Every episode of Outlander season 5, ranked worst to best

Outlander — Courtesy of STARZ

12. “Better to Marry Than Burn” Season 5, Episode 6

Ah yes, the episode that made us all cringe for two reasons: locusts and an awkward Jamie-and-Claire sex scene. Looking back at season 5, this episode stood out to me as my least favorite because it felt like filler, which is something Outlander rarely does.

There were two main plot points here: Jocasta’s wedding at River Run and a locust problem back on Fraser’s Ridge. The episode did very little to propel the season forward, and it didn’t give us much to get excited about for next week.

Let’s take the River Run portion of the episode, for example. While Jamie and Claire are there to celebrate Jocasta’s upcoming nuptials, they decide to mix a little business with pleasure. This “business” involves convincing the creepy Philip Wylie to connect them with Stephen Bonnet. The hope is to exact revenge on Bonnet for what he did to Brianna.

This all ends up working out in their favor, with some unnecessary drama along the way, but it brings us to a very awkward sex scene between our leads. Something about Claire and Jamie’s chemistry in the barn felt so incredibly off, like the actors were forcing it. The chemistry between Jamie and Claire is an instrumental part of the show. When that doesn’t make sense, it feels like nothing does. The whole sequence just didn’t feel necessary. If they needed to find a way to Bonnet, I think they could have found an alternative. Like anything else.

Meanwhile, the chaos back at Fraser’s Ridge felt a little manufactured as a way to redeem Roger. He’s struggled to find a place in Jamie’s heart, and when the community is in danger of losing their crops due to a swarm of locusts, Roger steps up and helps solve the problem. It felt like a stretch. Does anyone else feel this way?

I like that this part of the story paints Roger in a positive light, but again, it just didn’t feel necessary. It felt like they wanted something for everyone to do but didn’t really need it.

This episode could have been better. Because it failed up to live up to the standards of the Outlander we all know and demand, it ranks in last place for season 5.