The second episode, entitled “Castle Leoch”, picks up where the premiere left off with Claire arriving at Castle Leoch with Jamie and the rest of the Scottish men after traveling for 2 days.
I appreciated the time they took to show the life going on inside the castle walls. Claire is a newcomer, and so are we as the audience, to what was once just a lifeless ruin and is now full of life and lively characters. Here the characters from the book really start to come alive. Mrs. FitzGibbon’s, the castle housekeeper, joy at the men’s return was warm and welcoming.
Claire realizes quickly that she has to acclimate herself to her new surroundings. She is intelligent and a quick learner. Frank is never far from her mind, and we see how her separation from him is hurting her. Caitriona Balfe excellently portrays Claire’s anguish over her uncertainty of what being swept back in time means for the status her marriage.
After watching the premiere and this episode, I started to read the books. The first thing that struck me is that Sam Heughan is Jamie. He really brings him to life for me. Instead of imagining Jamie’s charming smile or amusement, I can see it plainly when Sam Heughan’s Jamie is on screen. We get a look deeper at what is behind that grin in this episode and get to know Jamie better as well as his history with Frank’s ancestor, Black Jack Randall.
In addition to getting to know the main characters better, we also start to get to know the other cast of characters. Once Claire is presentable, she is introduced to the laird of Castle Leoch, Colum MacKenzie. She also makes a potential new friend who helps her understand things that appear barbaric to her.
Jamie and Claire start to grow closer and become friendly. Claire seems to be drawn toward Jamie amidst a sea of strangers whom are suspicious of her. There is a tenderness between them as their relationship slowly starts to change from complete strangers.
This episode was a little faster paced than the premiere since there wasn’t the need for all of the backstory to set things up. The 20th century isn’t forgotten now that the story has moved to the 18th century. The story varies a little from the book version to heighten the drama to better fit a TV series, but it mostly stays true to the book. There is a lot more dialogue among the characters in this episode so it takes a little to get used to the thicker brogue to unfamiliar ears, but it isn’t hard to follow the story. Once again the beauty of Scotland seems to also play a pivotal role in the episode.
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Even though I intend to read ahead in the book, I can’t wait to see how the words on the pages are brought to life as the series unfolds.
Here are a few lines of dialogue as teasers:
- “Just never forget that you are English in a place where that’s not a pretty thing to be.”
- “I ken who she is. I’ve never spoken to her though.”
- “It was like landing on an alien world you’ve only glimpsed through a telescope. Then you begin to wonder if life on this alien world is not so different after all.”
- “Does Colum know?”
- “What kind of corset is that?”
- “Perhaps you don’t ken his mind.”
- “She’s just a girl with spirit is all. That’s always a good thing.”
The 2nd episode of Outlander, Castle Leoch, airs on Saturday, August 16, at 9PM on Starz.
