In this episode, “To Ransom a Man’s Soul”, Jamie is rescued from prison. Claire fears that Jamie’s wounds are deeper than she can heal.
Previously on Outlander, after learning that Jamie is at Wentworth Prison, Claire desperately tries to save him. Jamie meets up with Black Jack again when Black Jack arrives in time to prevent Jamie’s hanging. Black Jack offers Jamie an alternative death to hanging if he is willing to let Black Jack have his body. Jamie steadfastly refuses to relent until Black Jack catches Claire in Jamie’s cell. To protect Claire, Jamie relents and tells Black Jack that he can do whatever he wants and he won’t resist.
A crafty plan is successfully surprises Black Jack and the British, and Murtagh, Rupert, and Angus are able to find Jamie and rescue him. They find sanctuary at a nearby abbey where Claire quickly sets to working on Jamie’s physical wounds. Yet it is difficult to save a man who doesn’t want to be saved.
Jamie’s ordeal has broken him, and he has reached a point where he wishes for death. When the episode opens, Jamie reminds Black Jack that he owes him. Before Black Jack can follow through on his word, the disturbance happens that frees Jamie from prison. Jamie battles shame and guilt despite Claire’s care.
This episode was as equally disturbing to watch as the previous one. And without having read this far in the book, I truly wasn’t sure what the outcome was going to be. Sam Heughan has done a terrific job showing just how broken Jamie is in this episode. He has been through so much, and it is so easy to see why he’d welcome death as a reprieve. The hardest part for me is seeing Jamie, who has been a survivor and maintained his jovial spirit, lose that. He survived his ordeal, but it has changed him.
And Claire never gives up and continues fighting no matter the odds she faces. That is what I love about her character. Her optimism and spirit was a ray of light in this episode. Repeatedly she has refused to let those around her give up when they felt the cause was hopeless.
The cast, crew, writers, and everyone associated with this show deserve all the recognition, awards, etc that they will hopefully receive. I really appreciated that they never held any punches when it came to telling the story despite it being quite disturbing at times to watch. I’ve only read the first half of the first book, but I found that the show remained true to the book. And any changes that were made only enhanced the story and made for better television. That is very hard to do when adapting from a much-loved source.
Sadly this is the last episode of this season, but thankfully there is another season where Claire’s story will continue.
Tune in tonight at 9PM on Starz to see the season finale, "To Ransom a Man's Soul".
