The Review at the End of the Universe
“Man of Worth” Outlander concludes its fourth season with a birth, a conclusion to the finding Roger plot and a massive change in circumstances for some of the characters. Sometimes it’s easy to forget just how much time passes between episodes or within the span of a single episode in this show. A lot of…
“Providence” Outlander focuses on Roger’s treatment at the hands of the Mohawk tribe as Brianna confronts Stephen Bonnet. I mentioned last week that this show has failed to correct the stated observation that fiction never tells stories from the perspective of the Native Americans and this episode does nothing to fix that issue. The narrative…
“If Not for Hope” Outlander splits up the characters between the search for Roger and Brianna dealing with Jocasta’s attempts to find her a husband. There seems to be two types of Outlander episode at this point. The first -and most effective- is the character driven outings that let plot progression take a back seat…
“The Deep Heart’s Core” Outlander clears up the misunderstandings that lead to some mistakes being made last week as Brianna makes an important decision. Another show that used to thrive on misunderstandings was Frasier; they were the basis of a large chunk of the episodes and were often used to set up hilarious situations that…
“The Birds & The Bees” Outlander finally delivers on the long awaited father/daughter meeting as Brianna deals with the aftermath of what happened to her last week. Brianna and Jamie’s first meeting has been a long time coming. The fact that they have never met has weighed on both of them as they have only…
“Wilmington” Outlander continues Roger and Brianna’s journey to find Fraser’s Ridge as they reunite in Wilmington and take their relationship to the next level. Giving Brianna and Roger a narrative this season has widened the scope of Outlander considerably. Instead of having one temporally displaced romance it now has two. This is a welcome addition…
“Down the Rabbit Hole” Outlander chronicles Brianna and Roger’s arrival in the past along with their attempts to reach North Carolina to find Fraser’s Ridge. Brianna having never met her real father has weighed on her ever since she found out about her true parentage. Recently learning that Claire and Jamie are fated to die…
“Blood of My Blood” Outlander focuses on the complexities of family as Jamie’s old friend Lord John Grey comes to Fraser’s Ridge. Last season saw Jamie father a child that he asked John Grey to raise in order to guarantee his son have a good life. At the time it was deeply difficult for Jamie…
“Savages” Outlander reintroduces an old friend while continuing to explore the tension between the settlers of North Carolina, those who claim to own the land and the indigenous population. I talked at length about the problematic nature of Claire and Jamie’s characterisation in “Do No Harm” during that review and this episode suggests it’s going…
“Common Ground” Outlander starts to look at the reality of Claire and Jamie building a life together in America including the hardships that will challenge them. The early part of this episode has a palpable sense of optimism to it. Claire and Jamie are both excited about building a home together from scratch in a…
