WiC Watches: Outlander season 5

Outlander Season 5 — Courtesy of STARZ

Episode 509: “Monsters and Heroes”

Just when you think Outlander has exhausted every effort to toy with your emotions, they go somewhere where no fan ever wants to go. This week’s episode, “Monsters and Heroes,” is an emotional rollercoaster that had me in my feels every step of the way.

Fans of the book series once again knew this big moment was coming, a moment that had all of us covering our faces and biting our nails in worry. Yes, folks, it’s that serious.

As the episode begins, fall is descending on Fraser’s Ridge, which means that the family must go on the hunt. Of course, we all know how skilled Brianna is as markswoman, but she’s excited about joining the other women in making dye for the day. So her dear father Jamie must take Roger instead.

Side note: The look on Jamie’s face when he realizes he’s showed up at his grown daughter’s house in the early hours of the morning is hilarious. Even more hilarious? Realizing his daughter and son-in-law were buck naked under the sheets when he tried to storm in. The look on his face is priceless.

While Brianna is off making dye with Claire and company, Roger joins Jamie, Ian, Fergus, Josiah, and a few other men from Fraser’s Ridge for the hunt. At some point, Jamie and Roger split off from the group, which proves to be a grave mistake. You see, Jamie and Roger stumble across a herd of buffalo (which is exactly what they need!), but they forget all about that when Jamie is bit by a snake. I’m still mad at this snake, by the way. The snake sinks its fangs pretty deep into Jamie’s leg, and one thought crossed my mind: there’s no anti-venom in this time period.

Roger does what he can to get the venom out, cutting the site of the bite and sucking out the venom. He gets an A for effort, but it doesn’t seem to do the trick as the hours go on. Have you ever experienced heart palpitations over a character’s fate? Well, Outlander had my heart racing as Jamie’s condition slowly deteriorates.

Worst yet, he can’t walk on his own, and Roger has no luck finding the other men who have now returned to Fraser’s Ridge. When Roger and Jamie don’t return immediately, no one get too worried — they can take care of themselves, after all — but the next morning, panic ensues.

But before that, Brianna and Claire have an interesting conversation about how it’s been difficult for Brianna to find her calling since coming to this time. Claire practices medicine, even if the equipment and knowledge in this time period are very different then they are back in the 20th century. Brianna is an engineer, but as of yet, she hasn’t been able to make use of that skillset. But worry not, Bree: you’l be engineering in no time.

Over that first night, Jame’s condition continues to worsen (as do my heart palpitations). But in this frightening moment, something beautiful happens. Jamie and Roger finally connect. Maybe it was all that venom getting to Jamie’s head, but he opens up to Roger about one particular secret he thinks he’s been harboring from Roger and Brianna. Yup, that would be the Stephen Bonnet-shaped secret.

In the event Jamie doesn’t survive, he wants Roger to kill Bonnet. Given there’s already a plan in motion to do so (remember the awkward stable episode?), he wants Roger to take over in case he’s not around to take charge. Ugh, stop it Jamie, just stop it.

I think the saddest part of their conversation is Jamie telling Roger that Bonnet can try to claim Jemmy as his own son in an attempt to acquire River Run. One must understand that in these times if a woman was raped, it was assumed to be consensual. It doesn’t matter that there were witnesses or anything. And the palpitations worsen.

The night passes, and Roger attempts to drag Jamie on some sort of sled he’s created. He only makes it so far before losing all his strength, and in that moment, it looks like Jamie has given up as well. I know it can’t be true, but it doesn’t stop me from going into a state of panic.

Luckily, Lan and company head out in search of Roger and Jamie and eventually find them, with Roger alerting everyone to their whereabouts. I know we were all thinking that once Jamie got back to the Ridge and into Claire’s care, everything would be alright.

Um, well, not so much. While Claire is a superhero when it comes to being a doctor, she has very limited options in this time. Not to mention, that one horrible man had broken her one and only syringe, meaning she couldn’t administer penicillin into Jamie’s bloodstream.

As the episode goes on, Jamie’s leg looks worse and worse. All of Fraser’s Ridge heads out on a search for maggots, which will help fight off the infection. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to get rid of the venom coursing through Jamie’s veins.

Claire’s options seem to dwindle down to losing Jamie forever or amputating his leg. Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan do an amazing job through the entire back half of the episode. Their performances are so gripping and realistic, and I was basically ugly crying through it all.

When Jamie realizes that Claire might be chopping off his leg, he refuses at first. It’s a point of pride for him, but it’s Ian who brings him down to planet Earth by saying it has nothing to do with pride. His own father and Fergus have each lost a limb, and they are still themselves. I never imagined Ian speaking up like this, but it’s exactly what Jamie needs to hear.

After a feverish night (and some body-on-body contact with Claire to keep him warm), Jamie manages to be alive the next morning and gives Claire permission to chop off the leg, if and when she needs to.

Remember when I said Bree’s engineering skills would finally come in handy? Well, luckily for everyone, Roger had grabbed the snake’s decapitated head. Why? He has no idea, but because he did, Brianna realizes the snake’s venom sac can be made into a syringe. Who would have thought?!

Moments before Claire is about to amputate Jamie’s leg, Bree and Roger show up with the makeshift syringe. Claire wastes no time in injecting the penicillin into Jamie’s very gross, disgusting leg.

And guess what, Outlander fans?! IT WORKED! Jamie LIVES! I mean, I didn’t doubt that for a second…

My favorite moment of the episode, apart from the obvious? Jamie and Claire’s scene before the credits roll. Their love story is so beautiful and seeing them share a tender moment about how Jamie made his way back to her had me ugly crying once again.

But hey, it’s okay, because JAMIE LIVES!

Oh, and Marsali had her baby (sans Claire), and Brianna distracted a wandering buffalo before it could hurt Jemmy. Uh yah, this episode was very hectic. But it’s okay, because, yup, you got it, Jamie lives.