(*Note: I have not read the books, nor have I looked at spoilers)Well that was crazy or should I say crazy good? Outlander has been my show that came out of nowhere, the show I thought I was not going to get into. It's my surprise of the summer and dare I say the best summer show on television.
We were pretty much hit with some great episodes recently and I want to get into them, but first let's quickly talk about what has happened to Claire so far.
Claire has been on a journey to the past and the only way for her to get back to her time is through the stones. However, she's having some difficulty getting back to them (she was so close). She hates her 20th century husband's ancestor because...well...he's a d*ck and the only way for her to ignore his commands is to marry a Scot so she can no longer be called an Englishwoman and under the rules of the King. So she get's married again in the 18th century to a Scottish cutie and then that's when things complicated.
So let's talk about that wedding night, shall we? From the beginning to end of the episode, it was perfection. I have replayed that episode so many times that if I told you the actual number, I would be ashamed. But don't get me wrong, the sex was great, but that's not why I was replaying the episode. However, the sex was an added bonus. I rewatched it based on the three things: cinematography, gender roles, and emotions.
Cinematography: Since the beginning of the show, I have been praising the way Outlander was shot. Each scene outside especially the ones with the background of the mountains are exceptional. They will leave you breathless and want to go book a trip to Scotland in next 10 minutes. However, the wedding night episode was different to witness because it was shot indoors and that's how you know David Higgs is a master at cinematography. A favorite moment of mine is the scenes where Claire takes a closer look at Jamie and Jamie has a closer look at Claire. You can see how he pans in for the touches that Claire gives him as she walks around him eyeing his physics and then pans out for the shot of her revealing herself to Jamie. Another favorite moment is when Jamie is describing how Claire looked to him on their wedding day. How the light suddenly fills the screen when her wedding dress is revealed. I mean if I'm noticing this stuff, then the person must be really good. BTW, I love Starz for being fair to women unlike HBO. If you're going to show female parts, then show the male's as well. Don't be one sided.
Gender roles: I thought this was really intriguing the way Claire takes the role of the man while Jamie has the role of the women. Usually, you would see a man not being a virgin and has some knowledge of what to do in bed, while the woman is a virgin and has no experience at all. In this case, the roles are reverse, and I thought that was really interesting. I mean even Jamie mentions a stereotype of women not liking sex. We also have this notion that men need to be in control even during sex. Now, during their 2nd round, things are a little bit different. Claire starts to dominate Jamie to the point that Jamie even asks her, "What are you doin'?" and she replies, "Stay still." Then of course, you see her going down on him, but the best part of the 2nd round is his reactions from his facial expressions to his moans and laughs to the point where he has to explain to her that he felt like his heart was going to burst. You just never see that coming from a man and that's why I replayed the 2nd round the most.
Emotions: That episode was filled with them. Their relationship from the beginning of the episode to the end changes drastically. At first Claire and Jamie (mostly Claire) were trying to distract each other from the inevitable and when the time came it was fast (really fast, was I the only one laughing at how fast it was?), but it was good enough for Claire to admit that she actually enjoyed it, which made her not want to do it again. But then Jamie told her the story of how this wedding day came to be, the effort it took, and the vows that were made. I feel like the 2nd round was more of a you deserve another round type of sex. However, the 3rd round was much different and way more personal. I think in that moment, the way she covered him shows an act of love and I think the way she looked at him at the end of the 3rd round, she realized she could be falling for Jamie.
I just loved the transitions between rounds:
1st round- was defintion of sex (pee-pee meet vajay-jay)
2nd round- hot sex or passionate sex where you just want devour one another
3rd round- romantic sex or lovemaking
Sorry, I just had to get that episode out of my system. So now let's talk about that midseason finale. A lot of attempted rapes and I believe an actual rape happens. This is the first time we go back to the 20th century and see how old Frank is doing. Sad thing to say is I didn't really care to see that. I knew it was the midseason episode and I was like we don't have time for this. I don't need to see sad and desperate Frank. But I guess it was needed for the moment where Frank was at the stones and Claire was running towards them. I was actually surprised how easily it was for her to decide to run and touch the stones especially since she had married Jamie, but I guess her getting raped and the fact that she killed someone really put a damper on things. However, because of that situation, Jamie vowed to never let that happen again and boy was I happy to see him at the end of the episode when she was going to get raped for 2nd time. Once again I was surprised that he didn't shoot Black Jack right then and there.
I can't end this review without talking about the actors. They are truly an amazing bunch. I didn't know any of them, but I definitely will not forget them. I hear Caitriona Balfe is the perfect Claire and people were not disappointed when she was cast. To me, she's on point that's all that needs to be said. Sam Heughan is the epitome of sexy playing as Jamie. The surprise performance of Lotte Verbeek playing as Geillis Duncan, who apparatenly doesn't look like her character at all, but her performance is so good I don't think anyone actually cares. Finally, I have to mention Tobias Menzies, who plays both Frank and Black Jack. He's so good that when I see Black Jack I just want to kill him, but when I see Frank, I just feel so bad for him. It's the fact that I can have these two distinct emotions that I know he's that good. I never mix up the two. I never say, "I hate you, Frank," because you look like him. I do, however, say "I hate how your related to him", but it's interesting because I think during Frank's beating of the schemers, I thought, "Well now I know what trait got passed to you." That's why I think Frank decided to go back to Oxford, his anger was getting the best of him. But back to Menzies, his best performance, for me, has to be when he's describing Jamie's flogging. It was so gruesome that I had to look away. You thought to yourself, "This man's a monster, but maybe he can be saved." Sad thing is he doesn't want to be and Menzies just switches it up on you so fast that he makes you believe monsters like him can exist. Such an excellent performance and not just him, but from everyone.
I have to wait until April? This is going to be a tuffy.
Luv ya,
Diva
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