A three-step reflection

Part 1 - 

An interesting detail but which would tend to escape us when we discover Outlander long after its first broadcast, is that the first season was first broadcast in two parts (and several months apart between episode 8 and the 9 ... the first droughtlander in a long list!) 

The first part concludes with the episode "Between two worlds" where we can see in particular Frank and the investigation into the disappearance of his wife while Claire tries to get used to the time of Jamie before, finally , try to return to the 20th century ... without succeeding since English soldiers hold her back at the last moment. For his part Frank understands that the investigation leads him to a dead end and he decides to give up and go back to Oxford without her.

I suggest you take a closer look at this story which seems simple but which has been very worked since it was a kind of semi final episode of season 1

Those who have read Volume 1 have a different version of this chapter in mind. Indeed, since the story is told by our heroine stuck in the eighteenth century, we can not know anything about the events that take place in the twentieth century. As for her escape, it went badly and Claire does not even reach the stones. She almost drowned, but she was saved by English soldiers who fished her out and took her with them to their barracks ...

Why these changes? Adding the scenes on Frank was a script option made possible and even necessary by the television format. In the series, we can and should see more than in the books and follow more points of view than that of the heroine. From there, we see that Claire's arrival in front of the stones is much more dramatic since they and Frank are on the verge of meeting again but they are prevented from doing so. They shout, they call and hear each other through the stones, as the song of the bard of Leoch had told. It all makes the scene more poignant, more romantic ... The redcoats step in and, as Frank decides to turn the page at the end of the episode, we see Claire in

By Marie Modica 

Everything revolves around the love triangle and the episode begins with Frank, in the police station. The investigation lasted 7 weeks without providing the slightest clue and he came to seek answers and hammer out an affirmation "My wife did not go with another man!" When he understands that the investigations will not go further, he finds refuge with his friend, Reginald Wakefield. The latter shows him his friendship by encouraging him in his thesis of the kidnapping. However, as the Reverend unfolds his reasoning, Frank realizes that this thesis is much less realistic than that of the police. He would have to make up his mind and decide to go to a bar where he is immensely alone in front of himself ... and the

Will he listen to the promising words of the mysterious young woman who tells him to keep track of the mysterious Highlander? The place and the time of the day presage suddenly but he decides to go there because he does not want to neglect any track even those which could prove to be dangerous for his safety. Armed with a baton, he shows up at the agreed place and, of course, falls into ambush. We then see him show great violence. After having contained his anxiety and having endeavored to always remain polite with the police officers who made fun of him so much, the attack of these thugs breaks the lock of propriety in him. They have a grudge against his life, he defends himself with all his might ... but the roles are quickly reversed and, when attacked, it is it is he who becomes the aggressor. Beating a man to death or strangling a woman, these are two options available to him and which he is not far to grasp as he burns with anger that has been contained for too long and with all his questions which are answered only by silence. sidereal. Everything that happens to him has shaken him deeply, yet he still finds deep inside him the strength to pull himself together. He does not go so far as to murder and returns sheepishly to the presbytery. however, he still finds deep inside him the strength to pull himself together. He does not go so far as to murder and returns sheepishly to the presbytery. however, he still finds deep inside him the strength to pull himself together. He does not go so far as to murder and returns sheepishly to the presbytery.

The moment of his return to the Reverend is not shown to us, nor the account he may have given him of the events of the evening. We still understand that Frank has taken a step forward. He now seems ripe to accept the obvious: part or not of his own free will, Claire is no longer there and it is this reality that he must accept. We see him leaving his wife's business behind. This gesture sparked controversy among spectators: would he be abandoning his memories of Claire to leave coldly, without looking back? From what I understand, his gesture shows on the contrary how strong his love for her is. Caution dictates him not to take them: if she were never to come back, it would not be good for him to keep objects that could remind him of his wife and, who knows, would push him to summon his ghost in spite of himself. For his own balance, he needs to start grieving. For this, he does not abandon his wife's affairs but leaves them in the care of his friend, like pious memories. By comparing this moment with those of the first episode of season 3, we see the measure of the love he has continued to have for his wife since all this time: he will rush to the hospital to join her and repatriate it to their mutual friends. But, for the moment, we are far from these other tragic moments. Frank leaves Inverness and, yes, he has one last look back. He's going to Craigh na Dun. There, the mystery evoked by Mrs Graham occurs and he hears his wife calling him through the stones. The silence was therefore broken, but no explanation will be given to him and, although he calls her with all his heart, Claire ends up being silent and does not return. How to interpret what has just happened? He understands that his wife will not come home with him that day and probably not another time either. He turns away from her because everyone forces him to do so (including the legitimate concern for his own moral and mental health) and leaves for Oxford where, alone, he will have to learn not to worry about her anymore.

Claire is at the heart of the episode. She takes part in all the scenes because, even where you can't see or hear her, it's the others who talk about her.

At first, she seems to have found a form of stability: at the top of this high hill, she is with Jamie, they caress each other's hands, sharing a privileged moment, out of time. She almost seems to accept her situation and shyly lets herself be taken on when suddenly an arrow interrupts their idyllic moment.

From there, the whole episode will be an emotional roller coaster for her: this time, she had believed them attacked but it was about a friend; later, the group suffered an attack from looters that the men repelled with flying colors ... As we advance in the narrative, we see it unblinkingly integrate a dangerous lifestyle punctuated by violence. The proximity of all these warriors perhaps gives him the illusion of being on familiar ground. Doesn't she rediscover the atmosphere of manly camaraderie that had been her daily life during her years as a war nurse? Thus, without having the time to take a step back, she accepts being given a weapon then she accepts to learn how to use it ... and she is finally forced to use it to save her skin and that of her husband. Where Frank had to do violence to himself not to kill, we see Claire focusing all of her efforts to do so.

After the murder of her attacker, she finds herself in shock: the pleasure, the fear, the adrenaline, the relief ... it all happened so quickly. In the blur of seconds that followed her fatal gesture, Jamie carried her away and now the fog is clearing. Not just the fog of her shock, but also that of the past seven weeks Claire has lived out of time, as if they weren't quite real. She slowly regains consciousness and, dazed, she looks at her hands for a long time as if they were not part of her. She does not recognize them: her hands made for healing and which have just caused death. What she has just experienced goes so against her innermost nature that she sees it as a signal reminding her that she did

From that moment on, her original resolve returned and, instead of following Jamie's instructions, she decides to take her life back into her own hands and return to the 20th century. The figure of Craigh na Dun is offered to her eyes and she rushes into it. The English redcoats intercept her at the last moment and lead her to Fort William. Another emotional lift for this extraordinary woman. She longed to join her first husband but she finds herself again confronted with her grandfather. Each of their meetings has so far been punctuated by aggression but she does not let herself be taken down and finds the strength to play scheming in the hope of intimidating Black Jack Randall. Unfortunately, he quickly unmasks her and there she is again jostled, threatened. As Randall manhandles her, the

Jamie is not left out for the emotional elevators: all to the happiness of his new marriage, the young man lets his guard down a little. He who is used to sleeping with his sword near him was surprised by Munro. In the end, it was only a false alarm, a bad omen that we will not immediately recognize as such. In fact, meeting the beggar fills Jamie's trust capital even more: the woman he loves has admitted that something is going on between them - even though she hasn't exactly told him that she loves him. , his confession is certainly already the source of great joy for him. The arrival of Munro, with whom he has the competence to communicate, leads him to a resolution,

During the vigil with the rest of the group, Jamie is vigilant and perceives the arrival of danger despite the night. He gives Claire good instructions and, after the victory against the looters, he is happy to find her safe and sound. Once again, all is well. And, the next day, when Claire is doing so well to learn to use the weapon he gave her, we can see his pride in her but also, certainly, a barely contained joy because it proves to him of some way that she accepts her new life.

Arrived at this moment, the young man forgets to take precautions. Absorbed by the brand new appeal of their conjugal activities, he isolates himself with his wife and recklessly abandons himself to passionate lovemaking. Confident of his luck and sure of his marriage, he is a bit overconfident and takes Claire for granted. But everything suddenly collapses with the arrival of the deserters. Here he is defenseless, torn from his wife and on the verge of seeing her raped in front of his eyes. He was in 7th heaven, the descent is extremely brutal. Claire manages to save them and he is deeply sorry for having thus exposed her to danger. The image of Jamie taking Claire's bloody hands to warm them painfully echoes the first images of the episode: they were carefree and she was confiding in him, putting her hands in hers, but it was she who finally protected herself. Once again in the episode, we see the expected roles being reversed and we even learn, later, that Jamie is then convinced that his wife is angry with him for not having fulfilled her duty to protect her.

It is therefore with a troubled heart that he then leaves Claire behind him, believing this time to preserve her as well as possible. When he meets the man who was to help him exonerate himself, he is disappointed to learn that no one will be able to clear him because the real murderer is none other than his accuser and the one who was his executioner, Black Jack Randall. . In the process, he is told that his wife has been kidnapped by the redcoats and finds himself at the mercy of this cursed English officer.

Without having more details about his expedition to Fort William, we see him dramatically arrive at the commander's window, just in time to save Claire from the worst. We expected nothing less from him, but he still had to have the courage. If the rescue organization is, for now, hidden to keep the suspense until the next episode, the highlighting of Jamie alone at the window of BJR allows us to realize how well he knew the place. and to perceive all that it took him to overcome bad memories and fears to come to the rescue of his wife. He has already failed her for the first time that very morning, he has no other option but to save her at all costs. Had he not solemnly declared that  

Thus this episode "Between two worlds" is, for each of the three main protagonists, the occasion of a decisive stage in their journey. Each, in his own way and according to the circumstances given to him, has found unsuspected strengths to overcome the moral and physical trials sown in his path: 

Frank knew how to control himself when everything was driving him to murder and, since the mystery remains, he gives up understanding and finding his wife. 

Claire, already shaken up since her arrival in the 18th century, knew how to strike a man to death to preserve her life and that of her husband. She also knew how to find enough resources deep inside her after the failure of Craigh na Dun to face BJR, even if her strategy did not pay off. 

As for Jamie, his ordeal here will have been less physical than moral: he has gone from a promise of total freedom to an assurance of final condemnation and, if the enthusiasm of the flesh has temporarily made him forget his homework, he is making up for it. largely by going directly to throw himself into the mouth of the wolf to save the one he loves, obviously, more than his own life. 

This episode is a real little unknown gem, because we more readily revise the one of the meeting or the marriage. He skilfully knits the scenes between the two eras and the progression of the characters is really done in parallel. It ends with the conclusion of Frank's subplot and with enough suspense about what will become of Claire and Jamie for the rest of the story ... ... but as well put together can it help us. appearing on its own, it takes on a whole new dimension when we have watched all of season 1 and we put it in parallel with the final episode, "The ransom of a soul". Looking more closely, we even notice that these two stories are mirrored. It is, moreover, certainly not a coincidence 

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End of the first part... 

... the rest of the analysis will follow soon