‘Outlander’ episode 12 review: Jamie’s homecoming to Lallybroch is far from perfect

Tonight, “Outlander” brought us a story in “Lallybroch” that was fascinating to watch from a character and history perspective, but at the same time, we also have to be honest here when it comes to the action in the episode. Before we got to the surprise ending at the close of the episode, there was not too much that happened over the course of the hour.

Even though Jamie ended up at gunpoint by the time we got to the end of the story, we still admit that what is sticking with us the most is the story of him and his sister Jenny, which was certainly complicated, to say the least. This is a relationship littered with complications and guilt, and one of the biggest parts of it coming merely from his own feeling of shame that he let his sister fall into the hands of Black Jack Randall. We learned tonight how she escaped his clutches and went on to mother children with a different man, but not after some terribly tense moments upon Jamie and Claire’s arrival.

This story was mostly about how Jamie should be a Laird to these people, and about the variety of mistakes that he made along the way. This included at times trying to be too merciful, meddling in the affairs of others, or not getting a proper sense of how exactly this part of the world is run.

As for the river scene with Jamie’s shirt (an interesting way of avoiding detection from the Redcoats), we are sure that many enjoyed that!

Claire had a key role in the episode as adviser, proving yet again that her bravery is probably what makes her so admired by so many of the people in this world. Watching her pain as she heard more of Jamie’s story about his past, the death of his father, and the origins of the cars on his back was powerful stuff. While it was not enough to necessarily make this a favorite episode of ours, it was a necessary one. This proved that Jamie may try to establish normalcy back at his ancestral home, but there will almost always be something holding him back. Grade: B-.

What was your take on tonight’s “Outlander” episode? Share with a comment.