‘Outlander’ episode 8 review: Does Claire chose Frank or Jamie?

Now that Claire and Jamie are husband and wife we might expect that things will be easier for the couple when it comes to Black Jack and their future, but this is “Outlander” and nothing comes easy.

We’ve seen what’s happened to Claire over the past few episodes since her disappearance, but what about Frank? He’s been at the police station every day looking for help to find Claire and when they suggest that Claire has run off with another man, Frank won’t believe it and continues his obsession of finding Claire.

Frank meets a woman named “Sally” who promises to give him the address of the man that was peering in Claire’s window (Jamie). Frank shows up  at the address and Sally is there to meet him, along with a few thugs ready to mug him for the reward he’s offered to anyone with information on Claire or Jamie – a well planned trapped that he was able to escape.

After some advice telling Frank to go back home and leave his hunt for Claire behind him (since she has likely run off with Jaime), he is ready to leave. After hearing a story about people who “travel through the stones” at Craigh Na Dun and go to another time, Frank does not believe the story and decides to return home, but as he passes the rocks, he decides to go check them out.

Back in 1743 Jamie thinks he has an opportunity to clear his name and return home with Claire by his side to live happily ever after, but after a rape on Claire (and her subsequently killing her first man), his priorities change.

When Claire stumbles upon the rocks of Craigh Na Dun she has to make a choice: Does she want to try to get back to Frank or stay in this world with Jamie? Claire hears Frank screaming her name and he hears her calling out to him too wanting to go back to him, but she cannot touch the stone to get back to him as the redcoats capture her to once again be questioned by Black Jack.

When Claire hatches a plan to try to say that she and Jack are both working for the Duke, her plan quickly unravels when he catches her in a lie.  When Jack tries to rape her (second for Claire in one episode!), Jamie shows up to save the day.

This was a great way to end the season (mid season anyway). We finally had an episode that gave us some focus on what’s happening to Frank back home, but also the Jamie and Claire romance that we all crave. The only thing we could’ve done without was so many assaults on Claire… this show has way too many attempted rapes on Claire (this might have the grand total up to 5 or 6 this season) and it doesn’t always add to the story. Episode grade: A-