- This was a very hard episode to watch, even harder than the previous episode, and that's saying a lot. I don't cry easily, but I was in tears! But even though the setting (a monastery in Scotland instead of France) and some other major plot points were different than the book, and they did collapse the timeline to fit everything into one hour (in my opinion it really should have been at least two), it was brilliantly done!
- I can't tell you how happy I was to see the cows charging through the halls of the dungeon early on! So much better than reading it in the book!
- All of the actors were so brave and talented. I think Sam Heughan had the toughest job of all, and, although I'm sure it was extremely difficult to do, his portrayal of Jamie at his most vulnerable and broken down was way too believable. And although I absolutely hate (that's too mild a word), loathe, detest (I don't have a word in my vocabulary for how strongly I feel about Black Jack Randall), Tobias Menzies portrayed Jack Randall just how Diana wrote him, but maybe the visual aspect of seeing him and Tobias Menzies incredible talent as an actor made him seem even "more" awful than I remembered. Caitriona Balfe was perfect as well. You really felt Claire's pain and frustration at not being able to help Jamie recover mentally even though she hand a handle on the physical part. Duncan Lacroix' portrayal of Murtagh in this episode was especially wonderful as well. So much more than we've seen of him before, and he's always been one of my favorites. Really, every single actor in this episode was fabulous, except maybe Richard Ashton who played a dead Marley (not much was required of him unless those rats were real, then he deserves an Emmy for not moving).
- The rape scenes were even more horrible and painful to watch than they were to read, but that was the story that Diana Gabaldon wrote. The story they filmed was spot on and honest. Brutally honest. I don't think they went overboard, but I agree that some viewers would consider it TOO MUCH! It was TOO MUCH but horrible, awful, unimaginable things do sometimes happen to people and sugar coating them for other people's sensitivities is unfair to the people who are victims of such horribleness. We SHOULD be shocked and appalled by such things to have understanding and sympathy for victims who need people's support to survive. Victims of sexual crimes often feel responsible and they shouldn't. This episode underscored that point! This episode serves a purpose in the whole Outlander storyline; it's not just excessive violence for the sake of violence as you so often see on TV.
- The stakes were very high for the main characters. Life and death. Just saving Jamie physically (rescuing him from the prison and setting his broken bones) was not nearly enough. Jamie was broken psychologically by Randall, and saving his life required Claire to dig down deep and drag the full truth of what Randall did out of Jamie, and that truth involved Jamie having to forgive himself for not being able to hold himself unresponsive while Randall tried to "made love" to him (although that is not what I call love, it was what Randall thought of as love -- YUCK!). What ultimately "broke" him was not being able to forgive himself, and THAT is so honest and real. He felt that Randall had broken his soul, and he couldn't see how Claire could ever see him the same as she had before, and he couldn't live with her seeing him as less. But Claire finally broke down that wall in his mind by saying he was hers, not Randall's, no matter what, and if he couldn't continue to live for her, then she would die with him, that was her only option. That put things into perspective for Jamie, finally.
- This truly is the darkest part of the whole Outlander story (8 books so far), and, although they have many more challenges to overcome in the remaining books, if you can get past this section of the story, then the rest of it will be easier to watch. This is a love story set in a very dark and dangerous time in history, and none of it is sugar coated. It was written truthfully and honestly, and adapted for TV truthfully and honestly. All of the trials and tribulations that Jamie and Claire face bring them closer together and strengthen their relationship and their love for each other. They are both very strong characters to begin with, but together they realize that they are even stronger for surviving what they have gone though together! The old saying, "What doesn't break you makes you stronger" is true. The trick is to not be irreparably broken in the process!
- I am so glad that the episode ended on such a good note with Claire telling Jamie that she's pregnant and him being genuinely happy, but the book gave them more time to heal, and it didn't feel so rushed. I did miss the love scene in the hot springs at the end, but I understand that would have been too hard to film. I think of that as the true ending though, and this episode's ending as the "alternate ending". Isn't it wonderful that if you want to, you can have BOTH!
- It may seem like I always prefer the book version of the story to the TV version, but that's not true at all. Sometimes the TV version seems a little clearer to me, and the book version is a little more confusing. I love having both versions, and really, the main jist of the story is the same so I can fully appreciate BOTH!
- I think I still need some time to decompress and heal myself before Outlander resumes in Season Two sometime in 2016. Probably a good thing that we have some time, and I'm sure I'll be chomping at the bit for more Outlander before long. There will be plenty of time to reread Dragonfly in Amber (maybe ALL of the books again). There is MUCH MORE to come, and like this season/book, some of it will be breathtakingly beautiful, and some of it is very painful for sure. But it's a great story, and the people who are making the TV show are doing an absolutely fabulous job of adapting this wonderful story that Diana wrote to the screen. I'm confident that they will do just as wonderful a job with it in Season Two!
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