Outlander Season 4, Episode 8
Aaaaah, keeping up blogging about Outlander has been harder than I thought it would be. Darn my actual life and actual things that I need to do!
Tabletop surgery aside, I really enjoyed this episode. I am too squeamish to watch Claire's surgeries but it provided a nice little diversion for Jaime to get away and warn Murtaugh of Governor Trion's trap.
This episode was all about building tension - both between the Frasers and the Governor in anticipation of the Revolution and between Brianna and Roger in anticipation of their argument and Brianna's subsequent rape by Stephen Bonnet.
Like most plots involving Bonnet, this is more than a tad farfetched. I get that the colonies were less populated back then but it takes a real stretch of the imagination to believe that Bonnet keeps popping up in all the wrong places to wreak all kinds of havoc on the Fraser clan. Luckily, this is Outlander so I am 100% willing to stretch!
What doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to believe is that Brianna would be raped by someone in public in a pub. Sadly sexual violence was, and is, still everywhere. This scene reminded me of the move The Accused with Jodie Foster, though that was much more brutal to watch. Here, Brianna's rape takes place mostly off screen though we can hear her yelling for help. The decision to focus on the faces of the men in the pub who continue to play cards as if nothing is happening made it more interesting to me. Sure, we think of Bonnet as the villain, but maybe those calm observers are the true villains. Is failing to act just as bad as acting? In this case, YES!
I think this also sets up such a strong contrast to Claire. She's not perfect and I bag on her a lot, but she would never stand by if a violent act was being committed. In fact, she hasn't! It was only a few episodes ago that Claire was literally standing up to a mob of angry men to try and save Rufus. We see the same strength in Brianna when she buys out Lizzie's contract to avoid her becoming a concubine for some no-name gross dude.
This scene makes the question for all of us clear - at the end of the day are we a Claire or are we a quiet bystander? To be honest, I'm not sure what I am. I guess you don't know until you're confronted with something horrible and forced to make a decision. Hopefully I'll never have to find out but I know who I'd rather watch a TV show about - Claire!
Tabletop surgery aside, I really enjoyed this episode. I am too squeamish to watch Claire's surgeries but it provided a nice little diversion for Jaime to get away and warn Murtaugh of Governor Trion's trap.
This episode was all about building tension - both between the Frasers and the Governor in anticipation of the Revolution and between Brianna and Roger in anticipation of their argument and Brianna's subsequent rape by Stephen Bonnet.
Like most plots involving Bonnet, this is more than a tad farfetched. I get that the colonies were less populated back then but it takes a real stretch of the imagination to believe that Bonnet keeps popping up in all the wrong places to wreak all kinds of havoc on the Fraser clan. Luckily, this is Outlander so I am 100% willing to stretch!
What doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to believe is that Brianna would be raped by someone in public in a pub. Sadly sexual violence was, and is, still everywhere. This scene reminded me of the move The Accused with Jodie Foster, though that was much more brutal to watch. Here, Brianna's rape takes place mostly off screen though we can hear her yelling for help. The decision to focus on the faces of the men in the pub who continue to play cards as if nothing is happening made it more interesting to me. Sure, we think of Bonnet as the villain, but maybe those calm observers are the true villains. Is failing to act just as bad as acting? In this case, YES!
I think this also sets up such a strong contrast to Claire. She's not perfect and I bag on her a lot, but she would never stand by if a violent act was being committed. In fact, she hasn't! It was only a few episodes ago that Claire was literally standing up to a mob of angry men to try and save Rufus. We see the same strength in Brianna when she buys out Lizzie's contract to avoid her becoming a concubine for some no-name gross dude.
This scene makes the question for all of us clear - at the end of the day are we a Claire or are we a quiet bystander? To be honest, I'm not sure what I am. I guess you don't know until you're confronted with something horrible and forced to make a decision. Hopefully I'll never have to find out but I know who I'd rather watch a TV show about - Claire!
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