"Speak of the Devil and he appears."
Hello everyone!
Droughtlander might be coming closer, but it isn't THAT close yet, so we still have something to look forward to every Sunday, and escaping into 18th century North Carolina sounds like a pretty good deal, all things considered.
After all, even if we'd be dealing with locusts, wouldn't that mean we're at least outside AND communicating with other people?
With quarantine now pretty much all around us AND upon us, it's best if we leave real life to its own problems for a while, and escape three hundred years or so into the past.
After all, it's a whole lot more fun watching Jamie Fraser deal with all the problems heading his way (and the hilarities accompanying them), not to mention the fact that he just ALWAYS seems to end up in some kind of trouble.
Some people have all the luck - or no luck at all, depending on how you look at it.
Better to Marry than Burn is the sixth episode of Outlander this season, and it's absolutely worth taking a look at.
After you've caught up, let's take a look at Better to Marry than Burn.
The episode begins with another flashback, in which Jocasta Cameron, her husband, and her youngest daughter are fleeing the devastation after Culloden when they get stopped by two dragoons. It looks as though they may escape unscathed, since Hector Cameron has a pretty good grasp of the British accent, but unfortunately a mishap reveals stolen gold underneath the carriage, and the subsequent scuffle leaves both dragoons AND Jocasta's daughter dead.
This is the memory playing on a loop through Jocasta's mind as she prepares for her wedding - what number wedding is this, again? Three? Four? - to Duncan Innes, the social event of the season in North Carolina which has drawn known names from far and wide.
These include, but are not limited to Himself and Claire, here to celebrate their aunt's wedding, as well as Governor Tryon, who's being sent to New York, and a delightful surprise appearance by Lord John Grey.
Seeing him on screen always brightens my day because David Berry is just so handsome, and he portrays the lord so charmingly - especially when the poor man is beset on all sides by ladies of marrying age, and lamenting his fate to the Frasers.
Also, seeing all three of them martyr themselves to go greet Tryon is funny.
Of course not all of the visit can be friendly and social, because Tryon explains to Jamie that he's leaving behind a set of laws which will still enable to catch the Regulators, but they can maybe hope for some mercy if they give themselves up.
While her husband is debating how to explain to His Excellency that's not going to happen, his wife is having problems of a different kind.
Enter one Phillip Wylie, who in all honesty was a dandy when we first saw him back in season four, and remains a rake now when he spots Claire and zooms in on her. This eventually leads to a rather unsavoury encounter in the stables while he's showing off his Frieisan horse, Lucas, which ends with Jamie threatening his life (potentially his manhood).
In turn, this leads the Frasers to discussing Stephen Bonnet, whom Wylie could lead them to, which was what Claire had been attempting, by drawing Wylie into a scheme with alcohol production, although of course she managed to wound Jamie's pride in the process.
Short story shorter: one argument, two wedding rings and a game of whist later, the Frasers are still at odds with each other, but Jamie manages to not only safekeep the rings (which were his entry to the game), get Lucas off Wylie and then give him back for an introduction to Bonnet, and tells Claire to her face that she needs to stop thinking like a modern woman without worrying about consequences, which are very much more real in the 18th century than the 20th one.
This then leads into make-up sex in the stables, and a promise that Bonnet shouldn't take anything from them ever again.
And if you thought THAT was enough drama, think again.
Because Murtagh makes a surprise appearance, this time to ask Jocasta to wait for him, something he couldn't do the fist time around marriage with Innes had been discussed. Jocasta, however, denies him the pleasure, explaining that she knows men like Murtagh - they will always fight for an injustice they either believe to be true, or is actually true, but in any event will drag their women into the mess with them.
Also, he's too late.
Unfortunately, fan favourite Murtagh still manages to tug at our heartstrings with his profession of love, because what woman doesn't want to hear that?
"I love you, Jocasta Mackenzie. This world may change ... but that will never change."
UGH.
Side note, it's difficult to not root for Murtagh given how emotionally attached audiences are to him, whereas Duncan Innes seems to only have been introduced in this episode, or maybe one or two before, and it's hard to feel for him just yet. Characters need time to breathe, after all.
And while this is all going on ten days ride from Fraser's Ridge, what's the Ridge up to, you ask?
Well, a biblical plague of locusts, actually.
Yes, Roger and Bree are dealing with an infestation (and the adorableness of Adso the cat), which the local residents want to deal with by burning the fields, except what will they eat during the winter then? Roger is on shaky ground here - the men don't really respect him much at this point, so he needs to think on his feet, and fast.
Luckily, he remembers a story from his childhood, which leads to pots filled with manure and goose fat to get them smoking (and stinking) and an army of locals on the fields flapping at them to make sure the smoke covers pretty much everything and anything.
And in the end, it's worth it, because they manage to send the swarm elsewhere (and if you've never seen the first Mummy movie, please check it out BECAUSE IT'S ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME AND IT'S SCARY). This elevates Roger in the eye of the Ridge's inhabitants, and Bree isn't the only one with stars in her eyes when she looks at him.
But the idyllic atmosphere is bound not to last. There's one more appearance to cover for this episode.
Billy Boyd, you fool of a Took, why is your character meeting Stephen Bonnet?
Also, how and when was he told that Jemmy is Bonnet's son?
Because that's the topic of conversation between the two men - ale aside - when Bonnet is told Jemmy is now the owner of River Run, arguably the biggest plantation his side of the river.
Can anybody spell TROUBLE?
While most of the episode flower pretty naturally, I have to admit that the beginning felt disjointed and rough; at the end of last episode, Jamie returned to the Ridge, but no one ever mentions Jocasta's wedding, and it hasn't been mentioned since the potential of it during Roger and Bree's own nuptials, right at the start of the season. So viewers are suddenly thrown from the Ridge to River Run, and it just feels scattered.
On top of that, while the Wylie debacle was covered in the books - and Jamie's pride demanded he call the man out, too - the whole thing was definitely overshadowed by Claire's modern way of thinking in the show, which is a little bit silly. She's been here before, she knows how dangerous it is for women - and yet. Always 'and yet'.
The entire thing felt a little bit off on that note, but it seems to be moving in the direction of a confrontation with Bonnet, so that should prove some entertainment somewhere.
And with war looming, as promised by Tryon because none of the Regulators turned themselves in, I think we're going to see Jamie in a red coat soon enough.
Hearts around the world may very well break.
Until next week, clan!
xx
*images and video not mine
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