Blacklanderz Convos!

Outlander S3 Epi9 – The Doldrums 

Directed by David Moore      Written by Shannon Goss

 This conversation is between Blacklanderz Marva, Erica and Amanda-Rae. Arranged and edited by Vida (I also interrupt, at times, I just can’t help it!).

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It’s the biggest change we’ve ever done on the main title.  Starting with episode 9 to the end, the score of the show changes radically. I have pitched this on so many shows. Nobody ever wants to do it. When Ron even remotely suggested it, I was all in. I used Afro-Cuban percussion as a way to take us to Jamaica, to take us to these islands. It’s very raw and loose and it feels like this crazy drum circle just suddenly took over the orchestra. It’s really fun.

~ Bear McCreary, Mashable

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OPENING TITLE CARDS/CREDITS:

As Blacklanderz, we would be remiss if we did not start this conversation with the opening credits and the change of the Skye Boat Song.

M: I had to stop and rewind those opening credits. I am digging the Caribbean drum beat and the new images. We can expect some interesting interactions with Jamaican slaves, I think!

E: One of the things I love most about this show is how the opening always incorporates elements of the location where we will be taken. The African drums in the intro were so powerful. The island feel and sound of the music had me swaying. Bear McCreary is a genius.

A-R: The Caribbean drumming chords set the tone fairly early that there’s a physical and emotional voyage. The clips of the African dancers mimic the druid dance in earlier episodes.

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BAD LUCK | SUPERSTITION | BELIEF IS TRUTH

Marva: The episode is named The Doldrums after a region near the equator where ships often get stuck in windless water. This is what happens to the Artemis. What moves the episode along is not the wind, but the superstitions and beliefs of the characters. Superstition compels the sailors toward wanting to commit murder. Mr. Willoughby sacrifices one of his superstitions to delay everyone long enough to quell the men’s fervor. We learn that belief is truth and truth is belief on an 18th sailing ship and we get some poetic turns of phrases about romantic love. And, why not? It’s Outlander, and at the show’s swashbuckling heart, it is a romance.

VOYAGE | YOUNG LOVE | ILL LUCK | TAKEN

Erica:  From the beginning of this episode, change was in the air. From the opening, masterfully done by Bear McCreary, all the way to end. This voyage brought about many changes. Changes in the relationship between Claire and Jamie, Fergus and Marsali and Fergus and Jamie. Young love entered the show for the first time this season with Fergus and Marsali. Again, Claire is faced with the discussion of luck and superstition in her 18th century life. Once all seems right in the world, she is taken.

STAGNATION | TENSION | UNEASINESS | PUTRID | TURBULENCE

Amanda-Rae: Overall the episode was a solid one. The race to save Young Ian is actually a much slower process than many viewers would expect. By the end, all of the major characters have additional character development. I believe there were some issues with the travel scenes in the beginning and the middle of the episode. Although they were designed to show just how slow travel was in the 18th century, at times, I believe the pacing was slightly too slow compared to past episodes of this season.

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Loved these opening shots of the area.

The Artemis

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As anyone who has read one of Diana’s books knows…they are chock full. And Voyager is no different. However, we only have thirteen episodes to tell the entirety of the story, so alas…things must get cut. In this case, we omitted the section of Jamie and Claire traveling to France, visiting Mother Hildegarde and Faith’s grave (lovely and emotional as it was—plus they had already visited Faith’s grave in Ep. 207, something that did not take place in the book) and meeting Mayer Rothschild. But we still wanted to connect Jamie with Cousin Jared as a way to get Claire and Jamie on their sea voyage, so we brought Jared to Scotland.

~ Shannon Goss, Outlander Community

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M: Looks like Jared has come to the rescue again. Jared is a very handy cousin.

E: Yes, it was good to see Cousin Jared, even if it was briefly.

M: Uh-oh, now Jamie is doubting their relationship. He thinks God is against them. So, there’s still the question between them: should we really be together? Right now the only certain tie that binds them is the need to find Ian.

A-R: Well, Claire and Jamie throughout the episode are still learning to live with each other. Jamie still feels like he has to over compensate in protecting her. Claire’s natural inclination is to go out on a limb and help others. Jamie believes these efforts may be a diversion from spending time with him or a distraction from their goal.

E: They both seem to be on solid ground to me as the episode opens.

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In the book, Jamie brings along Fergus, Willoughby and six of his smugglers —and only one, Duncan Innes, is from Ardsmuir. Since we met Lesley and Hayes in Ardsmuir and then again in Edinburgh all those years later, we thought it would be fun to bring them along on this journey (though less fun for Hayes who—spoiler alert—doesn’t have the best time on the Artemis).

~ Shannon Goss, Outlander Community

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M: Interesting to see some of the men from Ardsmuir Prison. They will be loyal and true friends to Jamie, Mac Dubh to them.

E: Yeah, but Hayes almost let something slip. That reveal will be something else.

A-R: Yes, it will. However, I find it interesting they mentioned the term “indentured slave”. Most of the Scottish were indentured servants not slaves in this era. I’m nervous that this line plays into the white nationalist narrative that tries to label forced labor for seven years followed by freedom for the Scottish and Irish as “white slavery”. I might be overthinking this short throwaway line, but I’ve also had tons of arguments with period drama fans who buy into this false history.

[V: I don’t think you are overthinking it at all. You are correct; they were NOT slaves, but servants or laborers. The property term should have been used. An indentured servant, by definition, is an employee (indenturee) within a system of unfree labor who is bound by a signed or forced contract (indenture) to work for a particular employer for a fixed period of time, as is the case with Murtagh and the men from Ardsmuir and possibly Laoghaire, if they’d had a trial and she was found guilty. Once they have completed the contract time, they are free to go and they sometimes received land!

Slaves (chattel) were individuals forcibly and legally owned as property and given no contract, time length or remuneration. If the Civil War had not happened, we would probably all still be in bondage! So no, it’s NOT “white slavery” at all!]

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Turns out sailors are a superstitious bunch. One of the most common superstitions is that if you don’t touch the iron horseshoe on the ship, you’re in for an arduous journey. In the book, there was a subplot of someone from Jamie’s crew trying to kill or betray him. However, we’ve changed that character’s storyline in the show, so we dropped that in order to make more out of the superstitions of the time (many that live on today) with the story of Hayes being labeled the Jonah and taking the blame for all that went wrong during this voyage.

~ Shannon Goss, Outlander Community

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A-R: A few of these shots feel like Pirates of the Caribbean WITH SCOTTISH ACCENTS. 😉 The horse shoe incident is a good way to highlight Claire’s journey in getting used to the way 18th Century misogyny works. These weird traditions also highlight the lack of understanding of science and natural phenomena.

E: The Artemis sets sail . . .

Jamie seems good…for now.

You should touch the horseshoe, Sassenach. ‘Tis bad luck no to do it.

E: Don’t forget to touch the horseshoe now Claire. Superstitions follow Claire everywhere in the 18th century.

If it will make you happy.

Ever watchful, aren’t ye, Capt. Raines?

Women bring bad luck on ships . . .
Redheads as well.

M: So women and redheads are bad luck? If the sailors had watched the series, they’d be shaking in their shoes knowing the misfortune that follows Jamie and Claire!

V: Aye, don’t get to cozy and comfortable just yet, Sassenach!

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It’s great for me to play a woman from that time, the 18th century, who totally non-conforms to her society and goes against everything a woman should be at that time, and just does what she wants and rebels, and goes after what she wants, and is so brave, and there are not many characters on TV doing that.

~ Lauren Lyle, DigitalSpy

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E: As soon as they try to settle in, here comes Fergus and . . . Marsali.

What’s she doing there?  Married? Hand fasted? I wonder who those witnesses were. Leslie and Hayes perhaps? We may never know.

M: That is what I was saying . . . Surprise! Fergus is married! Hah!

E: Marsali is very stubborn. She’s not going anywhere. Poor Jamie. Damned if he does; damned if he doesn’t. How does he fix this?

M: I love this Marsali girl!

She has about 16 different ways to give Claire drop dead looks.

A-R: Marsali = SASS QUEEN OF THE SEAS!

I know that she hates Claire, but I LOVE HER!

E: The respect Fergus shows Jamie is that of a father and son relationship. Even in the face of his love, he corrects her and pays Jamie and Claire the respect they are both due.

M: Yes, he does and was too pleased to tell her to not speak about milady that way. He’ll need a whip and a chain to manage that spitfire! I loved when Jamie said, “She’ll have me killed.”

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Cait has been a guiding light, she imparts constant wisdom and any questions she is there to answer, her and Sam are like a unit, they are around set and amazingly positive.

~ Lauren Lyle, DigitalSpy

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E: Loved Claire’s reaction. “Go inside. You are going to be sick. After 20 years you want me to share a room with her?” Her humor is spot on.

E: No one will bed anyone. Both Claire and Marsali have a fit.

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He doesn’t have the greatest sea legs, but they find a way to make it work.

 ~ Sam Heughan, TV Insider

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M: Poor Jamie. He’s always a little leery of what she’s handing him, no matter that he trusts her.

E: Poor Jamie is right. He is suffering, but drinking Claire’s ginger tea does nothing for him.

A-R: That’s true, but my focus was on the clothes from Lallybroch – you know me, Mz. Cosplay.

YAY! I’m glad a proper explanation of the gold dress was weaved into the episode.

Although the items may have been borrowed by Marsali and others at Lallybroch, Jamie still cared deeply about his life with Claire in Paris. I was about to write a massive rant, but now I can save my energy for recreating it!

M: I couldn’t believe there was a chest of clothes! This was a good way for the writers to get Claire in to some different clothes this season! Thank goodness too . . . That Bat Suit must be getting rank!

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E: As per usual, there is an emergency and Claire goes to tend to it the men.

There we go with no locks on the door and people just coming right on in!

And, there’s more talk of superstition.

Claire has had her fill of this line of conversation.

I’m sure you believe that madam,
but when you’ve been at seas as long as we have . . .
Well, ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio . . . .”

“. . . than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
Shakespeare was a very wise man.

M: Whether he believes or not, he’s enforcing the superstition as truth, despite his ability to quote Shakespeare. He seems surprised Claire knows the lines.

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E:  This exchange between Fergus and Jamie was heartwarming. Jamie is mistaken if he thinks he has not raised a child. There he is in front of you. Jamie may not have sired him, but Fergus is the man he is today because of Jamie.

A-R: Isn’t that the truth. Fergus really cares for Marsali. He’s willing to put his past behavior and his desire aside. I have a feeling he fell for her because her personality is quite similar to Claire’s.  All of the clapback and snark are making me like her even more! Jamie believes that Laoghaire is going to kill him if she finds out.

If you were forced to marry milady, then I am
forced to breathe; my heart, it is forced to beat.
You yourself have told me – you didn’t need time.
Nor do I.

E: Fergus knows Jamie and Claire’s story well that he gives it back to him defending his love of Marsali. “If you were forced to marry Milady, then I’m forced to breathe;” meaning, she is his oxygen. He is quite the wordsmith. And even after that, Jamie’s answer is still no.

M: Aw, Fergus speaks so poetically as he throws Jamie’s own words back at him.

But, Jamie is having anything to do with it.

Does waiting really mean something?

I’m not sure, but I believe Fergus believes it.

E: I loved this exchange.

No secrets between you two, if you truly love her. That was the message here.

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This scene was added as we built up the superstition story of the episode as a way to establish Captain Raines’ views on the matter along with his opinion of Claire and her place aboard the ship.

~ Shannon Goss, Outlander Community

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E: Claire and the captain have dinner. She gets quite the education on a sailor’s superstition.

I simply wish to help you, Mistress Fraser . . .
To understand the rigors of life at seas and gain
the crew’s respect as ship’s surgeon, you must
put yourself in their shoes. After all, on
this ship, your very presence is ill luck.

A-R: Finally, Claire’s wearing something other than the Bat Suit!

Claire is struggling so hard with the lack of rationality in the 18th century. The Doldrums are an actual weather pattern, not a sign of a curse or bad luck.

M: Seriously, I think the Captain believes all of it. He confirms it, “thinking something makes it so.”

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M: Jamie’s vomiting sounded too darn realistic, while I was sitting there trying to eat my sandwich.

E: Willoughby to the rescue.

M: Yes, and he is quite persuasive.

A-R: I like how the show re-framed Yi Tien Cho. He’s less of a magical person of color trope and more of a man trying to survive in a world that is radically different than where he came from.

E: The description of the consequences of this constant vomiting causes Jamie great concern. Jamie lets him heal him.

M: Well, whatever he has planned, I bet Jamie is going to agree to do it. No man wants the “snip snip.”

V: We don’t blame you Jamie. After that conversation, we’d be throwing up too!

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M: I just adore Marsali, all spit and vinegar, and none of the pathetic annoyance of her mother.

Claire seen a smart aleck teenage girl before, spent quite a few years with one, actually. So Marsali isn’t scaring her!

You drop out of the clear blue sky,
sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, ruining
my family. And now, you’re minding your own business.

A-R: Claire and Marsali definitely have some work to do on their relationship. The cabin scene was a great combo of in-law issues and a cat fight. It’s too easy for the audience to hate Marsali, but it must be kept in mind that she has only heard bad things from her mother, Laoghaire, about Claire.

Also she blames Claire’s arrival for leaving her mother without a male in the household. I’m sure Fergus told her he loves Milady Claire, but it will take a while for the trust to return. Claire is also distrustful because all she’s seeing is a Baby Laoghaire. The more Marsali can prove she’s a different person, the more Claire will turn down the snark.

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[V: OMG, Jon Gary Steele and crew are brilliant. Though the Captain focused on the bare-breasted statue warding off bad luck, that’s the statue from the French brothel in S2 – just brilliant!]

E: Jamie is so well-healed that the next morning Claire finds him enjoying his breakfast in the galley.

Glad she is pleased.

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[V: Jamie couldn’t care less that Marsali is fine with Fergus’ past dalliances, though I am sure he is glad Fergus told her.

You can tell by the way he is gritting his teeth that the two of them are racking his nerves with getting his marriage consent.]

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It’s great for me to play a woman from that time, the 18th century, who totally non-conforms to her society and goes against everything a woman should be at that time, and just does what she wants and rebels, and goes after what she wants, and is so brave, and there are not many characters on TV doing that.

~ Lauren Lyle, DigitalSpy

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M: I’m noticing how Claire is pulling Jamie aside when she wants to disagree with him. She’s still not the meek and obedient type, but she’s following 18th century rules. Hah, Jamie doesn’t know what fizzle is, but he’s certain he doesn’t want any fizzling out between his adopted son and his stepdaughter!

Not sure why he’s being so stubborn. Out of some misguided loyalty to Laoghaire?

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Love these shots through the spyglass.

M: Ah, Mr. Willoughby’s a poet. And like most poets, he can’t help but write it, even though his superstition prevents him from sharing it.

And, I love his theme music. It is haunting and mysterious like the title theme.

E: I’m loving Willoughby. He has a true friendship with Claire.

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The days started blending in together.

For me, this meant tending to minor injuries . . .

. . . and making medicines.

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Being on the ship, at sea, with
endless horizons appealed to me. . .

E: The men are happy and singing . . . this is such a lovely scene. I almost thought Claire was going to join in. Oh Jamie has to see this.

It reminded me of a simpler time.

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E: So this is why Jamie doesn’t get seasick anymore?!  Acupuncture. Well, so long as he is well.

M: So there’s proof that the story wants us to believe their relationship is still not on stable ground. Jamie doesn’t tell her about the acupuncture because he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings or think she should not be there.

A-R: The acupuncture treatment was borne out of the old ways aren’t working, let’s try something new and Jamie’s stubbornness.

I actually expected they would delete the scene, but it feels less of a contrived solution compared to the novel.

Jamie and Claire appear to be the only ones who are respectful of cultural differences.

We’re no moving.

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E: Why have they stopped moving?  No wind?

The superstition is real here. Who didn’t touch the horseshoe? It’s all your fault. This is a bit much.

We have lost the wind, Mr. Fraser.

M: That one sailor looked disappointed when another sailor verified Mr. W. had touched the horseshoe. I think he wanted a sacrificial lamb, and of course the foreigner is the perfect scapegoat.

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We always referred to this as the “man in the moon,” scene in the writers’ room, but as the scene took shape, once Brianna was brought up, it seemed like a logical place Claire’s mind would go to is the children’s classic Goodnight Moon. I’ve read it to my kids dozens and dozens of times and was happy to see that it was published in 1947, so it was definitely something Claire could have read to baby Brianna.

~ Shannon Goss, Outlander Community

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M: Aww . . . Jamie and Claire have a Titanic moment in the bow of the ship – a sweet moment before everything gets much, much worse.

E: Loved this scene between them on the deck at night.

A-R: Well, this scene was definitely for the fans who complained there was a real lack of romance in the past few seasons.

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There are also much quieter, more emotional moments.

~ Caitriona Balfe, TV Insider

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E: Talk of the moon reminds Claire of Brianna. Good Night Moon. You can see the longing for her daughter all over her face.

M: Just think, the book, Goodnight Moon was relatively new when Claire was reading it to Brianna.

Goodnight moon.
Goodnight cow jumping over the moon.
Goodnight light . . .
and the red balloon.

E: I can’t imagine the pain of being away from any of my children and not being able to see them, touch them or smell them. Just thinking about it has me tearing up.

M: I’m glad they mentioned poor Brianna here! It would be terrible for any mother to leave their child… at 10, or 20, or even 40!

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But our luck did not improve.

E: How long has it been since they moved?

And once again, days turned into weeks.

Three weeks!  My word.

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E: More bad luck…barrels of drink have gone to waste.

How gross. Rats floating in the boat.

You’re not long for this world – – Jonah.

I dinna think I touched it.

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We love seeing Jamie back in his glasses.

We’ve been two weeks without wind.

 

 

The men are calling for a Jonah.

What, the crew want to throw someone overboard?

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E. I could tell the crew has had it.

They are ready to take matters into their own hands and throw someone over board to reverse this bad luck.

Why do they keep calling him Jonah? His name is Hayes.

[V: To sailors, “a Jonah” is basically a person whose presence on the ship brings them bad luck. Because they don’t know if Hayes touched the horseshoe, they think he has brought them bad luck and want to throw him overboard.]

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M: There it is . . . why Jamie is the Mac Dubh to his men.

He is willing to climb up there without a moment’s thought, when no one else would!  Will the Ardsmuir men believe him? This episode is all about beliefs, isn’t it?

E: Jamie to the rescue. Check out the athletic ability of Sam. Up the ropes he goes. It must be those Batman days coming back to him.

A-R: How did they film this daring rescue? Poor Hayes.

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We looked into it. But finding a trained pelican is not easy. [Laughs] We definitely looked. We looked into the practical, finding a pelican, training it and having it work with the actor. We couldn’t find one when we were down in South Africa. We looked into visual effects and we just didn’t have the time to add in all the ships and a pelican. These are the hard choices we have to make: did we want to have Jamie and Claire on a ship, or did we want to do a pelican? We have to tell the Jamie and Claire story before we can tell Mr. Willoughby’s pelican story. We’re doing two full episodes in a row on ships and that entails a lot of green screen on a back lot in South Africa and everything you see is visual effects: all the water, all the movement. We spend a lot of time on those little details.

~ Matthew B. Roberts, Hollywood Reporter

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A-R: Birds have been used in the episodes quite a few times.

The bird as a symbol that The Doldrums are over works on so many levels.

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These shots and actors’ performances were incredible.

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[V: Fergus is always there to protect milord!]

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We try to keep with the spirit of the story of the book. And we want to keep Jamie’s seasickness because that’s a big part of his character. But we also wanted to make sure we played out Mr. Willoughby’s story, so we felt [the horseshoe] helped to drive it and shows the mentality of the sailors, how they are looking for any excuse to explain their change, their luck. The story goes from one person being bad luck to finding another good luck charm. It ends up being Mr. Willoughby.

~ Matthew B. Roberts, EW

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I was born Yi Tien Cho in Guangzhou, the City of Rams.

I was found early to have skill in composition, to make the
images of my brush resemble the ideas that danced like cranes
within my mind.

E: The crew insists Hayes must go over. Once again, Willoughby to the rescue.

M: I love that he’s decided to tell his story!

I became known as the fung-wong, the
bird of fire, and rose quickly in merit, so
that before my twenty sixth birthday, my
poetry came before my eyes of Wan-Mei, the
Emperor’s Second Wife. She asked that I join
her household in Pekin, the Imperial City.

A-R: Yi Tien Cho’s monologue is the most compelling scene in the entire episode. I was initially confused about it, but I was sold because of the depth of emotion portrayed.  “Once I tell the story, I have to let it go”.

His story is one of unimaginable pain and loss, and meeting Jamie was not just an escape it was also a coping mechanism. On the ship, he’s constantly the subject of race fail. His voyage so to speak is making peace with the past as well as the negativity all around him in the West.

It was a great honor – to have a
house of my own, my name inscribed
in the Book of Merit … but there
is a condition of service. All servants
of the royal wives must be eunuchs.

Snip . . . snip!

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It was most dishonorable to refuse the
Emperor’s gift. It was . . . a death
sentence. And yet, I had fallen in
love with . . . woman.

The Emperor’s wife?

 

 

Not a woman. All women. Their beauty,
blooming like lotus flowers . . . I wrote
all my poems to woman. The taste of
their breasts like apricots. The warm scent
of a navel in the winter, the warmth
of a mound that fills your hand like a ripe peach.

M: My goodness, he does love women, doesn’t he? Women’s body parts are like fruit, huh? Okay.

I fled on the Night of Lanterns. As
the fireworks shot from the palace roof,
I left my house . . . and came to a place
where the golden words of my poems
are taken for the clucking of hens and
my brushstrokes for their scratchings.

A-R: The racism he experiences is purely framed in 18th century terms and not modern stereotypes. He’s not a punchline anymore; he is a man with deep emotions.

For the love of woman, I am come to a place
where no woman is worthy of love. To a place where
women are coarse and rank as bears, creatures of no
grace, and these women disdain me as a yellow worm,
so that even the lowest whores will not lie with me

By not surrendering my manhood, I have lost
All else – – honor, livelihood, country, love.

M: I love Mr. Willoughby here, so dignified in the prejudice. Though he expressed his own prejudices against the “coarse” women of his new home.

E: I LOVED that they keep his story intact.

Sometime, I think . . . not worth it.

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E: I thought for sure that he was going to dive in the water.

M: Lots of poetry in this episode! He lets the pages go – he’s sacrificed his precious story for the others!  Again, another illusion to beliefs –  the bird flying low.

A-R: I was so sad that he threw the poems and papers away at the end, but it was great symbolism for moving forward.

We have wind!

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We always really loved Willoughby’s monologue from the book and wanted to preserve as much of it as made sense in our story—and fortunately, we got a lot of it! In our version, we liked tying it to the Hayes storyline and giving Willoughby the win. And in doing so, not only does he do a solid for Hayes, but he also proves to the men on the ship who might be reticent to trust him as an “outsider,” that he—like them—is just a man who wants to taste apricot-flavored breasts. 😉

~ Shannon Goss, Outlander Community

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M: I am glad Claire thanked him because she knows what he gave up by telling his story.

How did you know?

When seon tin jung fly high, means the air is light,
dry, no rain. When he fly low . . .

. . . the air is heavy, rain is coming.

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E: Finally, here comes the rain and the much-needed wind.

M: Rain! Yay!

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E: All that excitement, Jamie and Claire find some much-needed alone time.

You could see the longing they had for each other in their eyes.

M: Yeah, guess they figured they’d get a quickie!

Whoa, they aren’t the only ones that are getting hot around here!

Look at Claire grabbing on to that netting for more leverage!

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E: I loved their cuddle time.

E: King of Men is right Claire.

M: The romantic heart of Outlander is encapsulated in both the quickie and cuddling scenes. This is a love for all time. Isn’t this why we love Outlander?

What is between them never changes! Jamie shares his way with words (not to be outdone by Willoughby and Fergus, I guess).

The show acknowledges the fans adoration of Jamie by tossing in the King of Men line.

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[V: We spy a British ship!]

[V: These people never catch a break . . . N-E-V-A-H!]

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[V: I really liked this scene. Jamie is quick in his thinking by telling Claire the British can request the services of any English subject and what to do if he is taken.

I can’t imagine what was going through Claire’s mind when Jamie added, if he is taken, she will have to stay on board and continue the search for Young Ian.

But, the pain of such a thing happening, being separated from him again, is written all over her face.]

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The Porpoise

I am Captain Thomas Leonard of His
Majesty’s ship the Porpoise.

We suffered an outbreak of
an infectious plague.

 

Have you a surgeon on board?

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E: Captain Leonard is desperate for help.

Of course she knows what the issue is.

M: Yikes, the blazing shits sounds like the worse part … worse than the dying part!

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M: Now Jamie is the one who drags Claire away before disagreeing with her decision to board the plague ship in front of others.

[V: They JUST got back together and he is probably terrified of letting her go. I don’t blame him at all. And, he is probably worried that something bad will happen, because usually . . . it does.]

M: They think they still need to get to know each other again. But it seems they know each other pretty well!

A-R: Claire being separated by her Hippocratic duty to care for those in distress returns the suspense factor to the episode.

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[V: There Jamie is tapping his finger again. He’s already worried, and she just left. Can’t blame him on this one!]

I won’t take my eyes off that ship
until you return.

 

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E: Off she goes to save the day…again. It seems as though Claire has forgotten that when they are apart, bad things happen.

The sick bay is gross. I can only imagine the smell. Claire’s face says it all . . . all closed in with no air circulating.

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The on-set writer/producer, Luke Schelhaas, had the privilege of—among other things—making this action line a reality. Thus, multiple conversations about how much barf and poop there should be in the sick bay. Not to mention rats, rashes and sloppy water. You’re welcome, Luke!

~ Shannon Goss, Outlander Community

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M: Ugh! The sounds as Claire goes below deck, and the look on her face. I can almost smell it too. Glad I was finished with my sandwich at this point. I wasn’t sure if those sounds are vomiting or the blazing shits! Not sure if I want to know either!

A-R: I was trying not to barf too. Hearing and seeing these men barf was making me sick.

M: Hmmm. I’m curious why the music changed so much when Mr. Pound was introduced. He looks very young!

A-R: Many of these sailors look like teenage boys, which is very realistic for the time.

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M: The ship is taking OFF!

The British officers are NEVER trustworthy in this show!

The truth is I am desperate. You
may be our only chance. Both our ships are sailing
to Jamaica . . .

I’ve had a message conveyed
to Captain Raines and promised him His
Majesty’s Navy will provide accommodation
for you until you are able to rejoin the Artemis.

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M: So, I agree with you Erica. That is another enduring Outlander theme: Nothing good ever happens when Jamie and Claire are apart!

E: Yes, nothing good ever does. And, just like that . . .

. . . she’s taken away.

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Episode Rating (1-5): 4 – Shots

We give this episode 4-shots. It would have been an epic episode, if there were more action scenes before the arrival of the typhoid fever ship. The slower than usual pacing was great for the emphasis on the emotional situation, but probably was too distracting an element for people who didn’t read the books.

It was exciting to see the sea adventure and we felt as if we were on the Artemis along for the ride! This episode allowed the audience to get to know Marsali and Yi Tien Cho (Mr. Willoughby) better. As for the latter, we thought his monologue, telling his story, was the strongest scene of the episode. Gary Young’s performance was outstanding – real, raw and full of emotions. We felt his pain and social ostracism of being in a strange land, never being accepted by its inhabitants or ever loved by a woman. Speaking of acting chops, we have to give it to Lauren Lyle. She has truly brought Marsali to life with some spunk and we actually like her! Both of them did an amazing job, as well as César Domboy, who truly embodies Fergus. We loved the father/son talk he and Jamie had; we were also convinced he is really in love with and cares for Marsali.

This season follows the book closer than the previous seasons and we appreciate it. David Moore (director) and Shannon Goss (writer) did an amazing job. Once again, we appreciated the exterior shots (of the ship and water) that were used as transitions to different scenes or to indicate the passage of time. We also understand about time constraints. It is very likely the pacing issue was the result of editing rather than the writing.

And the new addition to the Skye Boat song . . . what more can we say besides Bear McCreary is brilliant. His addition of Afro-Cuban percussion encapsulates that the last few episodes will certainly not take place Scotland and are more akin to the rhythm and flow of Jamaica. It sets the tone for a new location and new people (Black people – yes, we are excited!) who have similar, yet different, cultures and beliefs.

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LOOKING FORWARD

What we are looking forward to in the upcoming episode.

Amanda:  I am hoping Claire’s absence allows Jamie a chance to get Marsali to see that for all of these years she has only heard Laoghaire’s flawed point of view on Claire. I’m also hoping for a flash scene to wherever Ian is at this moment.

Erica:  Based upon the clips for Epi10, Claire and Jamie are about to kick some serious ass to get back to each other. I wonder if a certain person is on board the ship or if that will be a changed. Keep up the great work Outlander. Each episode just gets better and better. At this rate, the season finale will be off the hook.

Marva: Once again, I’m looking forward to Jamie and Claire getting back together in the next episode! I hope we don’t have to wait too long this time!

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Up next:

Outlander S3 Epi10 Preview – Heaven & Earth ~ Video via AresPromo

Directed by David Moore      Written by Luke Schelhaas