Outlander Season 4, Episode 3: What was needed to really sell Brianna and Roger

We needed more time to see Bree and Roger happy on Outlander

Outlander Season 4, Episode 3 brought Roger and Brianna back into the story. The writers wanted us to root for them, but there was something missing.

Let me share that I love Roger and Brianna. I adore the relationship that they grow to have, and I’d love to see more of their relationship moving forward on the show. I’m all for this family growing.

However, there’s something that stops me really connecting to them during Outlander Season 4, Episode 3. It’s a problem I’ve raised in the past. It’s all to do with time.

We jump from Season 3, Episode 5 to Season 4, Episode 3

Time is a major issue for the TV show. The last we’d seen Brianna and Roger on the series before this episode was on Outlander Season 3, Episode 5. We were left with the two of them reading A Christmas Carol together.

Then suddenly, we jump a couple of years ahead. It’s clear the two have had some sort of relationship. They fly to each other’s countries to see each other, and they clearly do love each other. Roger loves Brianna so much that he wants to marry her.

But a major problem is we haven’t seen any of this happen on screen. Sometimes it feels like the relationship is just forced on us. We don’t get the chance to see it fully blossom in the way that Claire and Jamie’s had time.

The book offers a little more time, but I still feel like we don’t get to know the two of them well enough, especially not Brianna.

But this is about the show. There’s too much of a jump with nothing to fill the gap.

Not enough happiness between them on screen

Then comes the other problem because of lack of time. The start of Outlander Season 4, Episode 3 is promising. We see the two of them at the Highland Games. They’re happy, they’re getting to know each other more, they’re having fun.

But it all turns dark very quickly. The ending of the episode sees them separating. Brianna isn’t ready for marriage and Roger isn’t going to sleep with her without the promise of marriage. He’s old-fashioned, but he also loves her.

Bree is just a modern girl who has had the experience of a problematic marriage. She is also only in her early 20s. She’s not ready for marriage just yet.

There was nothing wrong with either of them wanting what they wanted. And separating at this point made sense, but they should have agreed to talk about it when they’d both rationalized the conversation and had time to think about it all.

Instead, we were rushed into happiness and into a breakup within one episode. There wasn’t the time to see this relationship grow and see the bond form. We didn’t get the chance to see the two fall in love with each other to get to the point they were at. And we didn’t get a chance to experience their relationship to really care that they’d broken up.

Of course, we knew what was going to happen. The two would end up back together. Eventually. And that’s why the bit before the breakup on Outlander Season 4, Episode 3 is so important. We needed to be sold this relationship, and not just on a little bit of chemistry the actors may or may not have had. The writing needed to be powerful to make us believe that the two of them were meant to be.

What did you think of Brianna and Roger’s relationship on Outlander Season 4, Episode 3? Did you need more time with the two of them happy to root for them afterward? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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