Claire started to lose hope that she’d find a way to get back to Frank in Outlander Season 1, Episode 3. The Way Out showed us far more than that. Here’s a look at the best moments from the episode.
Outlander Season 1, Episode 3 focused on Claire’s hope of escape. Figuring out a way to get into Colum’s good graces, she focused her efforts on medicine. However, it started to backfire.
Just as she started to lose hope that she’d get out of the 18th century, that hope was renewed through a song. Here are my favorite moments from Outlander Season 1, Episode 3, titled “The Way Out.”
5. Showing 18th-century punishment
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It’s easy to forget the past. Rather than wash over some of the most distressing moments, Diana Gabaldon has made a point of including elements. In “The Way Out,” it was all about the punishments.
A young boy was threatened with the loss of his hand because he stole some bread. Nobody looked into why he was stealing the bread. That didn’t matter. He was a thief and he confessed–we won’t go into whether that confession was coerced or not.
The episode showed us Claire’s reaction to that punishment. She was aghast that a boy would lose his hand for stealing a few loaves of bread. Of course, she doesn’t know the full story, but it is how many of us would likely react to finding out a hand would be chopped and she worked on getting that sentence reduced.
It took three episodes to show up 18th-century punishment. And it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
4. Seeing Jamie as a more empathetic man
While the rest of the crowd jeered and laughed at the boy, Jamie had a little compassion. Maybe he knew the boy or knew a bit more of the story. Plus, being on the run, he would have understood the need to steal the bread.
Whatever the reasoning, we saw Jamie as a more empathetic man than the rest of the village people. All Claire had to do was ask and he helped the young Tanner boy get off the pillory. Of course, Claire had her part to play as well.
Part of this wasn’t overly believable until you realize later that Jamie had been in love with Claire at this point. He would do anything for her and this was just a hint of the things to come and the feelings to blossom between the two.
3. Claire trying to set up Laoghaire and Jamie
I know this isn’t a favorite moment for many because they hate Laoghaire, but I liked this. Claire tried her hardest to set up a conversation between the two and attempted to encourage Jamie to talk to Laoghaire more. Laoghaire tried her hardest to go with the flow and engage Jamie in more conversation.
Bless, Jamie was either completely oblivious to the attempts or knew it but just wasn’t interested. I’m going with a mixture of both. He didn’t quite realize everything Claire was doing but was too interested in Claire to even give Laoghaire a second glance.
This moment is also important. It shows Laoghaire’s feelings for Jamie and the infatuation, setting up everything to come later.
2. Claire knowing her herbs and medicine
Claire just takes one look at what everyone believes in wood garlic to figure out that it’s not. We knew she had an interest in bottony but its in this moment of Outlander Season 1, Episode 3 that she really shows just how much she knows.
There are times that she acts a little dumb for the time, but that can be brushed off as just not understanding the country’s history that much. She’s not a historian and has shown very little interest in Frank’s love for the topic.
However, when she does excel at something, it shines through. This is a sign of things to come and it’s what I love so much about it.
She continues this by showing off her medicinal skills. Now that’s she’s diagnosed Colum, she knows how to treat him to soothe the pain. When she figures out what she’s dealing with in Thamas, she’s able to treat him.
1. The story of the song
Finally, it’s the end of Outlander Season 1, Episode 3. Claire and Jamie listen to the latest song and Jamie translates it all. At this point, she’s lost her hope of getting back to Frank. As a miracle worker, Colum would never allow her to leave the castle.
Claire doesn’t even know if the stones would let her back through. She’s just hoping at this moment and with hope of getting back to the stones gone, other hope is lost.
That is until the song. We get to hear of the folktale; of the story of the woman who did go through the stones. It’s happened before and it can happen again.
What were your favorite moments of Outlander Season 1, Episode 3? Which bits of “The Way Out” stood out for you? Share in the comments below.
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