This week’s episode gave us a little bit of everything – battles both large and small, love lost, scares… and one scene that I really felt would fuel some outrage among the fandom, but I think I was wrong. There was a LOT crammed into an hour here, and while I understand why they’re flying through these things, I’m finding that it’s hard to get invested in some of the storylines when you have such a short time to get into them.
Rachel
Rachel, Denny and William, meet the Johnsons! And despite their “hospitality,” I’m not talking Howard Johnson. They are not nice people, and this is the one plot point I didn’t mind getting through quickly. Yuck.
More the point of this, rather than the dangers on the road, was William’s youth, inexperience, and moral code. The discussion with Rachel and Denny on the first part of their trip showed the conventionality of his thinking – no remorse over killing a murderer, violence was sometimes warranted.
But in practical terms, I think both William and the Hunters saw a different perspective after the fight in the cabin. William has killed his first man – not in battle, as he had envisioned, but in a more personal fight. And the Hunters saw that principles are well and good, until it’s your own life on the line. It’s likely that they had never come face to face with violence directed toward them. Was it ok because they didn’t actually have to kill, when there was someone to do it for them? They’ll have bigger tests of their Quaker values coming, as they join the Continental army.
Jamie
Were you wondering where the episode’s title, Singapore, came from? I hope you caught it in one of the discussions between Jamie and Claire. Jamie is concerned that a hill across the river from Fort Ticonderoga is a potential – and to him, highly likely – site of an attack by the British. He might as well channel Paul Revere and chime out “The British are coming!” But of course, common sense is ignored, and the danger is real. Claire tells him that this had happened with the Battle of Singapore in World War II – according to Wikipedia, “The British erroneously considered the jungle terrain impassable, leading to a swift Japanese advance as Allied defences were quickly outflanked.”
She adds, “seeing is believing,” and Jamie tries to use this with General Fermoy (Olivier Raynal, listed as Franco-American, and did anyone else have trouble with his accent? Seemed too American and not enough Franco). I laughed out loud when he saw the British troops actually up on Sugar Loaf Hill, and realized Jamie was right – but of course, he can’t back down after publicly reprimanding Jamie for his lack of respect for officers!
Jamie is an intelligent man, veteran of many battles, schooled in the ways of warfare. Sam Heughan did a terrific job of showing his impatience and irritation, both with the General’s attitude and at being constrained and ignored. But other than this, he had little to do this episode.
Brianna
Regular readers of my reviews will know that Sophie Skelton is not my favorite actress on this show, but I must say, I think she did a better than average job this episode. She ran the gamut of emotion this week – from excitement about her new job, to fear in the tunnel, to anger, to sadness. Brianna is not often given the opportunity to be a multi-dimensional character in this series, but this episode was a little different. Whether you think that’s from rushing through the storylines to get to the end, or just touching on items that really only need a touch, I’ll leave that to your opinion.
I’m sure we all hollered at Rob Cameron and his men when they seemed to accept her right away, then locked her in the tunnel! And of course, we all knew what that buzzing meant – were you worried that Bree would be all of a sudden pulled through a time vortex? Of course, this actually sets up another storyline for a future episode, one that kept us all irritated for years waiting for the next book to come out.
And we all assumed, as did Bree, that this happened because – OH NO! – she’s a woman in a man’s job. I honestly don’t remember the conclusion to this storyline in the book, but near the end of the episode, she goes down to the pub they mentioned to tell them off, and learns that this is a hazing ritual that all the guys have been through. I had an immediate “oh, ok then!”, followed by a “2020s copout!!!” It truly makes more sense for the time for it to have been about her being a woman, and I feel fairly conflicted about the show taking this route. What did you think? Right now, Rob Cameron seems like a decent sort… Right now.
But I understand Bree’s frustration, her exhaustion after having to hold it together to get past the call of the stones in the tunnel, and the resultant need to connect, somehow, with her parents. Jemmy and Mandy’s assumption that Grandda is buried in the Lallybroch graveyard gives her a place to go, and I did love her walk out there, placing a stone on the cairn that the children have created.
Ian
And finally, seeing is believing of another sort, even if the “believing” may be more “wishing and hoping.” Ian has been ordered to travel to the Mohawk village that he knows his former wife, Emily, lives in. It seems that he’s reached a good mental place regarding her loss, and the loss of their child, but this is bringing it all back. He knows she has had a living child with her new husband. What does that make him? Can he possibly bring that to a new wife, as he’s having a bit of an attraction to Rachel?
Claire’s assurances go a long way, I think (even though, yes, the discussion in the books was more detailed, but that would have been a lot to get into in a TV show) to reassuring Ian that no, this wasn’t his fault. And when he sees his former wife, he genuinely tries to be pleased for her, even if he hasn’t found actual happiness himself. “You haven’t asked me if I’m happy,” he says to her. She knows he’d have to lie to answer her – “I have eyes,” she says.
I saw this episode more than a week ago, and have been just about dreading fan response to this scene. It differs in many ways from the scene as written in Echo in the Bone. The child we see looks so much like Ian! This has been one of the big mysteries that it seems like every book reader newbie brings up – what’s the deal with Jamie’s ghost? Did Frank really cheat? What did Frank actually know? Was Murtagh Jamie’s real father? And – was Ian really this child’s father? Diana has actually addressed this, and said that the boy is NOT Ian’s son. Yet the show seems to have ignored this, giving us a blond, curly haired child instead of a boy who looks like his two Mohawk parents.
And also in the book, Emily asks Ian to give a name to her baby daughter, and Ian tells her he wants to name this boy – yet here, the child is already named Swiftest of Lizards, and Ian is asked to give him his Anglicized name, “for when he walks in that world.” Here’s the page from the book that covers this.
Because of all of this, I have been very surprised to see almost nobody has been bothered by this! So I’m happy that the fandom is ok, but I’m going to register my personal irritation with this change.
This season has been generally better than the previous one, with its major ether misstep. So while I think this episode was rushed and plotlines were shortchanged, overall it wasn’t bad! I think it’s probably the weakest of this season’s outings so far, but certainly not terrible. What did you think? Comment below and let me know what your favorite and least favorite scenes were!
IMPORTANT NOTE: There are three episodes left for this half of the season, so please note that there WILL be a break week in between episodes 7 and 8! There will be NO new episode on August 4.
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