TV REVIEW: Outlander - The Reckoning

This review contains spoilers. You can read Becky's spoiler-free review of the first eight episodes here.

The first half of Outlander's season ended with Claire quite literally in the hands of Black Jack Randall and Jamie bursting in to her rescue. The second half picks up again with this moment, but takes us back to Jamie's perspective, crafting the episode with his narration. He is meeting with the Redcoat deserter who promised to give him the name of the man who actually committed the murder when he gets news of Claire's capture and dashes off to rescue her. The rest of the episode deals with the consequences of her actions and expanding on Jamie's character.

Twisting the format slightly to allow for the episode to take place from Jamie's perspective proves to be a bit of a masterstroke considering The Reckoning's subject matter. Jamie's narration revolves around the choices a man makes in his life and he meets varies problems throughout; Colum and Dougal's rift over the Jacobite gold, Laighoire throwing herself at him despite his marital status and the actions he must take over Claire's disobediance. Sam Heughan adapts Jamie easily to each situation from the noble diplomat that takes on Colum and Dougal to the flustered man faced with a woman in nought but her corset.

It's the situation with Claire that could have potentially been massively mishandled within the episode and it's a scene that I know a lot of book readers were sort of dreading. Because she has not only endangered Jamie, she has also endangered Dougal's men and the clan MacKenzie, who don't think she realises just quite how much trouble she has caused. It leads to the first monumental argument of the Fraser marriage as both Claire and Jamie go at each other tooth and nail in the woods; she is indignant at his assertions she did it on purpose whilst he is furious that she can't seem to realise how huge it was that he revealed himself to Black Jack Randall in order to save her.

Heughan and Caitriona Balfe play the escalation of the scene beautifully, with Heughan in particular excelling through Jamie's shifting emotions. What is also so refreshing about Claire in this episode is how unaware she is of the traditions she violates with her early twentieth century attitude. Too often in these kind of stories, people learn to adapt quickly by virtue of education, but Claire blunders her way through and it's the first episode where that has major consequences for her. Balfe gives Claire an insolent air as she faces the consequences of her actions and the thrashing scene is much better for building Claire up in this manner.

Whereas the argument between the two is played entirely seriously, the bedroom based and potentially contraversial thrashing is played as a farce. The music in particular gives the impression it's a reel around the bedroom as Jamie circulates the bed in which Claire prepares to mount her defence. It's a very fine line to tread but the episode manages it, giving it the serious edge that such a scene requires whilst also mining it for the wry comedy that has characterised much of the series so far. The cut aways to the men downstairs listening to the chaos of the bedroom provide some well-judged laughs too.

That this is from Jamie's perspective also softens the scene somewhat; he feels it is something he has to do because he has always been brought up to believe it. Claire challenges his assumptions and choices constantly, none more so than when she refuses to sleep with him after the event. The power shifts in the marriage is something that Jamie didn't expect amongst the choices that he talks about throughout his voiceover, but before the end of the episode, another negotiation takes place between the two of them that addresses the imbalance caused by Jamie's adherence to tradition. And in this second negotiation, Claire is very much on top in more ways than one.

The final moments of the episode set up another potential hurdle for the couple to deal with in the form of Laighoire's 'ill wishes' as well as the possibility that a tonne of Redcoats could come after Claire at any second. It's all very exciting.

- Becky

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TV REVIEW: Outlander - Episodes One to Eight

This review of Outlander's first eight episodes is spoiler free, but Becky will be reviewing the remainder of the season individually and with spoilers, in our usual Buffery manner.

Based on Diana Gabaldon's rip-roaring and bestselling historical series, Outlander follows Claire Randall, a nurse in the Second World War who embarks on a holiday in Scotland with her husband, Frank, six months after VE Day. Whilst there, she finds herself drawn to a mysterious stone circle at Craigh na Dun and is pulled back in time to 1745, when Scotland was building to another Jacobite rebellion and intelligent, forthright women were viewed with suspicion. She attempts to get back to the stones and to her own time, but is soon drawn into the machinations of the MacKenzie clan and into a marriage of safety with the dashing Jamie Fraser.

Outlander has a huge weight of pedigree behind it, created by none other than television impresario, Ronald D. Moore (having previously worked on both Star Trek and the excellent Battlestar Galactica reboot), who brings his assured hand to Gabaldon's work. It's a smooth adaptation, streamlining out the story into something a little more manageable for a television audience that could be both in love with the books or without any knowledge whatsoever. Additions such as focusing on Frank in 1945 trying to find his wife, which didn't feature in the first book as it was Claire's first person narrative, builds the world up more and keeps alive the sympathy for an important character.

The world of 18th century Scotland is beautifully realised as the series sweeps through the Highlands. Muddy, brutal yet elegantly romantic, Claire's foray into the past carries the inherent thrill of seeing a world unknown, though it's considerably more bodice-ripping (literally) than your usual period drama. The sex, nudity and violence running through the story isn't sanitised from its source material, but nor does it feel gratuitous. Whilst there is the tendency carried over from the books to put Claire in as many potential sexual assault situations as possible, it's never supposed to be titillating; the focus on Claire herself in these moments ensures the focus is on her fear, not the man's enjoyment.

As Claire, Caitriona Balfe captures the character near-perfectly, from her belligerence in the face of 18th century attitudes towards women to a wicked sense of humour that bubbles beneath the surface. Claire already feels like a fully rounded character, naive in the face of these traditions for which she is an outlander, but learning to adapt quickly. It also helps that she has an excellent chemistry with both Tobias Menzies, in the dual role of Frank Randall and his 18th century ancestor, the Black Jack Randall, and Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser.

Menzies has a particularly tough role in distinguishing the noble academic Frank from his sadistic ancestor. Black Jack Randall is the show's current outright villain and Menzies clearly relishes portraying someone who is convinced of his own inability to be redeemed. Frank is a gentler sort, but there are still the odd tics and reminders of their heritage, particularly when the desperation of both characters comes to the fore.

On the other side of Claire stands Jamie Fraser, the Highlander with a price on his head whom she helps when she first arrives in 1745. Heughan cuts a dashing figure in plaid and recreates Jamie's honourable ways as well as his wry humour that made readers all over fall in love with him on the page (myself included). Like the other main characters, Jamie arrives fully formed and the show works quickly to establish his back story, which will affect how the narrative develops.

It's a strong start for Outlander's first season, one which provides enough information for those unfamiliar with the story whilst hitting all the right narrative beats for those who are. There's a clear understanding of what makes the books work here and Moore has successfully translated that to the screen. Knowing what is to come for the remainder of the season adds a special level of tension to the developing relationships and I have every confidence that the show will continue to excel.

- Becky

Outlander is available to view now on Amazon Instant Video UK.

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