Claire faced her witch trial in Outlander Season 1, Episode 11. These are the top five thoughts I had while rewatching the episode.
On this day in history, Outlander Season 1, Episode 11 aired for the first time. Keeping tradition with looking back, I’m using today to look back at thoughts I’ve had while rewatching the episode.
More from Opinion
- Droughtlander suggestions: Check out Silo on Apple TV+
- Outlander season 7 episode 8 review: The Frasers are back in Scotland!
- Outlander Season 7 episode 7 review: Does Jamie die in Outlander?
- Outlander Season 7 episode 6 review: Claire meets William (again)!
- Outlander Season 7 episode 5 review: Does Young Ian have a son?
Titled “The Devil’s Mark,” this was an episode I was looking forward to. As a history fan, I’ve always been fascinated with the witch trials, especially around Scotland. I’m a show-first fan, so went into this episode knowing nothing about Geillis’ storyline, although I always knew there was something odd. Getting to rewatch knowing the full details made things much clearer.
And that leads me directly into my first thought.
5. Geillis’ story just wasn’t delved into enough
We didn’t get full confirmation about who Geillis was until the very end. And even then it was a rush job. Had it not been for Claire’s voiceover telling us about the smallpox vaccine, I wouldn’t have immediately known what her “devil’s mark” was. This could have been explained a little better — and it shouldn’t have taken a voiceover to do that.
I wished throughout the series up to this point that Geillis’ story had been delved into. Since reading the novel, I still didn’t get as much as I’d hoped and would love a novella about Geillis if it were to ever happen. She’s one of the most intriguing characters for me.
There were so many questions I had. My biggest was why she would even sacrifice herself for Claire. She says at one point “it was all for nothing,” but with how much research we find out she did, she must have known something like this was coming up. This part continues to strike me as a little odd for her character.
4. They wouldn’t have been taken straight to execution
Geillis was carried out at the end of the episode to be burned as a witch. This struck me the first time, but the more I rewatch, the more this part irritates me. Women weren’t taken straight from trial to their execution. They would have needed time to get the executioner in and get the site ready.
The judges would have never said to take both Geillis and Claire to be executed for witchcraft. It wouldn’t have been plausible and was clearly said for dramatic effect. Sure, there were some accounts of women being burned right away but then many of these accounts weren’t complete with even names possibly incorrect, so the timing may have been off.
In the majority of cases, Claire and Geillis would have been sent to the thieves’ hole.
3. I really wished Geillis had said something in the thieves’ hole
Claire says “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” It was the giveaway for Geillis that Claire was definitely from the past. And in this moment, I wished that Geillis had said something. They were both in the thieves’ hole at this point with only themselves to rely on and yet Geillis didn’t trust Claire one bit.
The line was the perfect time to bring things up. It would have avoided rushing everything as the crowd shouted at them in the courtroom.
One thing I did love at the start of the episode though was the fear in both Claire and Geillis. Geillis immediately started blaming Claire because it was the easiest thing to do. That was a natural reaction when stuck in the thieves’ hole.
2. Ned Gowan was sweet and kind
He didn’t need to but he turned up at the trial to help Claire. I think if it was only Geillis, he wouldn’t have bothered. However, Ned had bonded with Claire during their time collecting the rents. While they didn’t always see eye to eye, they had a mutal respect for each other.
This was a moment we got to see Ned in his element. He’d always been smart and we’d had the chance to see him find loopholes, but I loved getting a chance to see him act as a lawyer in a courtroom, defending someone he fully believed was innocent.
The perfect thing about Ned in this moment was the way he could cut down arguments but in a compassionate way at the same time. He managed to be considerate of the family that had lost their baby but make it look like Claire was innocent in her mistakes.
1. Lack of explanation of why Claire stayed
Some of the best moments in Outlander Season 1, Episode 11 involved Claire and Jamie after the witch trials. Claire finally told him the full truth and he fully believed her. I know in the novels he didn’t, but there wasn’t the time or budget to fully go into how Jamie saw things at the stones.
Moving on, we got the moment at the end of Claire making the decision of whether to go through the stones or not. I did notice during my rewatch that there was no buzzing at the stones right away, which really annoyed me for lack of continuity, but there’s always been something else that’s bugged me since even the first watch.
Claire returns to Jamie. She doesn’t say why and we don’t get to hear that she made the decision to stay. When I first watched, I always wondered if Claire had been able to go through the stones, whether she’d been stopped because it wasn’t the right time or because they just weren’t going to work.
Eventually, it was clear that she stayed because of her love for Jamie. I just wish that had been clear either at the very end of this episode or at the very start of the next episode. It would have only taken a “I chose you!” comment.
What have you thought while rewatching Outlander Season 1, Episode 11? What questions did you have after this one the first time around? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Outlander Season 1 throwbacks continue on Claire and Jamie to get through Droughtlander. Follow us on Twitter to get them straight to your feed.