5 things that made Outlander Season 4, Episode 2 better than the premiere

3. There was something more personal about the episode

I get that the attack on Claire and Jamie turned personal. Stealing Jamie’s ring and killing a friend was absolutely horrible and would have felt personal to Claire and Jamie. The problem is that for Bonnet, this wasn’t a personal matter.

It wasn’t that Claire and Jamie had wronged them. He is an opportunistic sociopath and able to make people bend to his will. He charms to work his way in and it works. Pirating the boat was just an opportunity for him.

When it came to the plantation, there was a more personal element to it. The feeling of owning people as property was abhorrent to Claire. She couldn’t stand by and watch a man die for what could have been a mistake — we never really learned the full story of what Rufus did.

Then Claire did everything she could to save a man’s life. She built a connection to Rufus and succeeded in saving him. It was all in vain.

Let’s not also forget that the mob was also coming after them. They knew these outsiders — these outlanders/sassenachs — had no intention of following the law of the land if left to their own devices.

The Frasers and their family were at risk because of something they did and something they believed in. They weren’t conned into helping a man but fully believed this man deserved their help. It was far more personal and meant far more.