‘Outlander’ episode 6 review: Black Jack’s torment; Claire and Jamie’s ‘decision’

Through the first five episodes of the series, “Outlander” crafted a world that we feel was at least about as close of an adaptation to a book as you can expect for a TV show. It hasn’t been as close as “Game of Thrones” season 1 was to the George R.R. Martin book, it has done a very good job.

Tonight, we wonder if the show made one of its most controversial changes that it has to date courtesy of some of the interactions with a certain Jonathan Randall. (For the record, we much prefer calling him Black Jack, and will most-likely continue to do that for a little while moving forward.)

Changing the discussing of whipping Jamie, and having Jack discuss this to Claire rather than Dougal, felt like a move almost out of desperation to further along this character. We understand why it was done, but couldn’t there have been other ways to show off this guy’s awfulness?

We don’t want to diminish the rest of the scene feature him and Claire, though, given that it was for the most part extremely well-done. Tobias Menzies did a great job turning this character around on a dime, showing off some of his nasty tendencies and the reasons we are supposed to fear him.

We’re also supposed to feel bad for Claire’s present situation, as well, given that she is now stuck in a position where Jamie has to become her husband. She came all the way back in time, for … this? Well, at least Jamie’s not Black Jack. He at least has that going for him.

“Outlander” is still a thoroughly-gripping show, and as it nears the end of season 1, let’s just hope it continues along this path and with this same momentum. Grade: B+.

What did you think about tonight’s “Outlander” episode as a whole? Share your thoughts right now with a comment.