Catherine: Hi, Stephanie! We’re starting our recaps right in the middle of the season. But due to how Starz split the season in two with the first half ending in September and the second half beginning in April, it does make the show feel like two separate seasons. Back in September, the show paused during a cliffhanger: Jamie Fraser flew through a tower window to save his wife Claire from being raped by the evil Captain Black Jack Randall. We may have both gasped at that supreme swashbuckling moment. That last moment had been preceded by our crazy six hour watch-a-thon of Outlander. After all those episodes, everyone in my dreams had Scottish accents. Which wasn’t such a bad thing. Not at all.
Stephanie: I’m so glad we’re doing Outlander chats! So in all honesty, I expected the show to provide a more proper recap before the episode. After all, it’s been months between episodes, not just a few weeks. I wanted a comprehensive Supernatural-style “the season so far” summary. Oh well. Onward to the extremely off-putting capture scene between Captain Black and Claire! The tension was as heavy with the continuation as when we last left off. No swift rescue here; Outlander makes us watch painfully as Claire is half-stripped and manhandled by Black. Jamie’s reactions were so on point-you could see his horror, which mirrored what I felt watching.
Catherine: The Captain delivered his special version of horrifying but it was Jamie’s naivety that made me shake my head and cringe—as per always! He’s a sweet kid but no match for the loathsome creature he’s up against. Jamie manages to knock Captain Jack out and instead of slitting his throat, he hurries off with Claire, leaving the Captain alive and kicking. Why doesn’t he kill the man that’s tortured, denigrated, raped, and murdered so many? Because Jack is passed out and can’t defend himself. Okay. It’s good to have a code of honor but let’s apply some common sense here. Ending the life of a murderous unconscious bastard isn’t an unforgivable sin but whatever. When you’re simple, hot, and a moron, life is extra hard.
Stephanie: It was a smart choice to use Jamie for the voiceovers this go round-so far, the narration has been Claire. Jamie’s reluctant comment that he should have considered killing Black lended some authenticity. I further reasoned that Jamie’s loyalty to Dougal, who made him promise not to kill during the rescue, added to the decision to leave Black alive. Jamie is already a wanted man, so murdering a British captain will further threaten his life and Claire’s. Though yeah, Jamie totally should have killed him. The almost immediate reaction after the rescue is again no sweeping, romantic interlude. Jamie and Claire are both pissed for their own reasons, and really hash it out. Starting that marriage right! I really fear for this couple, and we‘re only at the beginning.
Catherine: Now we’re getting to the part I’ve been waiting for during the entire whole show. I read Outlander years ago and loathed it. There was enough feminist hype about Outlander that I overcame my reluctance and watched. But it’s this scene, where Jamie spanks Claire and she thanks him, that I’ve been waiting for, ready to pounce on. Jamie does spank Claire but she didn’t thank him in this version. I felt sure she did in the book. Did she? Didn’t she? Regardless, a grown woman getting spanked for risking people’s lives and furthering British persecution of the Scots sets my hair on end. Spanked?! Being whipped or losing an ear or being branded is more this era’s style of punishment and Jamie does mention a few punishments if she had been a man. But since she isn’t a man, she gets…spanked. Wow. And wow. How…naughty of her to be so naughty. Gag.
Stephanie: We may as well call this episode The Reckoning: Now We’ve Got the Spanking Out of the Way. And let’s call it what it is: this was a straight-up whoopin’ with a belt, and it felt terrifying. I remember this being the scene that caused you to set the book aside for good. It equally squicked me out, and is what has prevented me so far from reading further in the series (this and another point upcoming should they choose to use it in the show). I do think the show framed the scene in the best light it could without changing or removing it entirely. We bring our modern ideals to the viewing, as does Claire, so showing the two sparring (and having them be heard downstairs) was crucial and necessary. The push and pull of control is vital to see play out. Claire mirrors our own outrage, while Jamie works through the frustration of what he’s been taught-that women are property of their husbands, and are thusly punished for disobedience—compared to what he sees before him, which is his intelligent wife whom he loves. While I would never condone physical or verbal abuse as a right solution, from Jamie’s perspective, he is trying to reconcile how Claire put lives at risk, and not just his and Claire’s, but their crew, and how to make sure she understands the reality of the threat.
I personally have major issues with people telling me what to do, so I get it, but Jamie warned her to stay put for a reason. This world is dangerous, and yet she wandered off to find those stones. Some type of discussion needed to happen regardless. What I appreciated from the show was Jamie’s on-bended-knee, sworn apology. While in the book, the two eventually partner together after this trauma, I don’t recall the apologetic speech. Though I can’t say I cheered much when Claire made her own threat, knife-to-throat, while literally putting Jamie into submission. It showcased her power, my lasting impression was more so that these are two very damaged people who are going to have a hell of a time with marriage.
Catherine: It is interesting to see modern ideals clash with 18th century values but I wish there was more time spent on them negotiating between the two value systems. Jamie freaks out due to Claire invalidating his value system then Claire freaks out because he’s violating hers, then Jamie apologizes and Claire follows suit. This set of actions cycle incredibly fast each time. It happens right after Jamie rescues Claire and they have a five minute fight in the hollow. Which by the way…five minutes of arguing and he breaks down crying in frustration and love? Uh huh. And then the cycle begins once more during the spanking. He holds out from apologizing longer this time until he can’t take it anymore. His mind switch and apology were a nice moment but I didn’t buy it. An 18th century mind can’t just switch to modern values in the course of a few days. But perhaps the need to get laid is the best explanation for his radical swiftness in changing mindsets. Or maybe he’s a just winner. The spanking episode was done far better than I ever imagined but it was still silly. I didn’t find it terrifying as it’s pretty clear Jamie’s not a wife beater, he’s not doing it in the heat of the moment, and he doesn’t relish nor even wish to hurt her. He’s doing it because “wives must submit” and Claire put them all in danger so she must be punished and he’s a product of his time. Till suddenly, he’s not a product of his time. It’s completely possible for Jamie to change but it would be more believable and powerful if it took more time for change to occur while they suffered and figured it out. But hey, plot stops for no one.
Stephanie: This is where the idea of a romantic hero comes into play. While Gabaldon herself (the book’s author) tends to divorce branding her books romances in the sense the industry dictates (which is silly IMO, but I could go on for days), Jamie is by all counts quite a standard romance hero in that he is flawed, but in the way that can ring false when not wholly developed. He beats Claire—but just once! And then feels really bad! Look, he’s almost crying! He argues with Claire, but wow, she must be right! Never mind I’m a Scottish rebel who’s been cruelly beaten, I’m going to hear this time-transplanted woman out and change up ye old mindset straightaway. The draw of romance is to see that layer-by-layer breakdown of the hero/heroine’s flaws, and how they hash out their need and dismissal of each other until that happily ever after. That’s the challenge of a TV show attempting to incorporate all the necessary internal detail in a visual medium.
The major problem I still have with THAT SCENE is when Jamie remarks “I didn’t say I wasn’t going to enjoy it” about the punishment. That coupled with the odd choice of lighter music, attempted to bring a playful tone to the scene that didn’t quite work. Since we just came from Claire assaulted by two men—Black for one, and the other soldier from last season whom she killed to thwart his rape attempt—let’s just say a little BDSM is likely not the best choice for Claire right now. The scene isn’t light, it’s terrifying. What a parallel for Claire to escape a tyrannical captain, only to be driven to the quarters of a spouse who supposedly delights in punishment. That was the attitude I hated in the book, and the show almost got free from that. Almost.
Catherine: The choice of music (light and folksy) was the signal that Jamie wasn’t going to kill her or beat her to a pulp. Without that music, the scene would have be terrifying. Instead, the perky number turns it into a playful little romp. Jamie’s face follows suit. “Just be still so I can get this over, woman!” he exclaims as he spanks her. He’s clearly not going to beat the crap out of her but Claire’s expression doesn’t match this carefully constructed “light-hearted” scene. This is no joke for Claire and she fights hard. I understood that as viewers, we were supposed to laugh and find this exciting in a pleasant way. Stripped of music, the scene is a close match for Black Jack raising Claire’s skirts and violently abusing her. I would guess that this scene is no joke for survivors of physical and sexual abuse who are watching. Abuse, no matter the intent behind it, is never funny and it’s not a joke. The spanking scene from the book was never going to turn out well but the light hearted way they spun it for the show was off. The music took the edge of terror off for this viewer but it left what remained in an even more glaring and unflattering light..
Claire holding a knife against her husband’s throat during sex was complex and truthful. For all intents and purposes, sex is one of her few weapons and she has to find a way to be safe again. Threatening her partner during sex is a way for her to feel some power. It’s not the best way and it’s clear issues will rage on due to this whole debacle, but for now, it’s the way she’s decided to feel some control. And I don’t argue with that because she’s been incredibly powerless since the start of show and in everything that’s followed.
Stephanie: Good points. We haven’t even touched on Little Miss Cast-Off, Laoghaire (what a name!) and her bare-corseted riverside attempt at strip tease. A nice older woman needs to take her under her wing. Maybe spend time making herbs—wait! Bad idea there. So Laoghaire, who pined for Jamie (can you blame her? Comparatively, not many other guys come close in that village) is now trying to hex his marriage with her bundle of evil herbs. Again, Jamie gets to redeem himself by turning her away, swiftly of course. He is wedded, after all. And his marriage of convenience is totally legit and normal. As for the politics—Dougal this and Mackenzie clan that. We all know what really needed to be discussed this week. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to devote to Scottish politics in future episodes.
Catherine Eaton is a contributor to The Stake. Catherine is a writer living in a western suburb of Chicago. She blogs over at sparrowpost.com and enjoys foraging around the neighborhood in her spare time.
Stephanie Scott is a Young Adult writer living in the western Chicago suburbs. Library superfan, award-winning TV-binger, and she just might be your cat’s new best friend. She tweets at @StephScottYA.
