Outlander Season 6 episode 3 review

Can we give César Domboy and Lauren Lyle all the awards? These two absolutely shined in Outlander season 6 episode 3 while breaking our hearts.

“Temperance” was definitely the episode for Fergus and Marsali. Overall, the episode was good but it felt like we were jumping around between the couple and the Christies’ storyline. At times it didn’t feel completely cohesive, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a strong episode.

There are some wonderful and heartbreaking moments in this episode, so let’s break down what happened in the weekly review. As a reminder, I’m a show-only fan so my views will reflect that.

Outlander season 6 episode 3 review

Fergus and Marsali

The stars of this episode are definitely Fergus and Marsali. We’ve never seen the couple in this type of situation before. They’ve always been the fun couple who doesn’t have any problems. But now, they have their fair share of challenges. Pretty common for Outlander though. It was bound to happen at some point.

The episode starts off in heart-racing fashion. A group of the fisherfolk boys decides to put Henri-Christian in the river to see if he’s the child of the Devil. These people and their superstitions. But Roger is there to save the day. Thank you, Roger!

Of course, this incident does nothing to help Fergus’ mental state. He finally opens up a bit, and it’s to Claire. It’s a shame it took so long for us to have a proper Claire and Fergus scene. If you think about it, we haven’t since they were reunited all the way back in Outlander Season 3! César’s performance is so on point. You can really feel Fergus’s pain and why he’s so concerned for his son based on his experiences growing up in a brothel.

The culmination of the months of angst comes to a head between Fergus and Marsali. She understandably can’t take his drunkenness anymore. She’s had a history with an alcoholic father and she won’t put up with it anymore. At that time you couldn’t just get divorced. So the one thing she can do is kick Fergus out of the house.

It can be said that Fergus is a man of his time when he tells Marsali he doesn’t need a woman protecting him. But I don’t think that’s what he really means. His feelings of failure and self-doubt manifested into anger and lashing out. But Marsali has had enough and made the right move in telling him to leave.

While this could have been a wake-up call for Fergus, it just added to his depression. And the icing on the cake was that awful Mrs. MacGregor at Quarter Day calling Henri-Christain “grotesque.” I wish I could have been the one to throw that drink in her face.

This leads to Fergus thinking his family would be better off without him and he attempts suicide. This didn’t feel like it came out of the blue. Since the premiere episode, we’ve seen where Fergus is at. Don’t forget months have passed between the end of season 5 and the start of season 6. So Fergus’s mental state has been declining for a while.

Thankfully Jamie was at the right place at the right time. He stops Fergus in a scene that’s become one of my favorites. It’s so heartwarming to see the bond between father and son. Like Claire, we haven’t gotten as many Fergus and Jamie scenes as I would have liked. This one just proved we definitely need more!

Jamie, Claire, and Tom Christie

Is it just me or does Tom just keep giving off weird vibes? We got another great scene with Jamie, Claire, and Tom so our favorite doctor can correct his hand. Of course, the self-righteous man refuses ether and thinks he can handle it. He definitely does not. Jamie has to hold him in place. While I don’t like Tom very much, he and Jamie’s dynamic is so amusing in scenes like this. I still can’t tell if Jamie wanted to be there to help Claire, or just watch Tom suffer. It might be a combination of both!

Tom and Claire have now formed some kind of weird friendship. We’ll see how long that lasts. Though Tom’s comment about Claire’s hair was kind of creepy to me. I just don’t know what to make of this man. He did have a couple of good moments like when he surprisingly defended the Frasers after the Mrs. MacGregor incident, finally showing some appreciation for the family opening up their home and allowing them to settle on their land.

But just as we think we can get somewhere with him, we’re reminded that he beats Malva. Unfortunately, he can do so with no issue because of his restored hand. I am curious about Allan. We haven’t gotten much time with him yet. We see that he’s affected by what’s happening with his sister, but for some reason can’t stop it.

Jamie and Claire

Just like all of their moments, I liked the quiet moment between Jamie and Claire. Jamie shares some more of what it was like at Ardsmuir Prison. We’re reminded that though the couple has shared most of their experiences when they were apart for 20 years, they’re still learning tidbits about each other. When Jamie tells Claire he craved sleep in the prison because when he slept he dreamt of her, that absolutely melted my heart!

Foreshadowing 

There were a few moments that foreshadowed what was to come. Tom mentions Richard Brown stopped by and offered the new settlers protection with his Committee of Safety. We don’t get an answer whether he agreed or not. I have a feeling Tom didn’t turn down Richard’s offer, and that’s going to bring some troubles for the Frasers later on.

Malva and Ian. Can you like and not like whatever is happening there at the same time? I’m not sure how to feel about it. But they’re kind of cute together… I think.

Amy McCallum and Roger again. Hmm…

Of course, the biggest political trouble on the horizon – the Boston Tea Party has started. We all need to buckle in and get ready for the storm that’s coming.

Bonus shout-outs

For the third time, the bonus shout-out goes to Lizzie and her closeness to the Beardsley twins. The lovesick puppies.

Though we didn’t spend too long in the Quarter Day celebrations, it reminded me of Outlander Season 1 episode 12 back at Lallybroch.

At least Marsali was impressed with one of Brianna’s inventions. That sewing wheel will certainly come in handy.

The little boys and Germain are the absolute cutest. It can be hard working with child actors, but this group of kiddos were pros! They all learned a lesson from Jamie, most importantly Germain who has the best grand-père out there!

Outlander airs Sundays on STARZ.