Outlander –“Both Sides Now” Review. How to Choose.

Season 1, Episode 8

Air Date: Saturday, September 27, 2014 at 9PM ET/PT on Starz

Rating: ★★★★★

“I was back, to the place where it’d all begun.” – Claire Fraser

One of a few passionate moments between the newlyweds.

As “Both Sides Now” opens, we’re back in the future (har, har) visiting modern day Scotland, and flopping to the past where Frank (Tobias Menzies) continues life without his bride. I must admit the back and forth isn’t quite as pleasing as watching flashbacks. You can almost get lost in what’s going on because both sides are occurring at the same time, technically. “I did hear you. I simply do not share your views.” Well, here’s to Frank being close minded. He’s being handed the truth on a platter, yet won’t accept it. Would you accept it? Would it be so easy to believe your loved one has travelled through time as a way to explain their disappearance? What do you believe when there’s no other rational explanation? A broken man, a man in love, and the woman who connects them—this is the crux of the Outlander tale. “My wife is not with another man.” I wouldn’t be so sure, Frank.

Make It Last Forever

Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan) are riding along in newlywed bliss. I remember that feeling—the overwhelming knowledge of the person you’ve pledged your life and love to; the closeness you feel enhanced when apart for a minute or two. These two can’t readily be called lovebirds because Claire’s heart is still with Frank. She’s falling for Jamie, just not all the way. So the romance is a bit one-sided but expressed through the heartfelt words, lingering caresses, and longing gazes. Jamie seems a young man in love; Claire, a woman torn between two lives. Her rings are a constant reminder of what she has lost, and what she still has to lose.

Random Tidbits

Dougal (Graham McTavish) takes a backseat to the main focus of “Both Sides Now” and I think he’s biding his time. He knows he has overstepped with Claire and is keeping a watch to see if Jamie is keen to what’s happened. There’s still a subtle tension between the two, and it will come to a head should Jamie discover Dougal is interested in more than Claire’s safety.

I’m totally nitpicking here but I can’t leave this unsaid. Frank sees Jamie’s ghost on a stormy night and is able to describe him accurately to a sketch artist? I think not. The picture of Jamie is damn near a photograph it’s so good. There’s no way Frank saw him clearly enough to give that vivid of a description.

The injection of action into every episode of Outlannder is invigorating. I’m assuming the writers realize a series about historical times could get a tad boring without something to shake things up a bit.

Black Jack Randall doesn’t disappoint when it comes to being despicable.

Kudos to Balfe and Menzies for bringing to life a frightening scene with such realism, I flinched and turned away from my TV screen knowing what was to come. (As an aside, can the woman be left alone for five minutes? I’ve never seen a character come so close to being raped so many times in a single episode.) Claire’s fright comes through loud and clear, and Black Jack Randall is as smarmy as he can be. I still don’t know how Menzies is able to flip between the roles of the two Randall men. They are so extreme on the scale of caring to cruel, you’d think the one would leak into the other.

I don’t quite believe the ending. It seems too choreographed, too heroic. Claire isn’t a woman who needs rescuing. She’s proved that. I believe that. Maybe my perception is skewed from reading the novels, but Jamie appearing to rescue Claire just doesn’t do it for me.

Memorable Lines

Jaime to Claire: “Is it usual, what it is between us? When I touch you; when you lie with me. Is it always so between a woman, and a man?”

Twoo wuv…

Claire: “Christmas. I suppose you’ll hang stockings by the fire?”

Jamie: “To dry them off, you mean?”

Oh Jamie, sometimes your life as a Highlander really makes me think you know nothing of how Christmas is celebrated in 1945.

Angus: “Tulach ard!”

Well said, old chap.

Claire: “It’s too long and heavy for me.”

While I appreciate Rufus’ knack for witty comebacks, I think he could have tried a little harder with this line Claire leaves herself open for.

Claire: “Frank! Wait for me!”

Yeah, I didn’t see that coming.

Overall

Will Frank ever find what (or who) he’s looking for?

Outlander hits quite a few highs in this emotionally charged episode but not enough that I can rave about how great it is. “Both Sides Now” indeed covers the past and future, with the present existing as both, all wrapped up in a confusing mix. I love the attention to detail; nothing important is missed when the story crafted by Diana Gabaldon is brought to life. But I need to believe it. As a midway point, “Both Sides Now” does its job. This is a filler episode with a cliffhanger that will make you come back for more. At least I hope you will. If you’ll be continuing on with Claire and Jamie’s journey, drop me a line in the comments section or tweet me @ellemoe to discuss. Outlander returns Saturday, April 4, 2015 at 9PM ET/PT, only on Starz. For more on the show, visit the official site.

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Elle

Writer, mother, realist, cloud lover, daydreamer, dessert enthusiast, sweet tea addict, perfectionist, and lover of life and Christ, but not in that order. http://www.fanfiction.net/~vikingloverelle