Yeah. I’m very late. But better late than never, right?
BAM! Train station in the 1940′s. Claire and Frank dressed in uniform. But it’s not Frank who’s leaving for the front lines.Claire’s leaving. And Frank staying. Even he says this is backwards. She promises she’ll come back. We’ll see about that.
Back in 1743, Claire does the Ice Bucket Challenge with the help of Mrs Fitz. Then they start reminiscing about her husband and Claire confesses that he is not dead. He hasn’t been born yet. That she is from the future. Say what? Says Mrs Fitz, who looks like she’s seen a ghost. Or a evil-demon, as she calls Claire once she bitch-slaps Claire. BAM! It was just a dream. Book readers can rest easy. Then Mrs Fitz babbles something about a Gathering that Claire has no idea about.
Later, Claire is at her surgery going through all the herbs and “medicines” (not a very nice task) and tending to patients. Meanwhile, Angus keeps a close eye on her and gets bored to death. So he then goes to the kitchen to drink with Rupert. By the way, I love those two. They are the best!!! In the kitchen, Claire finds out that the child of a chamber maid has died. But no one called you Claire, cuz he was possessed by demons from the Black Kirk! Ha! Colum summons Claire to his chambers. Oops!
After threatening to kill a poor, scared and quite ridiculous tailor, Colum asks Claire to massage his legs as David Beaton did. Off go the trousers and up onto the bed. Claire pauses. Not because of the legs, but because it would be more beneficial to massage the base of his spine. Oh well, goes Colum and lifts his shirt. Who would have thought the first man’s ass we saw would be Colums???
Nightime, Gwyllyn the bard plays the harp and sings. Colum is jealous that Claire massaged his bro’s back. Claire is kinda “talk to the hand” and leaves. She goes sit with Laoghaire. Seriously Claire? In comes Jamie and they both drool. Jamie sits in between the two of them. Seriously Jamie? Except lighting herself on fire, Laoghaire does everything in her power to catch Jamie’s attention, but he has only eyes for Claire. Claire seems not to notice. She must be drunk already. Jamie makes up an excuse and they both leave.
Back in Claire’s surgery, Jamie looks hot and is witty. So why does Claire keep on talking about wounds, dressings and scars when she could be snogging him? She’s definitely drunk. She insists on checking on his wound. She opens his collar and Jamie gives her a look that would have made any other woman spontaneously combust. With all the alcohol she drank and that look, I’m surprised Claire didn’t turn into a bonfire.
Close up to a thistle. Yep, we are in Scotland, if you already didn’t know by now. My beloved Angus is still following Claire and having a hard time about it, when they meet up with Geilis. Poor Angus. Claire gets news that the Priest wants to perform an exorcism on Mrs Fitz’s nephew, who had gone up to the Black Kirk with the other boy that died. Spooky. Geilis is all sneaky and awesome. Claire makes up her mind and goes to town to see the Baxter kid. Angus follows and is annoyed.
Mrs Fitz is with the other kids and the poor boy is tied up to the bed. This is another moment when you mentally go “thank God I live in the 21st century!” Claire believes he was poisoned. But here comes Father Bain and all goes to hell, if you forgive my expression. Claire is told to leave. Boooh!
When they go back to the castle, Angus is talking his head off asking Claire questions, but does a quick detour to go to the kitchens to fetch some ale. That’s when Claire sees Jamie kissing Laoghaire. That bitch! Jamie sees Claire and that look just kills me.
At dinner time, Claire has her revenge and teases Jamie to no end. But Jamie is no match for Claire and leaves. Murtagh, who has been watching this sort of tennis match of wits, tells Claire not to mess with Jamie. “He needs a woman, not a lassie”, he says. Gotta love Murthag. Claire goes off to cry for being told off. Dougal chooses just this moment to tell her he’ll take her to the village in the morning, to visit Geilis.
In the morning, Claire and Geilis discuss the exorcism, father Bain and being the stranger in a strange land. Geilis is sneaky again but a commotion from down stairs catches Claire’s attention. Safe again, Claire. Well… a lad has been caught stealing and Father Bain is arguing for his hand to be cut off. Merciful, that man. Geilis’s husband, the fiscal has to decide the lad’s fate, but he is constipated. So… off with his hand! Claire tries arguing in favor of the kid and achieves nothing. But Geilis knows exactly how to convince her husband. She’s awesome. So the kid gets just one hour with his ear nailed to the pillory. Ouch! Even though this sucks for the poor kid, the village looks amazing!!!
Geilis, in her amazing bright red shoes, tries to extract some intel from Claire when Jamie arrives to save the day. Not only that, but Claire bats her eyelashes and convinced Jamie to help the boy release his ear from the pillory. And that’s how I get to see on TV one of the best and one of my favorite scenes from the book. Needless is to say, I was smiling like a loon. But Claire isn’t content with just that, but asks Jamie to take her to the Black Kirk. And as Jamie would bring her the moon if she asked for it, up they go to the damned place.
While Claire is investigating, Jamie tells her about his childhood and education. You can tell he is trying to make her interested or to impress her, but she is oblivious. Seriously, Claire, please! You keep looking on the ground when all of us would be fascinated listening to him!!! Finally they find a plant that’s poisonous and which Jamie tells her that the kids eat. Oops!
Back to the Baxter’s house, where Father Bain is still playing at exorcism. Claire tells Mrs Fitz that she knows what to do in order to save the boy. And in another Girl Power moment, Mrs Fitz over rules Father Bain and Claire saves the kid. Yay for Claire! Yay for Mrs Fitz! But Father Bain is angry and tells Claire he’ll have his revenge. Not in so many words, but we all know what’s coming.
Claire and Jamie have a moment while tending to a horse and I notice how big Sam Heughan’s hands are. Jamie tells Claire that now people call her “miracle worker” and that as Colum is taking credit for bringing her into the castle, he won’t let her go so easily. Damn!
Another night, another Gwyllyn the bard performance. Claire does some voice over while getting drunk again. Jamie acts like a love sick puppy and makes her sit with him. He translates Gwyllyn’s song for her: a lass that travels back in time through some magic stones and after living among strangers (who become friends and lovers), she manages to go back to her time and to her man. Claire is now convinced that she has got to go back to the stones or die trying. She smiles. She is definitely drunk.
