For the first time in three weeks, this post is not Star Trek themed.
Today, I turn my attention towards Outlander.
It’s been a weird season.
Here’s the low down: Jamie Fraser who fought at the battle of Culloden in Scotland against the British oppression now finds himself aligned with the British to fight against American colonists who are fighting British oppression. Once more, Jamie is on the losing side of history despite Claire (our time travelling doctor lady) telling him about the revolution that’s coming.
Jamie thought he could make it work. He agreed to accept land from Gov. Tryon of North Carolina. Jamie figured he could take the land, work it, get others to live with him and make a good life for himself while keeping his head down until the revolution comes. Gov. Tryon, however, had other plans.
In order to pay for his palatial governor’s mansion in New Bern, the gov is laying down the smackdown kind of hard to collect taxes to pay for it. This has riled up a rebellion by a group of men called the Regulators. And who is leading up this group of violent tax protestors? None other than Murtaugh McKenzie, Jamie’s own godfather and fellow warrior on the moors of Culloden.
And guess who Gov. Tryon wants to bring in his tax defying scoundrel? Why, none other than Jamie Fraser. The price of the land Jamie calls “Fraser’s Ridge” becomes quite cumbersome.
Jamie meets with Murtaugh and tells him to make himself hard to find. Then, to honor his commitment to Gov. Tryon, Jamie assembles a militia to go find him.
You know this isn’t going to end well.
It doesn’t get there well.
Jamie and Claire visit a veritable house of horrors. If you want to know what happens to a human body that is almost but not quite dead as lays around to rot, trust me, know you don’t want to know. It’s gross and it’s sick and the memory of it still haunts my nightmares.
Speaking of horrors, Stephen Bonnet is still alive, still the ill-tempered, violent sociopath who apparently is making a good living helping the rich folk of North Carolina avoid Gov. Tryon’s taxes.
As for those not so fortunate to have such a person in their employ, Gov. Tryon has little to no sympathy for the common folk weighted down by his onerous taxes. Tryon remains a pretentious, arrogant prick who thinks of himself as some kind of benevolent overlord is determined to make an example of the Regulators and specifically Murtaugh Fitzgibbons who dare to challenge his benevolence.
The goal of stopping Murtaugh Fitzgibbons is shared with a fervent passion by Lt. Knox, leader of the Redcoats paired with Jamie’s militia. Jamie’s trying to thread the needle in honoring his obligation to Tryon while maybe not having to run a sword through Murtaugh. Lt. Knox has quite a lot of enthusiasm at the prospect of running a sword through Murtaugh. Unfortunately Lt. Knox’s enthusiasm brings him closer to finding out that Jamie Fraser is not quite the good buddy in Regulator hunting he thought him to be. Knox threatens to have Jamie arrested. Jamie counters that argument by killing Knox.
A plague of locusts threatens Fraser’s Ridge and Roger McKenzie saves the day which is good for the farmers along the ridge but bad for us viewers (and I know I’m not the only one) who just can’t stand Roger (no matter how good a singing voice he has).
As Jamie Fraser is having to pay a high price for his land at Fraser’s Ridge, we find out how much his Aunt Jocasta has paid for her life at River Run. And has to pay to keep it as she enters into a marriage of convenience.
Which brings us to the battle of Alamance Creek, the epic confrontation between Tryon’s forces and the Regulators.
Bree remembers something from one of her history classes and rushes to tell Jamie, Claire and Roger. Tryon’s forces will win this battle but for those on the other side, it’s more than just a defeat but a massacre. Roger volunteers to make a foray to the Regulator camp to talk to Murtaugh. Since Murtaugh knows Roger is from the future, Roger hopes he can convince Murtaugh and the Regulators to stand down.
Our history books tell us that the Regulators did not so we know Roger’s quest is doomed to failure. But is Roger himself also doomed? Once more, Roger blunders into a situation that puts him in peril as the Regulators discover this militia man in their midst.
Just before the battle is joined, Tryon decides to bestow Jamie with his own red coat. Jamie is no position to refuse but as he dons the hated crimson adornment of the English army, Jamie could not be more humiliated if he was standing there in one of Claire’s dresses.
Again, Jamie tries to thread the needle as best he can to fulfill his obligation to Tryon. He tells his militia to take prisoners, to save souls where they can.
Tryon, on the other hand, has cannons and damned if he isn’t going to use them on these upstarts.
The battle gets underway and it is quite brutal. The Regulators are routed by overwhelming force and even in defeat, the Redcoats are harsh and vindictive towards their defeated enemy.
A Regulator winds up looking down a rifle barrel at Jamie Fraser. But then Murtaugh arrives to stop the Regulator and saves Jamie’s life. However he leaves himself exposed to a militia rifle that brings down Murtaugh.
Murtaugh’s death in Jamie’s arms is perhaps the most heartbreaking thing to watch.
After the battle, Gov. Tryon feels like celebrating their victory. Jamie Fraser has had enough of this preening SOB. There is nothing to celebrate, his debt to Tryon is paid and he throws the red coat into the mud at Tryon’s feet.
But our trials are not over.
What the heck happened to Roger?
Jamie, Claire and Bree go looking him when they find three men with bags over their heads, hung by the neck. Seems Tryon ordered that traitors to be executed. One of the men is wearing Roger’s coat. As Jamie slowly lowers the body to the ground, Bree can only look on in growing horror and…
We fade to black.
Well, damn!
OK, I'm thinking that Buck MacKenzie who thought Roger was macking on his wife (he wasn't) stole Roger's coat after bashing his noggin with a rifle butt.
I mean, I refuse to like Roger but I be damned if I want him to go out like that. Well, it makes Bree sad.
Tryon's full court press against the Regulators has created a tipping point pushing the colonies towards revolution. Which means things are going to get worse for Claire and Jamie before they ever get better.
And there's still Stephen Bonnet to contend with. The sooner that sick son of a bitch finally gets sent to hell, the better.
We're actually dealing with some willful history changing stuff with Claire looking to invent penicillin 200 years early. By the way, the episode with Claire in the 20th century was a welcome diversion. It's good to see that Claire had a different life in the future. Sometimes its hard to remember because everyone is so invested in their 18th century lives, you can almost forget there are time travellers are involved.
Outlander took a week off which gave me time to process how bad I felt that Murtaugh had to die like that.
Next week, Outlander is back! Viva la revolution!
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Next week, Stumptown.
And after that, Killing Eve. And, of course, Duck Tales.
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