The truth comes out, and dinner plans are set.
Full spoilers for Outlander continue below.
Well that obviously was going to turn into a terrible mess.
Claire and Jamie's plan to stop Bonnie Prince Charlie's uprising hasn't been going so great in recent weeks, and in "La Dame Blanche" it reached a tipping point. Outlander let viewers know from the beginning of Season 2 that the Frasers' plan was doomed for failure, but knowing that disappointing fact and witnessing it unfold are two different things entirely.
As great as the moments of comedy have been in Outlander: Season 2, it's done a solid job of grounding the drama as well. Some terrible, irreparable things happen in the fourth episode of the season. Mary Hawkins was raped by brigands that seemingly were sent after their group, though the reveal of Claire -- who they called "La Dame Blanche" -- sent them running. The guests at Claire and Jamie's dinner party witnessed Alex Randall seemingly raping Mary when he was actually trying to protect her. Meanwhile the Comte St. Germain gets more and more sinister, as the show repeatedly implies he is the one behind these attacks on Claire.
Is he though? The biggest hint that he's not comes with Claire's arrival at the dinner party. The camera makes a point to show us that the Comte doesn't bow upon her arrival, but the Duke of Sandringham also doesn't. Similarly, these attacks start happening when he heads back into town. Food for thought...
I've said before that the fun of Outlander: Season 2 is watching Jamie and Claire's political wheeling and dealing, and that all came to a head in this week's episode. From Jamie's plan to host a dinner and expose Charles Stuart as the "delusional" fool he is to Claire's realization of how to use Louise de Rohan's pregnancy against them, it is a bit thrilling to see the Frasers become involved in this type of game-changing -- and time-changing -- behavior. But where Outlander earns the title of "great show" is in the way it challenges these behaviors. Of course Claire and Jamie would start to wonder if they're bad people for doing these things, and as events start to get out of control, it will be interesting to see if they continue to blame themselves for everything that's to come.
It's telling just how big this episode was in that I'm only now getting to Claire's big revelation to Jamie: Black Jack Randall is still alive. His reaction is not what she (or the audience) was expecting; Jamie finds hope in learning that his torturer is still out there for him to one day kill. Learning about Black Jack makes Jamie feel like a man again, which causes its own set of issues when he engages with some of the women at the brothel and leads to a huge blow-up fight between him and Claire. That perfectly followed in the footsteps of last week's argument and offered the sort of catharsis both Claire and Jamie needed, and also led to a pretty hot sex scene where they found one another again in the simplest, most carnal way.
There's a lot of ground covered in "La Dame Blanche," and a lot of set up for what's ahead. One of the more interesting moments was Claire's advice to Louise about raising a child with the man who is not its father. There are obvious parallels there to what Claire is facing in the present with Frank and her unborn child, and Outlander seems to be intentionally reminding viewers of that fact.
Similarly, the groundwork has been set for Mary and Alex's relationship, and there are enough visual cues about Mary's attacker (the birthmark, the cane) to make it clear that his identity will be a big reveal later. Other thoughts: Charles Stuart really is the absolute worst, isn't he? At least Bouton remains the most adorable, and Fergus and Murtagh make an unlikely but hysterical duo.
The Verdict
"La Dame Blanche" is another strong showing for Outlander. Events in Paris are spiraling out of control for Claire and Jamie, but showrunner Ron Moore is showing a deft hand at balancing the various plot twists, character developments and humorous moments for an overall strong episode. There's a lot of darkness in Outlander again, especially as the Frasers get closer and closer to failing in their quest, but the Starz series works because of its honest and careful portrayal of events, both good and bad.
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