thank you! I’m glad you found my blog, too. Enjoy perusing my site during the S1-S2 droughtlander.
Sorry, I just thought of something else and wanted your opinion. I understand why (from the show and the books) Dougal wants to marry Claire…for the possession of Lallybroch (most especially the pass through the mountains which is part of the Lallybroch lands).
What I don’t really understand (from the show or the book) is how marrying Claire made it impossible for Jamie to become the MacKenzie Laird but won’t affect Dougal’s plan to become the MacKenzie Laird? Does Claire having already been married to a Scot automatically make her Englishness less of an issue?
Jerri, I don’t know the definitive answer to your question (a good one), but I suspect with Jamie removed from the competition, Dougal’s having an English-converted wife would be less of an issue. Not sure why Hamish doesn’t outrank either of them though.
Probably just too young.
Marriage does make her a Scot plus she’s now Lady Broch Tuarach. Regarding Hamish, the clan chooses the next Laird, not necessarily by rank, and the clan leader has to have immense power so Hamish would definitely be too young.
As always, a great review. Don’t worry about how long you take to write it as I’m happy to read it as soon as I receive my e-mail saying it’s ready.
I agree with you that the only reason for Claire to agree to marry Dougal, should worse come to worse, would be so that he would agree to let her try to talk as many of his men to help her as possible. After all, as we all know, if Jamie were to die or be dead, all she would have to do (assuming she and Murtagh both lived as well) is stop by Lallybroch to sign a deed of sassine (or however that’s spelled) to hand Lallybroch over to little Jamie and then have Murtagh take her straight to the standing stones.
Well done Candida. Insightful as usual and oh my, truly amusing. Laughed long and often. Loved the comments on Ian only having one wooden leg, but an extra dagger?, the Prime directive, the “Scottish” title, and oh yes, “if I’d seen the tall, red-haired lad, I wouldn’t be commenting on your blog, either.” Thanks.
Thank you, Deb!
I really enjoyed most of this episode. I think, given what is to come, it had some light-hearted elements as it showed Claite and Murtagh bonding. Did I misss seeing Jamie? Of course, but his absence made his presence loom hugely over the entire episode, especially given what we know will happen next and we share Claire and Murtagh’s fear about where Jamie is and what is happening to him, even have more concern for Jamie because we know that he is not on the run, but at Wentworth. I think this whole episode managed to give us a bit of respite while building the tension and fear approaching the next ones. And then we fall off the cliff waiting for Season 2!
I agree. Jamie’s presence loomed large in this episode.
I too, an avid Outlander-the books fan, loved this episode. RDM and company, from writer to set designers, to Terry’s breathtaking costuming, have given the series a life of its own, while encompassing Gabaldon’s words perfectly. I am having fun imagining what twists they give us in these last two important episodes. I know it will combine the poignancy and emotion of the book, but deliver a mind-blowing cliffhanger to hook a worldwide viewing audience – many who have never read the books.
As always, I look forward to reading your blog. You review from both series and book aspects, so its nice that you sync them. When I make the time to read all the opinions out there, I realize I’m not alone in my ‘ obsession’ (truthful, if
words). Love the humor, references to other shows adds to that “hey, its not just me” lol. Thanks again. Looking forward to your review of 115.
Thank you so much, Dee. Ep115 is going to be interesting . . .
Ron Moore’s telling of the tale is the only one I know, having not read the books. I appreciate that you value both Diana’s and Ron’s imaginings. I too enjoyed this episode for its respite from the “fun with Sam and Cait” story line. Also appreciated your counterpoint what-if scenario, a quite efficient one-sentence wrap-up. And your spoilers, in my opinion, are fair warnings to watch 115 alone. Not looking forward to mayhem and misery, but it will come. Best be prepared.
Candida – Always you are spot on with your reviews. I check them after every show, love them, and think you should be hired by Starz!! Especially since you carry on conversations with Pocket Jamie…
Me, too, lass! :oP
Candida, I love the way you point out the little things we may have missed and as always you make me chuckle. This is the one review I look forward to each week!
Thanks, Lisa. I appreciate your weekly confidence in me! :o)
The Watch was not necessary…..more on relationships…..Claire, Jamies and his position as Laird….then he and Ian run into the watch and then Jamie is captured by redcoats…..and Claire would never agreed to marry Dougal, all she had to do was go back.
Correct. Claire would never marry Dougal, but she had to make him think she would to gain his assistance.
Thanks for another great review! I loved The Search; it showed their desperation and willingness to do whatever they could to find Jamie.
Thank you, Debbie! I’m glad you appreciated the significance of this episode.