Outlander - 1x03 The Way Out - Review

This century sucks

Or at least that's what I would be thinking if I was Claire. In this episode, having been charged as the MacKenzie Clan's healer, Claire fully embraces her role by using her more advanced medical practices in a lesser developed yet still slightly advanced time. She also learns just how harsh the world she lives in truly is by witnessing the punishment of a boy and the near death of another boy because people blame it on Satan rather than seeing it is a curable affliction. The once beautiful and simple world around her, starts showing its almost uncivilized face.

The primary focus of this episode was placed on Claire's job as the MacKenzie healer. Given her previous occupation as a nurse during WWII, she excelled in this occupation. Her hopes are that if enough people are in fact cured ore healed by her, then perhaps the MacKenzie brothers will let her go. Unfortunately, her prowess in healing is the reason why the MacKenzie Clan won't let her go. This point for keeping her in the castle gets enforced when she is confronted with a huge dilemma. A boy, Mrs Fitzgibbons' nephew, has been possessed by the devil, and the local priest has him restrained to a bed in order to perform an exorcism on him. Given that this is the 1700s, it can be understandable why his symptoms would be mistaken for a demon possession. But given that Claire is from the 1940s, she has 200 years worth of new medical knowledge to know that what is going on is not a demon possession. If only everyone else would believe her. This is when she is confronted with a position that could possibly put her at odds with everyone in town. They all have their religious beliefs, and she has no problem with that. What her problem is she fears being called a witch for testifying against the priest in concern for the health of the child. She has played out a scenario in her head in which she tells Mrs. Fitzgibbons that she's from the future, which ends with her being declared a witch. It is this internal fear of being outed as a demon that looms over her, and I'm thankful that the narration doesn't try to beat that point across the head. However because Claire is a healer, she does feel a sense of duty to helping the poor child. Unfortunately, her fear does take the best of her.

However luckily for her, a visit to her new friend, Geillis, brings her to another scenario involving a young boy in a difficult position. And lucky for all of them, Jaime is there to help Claire confront her fear and remember who she is suppose to be. While it seems like a bad thing to say the handsome man come saves the damsel in distress in this episode, it is a very fitting way of saying it. Claire has a lot to be afraid of, and while she may be strong willed she has a lot to lose if she pushes her modern sensibilities too far in this time. It really is lucky for her that Jaime is a man of their time who understands a woman of her time. This could be viewed as a detraction from the "strong female" character that Claire has been portrayed as. From the first two episodes she has shown herself as competent and headstrong individual, but in here she really has reached a crisis. I'm actually very thankful for this crisis. Because with crisis shows character building. And it took seeing a boy getting punished by being nailed to a post through his ear and Jaime helping her save that boy from excruciating pain to get her to reinforce her beliefs. Jaime had to save her, not from a distressful situation, but from a moral situation.

It is a great to see that this show knows how to handle its characters and not lose sight of what is going on. Claire does not belong in this time, and the strain of dealing with her newfound setting is finally beginning to show. Also, from the opening scene, we're reminded that her husband from the 1940s, Frank, is still on her mind. For a show that is obviously setting things up for Claire and Jaime to wind up in bed together, it also reminds us that Claire is married. And from what was seen in the first episode, she is clearly in love with Frank and Frank loves her just as much. So it is clear that although we know that there is going to be a love triangle, there will definitely be a struggle of emotions. And given with what happens at the end of this episode, one might even hope that Claire does return to her husband and away from all that is happening to her. We know that's not what's going to happen, but at least the thought is there.

SCORE: 9/10 - A really well executed and well acted episode
STATUS: Continue to Watch, because this show knows what it is doing

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