Life on Fraser’s Ridge: Jamie and Claire face more peril as the revolution inches closer
After a problematic and frankly not great season last year that I referred to as the “Brianna problem,” Outlander now had the unenviable task of adapting no one’s favorite book in the series, The Fiery Cross (or Book 5) for its fifth season. The reason this one has never been a fan favorite is a combination of its epic length alongside a whole lot of unmemorable, uneventful descriptions of daily domestic tasks and housekeeping for Claire, while Jamie’s off doing nondescript army stuff and tangling with the pre-revolutionary colonial troublemakers who call themselves “regulators.”
The first half of this season is roughly in line with the book, and though each episode is well directed and acted as always, it faces the same problem the book did, which is not a lot actually happens. There’s the occasional pop-up from Stephen Bonnet again (the delightfully evil Edward Speelers), but no confrontation with the main characters until much later, the wary familial bonding between Roger and Jamie, and the insertion of Murtaugh as one of the regulators in an attempt to liven this uninteresting plot up a little, but it only works to minimal effect. Finally, about halfway through the season we get to the two memorable events of Book 5, Roger’s hanging and Jamie’s snakebite illness, which produce two emotionally heavy, intriguing and creative episodes, and from there the producers take some leeway in skipping ahead to Book 6, pulling events from different points in the series, which vastly improves the course of action.
John Bell makes an early return as Young Ian, now altered
One of the best additions is the early return of Ian, now a transformed Native American adoptee, and played with immense appeal by John Bell, who adds to the newly solidified ensemble feel of the supporting cast that rounds out Jamie and Claire’s family life on the ridge. Another is the emergence of Lauren Lyle’s Marsali, whose role is crafted to inhabit a composite of characters from the book who never appeared on the show. Lyle is a tremendously likable actress whose charm leads a minor, near insignificant character from the books to become essential on the series, especially as Sophie Skelton’s Brianna continues to suffer onscreen next to the talented ensemble, although she benefits from a slightly lesser focus on her character as well as having most of her scenes with the excellent Roger Rankin and Speelers, who carry her across the finish line dramatically.
Outlander retains its emotional and visceral stakes, never more prominent than in the season finale, which chooses to end on the most disturbing and traumatic event that happens to Claire in Book 6, and rather uncharacteristically makes changes that cause the incident to be even worse than what transpired in the novel. Yet, whether this was necessary or not, the episode is enormously effective, creating a dreamscape that Claire disassociates to as she’s brutalized, imagining her life in her own time, and we get to see glimpses of the cast in 1960’s style and dress…all except for Jamie of course, who remains her guiding light, forever the 18th century highlander who can never be displaced in her mind or soul. As the show moves forward I hope it continues to take more liberties with the timeline and events of the books, as it may in fact catch up to where Diana Gabaldon has currently placed the series, with Book 9 about to be published. I’ll be in it to the end, as my investment in Outlander, Jamie and Claire’s love story, and their 18th century family hasn’t waned yet.
Grade: B+
Claire suffers badly in the harsh, yet emotional season finale
