In this week in Outlander history: To Ransom a Man’s Soul & The Fox’s Lair
This week in history saw the first airing of the Outlander Season 1 finale and the first episode back in Scotland in Season 2. Here’s a look back to remember them.
This week in Outlander history has a mixed bag of episodes. The Season 1 finale aired, which remains one of the highest rated episodes of the whole show, although it’s not the easiest of viewings. Meanwhile, Season 2 had arguably the worst episode of the whole season. Maybe the worst episode of the show.
Here’s a look instead “To Ransom a Man’s Soul” and “The Fox’s Lair.”
Outlander Season 1, Episode 16: To Ransom a Man’s Soul
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I remember thinking the first time watching the last episode, “well, this escalated quickly.” There was a lot missing during the first season that was included in the book. Claire and Jamie did get a little more time together to be husband and wife in the book more than the series.
Also, bear in mind that I was a show-first fan. I just didn’t expect Jamie to be captured, raped, and tortured at the hands of Black Jack Randall by the end of the first season.
The Outlander Season 1 finale brought us one of the best episodes in terms of acting. You could feel everything Sam Heughan and Tobias Menzies felt–the pain, the fear, the need for control, the pride, everything was there. This was the moment I knew Heughan was an actor worth his salt (I’d already seen Menzies’ abilities in the past, but this episode confirmed it).
We got a series of flashes, as Jamie remembered the events in Wentworth between Claire being escorted into the dead body pile and the daring (and somewhat humorous) rescue attempt. During this episode, we saw the black in Jamie’s mind; everything Black Jack had done to him had affected him so deeply mentally that it wasn’t clear just how long we’d get him back.
This may be one of those episodes that is horrible to watch, but the direction, the writing, the acting, and the storytelling all come together in a beautiful way.
We did get to end with a happy ending. Jamie and Claire (and Murtagh) set sail to Paris. During that time, Claire tells Jamie one thing she suspected: she’s pregnant!
Outlander Season 2, Episode 8: The Fox’s Lair
The first episode back in Scotland in Outlander Season 2 didn’t give our couple much time for family life. While there was a little, this was the episode that set up the start of the Battle of Culloden. We knew it was coming, but did it have to come so quickly after “Faith?”
This wasn’t the greatest of episodes. In fact, it’s my worst of the whole season. There was a lot missing from Simon Fraser’s story that could have been interesting (the real Simon Fraser, that is) and then there was the Laoghaire storyline. I know the writers needed to make amends for Outlander Season 3, but the whole storyline fell flat. Throughout the episode, I wondered how long she was going to keep up the act! People don’t just change like that unless they’ve had a near-death experience or something else serious.
It was an important episode, though. It set up the reason for Jamie to head into Culloden and aim to succeed. This set up Jamie’s small army and gave us a character that looked like he could be important and never return (Young Simon!).
Next: Ranking Outlander Season 2 episodes from worst to best
What did you think of the two episdoes from this week in Outlander history? Which was your favorite of the two and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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