Michelle and Mandi on Outlander: The Search
Mandi: "Love forces a person to choose." Wise words, Jenny. Wise words.
Jamie has been taken by Jack Randall and Claire is desperate to find him. We are all desperate for his return! Although this episode is quiet in terms of action, it's setting the stage for the final two episodes of the season, and if you've read the book, you know you are going to have to hold on tight.
Claire decides she is going to fight for Jamie, and his sister, Jenny, is right by her side, leaving her infant daughter at home. I had turned to my husband at one point and commented that Jenny's breasts were going to hurt being away from the baby and not being able to nurse. But I shouldn't have worried — Jenny took care of that right there in the woods. I love Jenny so much.
Jenny helps Claire track Jamie for a while, finally leading her to a red-coat camp, where they put a gun to someone's head and try to extract information out of him. Jenny, bad ass as ever, hot-pokers his foot, and eventually Murtagh (yay, Murtagh!) finds them and they learn Jamie may have escaped. They set up a plan to lure Jamie to them. Moving from village to village, Claire starts to perform a bawdy song and telling fortunes, all the while quietly asking people if they've seen a tall Scotsman with red hair.
They finally get word as to where Jamie might be, and both Claire and Murtagh rush to the location only to have it be Dougal and not Jamie. Drat! Dougal tells them Jamie is in Wentworth Prison, and on trial in the next day or so. Dougal assumes Jamie will die, and Claire will hear none of it. I love how Claire fights for Jamie in this scene. Dougal also wants Claire and the Fraser lands as his own (step back, Dougal!), and to persuade Dougal to try to help rescue Jamie, Claire promises him she will marry him if he helps her. Agreeing, the old MacKenzie clan is together again, and they ride off to the prison to get our boy back.
The next episode is titled Wentworth Prison, and dark things are coming for Jamie. Hold tight, you sexy Scotsman! Help is coming!
Michelle: Big kudos to the attention to realistic and practical details, as Jenny and Claire head off to find and rescue Jamie. I was impressed and wincing on behalf of Jenny, who readily hops onto a hard saddle and suffers through the pounding ordeal for her brother's sake, so soon after giving birth. And thank you for the acknowledgment that breastfeeding is natural and sometimes "accommodations" are a necessary reality before the days of breast pumps and refrigeration. And despite these attributes that historically have been used to weaken the woman's role and dilute her worth, side by side, these women were models of brawn, brain and bravery with a daring agenda.
Murtagh is just what is needed to start the search in a new direction. A little humor goes a long way as his dance solo bombs and Claire offers advice like a judge at a TV talent show. But then you have a showdown when a copycat steals their act. Where's the copyright office when you need one? By the end of the multi-village tour, the two become besties. *happy sigh*
But the happy times are a blip on the timeline as the gang of five head for Wentworth Prison and toward the dark dread of Captain Jack Randall. Every time I think of what's to come, I recall Rufus (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1): "These are dark times, there is no denying. Our world has perhaps faced no greater threat than it does today. But I say this to our citizenry: We, ever your servants, will continue to defend your liberty and repel the forces that seek to take it from you! Your Ministry remains strong."
Mandi Schreiner started romance review blog Smexy Books in 2009. She is obsessed with reading romance novels and collecting fictional boyfriends.
Michelle Monkou loves writing her sexy, complex heroes. Her website is michellemonkou.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook.