[This is not a spoiler-free review of the episode. If you have not seen the episode yet, read it at your own spoiler risk.]
Episode 712: “Carnal Knowledge” and Episode 713: “Hello, Goodbye”
712 – Written by Toni Graphia, Directed by Lisa Clarke
713 – Written by Madeline Brestal & Evan McGahey, Directed by Jan Matthys
The last two episodes loaded up the Outlander content for fans. “Carnal Knowledge” followed the aftermath of Jamie’s return, William’s new knowledge, and Lord John Grey’s finding out. “Hello, Goodbye” continued with Jamie and Claire’s story and the union of Rachel and Ian, finally returning to the missing Jemmy story from Roger and Brianna’s perspectives.
“Carnal Knowledge” has a lot to do with Jamie (Sam Heughan) because he is the cause of everything that happens in the episode—his supposed death, return, and being William’s (Charles Vandervaart) real father. Yes, Jaime is the ultimate root of this episode, but do not forget that it is Claire’s (Caitriona Balfe) fault. Everything would be different if she had not passed secret messages to the Rebels while in a British-controlled area. She would not have married Lord John Grey (David Berry) because she would not have been in harm’s way.
There is a lot of self-righteousness present in the episode. No one takes ownership of the problems but lays the blame on others for their actions. Think about it. Jamie is angry at Lord John and Claire. Claire is angry at Jamie (much less so). Lord John is angry at Jamie, and William is angry at Lord John and Jamie. The only one who has some leeway in anger is William because he is an innocent bystander. He is not so innocent in how and what he takes his pent-up frustrations doing around town. However, he is very much playing a petulant, rich boy in his reactions, like someone who has never taken accountability for his actions. His now-revealed true father, Jamie, is the only one who puts him straight, even if it is only situational.
This episode also revealed the backbone of Lord John. I do not remember any such wit and backtalk from previous episodes. God knows getting the s*it pummeled out of his eye does not help his demeanor. While it was nice to see some spice in Lord John’s actions, he is still a high-born, wealthy man who does not hang around with those lower in station than him, and it shows. While he is a prisoner of the Rebels, I feared for his life with his demanding nature and looking down at others. At least Denzell (Joey Phillips) came around to treat him and calmed him down a bit. He also has Denny to thank for his escape attempt.
The final conversation between Jamie and Claire in “Carnal Knowledge” is long, and the show does not give these characters quality time with each other, even when they need to discuss a significant upheaval in their lives. They had to discuss everything that happened, and I do not think Jamie really comprehended what occurred because of his “death.” Claire had to resort to telling him of thinking of killing herself for it to sink in for him. What bothered me in this episode was the lack of acknowledgment that a marriage occurred between Lord John and Claire. Would it have made things better or worse for Jamie, Claire, and Lord John?
In “Hello, Goodbye,” the audience returns to Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Roger’s (Richard Rankin) search for Jemmy (Blake Johnston-Miller) in their respective timelines. Roger and Buck (Diarmaid Murtagh) realize how close they are to the time portal of the dam in present times, which in actuality is a stone circle in the time they currently inhabit. They find a stone circle, more belongings of Roger’s father, and news of this person causing a ruckus in the nearby village. Buck and Roger locate Jerry (Nicholas Ralph) in the nearby wood. Unfortunately, they do not have time to talk because of the mob of people looking for Jerry. Suffice it to say, they send Jerry back to some time with proper instructions and a jewel. Roger has a flash of memory of his father that comes to him, but not much else. Roger also realizes that he screwed up when they ended up by thinking about his father at the last second before going through the stones.
Brianna plays a game of hot and cold with Mandy (Rosa Morris) to find Jemmy while Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) is held prisoner in the priest’s hole back at home. What’s funny is that Jemmy is able to get himself out of his captivity on his own, considering he is in the same place his mother told him about. There was some trepidation that he would time travel to another time, and the show certainly played that up well with the editing.
I loved seeing Fiona (Iona Claire) again as she came to help the Mackenzies again. The episode foreshadows an upcoming predicament with Brianna back home alone and a missing Rob. Perhaps Roger and Buck return in time after they decide Jemmy is not in the 1700s anymore. Buck is still holding his chest in the last shot, which does not make me confident in his health. A lively return to the 1980s may improve his condition.
While the Quaker marriage of Ian (John Bell) and Rachel (Izzy Meilke-Small) was endearing and slightly comical, what was not needed was the extended scene of their marital night. It was unnecessary, and the time the show spent on this could have been devoted to something else. I might be in the minority that this couple could be more in the background this season rather than taking turns as the story’s focus. As the show’s producers have said repeatedly, they have limited time to devote to the Outlander story—they need to pick and choose.
We return to Lord John briefly to show that the Rebels found him in the woods again. Luckily, it is different Rebels, and Lord John’s new story works with them.
George Washington (Gary Fannin), of all people, promotes Jamie to a Brigadier General after he delivers important letters from France. The Frasers are off to war again. Unfortunately, Jamie still has not absorbed what he did to Lord John. He is still in danger, and Jamie does not seem too behooved to rescue him, even though it is his fault.
I still cannot get over the structure of the latter half of the season. We skip whole episodes without mentioning characters, and then they return the next episode. The episodes continued to feel disjointed. If viewers saw all eight episodes at once, it may come off differently. An hour a week of this last half of the season does not flow well, week to week. There are still issues of vagueness concerning how much time has passed from episode to episode or even scene to scene. There are three more new episodes left, and I hope there is some grander plan or a momentous finale to pay off for how this season has aired.
THIS WEEK, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27TH, AT 8 PM ET: EPISODE 714: “YE DINNA GET USED TO IT”
Synopsis: “The truth about Lord John Grey’s mysterious disappearance is revealed. Brianna faces off with the foes threatening her family.”
