Outlander reflections: What’s the strongest episode from season 3?
What makes this article series valuable to us is that we want to be able to properly gauge the thoughts and feelings of the fandom — it’s great to have specific opinions from CarterMatt readers on episodes and characters, while also getting some of our own thoughts out there. It gives us a sense of where to best take our coverage in the months to come — we’re also so far removed from season 3 at this point that we’re not making any knee-jerk statements. We’ve all had that feeling before where we see a great episode and call it the BEST EPISODE EVER, even though we’ve felt that about two or three other episodes the past couple of months.
We are keeping the focus for this article pretty simple — it’s all about some of the strongest episodes in season 3. Let’s start by briefly breaking all of them down.
“The Battle Joined” – The epic beginning of the season. We probably remember it most as an introduction to Claire’s life in Boston, but also the end of Black Jack Randall. It was brief, but powerful.
“Surrender” – Really the biggest story to Red Jamie, and one of the few times in which Claire and Frank’s marriage had some high points as they worked to raise Brianna together.
“All Debts Paid” – One of the most significant episodes in many ways of the entire series. This marks the death of Frank Randall, Jamie’s blossoming friendship with Lord John Grey, and also Jamie ending up at Helwater.
“Of Lost Things” – This remains still our favorite performance from Sam Heughan this season, as we see Jamie’s journey at Helwater and what he goes through with Geneva Dunsany.
“Freedom & Whisky” – Claire says goodbye to her life in America, and prepares for whatever the future is going to hold in the past. The last appearance this season for Richard Rankin and Sophie Skelton.
“A. Malcolm” – The Print Shop episode. Also, the highest-rated episode of the entire series in live viewers.
“Creme de Menthe” – The Print Shop suffers a cruel fate, and we realize just how much danger Jamie is in as Alexander Malcolm.
“First Wife” – Probably our favorite episode of the season just because so much happened in a fairly confined space. We had some Outlander nostalgia with the return of Jenny and Laoghaire; meanwhile, there were fantastic performances from both Heughan and Caitriona Balfe as Jamie and Claire struggled with new revelations. This also kick-started the remainder of the season at sea.
“The Doldrums” – The beginning of the adventure at sea. Meanwhile, Claire gets separated from Jamie not that long after their reunion.
“Heaven & Earth” – Claire learns how much trouble Jamie could be in while in Jamaica. This is where Claire also goes overboard in the closing minutes.
“Uncharted” – One of the most visually stunning episodes of the entire season. It gives you a good bit of Jamie and Claire while also exploring new characters. Also, there was big progression in the Fergus – Marsali relationship.
“The Bakra” – Geillis is back — and so is Lord John Grey! This is when things really start to ratchet up towards the finale.
“Eye of the Storm” – The biggest episode of the season and certainly one of the most intense. You had the death of Geillis, Jamie and Claire’s attempted voyage, and the closing minutes of them being shipwrecked.
Related – Check out the latest Outlander season 4 filming updates
Of course, there’s more than this
We just wanted to give you small reminders about each episode while you weigh in with your decision. Below, let us know in the poll which episode you enjoyed the most! Next week (February 13) at 1:00 p.m. Pacific we’ll announce the result.
Meanwhile, you can also like CarterMatt on Facebook for some additional insight regarding Outlander. It’s a great way to stay up to date with all of our coverage. (Photo: Starz.)