Outlander perspectives: Readers’ favorite season 4 episode revealed
Choosing the finest episode of season 4 is like choosing your favorite slice of pie; all pie is incredible, but you have to find that one that really has that wow factor to make it stand out from all the other great flavors. Of course, in the case of Outlander it’s also a visually stunning pie that conjures up so many emotions and allows you to think about a world greater than yourself. There are few other shows even worthy of having this episode-by-episode debate given that many are forgettable once they come to a close. Outlander doesn’t do that, and in our mind there were so many different episodes you can make a strong case for as truly outstanding. Think in terms of “Blood of My Blood,” “Man of Worth,” “Providence,” “The Birds & The Bees,” or even some underrated episodes like “America the Beautiful” or “Common Ground.”
Did we think that viewers would have their own personal favorite pie, an Outlander season 4 episode that stood out head and shoulders above the rest? We felt as though it was likely, but we’ve also come to realize that a poll like this was extremely difficult and we asked a lot from you all to choose just one.
With that, let’s present the results: Your favorite Outlander season 4 episode is “The Birds & The Bees.” Note that it was far from unanimous. It finished in first place with 39%, whereas “Blood of My Blood” was second and “Man of Worth” was third. Most episodes received at least a few votes, other than “The False Bride.” That episode received the big goose egg — it’s interesting that this is also the one episode title we always have a hard time remembering when we try to rattle all of them off.
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Why did “The Birds & The Bees” win?
Content likely has a major role to play here. This episode had an inherent advantage from the jump because you are speaking of the epic Jamie, Brianna meeting, plus also Brianna reuniting with Claire and her seeing Fraser’s Ridge for the first time. There are still devastating notes to this episode, as Bree is still recovering from her assault, but the part that clearly reverberates to most is the Fraser family coming together and enjoying those few moments of joy. These are the moments where time almost freezes and you can just cherish every small second for however long it lasts.
While clearly “The Birds & The Bees” benefits from the reunion scene, we should note that if some of these pivotal moments were a disaster to watch, this episode wouldn’t have received -39% of the vote. These moments were feast-or-famine, designed and destined to be either adored or loathed. One misstep and everything could have come to a screeching halt. That just didn’t happen because the pivotal Jamie – Brianna moment was perfectly placed and poignant to watch with beautiful performances. That set the stage or another wonderful moment with Brianna and Claire. Because these worked, so much of the remainder of the episode fell into place.
“The Birds & The Bees” was effective in paying off a story that really first began all the way back in the season 2 finale “Dragonfly in Amber.” It both created major moments and set the stage for others to come. This is without even mentioning the beauty and pain of some of these performances — Sam Heughan, Caitriona Balfe, and Sophie Skelton were all fantastic here and proved how strong this ensemble can be when they are all working together. This could set the stage for a marvelous season 5 — entering it, we at least know there is a chance for more Fraser family collaboration. Also, probably more pie.
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Was “The Birds & The Bees” your favorite Outlander season 4 episode?
Be sure to share your thoughts on that subject below. (Photo: Starz.)