Outlander review, Episode 608: “I Am Not Alone”

And just like that Outlander fans, we’ve entered yet another dreaded Droughtlander. This hiatus, luckily, should not be as long as the last one, since the cast and crew are already filming season 7. But a wait is a wait, and considering the way things ended in the season 6 finale, it will at least feel like a long one.

As promised, this season has been dark and gritty, and shown us a side of Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe) that we haven’t seen in a while. She wasn’t her usual, joyous self, and it was just weird. She was haunted by her assault at the end of season 5, which led to some major twists.

“I Am Not Alone” takes the Frasers down a very dangerous and dark road. A lot of things are left unknown at the end, yet there is reason to hope. Heading into season 7, Outlander might break of the anxiety and PTSD that have dominated this season and mount some high-octane rescue missions.

But that’ll be then. For now, let’s discuss the season 6 finale. SPOILERS below!

The Frasers vs the Committee of Safety

We begin with a short clip of folks at a 1950s diner sipping milkshakes. I was excited wondering if there would be time travel involved in this episode. Was someone going back to the future? Or was this illustrative of something someone was talking about back in the past?

Well, it was the latter, but still, there were a lot of references to the future in this episode, so I feel like a trip through the stones is imminent.

In any case, Richard Brown’s (Chris Larkin) Committee of Safety has arrived at the Frasers’ home looking for Claire. She is being accused of killing Malva (Jessica Reynolds) and her unborn baby, and the townsfolk are out for revenge. The Frasers don’t intend to take this lying down, and get into a shootout with the Committee. Their home is shot up and destroyed, but Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire are not the types to cower in fear. Claire grabs a rifle.

I love seeing how fierce Claire is even during a moment of panic and fear, but unfortunately, things don’t work out how she and Jamie were hoping.

Claire and Jamie make a deal

After the shootout, things calm down as both sides try to figure out how to move past this stalemate. Jamie and Claire are stuck in their house trying to find something to eat, while everyone else is outside figuring out how to get in.

The couple remember what brought their daughter Brianna into the past: she found a newsletter saying that both of her parents had perished in a fire at Fraser’s Ridge, along with their obituaries. Perhaps this is the moment. The angry townsfolk outside could very well burn the house down with Claire and Jamie inside of it, and that would be the end of that.

Luckily, this is not what happens. Phew.

Instead, Hiram Crombie (Antony Byrne) shows up asking Claire and Jamie to surrender and negotiate. Something doesn’t feel right, but the couple decides to hear him out. Basically, they want Claire to go with them to Salisbury so she can be put on trial for her crimes, but considering she didn’t do anything, it seems a bit ridiculous.

But eventually, Claire have no choice but to go with the group. Thomas Christie (Mark Lewis Jones), of all people, helps strike a deal under which Jamie can come along. He’s also the one who says they should leave the next day, which allows the couple to sleep in their own bed before all hell breaks loose.

I knew that guy has a soft spot for Jamie, I just knew it!

Outlander breaks out hearts again (and again)

While this is happening, Ian (John Bell), Roger (Richard Rankin), and Brianna have no idea that Claire and Jamie are being carted away first thing in the morning. In fact, Roger and Brianna are sharing a night of passionate lovemaking (as are Jamie and Claire, because why not) before heading off to the Seminary where Roger is going to be a minister. They have no idea that Jamie and Claire were forcibly ripped from their homes, and we don’t see them find out before the episode is over. Sigh, I know! The stress! The tension! The drama! It looks like they will be learning about this upon their arrival at the Seminary as news of Claire and Jamie’s citizen’s arrest makes its way around the area.

Promptly the next morning, Jamie and Claire are carted away to Salisbury. Thomas Christie is there as well, and something tells me he’s going to look out for them.

Unfortunately for the Committee, they learn that the court system in Salisbury has been shut down. There is talk of just turning back around, but Richard Brown won’t hear of it. He decides they are going to go the extra 200 miles to Wilmington. This guy doesn’t let up!

The journey continues until one morning, everything goes wrong, very wrong.

Claire is forcibly separated from Jamie and then taken away in the carriage while men hold Jamie back. Will they kill him?

Tom Christie is not happy to see how things are playing out, and given he’s the man who lost his daughter, I would think he’d have more say in how the alleged suspects are treated. He can’t reunite Jamie and Claire, but he does cut a deal that saves Jamie’s life. I’m not sure how much we can trust that promise because Richard Brown is involved, but Tom Christie seems very confident  that nothing will happen to Jamie.

This is why he decides to stay with Claire, because chances are that if he had left, these men would have murdered her right then and there. I’m not sure how to feel about Tom. Like, is he secretly a nice guy, or is there some bigger plan in play here?

Outlander arrives in Wilmington

After a long and lonely journey to Wilmington, Claire is promptly put into a jail cell. Tom reassures that Jamie is alive and nothing will happen to him. He even squeezes her hand, and oddly enough, I felt like we can all trust him in this moment.

Speaking of the Wilmington jail cell, isn’t this the same jail cell where we heard an alleged time traveler whistling an anachronistic tune? I believe it is! And while we don’t see him in the Outlander season 6 finale, I’m going to bet that he and Claire will cross paths in that cell. I cannot wait for that to happen.

Elsewhere on Outlander

While Claire remains locked up in Wilmington, we learn that Jamie is being forced to board a ship back to Scotland. I guess that is one way to keep him alive? Luckily, Ian has been following Jamie and Claire ever since he learned of the news from Lizzie (Caitlin O’Ryan). He even talks to Jamie, who tells him not to do anything drastic and to just keep a watchful eye on them.

Luckily, Ian’s timing is impeccable, and before Jamie can be put onto the ship, Ian and his men attack and take out everyone in the vicinity, including the only guy who knows where Claire is. There is this epic scene where one of the tribal Chiefs shoots the guy through his hand and eyeball and right out the back of his head. It’s gnarly!

Thanks to Ian and the tribal men, Jamie is saved, and the group sets off on their horses to commence Mission Save Claire. It’s an exciting way to end the season, because what Outlander fans love more than anything is an epic rescue mission. It’s going to be wild folks, and I cannot wait!

And speaking of not being able to wait, while Brianna and Roger have no idea what’s been happening with Jamie and Claire, they do talk an awful lot about the future, specifically whether to tell Jemmy about the whole time-traveling thing their family can do. It sounds like they will eventually tell him, although Roger gives me some pause when he says that the hardest thing about telling Jemmy about time travel is that he might decide to leave them one day.

Is this foreshadowing? Tune in sometime in the future to find out (or maybe head to the books to see what happens).

Verdict

Whew! Now that is what you call a season finale! There was so much drama, tension, and as always, way too many questions left unanswered (but in a fun way). All season long, things have been incredibly dark with no signs of brightening. So it is only fitting that the season ends with Claire in jail, Jamie almost shipped off to Scotland, and Brianna none the wiser about what is happening with her parents. It was an emotional rollercoaster ride that you sort of wanted to stay on forever, even if it was hurting you!

There is a lot to anticipate in Outlander season 7 especially when it comes to Claire. Will she be punished for a crime she didn’t commit? Or will the real culprit be exposed? I really hope so because we cannot lose Claire (and I refuse to believe we will) and we need her and Jamie to be together forever and ever.

Please.

See you all next season!

Grade: A

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