Outlander season 6 episode 5 review

We’re back with this week’s Outlander Season 6 review! “Give Me Liberty” was a more politically-focused episode, which is important for what’s to come. There’s going to be tensions at the Ridge, but as we keep hearing – a war is coming.

I was absolutely mesmerized by the main titles of this episode! It was such a nice surprise to see the switch up, as well as the Gaelic version of the Skye Boat song. And nothing is more majestic than Scotland. The original song is written about Bonnie Prince Charlie after all, so it was very much fitting. It was nice to get one more “mark me” out of the prince and to see Andrew Gower once again.

Outlander Season 6 episode 5 focused on how much changing sides is costing Jamie. He’s not changing his stance, but he was struggling with the decision to break his oath to the Crown. He’s an honorable man who never goes back on his word, but this time he has to because he knows Britain is on the losing side. Things become more difficult when he has to lie to his friend Lord John.

Let’s get into the episode! You’ve got a show-only fan here, so my views will reflect that.

Outlander Season 6 episode 5 review

Jamie the Patriot

Jamie has officially become a Patriot. He and Claire find themselves in Wilmington. He’s meeting up with the leader of the Sons of Liberty. When the governor asks Lord John about his loyalties, John had complete faith in him. But he’s later going to learn that Jamie has indeed switched sides.

Flora MacDonald, a Scot who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape, is now rallying up her people to ask for peace. The Scots have been through a war which leads to them all leaving their home to settle in the Colonies. They don’t want another war, and that includes Aunt Jocasta.

We learn that Jocasta bought Fergus his own print shop in New Bern. But her being a MacKenzie, there’s an ulterior motive to her kind gesture. She wants a way to control what the papers say, and this is the perfect way for her to do that. I’m happy for Fergus, especially all that he’s been through at the start of the season. But as we saw in the episode, being a printer may not be the safest job at the moment.

This proves to be true when a group of men try to attack the printer in town for promoting Flora’s party. After a member of the Sons of Liberty sees Jamie defending the printer, they take this as a sign that he’s still on the side of Britain. But the King of Men isn’t one to back down. He’s always had a knack to getting a group of men to listen to him, and he did the same to convince them he’s on their side.

When he asked them whether it’s liberty when a man is cowed into silence, threatened into submission, or has his property taken – I love the way Sam Heughan played that. He progressively gets more heated, and it’s because Jamie is also talking about himself. These things have happened to him at some point.

Jamie and Lord John

It felt so wrong to see Jamie having to lie to Lord John. Jamie absolutely hated it too. He tells Claire that if he didn’t have knowledge of the future, he probably would have stayed aligned with the Crown. But Claire reminds him their allegiance is now to the new nation that’s about to be born.

It all comes to a head when John tells Jamie they’re going to ambush a Sons of Liberty meeting, and that’s when Jamie tells him the truth. This obviously puts John in a very difficult position as his friend, but he’s also worried about the man he loves. But he knows he can’t change his mind. Since their friendship started in season 3, I always felt like something was bound to come between them because one is a Scot and the other a Brit.

David Berry portrayed John’s emotions so well. Is this the end of their friendship, at least for now? It felt like that and it breaks my heart. I really hope not! Jamie asks his friend to delay the soldiers and he agrees. It really is impossible not to like this British governor.

Roger and Brianna

Roger has to make the decision to stop helping Amy McCallum. Because he’s spending so much time helping out at her cabin, people are starting to talk. He’s a married man and she a widow. Bree tries to explain this to him but Roger initially doesn’t listen. But he comes to that realization when Amy asks him to join them for dinner. She won’t be able to find another husband if Roger is always there. I didn’t get the vibe that Bree was jealous. Her speaking to Roger was more about how the people of that time see the situation, and how reliant Amy has become on him.

The sweetest moment of the episode is when Bree reveals the big news. She’s pregnant! The couple has been trying to have a baby again and now it’s finally happening for them. Now their family of three is soon to become a family of four. Yay!

Malva

After the sweet pregnancy reveal, the next scene makes a complete 180. Guess who made the love charm the group of women come across at the beginning of the episode? It’s creepy Malva.  Oh my gosh, this girl’s dark colors really came out.

First, she blackmails Roger that she’ll tell everyone she saw him kissing Amy McCallum, which is very much not true. She gets nervous when Roger catches her in a very compromising position at the meeting house. Second, and the worst of all, the Sin-Eater is apparently dead and she’s been cutting his fingers off to use for the love charm. I knew there was something off when the camera cut to her. Who is she making the love charm for is the real question though?

The cliffhanger

As Jamie and Claire get ready to head back home, Claire hears a familiar tune that’s not from the 1700s. We don’t see his face, but someone is whistling the “Colonel Bogey March.” Claire just thinks it’s the wind, but it definitely isn’t. It’s the thief who stole a gemstone from Flora MacDonald’s necklace.

That big head of hair sure looks familiar. It looks like it could be Wendigo Donner, one of the men who was in the group who abducted Claire at the end of Season 5. We found out he’s a time-traveler, and what’s one thing you need to travel through the stones? A gem! I’m very curious to see what role he plays going forward and how he fits into the story.

Bonus shout-outs

Somehow someone got a hold of Stephen Bonnet’s bollocks and it’s displayed at the inn Jamie and Claire are staying in. That was very funny and unexpected!

Bree giving the ointment to the two pining twins for Lizzie’s malaria. Ahem. That probably should have been a female friend’s job to do, right?

There was great girl time at the Ridge and in Wilmington. I love how Claire, Jocasta, and Flora were drinking, Jocasta was smoking (to help with her headaches), and the three women were just enjoying each other’s company. Claire and Flora’s admiration for each other was also really cool to see. Then at Fraser’s Ridge, Bree and Marsali have a bittersweet moment as she packs to join Fergus in New Bern. Are we not going to see Fergus and Marsali for some time? I hope not!

Outlander airs Sundays on STARZ.