Outlander Episode 1.01 and 1.02 Recaps
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Hi all. So I guess I’m doing Outlander recaps now? Well, I’m gonna try. Shows coming on Saturdays don’t really inspire much in the way of recaps cause schedule wise they are a nightmare. However, I watched the first two episodes a while ago so here’s some brief thoughts on them. If you want fuller thoughts, you can read my rave review over at Awards Circuit, but for now, this will suffice.
Pilot
-Because I was able to watch both the pilot and the second ep in one sitting, I was able to see the reason why the pilot went as it did. But structurally that pilot was so wonky. It took way too long to get to the time travel and they didn’t need to explore every room in that castle/have a third sex scene. Outlander definitely had to do a lot of heaving lifting but that doesn’t excuse this first episode from having momentum issues.
-However, I must say, both halves though are fully realized. The stuff in 1942 works just as well as the 18th century stuff. This is good for us audiences, especially if they move back and forth between time periods.
-Uh, they surely didn’t let the period trappings get in the way of the sexy Starz brand did they? I mean three (incredibly hot) sex scenes in the first 30 minutes, including her husband going downtown (they did that in the 40s?), is super unusual for a period piece.
-I am a Caitriona Balfe stan. Yes I am. She is awesome and the perfect person to lead this series. I will also be staining for Sam Heughan. I was pleasantly surprised he was able to do the whole broody hero thing and still have a ton of charisma.
Epsiode 2 “Castle Leoch”
-Given how I felt about the pilot, the second episode didn’t have to do much to be better, but hot damn was this second episode fun. It totally works because of how slow and methodical the pilot was, plus the fact that by having most of the action was set in the 18th century helped.
-CHILE THE DRAMA! This episode was packed to the gills with foolery. I loved watching Claire try to navigate the new area she’s in, from the court proceedings to just dealing with how to dress. Everything worked. What didn’t work though was her attempt to play the people in court for a fool and it promptly got her thrown in jail. She really thought she was something but this is a humbling the character probably needs.
-I also really loved hearing about Jamie’s uber tragic backstory regarding trying to save his sister from rape and being flogged to the point of having his back permanently scarred. It also made his heroics later in the episode where he stepped in for a girl who was charged with being loose morally made it really work.
-IDK how long I’ll be able to wait before I combust from the sexual tension between Jamie and Claire. I mean LAWDT! When she was redressing his wounds and that “lunch” scene whew. And yes, I know she has a husband, and she grieved him pretty hard, but damn it those two just sizzle on screen.
-My only qualm with this episode was the villains, Jack Randal and Colum are in desperate need of some character shading and finessing. Not that they grated on my nerves, but they definitely need some otherness brought into the characters.
And there you have it. I’ll try to be more coherent and wordy next week when I haven’t travelled all day and am in need of sleep lol.
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