"Isn't this playing God?"
Hello everyone!
Our favourite Sassenach was back in full force this week, so of course we're going to be checking out exactly what she's been up to.
The problem with shows like Outlander is that they only air once a week, which means that you then need to wait ONE FULL WEEK before you can get to the next episode and see what happens after whatever sort of cliffhanger they decide to throw in your direction at the end of the current one.
Naturally, patience is a virtue, but also naturally, it doesn't necessarily come easy.
Still, the wait between episodes one and two is over, because this week, it was all about trying to find our footing in a world that's becoming more and more unsure, and definitely dangerous.
You'll recall that the book, The Fiery Cross, deals with the beginnings of the American Revolution.
Between Two Fires begins to set the stage for just that, so let's take a look at just what happened to all our favourite Frasers and Mackenzies, shall we?
The link to my recap for episode one can be found at the bottom of the page.
After safely securing the wedding (and baptism) of Brianna, Roger and Jemmy, Jamie now has to fulfill his oath to Governor Tryon, and it's more imperative than ever.
See, unfortunately for him, Murtagh has been going gung-ho with his Regulators, and has wreaked havoc on an unsuspecting town, where they dragged court and city officials out into the streets, beat them, then tarred and feathered them.
Now if you're thinking about the scene in Home Alone where Harry ends up feathered, sure, that was cute, but actually getting covered with tar is something else - because tar needs to be HOT to be melted ...
Ouch.
It's not just the citizens of the town who wish Claire was with Jamie when Jamie and Lieutenant Knox pop in to see just what's been going on.
In the usual kind of Outlander twist, Jamie and Knox are actually a lot more similar than one would think, because both of them are honourable men. Knox is simply quite devoted to the king, whereas Jamie has danced this particular jig before and he knows he needs to be extra careful - especially because several of the Regulators know his face, and he knows them.
This comes into full force when it's revealed that three of the Regulators were actually caught after the rioting, and by Murphy's Law there's a familiar face in there who could give Jamie away just as easy as breathing.
This gets derailed when a more loud-mouthed of them pisses off Knox to the point where, by blatantly lying he's Murtagh Fitzgibbons, Knox runs him through with his sword.
This is without giving him a proper trial, mind, so Jamie's alarmed, as well as he should be.
Still, he sneaks back into the jail during the night to release the other two, spittingly mad that Murtagh has stuck his neck out like this when he specifically told him to STAY HIDDEN AND HARD TO FIND. He also isn't about to be cowed by some Regulator yammering about proper sides, because Jamie's concern is for the people - hence why he's sending the two numbskulls back to Murtagh.
And while Knox admits to Jamie they may not have enough men in the local militia, even with the ones sworn to Himself at the wedding, thus sending Jamie off to gather more, the two messengers do in fact reach Murtagh.
Thankfully, there are leaders and there are rioters, and Murtagh is the former - he hears Jamie's message, loud and clear, and also affirms that his godson will fight on the side of the Regulators when the time does come, but that he needs to be careful. It's not just for himself that he's worried - it's for all the simple folk he has under his care at Fraser's Ridge.
Basically, not everything is black and white, and in these shades of grey we also have to remember Jamie's going to be putting on a red coat at some point, so there's much more drama where that came from!
And speaking of drama.
Roger can't shoot to save his life, no matter that Bree is attempting to teach him, but he's down in spirits because he feels Jamie doesn't trust him, not yet - and he wants to go back to their own time, unlike Bree, who believes they should stay where their family is.
Unluckily for her, Claire agrees with Roger - from a purely medicinal standpoint. She's worried something might happen to one of them which she can't prevent, as evidenced by what occurred prior to her checking Roger's vision (it remains to be seen whether they will still discover a more serious impediment preventing him from seeing clearly, as in the book).
And what happened, you ask?
A patient was rushed to her surgery, barely breathing, and with acute pain in his stomach. Unfortunately for him, his wife fed him mercury to try and cure him, which basically poisoned him to death, and Claire can't do anything but watch him pass.
But even as they bury the coffin, it turns out they don't actually bury the man himself - Claire has kept the body because she wants to confirm the cause of death.
She also needs an apprentice, and Bree obviously won't be it, she can't stomach any blood or gore. Meanwhile, Marsali is no stranger to butchering and slicing and dicing, because she's an 18th century woman and she needs to be able to know this stuff to feed her family, so Claire clues her in on the secret of the cadaver.
Initially horrified, because she's come to believe her mother-in-law is NOT, in fact, what Marsali's own mother's been shrieking all these years (read: witch), Marsali becomes intrigued when Claire explains that by studying the body, she can teach Marsali things she'd need to know as her apprentice, and she desperately needs one.
Thus securing the girl's help, Claire then sets out to combat her other opponent: the fact that people don't trust her as much as they would a "learned" doctor.
Side note: this is interesting because from what I can recall of other works from a similar era, or even later, doctors were not only notoriously hard to come by, but their medicinal approaches were often mistrusted by the simple folk because they were more used to going to a wisewoman, or the local midwife with their ailments, so by that logic Claire should have had no issues.
Simply put, she can't tell them that she actually IS a doctor, so she goes about it a different way - while Mrs. Bug believes that Herself has lost her mind with all the bread baking, Claire disagrees with her daughter about whether she's playing God, saying she's going to try and get herself a strain of penicillin that might help her with the people.
She also starts writing pamphlets in the name of a Dr. Rawlins, a male doctor (and incidentally the former owner of the chest Claire now possesses, with his diary, medicine and surgical instruments), full of useful advice for all the good people on the Ridge.
Eventually, Bree sits down to help her mother make copies of this, seeing some wisdom behind hiding under a male name.
It's definitely going to take some more than that before Claire can get a foothold with the situation, however, and the same goes for Jamie as he continues his struggle between the Crown and the Regulators.
And if that isn't trouble enough, an old familiar makes his appearance in this episode.
No, I'm not talking about Billy Boyd, although he WAS lovely to see. I'm talking about Stephen Bonnet.
Yes, the man we all love to hate is back, waging on some women bashing at each other, and apparently doing well for himself smuggling commodities in for wealthy patrons, although the true danger reveals itself when a young idiot calls him out to a duel. Bonnet not only wins said duel, but he mutilates the fellow's eyes, saying that he's now a father and needs to set an example that's different to simply killing.
Just in case you were wondering, this is the typical example of out of the frying pan - and into the fire.
With the episode closing on Stephen Bonnet, apparently intent on finding Bree and whom he believes is his child, we can't help but remember Black Jack Randall who plagued us for two full seasons and a part of the third in flashbacks. If there isn't one psychopath on the loose, it isn't Outlander.
So there you have it! We survived another episode. We now have different pieces in play and on the move, and the clouds are gathering above Fraser's Ridge.
What will Himself say once he discovers his wife is keeping a partly open cadaver in what looks to be a pantry? Will Claire manage to bury the body in time before her husband needs to cross himself? And more importantly, we're headed into the Beardsley cabin next week, so buckle your seatbelts everyone.
The bumpy right is only just beginning.
Until next week, clan!
xx
*images and video not mine
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