"The Gathering" A High for OUTLANDER

Article first published as OUTLANDER Review Season 1 Episode 4 The Gathering on Seat42F.

This week’s entry of Starz’ OUTLANDER is called “The Gathering.” As all of clan MacKenzie gathers to pledge their allegiance to Colum (Gary Lewis), Claire (Caitriona Balfe) plots her escape. If she can map the castle and its guard patterns, might she be able to find the stone that could possibly send her home again? There’s a lot of uncertainty and plenty of obstacles standing between the out-of-time nurse and her home.

Claire is smart, but she is still out of her depth. This becomes clear as, despite all the precautions and planning she does, she still puts herself in a no-win scenario, as Jamie (Sam Heughan) tells her when he catches her by the horses. She’s lucky it’s Jamie, who kindly escorts her back to the keep, rather than just about anyone else, who wouldn’t look so favorably on the prisoner making her escape.

Jamie isn’t really part of the clan, though, as you may remember. He’s staying with his uncle, Colum, to hide out from the English that are after him, but he doesn’t quite belong to this group. His own outsider status, combined with his obviously-growing feelings for Claire, likely influence the way he handles the situation.

Claire’s bumbling puts Jamie in danger. He is hiding in the stables to avoid making his own pledge to Colum, knowing that if he fails to do so, his countrymen will kill him, but if he does swear allegiance, he’s next in line to be laird, putting his life in danger from the current heir, Dougal (Graham McTavish). It looks like a no-win scenario until a brilliant Jamie deftly sidesteps both scenarios, making everyone reasonably happy and keeping his life, at least for now.

Jamie and Claire seem well fit together. They both aren’t quite where they belong, and they both have enough wits and luck about them to keep them alive, though in a precarious position. This definitely plays into their bond, and should serve them well as they only fall more in love, as they surely must.

After failing to escape, Claire reluctantly goes along on a boar hunt, where she ends up watching Geordie (Bryan Larkin, Running in Traffic) die after being gored. I’m actually surprised more isn’t made for Claire’s outspoken distaste for the hunt itself. I assume this is because the others realize she has seen death caused by violence before, earning her a pass women unaccustomed to such an experience wouldn’t get. Claire’s life has given her the weight to make judgment in such matters. Thankfully, she doesn’t gloat when proven right.

Geordie isn’t the most important focus in his own death scene. Instead, OUTLANDER shows us Dougal and Claire holding him as he dies, united in purpose at last. Douglas gets more complex this week in multiple scenes, including a semi-touching moment during a game between him and Jamie. A failed drunken rape of Claire reinforces the view many viewers hold of him as a selfish leader whom the people would not be well served to have rule over them. But watching him Geordie, and then the regard he gives Claire after seeing her in action, tell a different story. Perhaps he’s just a man of his time, hardened, but not evil. I look forward to seeing where they go with him next.

Which brings us to the conclusion of “The Gathering,” in which Dougal asks Claire to accompany him as he travels around the land. Well, asks may be too mild a word, as she surely has no choice in the matter. This may afford her a better opportunity to get away, not being so closely guarded now that he trusts her at least marginally, but it also may keep her to her current fate more strongly, as she can’t seem to resist helping anyone that needs it, even delaying her flight to give Laoghaire (Nell Hudson) peace of mind, and she will definitely be encountering those who could use her help.

Something interesting I caught in “The Gathering” is a reference to The Wizard of Oz. This is intriguing because the previous episode also alludes to the story. Claire is very Dorothy-like, having been swept away from her home and regarded somewhat suspiciously by the locals because of her ‘magical’ skills. Is OUTLANDER taking a convenient parallel and exploiting it for modern audiences, or will they make long-term use of it, drawing more connections between Dorothy and Claire?

Though, one does wonder a bit how Claire is so familiar with the film, quoting it to Laoghaire, which came out during the war she just escaped, and wasn’t highly popular in its initial release. She doesn’t seem the type to indulge in such fantasies during her gritty reality.

“The Gathering” lacks many flashback scenes with Frank (Tobias Menzies) that have been so prevalent in previous weeks, but that’s a good thing. We know Claire’s history well enough now, and more appearances by her husband tend to just drag things down.

The other cool thing in OUTLANDER this week is the introduction of a rival for Mrs. Fitzgibbons (Annette Badland), Iona MacTavish, who is played by Diana Gabaldon, the author of the OUTLANDER books. She may not be an actress, but she is great in the role, and although only billed as a cameo, I find myself hoping she’ll be recurring. Producer Ron Moore also makes a cameo, but in a much smaller capacity.

“The Gathering” is probably my favorite episode of OUTLANDER thus far. It is fun and exciting, with a healthy dose of suspense and character development. It’s the first week the show really seems to know what it is, and now that the setup is established, begins to play with the players and their relationships. If the rest of the season is as good as this week, consider me firmly in the fan camp.

OUTLANDER airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on Starz.

OUTLANDER Seeks an "Out"

Article first published as OUTLANDER Review Season 1 Episode 3 The Way Out on Seat42F.

This week’s installment of Starz’s OUTLANDER is called “The Way Out.” Claire (Caitriona Balfe) is starting to adjust to her new life, but still yearns to go home. She figures the best way to do so is to first earn favor with Colum (Gary Lewis), which she slowly but surely works on doing. However, her acceptance of the strange customs of the time is tested when she is prevented from helping a sick boy due to others’ superstitious beliefs.

Most of “The Way Out” is Claire trying to be a good medic to earn Colum’s favor. We get a little humor as she examines the old remedies, some of which are definitely no good, but mainly, it’s a question of keeping her head down, which Claire struggles to do. She is a strong-minded, independent woman who has her own ideas about things. When she knows better than the people around her, being from a more advanced time, she finds it hard not to speak up and challenge the status quo.

I think anyone in her situation would have the same issue. It makes sense for Claire to grapple with this because her natural instinct is to help. Keeping quiet means allowing suffering to go on that she can stop, and in one instance, possibly allow a boy to unnecessarily die. How many could stand by when they have the tools to offer assistance? Claire, like I believe most people to be, isn’t nearly selfish enough to mind her own business.

I believe the opening of “The Way Out,” in which we see Frank (Tobias Menzies) saying goodbye to Claire by her train, is meant to reinforce the type of “modern” woman Claire is, their roles reversed as she goes off to war. But I also feel the sequence is highly unnecessary. Its two main purposes, establishing Claire’s personality and reminding us of Frank and Claire’s love, have already been plenty illustrated in the first two episodes, meaning week three doesn’t have to show us such a repetitive scene.

The question is, how much will Claire’s butting-in cost her? She has allies like Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Mrs. Fitz (Annette Badland) to help cover her back for now, but someday soon her luck will run out. Her best chance at making it through this is to win Colum’s favor first, as he is a much more powerful friend to have on her side than either of the other two, kind as they may be.

She also may need to trust someone, as Claire is definitely have a hard time keeping her secret. She considers confessing to Mrs. Fitz, but the fantasy sequence shows us how wrong that could go, and in retrospect, would have prevented Claire from saving the woman’s nephew, so it’s good she doesn’t do so. The only character in this world that might understand Claire’s story is Geillis (Lotte Verbeek), but the opportunity to tell her hasn’t presented itself, not from lack of trying on Geillis’ part.

It seems certain that Geillis already knows at least part of the tale. She is acting very sketchy in “The Way Out,” pushing Claire for answers and making several comments that could be construed as knowing more than she lets on. Given Geillis’ connection to the supernatural world, she may either be involved in bringing Claire to the past, or, at the very least, know something how it happened. She’s not likely to be trustworthy, but she may be able to provide knowledge, whatever her motivations.

The other movement on this long-range plot is when Claire hears a storyteller speak of a woman who traveled to another place after touching a stone, then got home again the same way. It’s preposterous that Claire didn’t think of trying to return to her time by performing the same action that swept her here, so this isn’t needed, but because it gives Jamie and Claire more time to bond, it works within the episode. Of course, surely simply touching the stone won’t work because OUTLANDER would end pretty quickly if that’s all it took for Claire to get home.

A couple of missteps in “The Way Out” slow down the pacing, but overall, it’s another enjoyable episode. Maybe asking Claire to confront the ‘magic’ of the past is predictable, but it’s also necessary and well done, these people living in barbaric ways compared to what Claire is used to. I still like the characters and that’s why I’m not rooting for Claire to make it back to Frank too quickly, but eventually, that has to be the ending.

OUTLANDER airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on Starz.

OUTLANDER Review Season 1 Episode 2 Castle Leoch

Article first published as OUTLANDER Review Season 1 Episode 2 Castle Leoch on Seat42F.

Graham McTavish, Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan | OUTLANDER

Episode two of Starz’s original series OUTLANDER is likely a truer indicator of what this show will be than the first hour, which was mainly set in the 1940s. Claire (Caitriona Balfe) is slowly adjusting to Scotland in the 1740s, but wants to escape the clan that has her so she can look for a way home. Arriving at “Castle Leoch,” the seat of the clan the show present, as well as this installment’s title, Claire finds new friends, foes, and a realization that getting home may be even harder than she expects.

OUTLANDER does a good job setting up the principal cast in “Castle Leoch.” Most importantly, we’re introduced to Jamie’s (Sam Heughan) uncles, Colum MacKenzie (Gary Lewis, Gangs of New York) and Dougal MacKenzie (Graham McTavish, The Hobbit movies). Colum is the leader of the castle, but his younger brother, Dougal, is the muscle. It’s not an unfamiliar arrangement, but it does leave the show unpredictable. Would Dougal ever go around his sibling? Will Colum die from the debilitating condition from which he suffers, leaving Dougal in charge? Can Claire count on either one for assistance?

It’s clear in “Castle Leoch” that while Colum is not cruel, he is fiercely protective of those under his charge. He seems a friend to Claire at first, but surreptitiously interrogates her, even after she thinks the questioning is done. Claire isn’t dumb, but she also isn’t used to not being able to take people at face value, still adjusting to these more dangerous times, and slips up, making her untrustworthy. The result is that she is kept at “Castle Leoch” against her will until such time that she can earn Colum’s faith in her. Though, as mentioned above, that might not even be enough, should Dougal rise to power.

This complex dynamic is one in which neither Claire nor Colum is a villain. The viewer may side with Claire, of course, as she is our protagonist we’ve been instructed to root for. Yet, Colum seems fair, and though his suspicions will surely ultimately prove to be unfounded, they are understandable at the present, especially given Claire’s English accent, a people the Scots are not in league with exactly. It’s an uneasy truce between the two, with Colum not quite imprisoning her, but neither is Claire free to leave.

Others in the clan are much easier to win over. Jamie, of course, is for Claire, and as she tends his wounds, they bond even more as he shares his tragic, noble history. Claire finds the closest thing there is to a peer here in Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek, The Borgias), whose knowledge of plants and herbs have some viewing her as a witch, though Claire is scientific-minded enough to know better. And there’s goodly, motherly Mrs. Fitzgibbons (Annette Badland, The Sparticle Mystery), whose disapproval over Claire’s risqué (for the time) clothing is soon replaced by affection.

More a mystery is the only main character I haven’t yet mentioned in OUTLANDER, Murtagh Fitzgibbons (Duncan Lacroix, Wikings). Murtagh is seemingly pleasant and married to Mrs. Fitz, which earns him some respect. But he serves as the eyes of Dougal, too, which seems a dubious task. It’s not clear yet if Murtagh is in this position willingly or out of a sense of duty. Can Claire trust him?

The other thing “Castle Leoch” has me wondering is how Claire’s glimpse of Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) is affecting her impression of her husband, Frank (also Menzies). Hearing from Jamie about Black Jack’s brutality, it has to be shocking for Claire to think that this is her love’s forbearer, and that these deeds are in his blood. She has to wonder if Frank acted anything like Black Jack when thrust into war himself. The physical similarity, which I am not in favor of as an element of the show, also has to make it even easier for her to draw a parallel. Might this be why she starts to tell people Frank is dead, acting more like a widow than a married women?

I like this episode of OUTLANDER a lot. It provides much insight into the chemistry between the various characters and paints a very authentic-seeming portrait of a clan in Scotland at the time. It provides historical context while staying engaging with interesting, complex characters. The Gaelic language comes in bursts, and while at first I didn’t like the fact that it isn’t subtitled, I can see how that helps the viewer put themselves in Claire’s situation even more, as she must rely on a kindly interpreter. Flashes of the twentieth century and Jamie’s past are used sparingly and effectively, thankfully, as some shows overuse this device. And, as I mentioned in my pilot review, OUTLANDER is in a simply gorgeous setting that only enhances the style and tone.

My only real complaint about “Castle Leoch” is that Claire seems to be getting over Frank much too fast. She does want to go home, that is true, and she has to adjust somehow in order to cope with her current existence. But her draw to Jamie is strong, and while she is fighting it, it’s a battle she’s losing far too quickly. Is Frank not the man she thought he was, given what she now knows about his lineage, and is Jamie her true man? Only time will tell.

OUTLANDER airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on Starz.