Outlander Review Episode 2×10 “Prestonpans”

Mark Me! Outlander Battles & Not Everyone May Make It Out Alive

This week on Outlander fulfills all the promises of last week’s episode. Last week was notable for some excellent development of our leading man and lush scoring, but wasn’t the most exciting episode as it was mostly talking & training. There was some talking this week, but overall, this week brings battle. Bloody battle, in true Starz fashion. Bonnie Prince Charlie (Andrew Gower) is back, in all of his “mark me” glory (and man if we didn’t snort with laughter when we first saw him, ludicrous in head-to-toe bright red tartan- thanks Terry Dresbach), and he’s incapable of making decision in the face of his squabbling supporters. Meanwhile, Claire (Caitriona Balfe) tries to mobilize the women into getting a hospital set up, but they’re not particularly interested in 20th century cleanliness. Dougal performs some flashy heroics, and with some help from a farmer, battle is inevitable. And what what a battle- followed by an ending that, while it wasn’t jaw droopingly shocking- it was surprising enough, and nevertheless packed an emotional wallop. So what happens?? Do the Jacobites win the day? Were there any casualties??? Let’s get to it.

When War Gets Real

We open with Claire voiceover as she comes across a Jacobite soldier, crawling with maggots and bugs. Highly disgusting, yes, but so far this season the show has done nothing but talk about war and battle, and other than a few skirmishes we haven’t seen much. We got surprisingly sentimental over that dead soldier. The framing of this season has done a lot to give the viewer a really fatalistic view of everything that’s occurring, and this scene solidified that despite working to win the rebellion that same fatalistic feeling is weighing on Claire. We’re back and forth on whether or not that framing device is working for us this season or not- the jury is still out. Cut to the Jacobite officers Murray and O’Sullivan fighting over a map. They couldn’t possibly agree over anything (except that Charlie’s ideas are totally ludicrous), and even Jamie (Sam Heughan) can’t seem to sway anyone one way or another. The entire meeting ends as a stalemate.

Claire’s Lord and… What?

Prince Charlie asks for a private word with Jamie, and tells him to instruct Claire to care for the British wounded before the Jacobites. …Sure, Charlie, that’s a swell idea. We’re totally sure that everyone who’s fighting for you will absolutely love that. Jamie encourages Charles to keep that to himself, because he’s not an idiot, and besides that, he’s pretty sure his wife wouldn’t listen anyway. Charlie tells Jamie that from her Prince, sure, she might not listen, but obviously she’d listen to her lord and master. Oh, Charlie. You’re hilarious. This line was cheap, but Sam Heughan’s look was priceless and it allowed us to just roll our eyes along with him. Yeah, Claire’s listened to precisely one directive since the show started so I’m sure obeying Jamie on this one will be super high on her hit parade. Jamie kisses the ring and moves on.

“Put that blade down! Or I’ll ram it up your arse until you taste it.” -Murtagh

Pre-battle tension in the camp! Angus is well, being Angus, and spitting ale all over poor Kincaid. A bit of teasing turns into an almost knife fight, this one’s a coward, he’ll run, no he won’t, Murtagh looks dour, Dougal wakes up and he’s mad… Where’s Jamie to break this up? Oh, there he is. And he’s sneakily tricking Dougal into exploring the marshland for him. We didn’t really get how awesomely Jamie was playing Dougal until that great shot of Sam Heughan’s face towards the end as he faced away from his uncle. This episode again built on last week’s foundations of Jamie’s development as a leader. Dougal gets some glory, Jamie gets the marshland explored, everybody wins.

“I’d like to prove my mettle to the Prince, Lord Murray… and the rest of these jackanapes.” -Dougal

Dougal Lives for Danger

Oh, Dougal, you showboating son of a… We love you so. Dougal goes out there like a champ, “Dances with Wolves” style- arms out. The show off gets awfully close to the accurate range of the British riflemen, and even though his horse sinks into that bog like Artax into the swamp of sadness in The Never-ending Story (which we will never recover from) and Dougal loses a good bonnet to a bullet, he still manages to keep his cool. Dougal returns to the cheers of the men and gets a more than awkward hug and beard stroke from the Prince, whose behavior is so odd that it even looks like Dougal is puzzled. Well it’s clear we’re not attacking through the boggy marsh, and we’re guessing a theme is approaching as Murray and O’Sullivan disagree again and Murray wants to turn back. Bonnie Prince Charlie tells them there’s no way they’re going back, and work it out or he’s going to find a new general. Wow, Charlie. We didn’t know you had it in you.

“But now… I’m off to change my breeks. Because the hero of the hour has shat his pants.” -Dougal

In Claire world, conveniently, the doctor busted out of town and left his medical bag. If there’s one thing we’ve got a problem with while watching Outlander, it’s these sorts of coincidences. This was a great episode, but really? The doctor in town left only a few days ago, and he left what was probably expensive medical equipment? Would a two minute scene last episode or this episode with Claire butting heads with a male medical professional have been too much? We don’t think so, and we also don’t think it would’ve broken up the flow of the episode. Well, the girls get it together, but not without prodding. Fergus is around, but seriously resents being stuck with the ladies and we’re pretty sure that he isn’t going to stay put for long. Despite the fact that the ladies are preparing, later that evening, the war still isn’t going anywhere. Until farmer Anderson comes in and says he knows a way around the marsh to get to the British. The news is welcome and certainly provides a solution to their problem, if Anderson is telling the truth, and that doubt causes Prince Charlie to shilly-shally. After being prodded by Jamie and Murray, Prince Charlie finally makes a decision, and they’re off to battle. Don’t think we didn’t notice that Claire has to thank Anderson - not the Prince- because the Prince is terrible.

Can You Leave Someone Your Wife?

We open with Ross & Kincaid in a sweet, sad scene where they’re discussing the inheritance of some personal effects and who would take care of whose wife. It’s both poignant and amusing, especially once Angus and Rupert get involved, as Rupert is having none of it, and the things that Angus wants to leave him are pretty interesting. Can you leave your best friend your fave part-time “hooooooor”? We’re not sure, but if it’s cool for Angus, then we guess it’s cool for us. As sweet and amusing the moment is, Rupert sobers us up by being staid about the whole thing and refusing to bring the evil eye upon him. It just contributes to the overall feeling of foreboding you feel about the upcoming battle.

“And if you were to be killed, you’d die knowing that your memory would live on in your clan. Your death would have meaning.” -Murtagh

We move across the camp, to where Murtagh sits sharpening his dirk. It’s clear that something is bothering him, and Jamie asks him to just say it and get it off his chest. Murtagh makes an odd analogy about how if you died during a raid (a… cattle raid?), your life would have meaning, but during this battle of thousands, one single death had no meaning. While it is pretty odd that Murtagh would be talking about your life having meaning during a skirmish for cows instead of dying for Scotland, we think what Murtagh is basically acknowledging is that the world is changing. The loss of the highland way of life after the second Jacobite rebellion is something Claire discussed with Jamie when she told him what she knew of the future. The Highlanders in their large army were like very small pieces of a very large puzzle, whereas previously every man would’ve been known and important to his chieftain. It’s a sad conversation, and though Jamie acknowledges he feels the same way, Murtagh is left alone again, and goes back to sharpening his knife.

Leave-taking

Fergus asks to go to battle for Jamie and he’s rightfully shot down. Praise for Roman Berrux- that kid is one seriously good actor. How much did he speak English before the show, we wonder? The childish yearning he displays in this scene was terrific. Angus gets a kiss from Claire, which is probably the pinnacle of his life, and then Claire has to say goodbye to Jamie. A sweet, long, slow goodbye, where Jamie and Claire just stare at each other for quite a long time after a passionate goodbye kiss over the Jamie and Claire theme. It gives you the chills just thinking about it now, and when Jamie bows to Claire, it fulfilled every romantic fantasy we’ll ever have.

“Watch over Jamie.” -Claire “Always.” -Murtagh

Claire confirms to Murtagh that they’ll win the day, though one never knows about individual casualties. We’re kind of surprised there wasn’t a little more devoted to this in this episode- that Jamie didn’t pump Claire for everything she knew just seemed a little foolish. Why wouldn’t you try to ask her everything she knew? We’re definitely saying there’s a few things this episode was missing, and we know you can’t include everything. But some of these things certainly could’ve been at least brief conversations? Perhaps lose some of the Ross-Kincaid conversations, or make some of the Jacobite in-fighting a tad shorter?

The Battle of Prestonpans

Cross-cutting with scenes of Claire in the hospital managing the tension of the ladies, the men march to Prestonpans in the mist. The prince, naturally, is a spoiled brat who wants to be at the battle. Seriously, dude, just sit back and let the real men do the work. How many people actually think he’d live five minutes in the battle? Because we think he’d go down in the first thirty seconds. Jamie really takes charge of the situation and has fully become the man and leader we’ve always wanted him to be. It feels like everything he’s done in season one and throughout this season has built to him becoming this man. It’s really wonderful. Applause to Sam Heughan again for really taking a character who could’ve really just been a cardboard cutout hero since the beginning of the series and turning him into a flawed man who is constantly learning.

“Our men are depending on us. And we will not let them down.” -Claire

Claire gets her version of Jamie’s speech from last week and shows how adept she is at keeping women busy so they don’t go absolutely mad waiting. And… hold on… is that Fergus in the battle? Fergus, what are you doing there?? Go back, man! There’s mist all around, and the soft drum beats that accompany the almost silent beginning of the battle were fantastic. Reminiscent of a heartbeat, the silence of the battle with the exception of the drums and soft pipes actually creates tension in a totally different way. The beginning of the battle is excellent- realistic, bloody, and tragic. We loved the way the whole thing seemed to take place in real time, cutting back and forth between battle scenes and hospital scenes. Kincaid dies very quickly, and Ross’ shock is so poignantly sad. Really, we could give you a blow-by-blow of moments that we really loved in the battle, but it’s almost too much. Watching beloved characters like Rupert fall and then immediately cutting away to the British soldiers going to Claire to help, watching Fergus frightened in the middle of the battle, showing flashbacks of what happened to Angus while watching Claire sew up Rupert… it was all marvelous.

The British are Routed

It’s a testament to both the writers and the great acting of Grant O’Rourke and Stephen Walters and what they have done with minor characters that we feel so deeply for them when we see them fall. But it gets even more poignant when Jamie and Murtagh enter and declare that the Jacobites have won and that there were not more fifty Jacobites lost. It didn’t save Kincaid and Rupert is still lying injured. But Jamie kisses Claire, and we learn that Fergus is alright. Caitriona was a little too much for us in this scene. We couldn’t really point out anything too heinous, it just rang a little insincere, but Romann was so great again it really could almost make up for anything. We just wanted to cuddle him and make sure he never saw another battle again.

“Well. God alone knows the answer to that. And if so, I’ll look for you in hell.” -Dougal

From the sublime to the horrendous- we’re back out on the battlefield, and Dougal is stabbing wounded British soldiers. Dougal is a character that does nothing but keep you on your toes. This episode was a study in his completely imbalanced character. He meets Lt. Jeremy Foster (Tom Brittney), a familiar face from season 1, who asks Dougal for a lift to the infirmary and says (quite nicely, we might add) that despite the Jacobite win, they could have no hope of winning the entire war. Huge mistake, Lt. Hot Pants. Dougal whips out his knife and stabs the man where he sits, taking a page from Charlie’s book and grabbing his face while he does so. And because we’re so tight in on Dougal it’s like we’re the only people watching it and we’re intruding on the moment, and it’s so uncomfortable. Oh, Lt. Foster. We hardly knew ye!

This Takes “Pissing Contest” To a Whole New Level

And now for a bit of levity. Jamie bets an English soldier sixpence he can piss in a jar from where he stands. Just as he gets down to business, so to speak, Prince Charlie walks in. It’s so classy. He compliments Claire and praises Jamie for his bravery in battle. Just when the man might actually get a leadership moment, he’s completely cut off by Dougal’s psychosis as he bursts in screaming about victory and simultaneously wanting to slaughter the British POW’s. Needless to say, Charlie isn’t pleased. Why does he keep touching people’s faces? It’s incredibly unsettling and so patronizing. Jamie suggests that instead of dismissing Dougal from the army, they… promote him instead? Jamie, that’s slick even for you. That move is worthy of your Mackenzie heritage.

“You champion me and you exile me all at the same time. That’s a plan worthy of my brother Colum.” -Dougal

And as for something that we honestly didn’t see coming, as it was really Rupert that we saw that was so ill, Angus falls and starts spitting blood and making the most godawful noises. It’s a brutal death, and he dies with his terrified eyes wide open, Claire looking on in mute shock. For one of our favorites to go so suddenly is really awful, but we knew we couldn’t possibly get through a war without losing some of our favorite characters. Rupert takes his sword and clings to it, and Bear McCreary weaves a mournful little theme underneath the scene that scores it beautifully. We’ll miss you, Stephen Walters! Angus was a fantastic character and he played him to perfection.

“War tastes bitter no matter the outcome.” -Jamie

A few hours later, and victory is bittersweet. Though the Jacobite losses were small, we lost two people from our little band. Now that Claire was right about Prestonpans, she’s clearly worried that she’ll be right about Culloden as well. Rupert and Ross come out, drunk, singing “Down Among the Dead Men”, an English drinking song (which we found to be a slightly odd choice, but it was what it was) from around 1725 in a tribute to their fallen comrades. A bittersweet victory indeed.

Conclusion/Final Verdict

Finally, action! This episode really upped the drama in a big way, turning in fine performances from Romann Berrux, Graham McTavish, Duncan Lacroix and Sam Heughan. Charles Stewart is as insufferable as he always is, Claire was a competent nurse again, and we got a very good idea of the problems that plagued the Jacobite army. Since we know everything goes wrong in a major way, we’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop after this week’s victory at Prestonpans. Great music again from Bear McCreary (can someone please just give him an Emmy for this show?), with a tremendous battle sequence. It was a really smart decision to almost film it in real-time and cross cut between the scenes of the fighting and the scenes at the hospital. This episode felt raw, immediate, and very involving for the viewer. We hope that Outlander can keep this momentum going until the end of their season. With the exception of 208, these last few episodes have been really good.

Questions, Comments, Concerns

• Dougal’s been banished from the Prince’s company- how long do you think he’ll actually stay gone? Will he go at all?
• Poor Fergus. Will he be completely traumatized after that battle? We wish Jamie had been with Claire when he confessed he killed the english soldier.
• Now that Angus is gone, what will Rupert be like? You can’t have Frick without Frack!
• Will Rupert even survive his slice with a sword?
• How many more times will Charlie say “Mark Me”? And will be continue the odd face grabs? If half of your viewing party drank when Charlie did one thing, and the other half of your party drank when he did the other, who would get drunk first?
• Will Dougal get himself a new hat?
• Great scoring again from Bear. Someone please give him all the Emmy awards.
• We’d love to see what sort of work the prosthetics department did on this episode. It must’ve been extensive.
• Sound off in the comments - What sort of love/hate relationship did you have with Dougal this episode?
• We love it when characters pop up from other seasons. Tom Brittney was that guy for us today. Too bad it was so short-lived! (No pun intended.)