Outlander season 3 episode 5 preview: Claire tells Joe Abernathy about Jamie
The sneak peek that we’re using as a jumping-off point here is one you can see over at Harper’s Bazaar, and it contains a moment that is a long time coming: Caitriona Balfe’s character finally opening up to Joe about her one true love. She doesn’t mention Jamie Fraser’s name, nor does she also detail the precise nature of their history. In Claire’s position, it’s almost impossible to do so — she is a woman who often holds a realistic view of the world, and with that she definitely understands how others in her ilk would react to her story. Who, no matter the decade, would believe the tale about a time-traveling woman who fell in love decades ago with someone who was alive centuries before that? Without giving anything away from the books it’s possible more details are shared between the two, but this discussion is a suitable beginning for a tighter bond being formed.
Getting to this discussion between Claire and Joe on the show is essential because it allows for Claire to have a foil who empathizes her from an emotional perspective. While she does have Brianna in her life, someone who knows the full story and understands how she feels, that’s just one perspective. Brianna also hasn’t lived the life that she has and Joe is more of a kindred spirit in that regard. He hasn’t traveled through time (though that would be awesome), but he understands pain, prejudice, and feeling as though you have to prove yourself every step of the way in life. They’ve been close confidantes of each other for many years at the time of this discussion — we do wish that there was more time this season to mine the depths of their friendship, but the Diana Gabaldon novel Voyager is a long one and the show only has thirteen episodes to try and tell that story.
Judging from the end of this conversation, where Joe offers up some encouraging-but-blunt advice, we do think Claire will find the inspiration from those around her to seek out Jamie once more. As the photos over at the link here indicate, Roger Wakefield will be coming to Boston in the episode with some news. Could it be related to Jamie’s whereabouts? Signs suggest so, given that otherwise it’s hard to imagine Claire having that catalyst to go back to Scotland and give the reunion another go. Thanks to Roger, Joe, and presumably her own daughter, the Print Shop reunion may be possible when it wouldn’t have otherwise been. That’s a part of the beauty of Outlander — the first time Claire went into the past, it was hardly by design. This time, it will be purposeful, and Claire may have the support of those closest to her in the process.
Where do you want to see the Claire – Joe friendship go?
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