SYFI Wire Interview with Tara Bennet, author of the Making of Outlander Series.
Here’s the full interview with Leanne Aguilera from ET Tonight at New Your City Comic Con 2019.
Panel just ended. When SyFy puts up on tape, I will find a link.
This week thousands of comic fans and quite a few thousand Outlander fans are heading to NYCC 2019 to see the Outlander Panel with Diana Gabaldon, Sam Heughan, Caitriona Balfe, Duncan Lacroix, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and David Berry. Plenty of photo ops, and we know how much the cast loves New York! Careful, Duncan may just flatten the place. And for those of you who cannot attend, keep eyes peeled for all the photos that will be posting like mad over the weekend on Twitter and Instagram.
Maril Davis and Ron D. Moore will be on Outlander Panel and For All Mankind panel.
And it’s a panel at Madison Square Garden. Check the con website for details to make sure you can get into this panel. Heads up, if you did not pre buy these tickets, third party vendor is selling at higher costs. Make sure you use the links provided at the NYCC site.
Outlander (5:30 p.m., The Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden) Cast members Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Duncan Lacroix, Maria Doyle Kennedy and David Berry, along with novelist Diana Gabaldon, will discuss the upcoming season of the Starz series. The latest installment of the time travel series finds the Fraser family fighting for their family and the home they’ve built for themselves on Fraser’s Ridge.
It is with great anticipation, dread, sadness, joy and all other emotions that come along with it, that the end of Season 4 has reached us. Quite a journey the first few years in the American Colonies Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) have had. With all of this seasons new characters, and a few that are still along for the ride, we have enjoyed the roller coaster and now have to survive the drought.
If you haven’t watched tonights episode, go no further. Series and book spoilers ahead.
Rescuing Roger and the Mystery of Otter Tooth
Fair trade with the Mohawk is a no go for the Frasers. After months of searching for Roger, they meet another band of Mohawk who tell them where they can find the tribe that bears the symbol of Ian’s traded medallion. Upon entering the camp, Jamie showing his language acquisition skills and Ian ask the Mohawk if Roger is with them, and can they 
trade for his return. Kaherton (Braedon Clarke) asks them to find “Dog Face” and tell the chief that they want to trade for his return. After a few exchanges, all seems to be going well. Then as luck would have it, Claire’s huge opal necklace reveals itself and the tribe is repulsed. They refuse to trade for Roger. Claire asks what is the meaning of the stone to them. She will trade it for Roger. The chief shuts her and Jamie down, and tells them to leave.
Later, when they have gone some distance from the Mohawk and are camping for the night, a small group of Mohawk come and ask them for the opal stone. Claire seeks to trade the stone for Roger, however she wants to know what it means to them. A Mohawk woman tells Claire that the stone belonged to Otter Tooth, a man who claimed to be from their future, who came to them in her grandfather’s time. He spoke of the end of the Mohawk and that they must make war on the white man before they are gone, for the Iroquois Nation will be no more. The man was ostracized from the tribe and 
eventually killed. Claire tells of finding the skull with the opal and later being visited in the storm by a ghost, Otter Tooth, who guided her.
Murcasta: That Relationship Thing Everyone Was Waiting For
Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) arrives back at River Run after dodging the Redcoats for weeks after his jail breakout. Jocasta feeds him and they have a somewhat tension filled 
meal at River Run. Jocasta brags a bit about Brianna making a fine match with Lord John, and Murtagh counters in disbelief, that Brianna will wed a Redcoat? Jocasta (Maria Kennedy Doyle) is concerned and a bit dismayed that Murtagh has returned to his old ways, getting himself in trouble with the law. He remarks it’s not the first time he’s been on a broadsheet and has managed to survive. She has heard about the jail break from Brianna, and while she will feed him, strongly suggests that he not stay long, 
for they will come looking for him. Bristling back he mentions that he has only come to check on the lass, and asks about her health. The conversation goes back and forth from talking to bristle. Two very stubborn personalities, and old friends from the days gone by.
Later Murtagh is spoiled by a glass of good whiskey from Jocasta as an appeasement that doesn’t last long. The conversation turns to accusations by Jocasta of Murtagh being given a gift of living in a new land, where he 
could have made something of himself, not inciting discord. Murtagh counters with the fact that others came to the colonies by choice, he was forced there in servitude, the mission of the Regulators as being just, protecting the poor who do not live as grand as Jocasta has been so lucky to, with 3 husbands, etc.. Jocasta jabs back with how Murtagh was always bad when he turned up at Castle Leoch, scowling and slinking about, causing trouble. We really know that was Dougal. Finally after the man defends himself, she throws whiskey in his face. He’s dealing with a MacKenzie of Castle Leoch, they will always find a way to twist and suit conversation to their needs. How does one fight back?
The only way to stop two old friends arguing so, and stop the tension, is somehow by ending up in bed together, or so it goes here. In a storyline twist perhaps telling us that Jocasta had been envious of her sister’s suitor ignoring her from years before, that secretly over the years she had liked Murtagh, something finally had to give? Sadly, he’s a wanted man. The next morning she has of course changed her tune, she wants him to stay, even though she had wanted him gone. It is risky keeping him there, with Jocasta’s connections and him being on broadsheets everywhere. All Murtagh wants is for her to come back to bed.
It was a Outlander Fandom obsession for months, that did not go unnoticed by the writers. Many had speculated about Murtagh having the relationship with Jocasta, since he seemed to have taken the place of the book character Duncan Innes, one of the prisoners from Ardsmuir that Jamie had found. That Character marries Jocasta. Perhaps with Season 5 and if the Gathering is used there, we may see a secret wedding. What hasn’t been revealed, and this storyline from the books tells later, is that Jocasta for many years had a relationship with her manservant, Ulysses. Wether this is going to throw a cog in the works later, we don’t know. I for one had hoped that Murtagh would find someone who could fight alongside him or at least be more aligned with the rather complicated man. But as he pointed out, maybe she could use her influence to help in other ways. Yes, I’m a huge Murtagh fan. But really I was hoping for another direction on this one. Remember that bit about MacKenzies being schemers? Would Jocasta be willing to risk River Run for affiliation with such a man?
Here’s your gratuitous Murtagh shot. Enjoy it, it will be a long year. I think Murtagh would enjoy the Clash, at least their, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” song.
Brianna Meets Her Child
Time goes by waiting on Jamie and Claire. Murtagh stays on, managing to dodge Redcoats, and asks Brianna the difficult questions, are you going to tell me what the devil you were doing seeing Bonnet and are you really going to marry Lord John? Brianna explains that she wanted to bring peace to herself through forgiveness. She also explains that the betrothal to Lord John was just to get Jocasta off her back about marrying eligible wealthy men in the county, she is still holding out hope that Roger will eventually be found. 
In a birthing sequence I have to applaud, we hear music and see the birthing process and not another agonizing screaming scene. We’ve all seen them, through many series and films. This scene was done in a classy way, the emotion was there, raw, all of the actresses, Sophie Skelton, Maria Kennedy Doyle, Caitlyn O’Ryan and the amazing Natalie Simpson were superb. Murtagh pacing outside was a treat, Great Godfather that he is.
Man of Worth
The Mohawk faction that believed in taking the Opal Necklace of Otter Tooth as it will help them to foretell the future of their tribe, offer to help the Frasers to retrieve Roger in exchange for the necklace. Things of course do not go according to plan, and when Claire and Jamie enter the hut, the astonished Roger is distrustful. Claire hurriedly 
explains what has happened, Jamie somewhat apologizes for beating him and selling him to the Mohawk. There isn’t time, they must get him out. A lengthly escape battle is joined. Of course they are caught, and then Young Ian is also caught after fighting so bravely to get them out of the village. Claire begs for Roger, and Jamie offers to sacrifice himself and stay in Roger’s place.
Ian decides to not translate Jamie’s offer, instead he offers himself to the Mohawk. He has decided to do what Uncle Jamie had requested of him months before, to become a man of worth. This scene is poignant, and probably would make more sense if they had shown more of Ian’s fascination of life among the tribes. However, Ian has shown his true worth and takes to his trial on the gauntlet with all out gusto and feats of street fighting we didn’t know he had in him. He makes it to the chief’s toe, and places a hand there. He rises, he is worthy.
The Frasers and Roger leave Ian to the Mohawk. Claire decides it’s time to tell Roger of Brianna, what happened to her that night after he left. She goes into details about Bonnet attacking Brianna. Jamie is infuriated that Roger left her defenseless. He is also smarting at losing his nephew to the Mohawk, and what is he going to tell his sister? Roger counters with Brianna told him to leave, that he tried to come back but was forced onto the Gloriana by Bonnet. The sick realization that Bonnet has caused so much grief for the family incites anger between the two men, while at the same time it should be uniting them. Claire looks on with that “Men!” stance, when really they should be getting back to Brianna. But it’s better to let them fight it out now, then have it drag on for two months on the way back, if Roger is going back with them. Jamie continues to throw blame at Roger, even though Jamie has done terrible things to Roger.
Claire gives Roger a choice after the confrontation continues. She tells him he can make the choice to come back or not, the child may not be his. Can he stand by their daughter? Jamie is outraged that he will not stand up for Brianna, and he and Claire stand firm. Can anyone really blame Roger, after what he has been through, to be told at the last that Brianna has been raped, and that the child may or may not be his?
Alls Well…
Two months pass. Murtagh has managed to stay at River Run without being found by the Redcoats. Brianna’s child is now two months old and quite sturdy, but she is pining for Roger and her parents. The Frasers arrive back, however Roger is not with them. Claire and Jamie thank Jocasta for looking after their daughter, and Claire seems to mend fences with a fairly receptive Jocasta. Funny what a little love will do. While they were gone they gained a grandchild, however they have lost Ian. The Frasers measure what they have and have lost.
Later, in a conversation between Jamie and Murtagh, he updates Jamie on Bonnet blowing up with the jail. He is sorry Jamie did not get to exact his revenge the way he wanted. However we know that there is a set of keys. And Murtagh has been wrong before, remember a herd of Red Coos and Black Jack Randall?
Brianna starts packing and notices a lone rider coming up to River Run while she is preparing to go back to the ridge with her parents. She hesitates then runs through the house, flying down the path. It is Roger, and he has made his decision that he wants to see “his son”. Roger has now shown that he is a man of worth. Right on their tail a group of Redcoats on horseback come. There’s no time to get to warn Murtagh. Luckily Phaedra spots them from the house and warns the others, and Murtagh is secreted away. The riders enter the house and deliver a declaration to Jamie Fraser from Governor Tryon. It is a Call to Muster, to create a militia
to fight the Regulators. In the Call to Muster, there is a statement demanding the death of Jamie’s beloved Godfather, Murtagh as a leader of the rebellion. The deal made with a devil for land has indeed come back to haunt Jamie. This will create the tension and split of Godfather and Godson going into season 5, they will be fighting on opposite sides.
Much of this season worked and didn’t work for me as a fan of both the books and the series. There were some things I felt were rushed, however when dealing with action and adventure, things needed to be quick paced. I feel better about the season than I did much of season 3, and really I see where the writers were trying to please as wide of an audience as possible. However, if you look at the ratings for the season, viewership has dropped drastically this season. Let’s hope as they get through season 5 and 6 and it can pick back up, or we may not see the books through to the end.
I have been delighted in the storylines with Ian, Marsali and Fergus, and of course ultimately Murtagh that have developed so well. I feel much of the flavor of Jamie and Claire were lost, while I am not a big fan of the “Shipper” thing, I am more of a character quality person, I have tried to like the Brianna and Roger storyline. I found myself fan-girling on some of Roger’s better realization moments, and yes he was indeed odious in others. Brianna was very much a head strong princess in the first part of the season. I loved the costume, and the care that went into the Cherokee and Mohawk tribal clothing, as well as their depiction and storylines. I think that the production crews and film editors topped themselves this season. I look forward with dread to the Droughtlander we now face, it looks like it may be Spring 2020 before we have season 5, although IMdb says it will be Fall 2019. Filming hasn’t started yet, they are still in preproduction.
Droughtlander Survival
Start (re)reading The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon now.
Rewatch the season on the Starz App until the series comes out on DVD.
Travel to Scotland, and if you’re lucky catch them filming. Check out the filming locations for season 3. The production designer, Jon Gary Steel hinted at work starting on The Big House. If you read the books, you know what that means.
There’s a placeholder at IMdb for Season 5.1 already.
What were your favorite and not so favorite moments in season 4?
Articles
As always please do not read further if you have not seen Season 4 episode 411: If Not For Hope, contains spoilers.
This episode should really be titled If Not For Sacrifice. It’s the last 3 episodes of season 4, and it’s a one-two-three punch for each of them. Three storylines, three cliff hangers, endless drops. Hold on to your seats.
In the opening of the episode, we see a beaten Roger in a shower washing off. We question if he has indeed made it back, stepped through the stones and abandoned Brianna. Then we see it’s a dream sequence, he has been recaptured by the Mohawk, who are very angry with him. Roger’s luck continues to be cursed. Will he even be recognizable to Claire, Jamie, and Ian if he is found?
Ian has grown so much in this season. He begins to show more of that growth as he corners Auntie, and tries to get her to mend fences with Uncle Jamie. He again explains the mistake, and how it has a great deal to do with what he did. Can she not forgive Jamie? Claire insists she is not angry with Jamie, she is angry with everyone. How could everyone have gotten in all so wrong to the detriment of poor Roger? However, going back to past lessons with Claire and secrets from Season 2, she mostly feels the blame herself.
Rollo turns up with a mummified leg, as Rollo would do. Claire and Ian follow him to the half buried corpse and Claire remarks that is has been dead at least a month. Ian recognizes the tunics and the two missing fingers as having belonged to one of the Indians he sold Roger to. The three of them bury the body, Jamie remarks that he had a family somewhere who will miss him. Clearly Jamie and Claire are not effectively communicating as they should.
Later in the tent, Claire begins apologizing to Jamie. She explains she is not angry with him, everyone has made her angry. None of what happened should have happened. For a few years after Frank’s death, it had just been her caring for Brianna. All the decisions came to her, protecting her. Brianna was closer to Frank at times. Jamie, who fears the loss of the daughter he has just come to know, the daughter he said terrible things to. Claire remarks that he did not mean what he said, and neither did Brianna, Brianna did not mean for him to go to Hell. Claire blames herself, for she had known it was Bonnet before Roger came, and had not told Jamie for Brianna’s sake. She had kept a terrible secret, it it had been wrong to do so. Jamie admits that he has never felt he could be jealous of a dead man, Frank. Claire discusses the promise they made long ago, about not keeping secrets. Claire doesn’t know if she can keep the promise where Bree is concerned.
Fergus is at the Tavern, asking a Captain about Bonnet. He is told that he will arrive in a week, and in leaving he notices a broadsheet with Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser on it. “Merde!”, he tears it down. Walks home to Marsali and Murtagh is in the parlor recruiting Regulators actively under their roof. Marsali is worried about their safety with the meetings and the guest being a wanted man. Fergus counters that Murtagh would do the same for him. Fergus is melancholy as he has not been able to find work with his wooden hand, no one will take him on.
Later at night, while Murtagh sleeps on a pallet on the floor, Marsali noisily wakes him up. She is very conscious of the dangers of Murtagh’s enterprise, but asks Murtagh to take Fergus on to fight with his men. It would be good for Fergus to feel that he is a full man, and she wants a whole man as husband. Murtagh agrees to ask, reluctantly. The next day baby Germaine is wailing so, and Murtagh is lamenting about the 
fact that the militia needs weapons, that maybe they should use the child’s wail as one, since it is certainly defeating him. Fergus calms his child down, and Murtagh makes the offer to take Fergus on with the Regulators. Fergus declines, is place is with the baby and Marsali. Marsali is thrilled, as Fergus has made a statement of the impo
rtance of his family to him. Fergus does help however in the hunt for Stephen Bonnet, and Marsali has come with news, The Gloriana has arrived in port.
Murtagh and Fergus wait with another captain in the tavern, and when Bonnet comes waltzing in, he is identified. Fergus makes a plan to catch him alone. In a room above the tavern, Murtagh and Fergus corner him, and the over confident sociopath thinks he’s got the upper hand, but Murtagh deals a swift blow with the butt of his pistol as only he can, and Fergus and he set to transport Bonnet back to Fraser’s Ridge. Unfortunately, as it was far too lucky to take care of the matter swiftly, Fergus and Murtagh are caught in the act as a patrol questions what the are doing. Murtagh acts like Fergus was an assailant, punches him, with his arms raised
giving Fergus chance at escape. He tells the men that the man tied up is none other than Stephen Bonnet, murderer and gallows escapee. Unfortunately one of them recognizes him from the broadsheets and takes him in, they’ve bagged two wanted fugitives.
Murtagh knew it was a risk, however he had to get into Wilmington to connect with his men and do business. He chose to juggle both his own business and the hunt for Bonnet. Enlisting Fergus put him at risk, but he was the only one he could trust with capturing the man. It was a risky business and he should have probably been staying outside the city, not being out in broad daylight trying to get Bonnet out of town. Why did he risk so much all at once? A question Jamie will be asking of him if they meet again. Now, how is Fergus to get him out of this mess?
Brianna is waiting for her parents to bring Roger back to her, and as the month peel by, she is beginning to show her situation. She passes her time drawing to relieve the stress, to process all that has happened to her. She then takes to drawing young Phaedra. Jocasta has not been idle, and she is planning Brianna’s future. She lost her chance with Jamie, but now she has his young, unwed and pregnant daughter to work in her fashion. In true MacKenzie style, she starts arranging for Brianna to meet eligible, well to do men of the county.
Brianna’s arrival has created an opportunity for Jocasta to solve a problem. Time and again Jocasta has had male suitors wanting to wed her and have control at River Run. Jamie left with Claire and Ian, taking away her chance to have an heir and a male that could take the duties of River Run, one she could trust. Brianna has presented another angle for her to work. If she connects herself with another prominent family in the parts, she could have the support of a man to help her run things, but she would still have final say.
Brianna will not be ruled so easily. Phaedra tried to create a new gown for her for the dinner, Brianna refused it. Jocasta meets with her and decides to nail down the situation, she’ll no take no for an answer. She tries to persuade Brianna with tales of her Grandmother Ellen and her fair hand at painting and drawing. Jocasta professes she has done some herself, but never at Ellen’s level. She chides Brianna and tells her she must think of her future, that being a mother with a bastard child will make the child’s future difficult. Yes, there is a possibility that the father may be brought back, but that is no guarantee, the Mohawk may have done him ill. She tells Brianna more of Ellen, that she was with child before she wed, and that even though Dougal and Colum were seeking husband’s for her, she eloped with Brian, the man she loved. But they had wed, and the child was born in wedlock.
Brianna concedes to go to the dinner, in a remade gown of Jocasta’s. She arrives at the dinner and the eligible men flock about her like cockerels. Her suitors are Gerald Forbes, who is most ardent, Judge Alderdice, and Lt. Wolff. All of them wish to spend time with Brianna, bumble about, posturing, and ask her to go places with them. Brianna manages to keep her grace and fortitude and steer clear of the ever eager men.
Lord John Grey arrives to check in on Brianna as requested by Jamie in a letter. The dinner begins, and during that dinner, Lord John tells of his adventures in Jamaica. Afterwards, Brianna takes the lead, and as she has been opinionated all night, continues with a game she creates called Psychology. We learn of Judge Alderdyce’s vision in a forest, and later she queries Lord John of his envisioning and finds out he had thought of her father Jamie. She begins to pick up on clues as to Lord John’s preferences in partners, and later that evening espies Lord John with Alderdyce.
The next morning, Phaedra hurries to dress Brianna. She announces that Forbes has come to make a proposal to her, that Jocasta is waiting with him downstairs. She quickly talks Lizzie into finding Lord John, and asks Phaedra to tell them she has gone for a walk, and will be gone an hour. She meets with Lord John and proceeds to ask him to marry her. A plan she has formulated on the run. She has it all worked out, he doesn’t have to interact with her much, he flat out refuses her impertinence. The rands on her that he should just to show her her place. When he refuses, she proceeds to tell him she will write to the Governor and others of what she saw, him with Judge Alderdyce. Lord John blasts back at her blackmail asking her does she have any idea how the punishment for such things are, reputation being the least of it, and how could she think of such things. After a bit, Brianna backs down, and in cooling down they talk further. She tells him of her troubles, that she had been violated. She informs him of Bonnet, and how her aunt is trying to make her choose a husband for the child’s sake. She admits that she must concede and go to Forbes, she must think of her child. Later she enters the hall and Lord John, in his usual grace, runs in after her, and begins a conversation about making arrangements for their wedding. Brianna falls into step, and the impromptu foil to Forbes is thrust with the man beating a hasty exit.
Whether Lord John Grey will actually marry Brianna is another matter, but for the moment it gives her protection and breathing space from her aunt’s machinations. She can rely on her father’s friend to protect her and keep others from prying into her affairs. What will happen when Jamie finds out is another matter entirely. Lord John had given Brianna a letter from her father, and after they talk on the porch some, she begins to look at it. The are fences to be mended, and in the next episode, we will come closer to seeing how tall those fences are.
Roger finally arrives at the Mohawk village. All of the people and warriors come out and Roger is dragged through a punching and kicking gauntlet for a greeting with a beating.
Episode 411 If Not For Hope, is really all about sacrifices being made, how people will give up their own needs to save the ones they love. Each character was making a sacrifice for someone they care about, and in some cases putting their own lives on the line. Two more episodes to go.
Tune in on Saturdays at Midnight on the Starz® App, or watch Sunday December 30th at 8 PM EST on Starz® network USA, 10 PM Sundays on Canadian W Network, 6:30 PM Mondays on Foxtel Australia, and Mondays on Amazon Prime in the UK.
Images ©2018 Starz® LLP
Home is where the heart is. With only 3 episodes left in Outlander Season 4, we have an episode where the idyllic life that Jamie and Claire Fraser have tried to create on Fraser’s Ridge, changes suddenly when Brianna’s recovery erupts in discovery. Secrets and lies come to a head. In last weekend’s episode, The Birds and The Bees, Brianna (Sophie Skelton) was dealing with the harsh realities and consequences of rape and losing her love Roger (Richard Rankin) after a fight. We left off where Roger MacKenzie was brutally beaten mistakingly by Jamie Fraser, and Ian leads him off to be traded to a band of Mohawk Indians.
As we open on another perfect day on Fraser’s Ridge, there is trouble bubbling under the surface, a pot about to boil over. Bree and Jamie (Sam Heughan) begin a talk about what had happened to her. Jamie tries to console her. She continues in her conversation of self-blame, that she didn’t fight hard enough, she did foolish things to get trapped by Bonnet. Jamie counters with a snide remark that maybe she was to blame. Perhaps Brianna maybe was using the term rape to hide that she had had an encounter she wanted, to make it not her fault. His goading of her worked, and taking the bait she starts lashing out at Jamie. Jamie is using a harsh, questionable way to teach her a lesson. After they fight and he locks her in embrace, one she cannot get out of, he says to her again, that no she didn’t fight hard enough. Softening he asks how could she if she was not as strong as the man who attacked her? She could have been killed. She did what she could to survive it.
Brianna, still smarting a bit, asks him quite bluntly how it was with him, did he fight back against Black Jack Randall? So they continue to bond under a shared fate. One that Jamie allowed to happen to save Claire, and he tells Brianna that eventually he killed Randall at the Battle of Culloden. Brianna states she thinks that maybe the only way she can get rid of the shame she feels is if her attacker is dead. Jamie reminds her she has never killed before, and does she really want to live with it such a thing?
“Did you fight back?” – Brianna Randall
Roger has been dragged for days with a fellow prisoner behind the band of Mohawk, traveling further and further north. He tries to help the other captive stay alive. Sadly, after a few days, his co-captive perishes and Roger is the one they have left to sell, trade, or assimilate. He is still badly beaten, but somehow still hangs on, determined to get back to Brianna. After trailing behind the band of Mohawk for some time, he falls and has an opportunity at escape finally. When he does, after hiding and running for some time, he hears a familiar buzz, and that pull that only a time traveler knows leads him to where he finds a surprise in Rhododendron dell. He has found a standing stone. Checking his pockets, he finds the two small gemstones meant for him and Brianna, and standing next to the stone he reaches out to touch it.
Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Brianna are talking in the cabin later, and Claire leads a discussion in what can be done about the baby. Claire is encouraging her to end the pregnancy, for in that time period being a single mother is looked down on by society and reputations are ruined. They discuss it would have to be soon, she would have to operate. Brianna asks what Claire would do. The reality being that she must make the choice. The child could possibly be Roger’s as much as Bonnet’s. Claire wants Brianna to go back to her time, and crossing while pregnant can be done, she did it with Brianna. She doesn’t know if Brianna and a child can go through, they could become separated.
Lizzie again sets up to start another calamity. Brianna has been having nightmares about Bonnet for some weeks, and her dreams go from Roger being there to Bonnet attacking her again, but she is fiercely fighting him off. She wakes to find it is Lizzie in the room with her, trying to comfort her again. However we know that every time Lizzie opens her mouth, more trouble begins. She tells her mistress not to worry, that her father has dealt with the man who attacked her. Brianna realizing that the man who came and was attacked by her father was Roger, is angered beyond belief, she races to confront Jamie.
Jamie is about to get in the hot seat again, and will push back at it. Brianna comes bursting in as a tempest, turning on Ian and Jamie with great force. Murtagh (Duncan Lacoix takes a cue and exits the premises as a family row begins. Brianna demands to know where Roger is and what have they done to him. Claire joins in, noticing again Jamies hurt hand, demanding Jamie tell her what he has done. After Jamie deflects with Brianna wantonly being lustful, perhaps hiding it behind rape, Brianna tells him off. Both Jamie and Ian realize the mistake at last, and guilt, acceptance, and denial abound. Brianna hits out at Jamie and Ian’s nose get’s bloodied. Brianna takes the lead again declaring that no one gets to be angrier than she is, and asks what they are going to do about bringing Roger back.
“You do not get to be angrier than me!” – Brianna Randall
At this point, Jamie is in serious danger of losing Brianna. The news of her rape and knowing where that suffering comes from, has left him very reactive when trying to deal with his daughter. He loses temper, allowing his anger to get the better of him. On being told he did something wrong in beating Roger, whom he was told was her attacker, he starts losing patience and deflects on Brianna not behaving herself, that she perhaps wantonly had sex with Roger. Brianna claims the hand-fasting was done, however that is not enough for her father to accept. Jamie is in serious denial of blame, and may have lost Brianna’s fragile trust forever. He is not doing as well as he thought he would as a father, and bringing Roger back may be the only way to save the relationship.
After the large fight, with slightly cooler heads, Ian informs them that the Mohawk will have taken him north, and it could be months before they find him. Brianna insists on going, as Roger will not trust Jamie or Ian. Claire protests, she should not travel in her condition. Claire is also not about to leave her on her own. Brianna insists that Claire go in her place, for Roger to see a familiar face and explain things. After much discussion by all involved, it is decided that Brianna will go stay with Aunt Jocasta at River Run, and Murtagh offers to escort her there while the others head north.
When the women are out of earshot and Jamie, Ian and Murtagh are alone, Jamie makes a demand of Murtagh, to find Bonnet and bring him to Jamie so that he might kill the man. Murtagh agrees to take on the mission after he has delivered Brianna.
After the great beginnings to Frasers Ridge, in this episode we see the reality of family hit the Frasers. They thought that their lives would be simple, they would Shepard the settlers on their lands. Once Brianna, their beautiful disturbance shows up, they are happy to be a united family, however the reality of family is so fragile. There are always the misunderstandings, agreeing to disagree, and issues eventually resolved. However in the 18th century colonies, misunderstandings often come with dire consequences, and because of this, Brianna may lose Roger forever. Will Jamie be able to win back his daughter’s trust after such an ordeal? There are only three episodes left to sort through the Fraser family issues.
Future Possibilities
Brianna and Jocasta
Aunt Jocasta will start trying to find suitable husbands for Brianna, as she sees it right to fix the problem of the young unwed mother, thus protecting the family reputation as well. Brianna’s 20th century sensibilities will still make her stubborn and determined to face the situation on her own. She will need to cope with the pressure of being in a time that is not hers, with people who will see her in a negative light because she is not wed.
Man of Action
Jamie’s asking Murtagh to hunt down Bonnet and bring him in will put Murtagh at risk. Murtagh is already wanted for his Regulator activities. If Bonnet, who has a keen sense for finding a profit anywhere he can, has knowledge of this, he could lure Murtagh into a trap. We know about the last man who was pursued for vengeance by Murtagh and what his fate was. Each man could end up hunting the other.
We do not know if Roger has gone through the stones, but who would blame him at this point? He has been thwarted from Brianna at every turn, mostly by Brianna herself. His conservative ideals and pride have hurt him greatly, but this does not mean he deserves a terrible fate. Painful lessons have been learned in not parting in anger when you love someone. He has the gemstones still, he somehow managed to keep concealed during all his trials. He has the key to return to his own time, and had planned to take Brianna with him. Will he really turn away at the last?
Tune in on Saturdays at Midnight on the Starz® App, or watch Sunday December 30th at 8 PM EST on Starz® network USA, 10 PM Sundays on Canadian W Network, 6:30 PM Mondays on Foxtel Australia, and Mondays on Amazon Prime in the UK.
When last we saw Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe), they were wrecked on a beach after a hurricane. Their landing in America a bedraggled mess. However, they were alive. They had survived.
In the season 4 premiere of America the Beautiful opener we are shown two circles, a Neolithic stone circle with natives attending and dancing in it, and then a hangman’s noose.
We come across our heroes a month after the shipwreck, entering North Carolina to sort through what to do next. Ian (John Bell), Marsali (Lauren Lyle) , Fergus (Cesar Domboy), and Lesley (Keith Fleming) survived the shipwreck. One other survived the wreck, however Gavin Hayes (James Allenby-Kirk) managed to get himself arrested and is heading for the gallows. The episode is a shaky, a bad beginning for arrival in the Americas. It is not all roses for many who come to her shores. The Frasers and their extended family are about to find out how bad. America has great beauty in her forests and streams, but some of the people can be quite ugly.
There is loss this season, and we start out with losing another set of friends. Hayes’s hanging leaves poor Lesley bereft of his friend. After the hanging when the Frasers are gathered to sort through what has happened and how to bury their friend, Leslie brings up that there has been no proper lament. In Scotland, a lament is called a Cumhadh or Coronach. It is an elegy composed for a friend or celebrated person. The table breaks into a lament, lead by Lesley. They then agree to bury Hayes under the cover of darkness in hallowed ground.
Gavin (Gabhainn) Hayes Coronach
Eisd ris! Eisd ris! Dh’fhàg thu, Gabhainn, sinn fo bhròn! Eisd ris! Eisd ris! ‘S truagh nach eil thu fhathast glè òg. Eisd ris! Eisd ris! Dh’fhàg thu, Gabhainn, sinn fo bhròn! Eisd ris! Eisd ris! ‘S truagh nach eil thu fhathast glè òg!
While setting to bury Hayes’s body, Ian and Jamie have a conversation about what happened to Young Ian in Jamaica at the hands of The Bakra, Geillis Duncan(Lotte Verbeek). Ian tells quite passionately his fears after she made him do despicable things. Jamie consoles him and tells him there is a difference in the physical act of pleasure being forced upon him, and true feeling. When they are going to get the body, they find they have an unwelcome guest, Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speleers) in the wagon. Bonnet was due to be hung with Hayes but had escaped. Then went about ingratiating himself on the Frasers party, even talking them into helping a friend of their late friend get away from the checkpoints set up to catch him.
Claire and Jamie end up spending the night in the woods to not catch suspicion. And that usually means an intimate moment before returning to the others. A deep conversation about what they truly mean to each other ensues. Jamie says to Claire, “After I die, my soul will still be yours. Nothing is lost, Sassenach, only changed.” This statement reminds us quite well a mystery from the first season. Many non book readers kept asking who the spirit was of the Highlander that Frank caught looking up at Claire in Inverness. It was Jamies ghost. You may wonder how that spirit could travel in time when we know that Jamie is not a time traveller. This statement of love is a strong bond. Jamie will always look out for Claire.
The Frasers find they must sell one of the rubies they took from Geillis, they need funding to feed and clothe everyone. Jamie does not wish to appear shabby in front of his Aunt Jocasta Cameron (Marie Kennedy Doyle). Claire wears the ruby set to attract the attention of a buyer. All goes well in selling the piece, and then Governor Tryon (Tim Downie) makes Jamie and offer of land in exchange for loyalty to the Crown, and to help keep an eye on the back country. Claire and Jamie discuss this new possibility, of staying in America, and what does it mean to have this land and gather settlers. He would be expected to stop any rising in the back country.
The Frasers decide to stay in America, but have not decided on taking the offer of the Governor just yet. They make plans for taking a barge up the river to Aunt Jocasta’s plantation, River Run. Just when things seem so idyllic, disaster comes in the form of Stephen Bonnet and his river pirates. A massive struggle is joined and Claire is in the process of defending herself and Lesley comes to her aid, only to be killed and Bonnet attacks Claire and tries to take her two wedding rings from her, the gold ring from Frank, and the pewter ring from Jaimie. In the struggle Claire swallows the rings, however Bonnet manhandles her and regains the ring that Jamie gave her. He takes the ring and leaves. This is a departure from the book, Drums of Autumn, where the ring that was taken was Frank’s ring that had engraving on it. This became very important in the storyline later. I’m very curious to see why they changed this detail, as the pewter ring would not really fetch a price. Of course Bonnet also had all of their gemstones as well.
Catch the next episode, 402 Do No Harm on November 11, 8pm EST, and on the Starz® App at Midnight. UK and Ireland viewers on Amazon UK Monday November 12.
An Outlander Muse 