Outlander season 4 episode 9 review: The Jamie – Brianna meeting & more
Related Outlander video! – Be sure to take a look at our thoughts on tonight’s episode below. Meanwhile, remember to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube and be sure to check out our full series playlist.
Let’s begin by discussing some of the joy, namely the meeting between Jamie and his daughter Brianna that’s been a full season in the making. There was something incredibly joyous about these two characters coming together for the first time, even if the circumstances surrounding them meeting were a little goofier than expected. Brianna saw Jamie right when he was taking a leak, and on the other side of that, the two had a joyous meeting that we could watch many times over. There was a natural sweetness to it but also so much love and surprise on Jamie’s part. (Did anyone else notice how cold it must have been in Scotland, due to how much you could see the actors’ breath?)
Soon after this wonderful moment, Brianna and Claire ended up reuniting and almost every little meeting in the season was wonderful in its own way. It was so sweet to see Bree alongside Young Ian and lovely for her to meet Murtagh for the first time. (Also, does Young Ian have a thing for Brianna’s servant Lizzie?)
As wonderful as these moments were, and there were many others (including Jamie and Brianna going bee-hunting together, where Jamie explained to her that was grateful that Frank was a good father to her), there was also a lot of pain. Bree was still reeling from the aftermath of her assault and for most of the episode, she tried to bottle everything in. She did not confide in Claire as to what was happening until later when she realized she was pregnant. Meanwhile, it wasn’t until even later when Claire realized that the man who assaulted her was Stephen Bonnet because of the ring that she had acquired.
Earlier in the episode, Brianna learned via Young Ian that it was Bonnet who had ransacked the family earlier on in the season, and after Jamie and Claire made the decision to help him — one that they immediately regretted. Brianna knew that Jamie would never forgive himself and that is why she didn’t want to say anything. She didn’t want to talk about the assault in general, mostly because that may have been a way for her to escape it being a part of her conscious mind.
Then, there was Lizzie, who wanted to do whatever she could in order to protect Brianna. However, in the process of doing this she failed to realize that it was not Roger who assaulted her. She saw what she saw but the two never communicated on too much more than that. This is one of the reasons why Lizzie, upon seeing Roger make his way back towards Fraser’s Ridge after Bonnet made him navigate the journey towards Philadelphia, warned Jamie about him. She saw something, so she said something. Jamie, in turn, didn’t know at the time that it was Bonnet who had assaulted his daughter. Therefore, when he saw Roger, he beat him to a pulp and told Ian to get rid of him.
All of this was a terrible, painful misunderstanding. While Roger may have hurt Brianna with his decision to leave (which Bree beat herself up over far too much), he came back because he loved her. He had no choice but to board that ship in the first place. Now, however, Roger’s life is on the line and unless the information filters back to Brianna or Claire, nobody may be able to help him.
CarterMatt Verdict
This was a fantastic episode where there was a great deal of emotional interplay from start to finish. There were so many happy meetings, but beyond all of that a painful undercurrent as Brianna had to look back at what transpired and Lizzie’s decision to take matters into her own hands had some dire consequences. This was a reminder that when Outlander is firing on all cylinders, there is no other show out there like it.
What did you think about Outlander season 4 episode 9 overall, and what are you worried about moving forward? Share right now in the attached comments. (Photo: Starz.)