We can add another hour of Outlander that brought tears to my eyes.
I’m not an emotional person, but Outlander Season 5 Episode 11, airing only a week before Mother’s Day, was gut-wrenching.
To put it mildly, “Journeycake” gives new meaning to the term empty nesters.
Things had been going too well, of course, for Jemmy not to discover his affinity for traveling through the stones arbitrarily.
And, oh my gosh, aren’t the twins who play Jemmy the cutest things? Watching kids grow up on television is a lot of fun, and these little guys are bound for stardom.
And it was his hour, wasn’t it? The family had been hanging onto hope that he would be able to go through the stones so that Bree and Roger could whisk the little guy to the relative safety of the future.
Even though Bree has been hesitant to leave her family, the closer it gets to the beginning of the American Revolution, the more dangerous their situation. Common sense has to weigh out when it comes to her family in the same way it did when Claire went through the stones when she was pregnant with Bree.
The unfairness of the situation reveals itself when Jamie is torn away from another child and even his grandchild. That man has the patience of a saint. Of course, being a saint wasn’t what got him William, yet another child who is too far from his heart.
Ian learning the family secret was another way the unfairness of their situation was represented. When those you love can “easily” pick up and pop in and out of time, knowing you cannot when you feel it would help you desperately kind of stinks.
I’m eager to learn, though, what happened between Ian and his … wife, was it? There is more to that story, and spending less time with Bree and Roger might allow for the tale to blossom a little bit.
Letting go is never easy, but letting go and moving into a time when part of your family cannot visit is worse.
It was almost funny that Fergus thought Boston was too far for Bree and Roger to move. If he knew where they were really going, he would have been beside himself.
For Bree, it was essential to be as close to reality as possible, even if their truth would never be understood. Her heartfelt goodbyes might have seemed out of place, but when she said goodbye to Lizzie, it was obvious that even a move the distance of Boston could mean you’d never see each other again.
I couldn’t help but think that Claire’s examination of Jamie’s sperm meant she was considering another child. At the same time, her hot flash lent credence to the idea that even in the fairytale land of fiction, there’s no hope for that.
Claire and Jamie will have to double down on the family they have near. But there’s not going to be a lot of time for that straight away.
Just two weeks after Bree and Roger left, Claire got kidnapped? Sheesh.
Everything happened so fast that I couldn’t see their faces, but was the redcoat one of the Brown brothers?
I can’t think of anyone else who had a bone to pick with the family than the Brown brothers unless it was whoever was setting up the Indians as murderers. Or are they one and the same?
They weren’t stupid, though, as the still was damaged as an excuse to get the men away from the home. Which then brings me to the Browns again, as the one Brown ruefully suggested it was whiskey production that was keeping Jamie from joining their cause.
We know the Browns are backward from our group’s short stay in their little enclave.
That Lionel literally twisted his wife’s arm so badly that Rose needed medical help was another indication, and since the man saw hints of Dr. Rawlings in Claire’s desk, he surely has ideas about that.
But I can’t believe that both brothers are in on the savagery as it’s impossible to imagine there wasn’t at least a little sanity in that family, especially since they’re interested in beginning a safety patrol.
Could this be a brother against brother thing into which Claire and Jamie got stuck in the middle?
We only have one episode left to go for Outlander Season 5, and part of me wishes that it would have ended happily and not with what felt like verification that Bree and Roger made the right decision to leave.
As if an oncoming war wasn’t enough of a reason, Claire had to get kidnapped and Marsali knocked out cold on the floor in front of her child.
At least you can say that there are very few dull months for the Frasers who are always interconnected with the most dangerous people.
An then there’s Ulysses, who proved to be a kind and generous man of his word. There wasn’t much by way of explanation as to why he was in the woods, and it didn’t even dawn on me that he was on the run for murdering Forbes.
Jocasta has lost a lot of late, too, from Murtagh to Ulysses and now Bree, Roger, and Jemmy, a loss she is likely unaware of entirely.
So what will the finale hold, Outlander fanatics? Will Claire be rescued, or will we roll into Outlander Season 6 with Claire held captive and Jamie using his militia to track down the love of his life? And at what point will calling the men to arms become too much so close to wartime?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on all that happened. Could you bring yourself to time travel knowing there was no feasible way to communicate with the people you love?
To remember the Frasers during happier times, you can watch Outlander online right here via TV Fanatic.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.