Outlander Review 2×05 “Untimely Resurrection”

Black Jack is BACK (and so is Outlander)

Last week’s episode of Outlander was a bit of a tease.  We got glimpses of what made the show so compelling in season 1 (the exploration of the complex relationships of the characters), and we finally got the romance back after a bit of a dry spell for Jamie and Claire, which is why it was a little disappointing to end with that oddly comical brawl.  Outlander’s sophomore season is struggling a bit to find a balance the between the political intrigue and the “time-traveller is a fish out of water”.  But that’s what the strength of this episode was (even if Claire was a little horrible- Seriously, Claire?).

This week’s episode dealt with the fallout of the Fraser’s disastrous dinner party last week, and more of Claire’s meddling in almost everyone’s plans.  Meanwhile, Murtagh struggles with guilt, Mary recovers, the Duke of Sandringham draws Jamie into a deal with the Comte St. Germain, and poor Alex Randall is convinced to drop his love affair with Mary.   But the thing that really left us breathless was the return of “Outlander”’s big bad Black Jack Randall, and it appears he hasn’t forgotten about our Jamie.  Will his mind games continue?  And what lengths will Claire continue to stoop to get the outcome she wants?  Let’s go for it.

“La Dame Blanche”

We mentioned above that hot mess of a dinner party- At the top of the episode, Claire is waiting for Jamie to come home from the Bastille and is bailed out by Duverney (well thank goodness for all those chess games).  Claire is finally able to talk to Jamie about what exactly happened that led to her escape from the brigands and appears properly ungrateful that Jamie saying she’s a witch saved her virtue (and maybe her life).  While we do understand Claire’s point- she was almost burned for a witch last season- she does need a bit of perspective.  It was a lucky escape on Claire’s part.  It also makes us wonder what else being “La Dame Blanche” has been doing for Claire behind the scenes?  She’s clearly friendly with Master Raymond, who is known for dabbling with the occult, and was caught by the Comte wearing the necklace meant to detect poison.

“I will lay just vengeance at your feet.  Or be damned.” -Murtagh

A few hours later, Murtagh and Mary Hawkins have been wrestling with their own demons.  Murtagh feels intensely guilty about allowing Mary and Claire to come to harm and swears to Jamie he’ll lay justice at his feet.  It was brief, and everyone seems content to continue blaming the Comte St. Germain.  Claire, meanwhile, goes to visit Mary and ask how she’s feeling.  It’s a surprise to no one that Mary feels shame.  While sexual assault continues to appear in “Outlander” (drawn directly from the source material), the show does give time & respect to the victims of the crimes.  When Mary muses that now she is free to marry Alex Randall, Claire starts musing about the paradox of knowing the future.  If Mary doesn’t marry Jack Randall, will Frank exist?  And for Claire, Frank apparently has to exist, because she considers burning Mary’s letter to Alex.  She doesn’t, but the fact that she even considers it can’t help but put a bad taste in your mouth.  Claire’s willingness to meddle in the past clearly only extends so far.  She’ll stop a rebellion, but the future world will grind to a half if Frank ceases to exist.  She is still wearing Frank’s ring, which is a good indication that somehow Frank will work out, but that doesn’t really seem to be something that crosses her mind.

Ensuring the Future

Prince Charlie is back to get some money, and mark me, he’ll get that cash.  His plan involves making cash selling port, and it involves some additional personnel in the form of one Comte St. Germain.  Jamie is on board, and despite the fact that we know that this will be the world’s worst idea, it does give us a delicious scene between the Comte and Jamie where we get to see a bit of verbal sparring.  While all this is going down, Claire is with Alex Randall doing despicable thing #2 of the episode, essentially telling him that because he’s lost his job, has no prospects and is sick, he’s not good enough for Mary.  Ouch, Claire.  Way to kick a man while he’s down.  Let’s not forget that the reason Alex doesn’t currently have many prospects isn’t his fault (you just had to bring opium-addled Mary in the house and leave Alex to watch her?) but she’s ripping away the happiness of a some characters who overall haven’t seemed to have it very easy.  It makes her pretty difficult to empathize with.  Also, does anyone else wince every time poor Alex coughs?  Every time he takes the handkerchief away from his mouth and there isn’t blood on it, I’m surprised.

After a touching (though perhaps unnecessary) scene involving Jamie giving Claire a gift of some apostle’s spoons for her baby (just what every pregnant woman wants!), it’s the next day, and Jamie is helping everyone’s favorite Duke buy horses.  This is charming but more interesting is the conversation in another part of the gardens as Annalise chats with Claire.  It’s the 18th century Paris version of a Mean Girls style fight, and we can’t help but wonder, what exactly is Annalise’s end game here?  By pointing out that Jamie is different now than he was when she knew him, what does it accomplish?  Why bother baiting Claire at all?  While Annalise could be an interesting character, the show hasn’t really developed her enough to do anything but make us wonder if she’ll play a larger role later.

An Enemy Returns

“Claire, surely you of all people can step outside of the passions of the moment and appreciate the sublime preposterousness of the universe that would guide us to a meeting at the French court.” -Jack Randall

The show built to a stunning crescendo leading up to what was undoubtedly one of the best scenes all season- Black Jack is BACK, and while the slow motion reveal was maybe a little cheesy, the parting of the ladies to reveal him in that stunning scarlet coat gave me the shivers.  Black Jack is clearly still so obsessed with Jamie, and every word from Tobias Menzies’ mouth regarding Jamie was like a caress.  The appearance of Lionel Lingelser as the King only served to ratchet up the tension even more as Black Jack was quite literally forced to his knees.  Watching the interplay of power in this scene as a fan was so satisfying.  To see Randall’s status lowered by his treatment by the king and his sycophants as he is mocked in front of both Claire and Jamie felt divine.   The tension is compounded when Jamie enters and, in a brilliant stroke which is the complete opposite of what we anticipated, Jamie strides right by him with barely an acknowledgment.  The acting & the writing in this scene was just sublime.  From the tension in Menzies’ jaw to the smirk on Sam Heughan’s face, as Jack Randall is forced to his knees punctuated by Lingelser’s pitch-perfect hand gestures, it was a master class in acting.  Kudos to all involved.

An Impossible Request

From the sublime to the frustrating, as after a duel is arranged between Randall and Jamie post-humiliation, Claire gets back to saving future Frank by having Jack arrested and tossed in the Bastille.  If Claire was callous before, she’s downright heartless now.  I’m sure every man wants to hear that he can’t kill the man who violated him so he can save his current wife’s former love, and with some first-class acting by Heughan they have a tremendous fight.  Claire uses everything in her arsenal, pointing out Jamie would be thrown in prison, possibly killed, that he’s about to become a father, all to no avail until she has to say why she really doesn’t want Jamie to duel Jack– to save Frank.  Unfortunately, it’s never clear why she doesn’t use what has to be an exceedingly powerful argument in her favor- If Frank never exists, would Claire ever fall through the stones in the first place?  Claire asks for a year for the baby to be conceived, then Jamie can go butcher Jack to his heart’s content because after all, she’s saved his life twice and he owes her a life.  She’s sort of forgetting he saved her a few times himself, but I guess Claire isn’t so good at math.  If your heart didn’t break for Jamie during this scene, you should maybe go have it checked.  There’s been a great deal of discussion about Jamie processing his assault, but this scene really drives home the anguish and powerlessness he now feels again at having his hands proverbially tied by the woman he loves at not being able to avenge himself against the man who almost drove him to suicide.

“Must I bear everyone’s weakness?  May I not have my own?”  – Jamie

Conclusion: Ouch, Claire. You’re kind of the worst, but we can’t look away!

Claire, Claire.  Though she perhaps could have been more selfish, after all, she did show a little remorse for breaking up Alex and Mary, she shows a remarkable lack of empathy for the plight of anyone else around her.  Jamie has been scheming the entire season at your behest, and this is the thanks he gets?  Despite the fact our leading lady was pretty horrible, this episode felt like the show hit its stride again due to some excellent writing and exploring the characters and their relationships, which is what we love about the show.

Questions, Comments, & Concerns

• Jamie agrees to Claire’s terms, but at what cost to their marriage?  And just when things were going so well.
• What sort of giant mess will the deal with Prince Charles, Jamie, and the Comte St. Germain bring?
• What’s with Annalise de Marillac?  Does she have plans for our leading lady?
• How will Jack Randall’s mood be after being falsely accused by Claire and spending a little time cooling his heels in the Bastille?
• We all know young Alex Randall has the consumption, right?