nara

Spencer herself said she would forgive Hanna and just needed a little more time, so hopefully this is all moot. I am curious about whether Caleb left town or just went to a hotel. Also, will he move on to Aria next? Or perhaps Emily will be revealed to be bisexual. Kidding, but not really.

I've forgotten why Rollins was dating Allison while Charlotte was still alive. I know that he wanted to get close enough to torture her when he thought Allison killed Charlotte. But before that? Can someone please remind me? I actually like Spencer and Caleb together, but his running away when things get tough is completely immature. Spencer's annoyance with Hanna is understandable, but didn't Spencer hook up with 2 of her sister's boyfriends when she was a teenager? Have they confirmed that this is the last season?

I actually thought Beth Ann's family came off as kind and generous and welcoming, with the big exception being the Confederate flag painted on the wall. One guy even put himself between Brock and Darius to prevent Brock from attacking him. Even Brock wasn't so bad. I thought the real joke was that Rachel and company's stereotyping did not play out. Luckily for them the pregnancy drama happened. I think Darius's generosity to Beth Ann was based on her incredible vulnerability at the time. He was shocked when she said she loved him to her family and she appeared to be going off the deep end during the key ceremony. He may have been worried that she would harm herself if she thought her future was hopeless. I know that I was thinking that. Plus he had recently seen Rachel yelling at him for no reason, so his concern was probably heightened. Not sure why Beth Ann suggested Darius could be the father. Could be that she's an automatic liar in tough situations, or she constructed a fantasy romance between her and Darius, or she was trying to force him to pick her, or she was trying to deflect attention from herself. Totally shipping Quinn and John Booth. The sex scene between Rachel and Coleman seemed out of place in this episode. It felt like he should be giving her emotional support, not physical comfort, especially after the trauma she's been through and her erratic behavior that day. The way he behaved in the meeting with Chet and Quinn led me to believe he understood that.

Re: your post, 1. I didn't think that Claire's relationship with Brianna was distant because of Jamie. I thought it was because Brianna adored Frank and notice that Claire was a little distant from him. Could also be that Claire was a working mother (med school + surgeon) when many of her friends would have had stay-at-home moms. I guess it's up to interpretation for now. 2. Regarding research, my assumption was that Jamie intended to die at Culloden, i.e, suicide by Redcoat, so there was no need for research. Plus, she really did give her word to Frank. She couldn't give him her love, but she could keep her promise. Re: Blackjack, she probably didn't care anymore because she stopped caring about anything for a while. It's interesting that she did tell Frank enough about BJR that he stopped research BJR, saying "he's not the man I thought he was" to Reverend Wakefield. It's a pity he stopped the research; he might have found something to help us get closure. 3. I rewatched the scene with Claire and Brianna. "Frank was your father in every way that matters...except one. He didn't make you." I think she very much acknowledges that Frank is Brianna's father and his role in her life was more important. (Heck, she's even a historian, like Frank.) But the fact is that her DNA comes from another man. I do wish she had said something to Jamie at the gravestone about how Frank had lived up to Jamie's trust in him. Re: Brianna actress Sophie Skelton. I actually think her expressions are quite good as she speaks and reacts to others. She does have this thing about not moving her arms -- they stay at her side a lot.-- which is a little unnatural IMO.

I didn't have any issues with Brianna either. Geillis apparently thought the time travel could be controlled with jewels. I went back to the first episode of the season because I remembered Claire dropping a ring. It looks like that's the ring that Jamie gave her in this episode, but the stone was missing when she arrived back in the modern time. So maybe Geillis was right. Of course, this relies heavily on what I believe I saw with the help of my DVR and pause button, so maybe someone else can validate it. Jamie and Claire will find trouble or make it themselves, so don't fear for lack of conflict. Maybe they will get involved in the American or French Revolutions. Heck, maybe Claire will even cause one of them!

I somehow doubt that Murtagh was an officer. I bet the other officers were from Lord Simon's group. At least I hope so. Since we lost so many friends, I hope we get to keep Murtagh somehow in Season 3. I cried when he insisted on coming back to Culloden to die with Jamie. What a great episode. Have they said anything about when Season 3 would be aired? I long for the days when new seasons would start very predictably in September! First the shallow stuff. Caitriona and Lotte are beauties for the ages. We have seen Cait in 3 periods and she is equally lovely in the styles of the 3 ages. Lotte also looked equally gorgeous in modern style as she did in her 18th century garb. I think they could have done more to age Claire-- she must be in her late 40's or even 50 in 1968. Not sure why she's wearing glasses now. Reading glasses would have made more sense if it were part of her aging... Apparently Claire went to med school--yay! She may have even done it while pregnant or with a small child, which is so Claire! Was excited to see that adorable boy Roger Wakefield come back as a grown character. Did not expect the connect to Dougal and Geillis, but his line about the "fucking barbeque" and him quoting Nathan Hale too were both cute. Nice throwback to Geillis at the witch trial. I guess I should have seen something coming. However, I'm surprised that there wasn't more of an obvious connection between him and great--great--whatever grandmother Geillis/Gillian, though I guess she gave him a bit of a lingering look. She seemed to have more of a connection with BriannaI squealed when I heard Geillis speaking--her voice is very distinctive. Then when they actually showed her, I squealed again! Speaking of Geillis, my only real disappointment in the episode was that Ganesh's brilliant theory of Claire + Jamie = Geillis was proven to be untrue. :( However, the idea that she had murdered ANOTHER husband, I found perfectly appropriate. But I don't get why she changed her name from Gillian to Geillis... I was shocked by the killing of Dougal. I really thought we would have him for future seasons. It was terrible that Jamie was the one who had to kill him. I was hoping that Claire would do the job herself by plunging a dagger to save Jamie. I would have preferred Jamie not to have the guilt of killing his kin. I also wish Claire hadn't told Jamie about Collum taking poison. It would have been better for him not to know that his uncle committed a mortal sin. Also, I think killing BPC would not have done much at that point. Yes, Culloden would have been avoided, but all those people would still have been executed or jailed as traitors. How heartbreaking that Jamie and Claire were separated when they needn't have been. She could have gone to Lallybroch with Fergus (glad he was not at Culloden) and had the baby there. But the scene when they said goodbye was well done and made up for the lack of attention given to the last time Claire was contemplating going through the stones. I had been wondering why we didn't hear about Claire being pregnant in earlier episodes, so I'm glad Jamie knew. Would she have gone to the future without telling him if he hadn't guessed? I also felt terrible when he talked about 200 years of prugatory, because that must be what he endured in order to be the Highlander ghost from the very first episode. :( I confess that I couldn't help smiling that Jamie has yet to build up his stamina--the sex was over very quickly! ;) I'm glad that she wants to go back, but what about her daughter? Surely she cannot abandon her young daughter in the future? Brianna is only 20 years old. I enjoyed the bittersweet visits to Lallybroch and Culloden too. I was a little sorry not to see Frank, but I was glad that Brianna was apparently quite devoted to him. He got a raw deal in all this and he seems to have handled it in the most gallant way. Interesting that he and Blackjack both raised other people's children. Somehow I doubt that BJR was this gracious. If he were alive still, I'd feel better about Claire going back in time, but perhaps Brianna will want to go too. Brianna and Roger could both hear the stones (and Jamie couldn't) so presumably they can travel through it too! In fact, I was yelling "don't touch it" to Brianna because she was getting awfully close. I do like how the final shot showed Claire's face lit up. The woman who has lived in another world -- in a shadow world, if you will -- has finally come into the light. I wish I could time travel to next year when Season 3 starts! And then time travel back so I'm not a year older... :)

Allison will convince them that if they go to the police they will have to explain why Rollins hates her, and she will go to jail for killing Charlotte. Of course, at this point, they could say that Rollins killed Charlotte and then tried to kill Allison, but they won't think of that. Or it could be that Hanna was drunk driving this whole time and could go to jail for killing someone. I think the latter is a better obstacle, but I don't really care either way at this point. I really want one of the liars to die at this point to liven things up.

Thanks, Sugarbaker! Just glad that you didn't go on a Julia Sugarbaker-style rant about my error. :)

Forgot to mention: I think part of the reason we don't know the contestants is that they were never introduced to us one at a time. To me, this is one of the failings of Chetan as a showrunner. Part of the reason that the ladies always arrive at the mansion one at a time is so the bachelor and the audience can meet each one individually. Chet's pool party approach didn't allow for that. I bet Everlasting's audience is experiencing the same thing as us. I enjoyed the basketball player's candle drop moment. I snickered at the Costco coffin product placement. And I half expected John Booth to say that one of his businesses was selling coffins to Costco. Jay seems to be the only real romantic on the show.

Oops. Post on wrong show.

I really enjoyed this episode, though I'll agree there are parts that are absurd. The layers and layers of management are not that surprising to me. I have worked in more than one company where issues are addressed by adding a new layer of leadership, rather than firing people who need to be gone. Executives are often cowards about confrontation in my experience and tend to deal with things in a very passive-aggressive way. Digging the hot billionaire. I think Rachel was right to be hesitant to go to him without any developed ideas. Too bad she didn't listen to her instincts. Coleman may be a fantastic film-maker, but he's a novice a corporate culture. It's not surprising that John Booth pushed him aside to focus on Quinn. We know that Quinn really has been thinking about new shows and has something real to say to him that might make him money. Successful people have an instinct for knowing who can make them more successful. Plus, Quinn really can command a room and looked HOT in that dress. I think Chet really has shown some growth. He accepted responsibility for his actions and was trying to help Jeremy get that same clarity. I loved it when he slapped Jeremy for whining. Unfortunately, it did not work and Jeremy continued to play the blame game. It might have worked better if he cut off access to the alcohol as part of the process. Chet was not a hero, but he was trying to help Jeremy and took decisive action when it was needed by firing him. I think Quinn genuinely cares about Rachel and was sincere in warning her to watch out for Coleman. She's upset with Rachel for betraying her, and she's retaliating, but I believe there is real affection there. In fact, I think that Chet, Rachel, and Quinn are really like family--beneath the fighting, there is love. I think Quinn's assessment that Rachel is afraid to stand on her own is right on. Rachel CAN dance circles around Coleman, and he's keeping her in her place by building his influence over her. The problem is that Quinn delivers life lessons and mentoring advice in really brutal packages. If she would learn to couch her points in more tactful words, I think she would be more effective. Interestingly, Ruby is the same way. She could have made her point to Darius about being a better person in a more tactful way. Instead, she said something that made him feel inadequate.

Sandra, the girl who was attacked in 1963 and was left in a coma

I also started to cry at that moment-because of the beautiful tiger, the well built-up tension, and the heroism of Bright. The direction of this episode was fantastic! I'm so glad that they made Bright be the one who killed the tiger, though I was sure his comment to Trewlove was a "final monologue" and he was going to die in the process. I hate it when supervisors are clueless buttkissers, as they are so often portrayed. I was also pleased when Morse and Thursday defended Bright to the caretaker, when the latter mocked him. Makes me think the group will function more as a team than they ever have before. I was also worried when Thursday arrived with the flaming torch that he might die in the process. Morse's heroism was well done too. And the way he vomited after was perfect, because is showed how really afraid he was when he did it.. Georgina and Julia were both well acted, IMO. They both played the "haunted look" very believably. Only issue I saw was the "kinda" plot hole of the two girls being attacked on the same day. What was the point of that?

You're right. There is always a choice. However, after the letter was written, the good choices were limited. Killing BPC might still have been an option, but he would either be a traitor in the eyes of the Jacobites or the English. While Jamie and Claire could have either faced the music or run off to America, there might have been implications for Jenny and family or the other Lallybroch people if he killed BPC or was known as a traitor. Also, killing BPC would have been dishonorable. What is honor in the face of saving thousands of people? Probably nothing to us, but it might have meant more in the 18th century. Theoretically, it makes sense to kill BPC, but I can't imagine that it's easy to kill someone you know., whereas you might be able to get some emotional distance in a battle. Perhaps they could have been more strategic in their approach, but I get the impression that they were just going from 1 thing to another to see what worked.

He had no choice once his name was forged on the declaration supporting BPC. He had to do something to try to win. He has pushed for "element of surprise" as differentiator in the presence of superior British forces.

I kinda want you to be right too--except for the fact that I would have been spoiled on a major twist! Off topic, but did you know that you're quoted on the home page of this site? :)

Based in that post, it would appear that civility is not one of the things being taught. However, I did a quick wikipedia search on the history of CPR to educate myself. It discusses that modern CPR was established in the mid 20th century, but here's the passage I thought might be of interest to Outlander viewers. Of course, this is not to say that BJR would be familiar with these techniques, and they seem to have been related initially to drowning victims, rather than generally to people who stopped breathing. Also, I think most of us would agree (after a few seconds of doubt) that he was punching Alex in his grief, not trying to revive him. "First attempts at resuscitation in the 18th century In August 1767 a few wealthy and civic-minded citizens in Amsterdam gathered to form the Society for Recovery of Drowned Persons.[2] This society was the first organised effort to respond to sudden death. The society's techniques involved a range of methods to stimulate the body. The members of the society recommended:[3] warming the victim; removing swallowed or aspirated water by positioning the victim's head lower than feet; applying manual pressure to the abdomen; respirations into the victim's mouth, either using a bellows or with a mouth-to-mouth method; tickling the victim's throat; 'stimulating' the victim by such means as rectal and oral fumigation with tobacco smoke; bellows were used to drive tobacco smoke, a known irritant, into the intestine through the anus, as this was thought to be enough of a stimulant to engender a response in the "almost" dead; and bloodletting. The society in Amsterdam claimed to have saved 150 persons, within four years of their founding, with their recommendations.[4] The first four of these techniques, or variations of them, are in use today. Following successes of this first society, rescue societies soon sprang up in most European capitals, all with the goal to find a way of successfully resuscitating victims of sudden death. This theory proved so popular that Hamburg, Germany passed anordinance in 1769 providing notices to be read in churches describing assistance for drowned, strangled, and frozen persons and those overcome by noxious gases, probably the first example of mass medical training. The Royal Humane Society inLondon, founded in 1774, served as the model for societies in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. These rescue societies of the 18th century were the precursors of today’s emergency medical services.[citation needed]"

I think it depends on what the viewer knows about the history of medicine, specifically CPR.

I initially thought he might be doing CPR too, but it became clearer that he was not punching his chest to restart his heart. In any case, how would he know to do CPR? Colum has Toulouse Lautrec Syndrome (a genetic disorder), which may have caused him to fall off the horse. It definitely would have prevented him from healing from the fall. I was hoping that Murtagh or Rupert might be willing to marry Mary Hawkins and raise her child with her. I thought it fitting that Murtagh offered--he's already given her the head of Sandingham. His speech about Mary and being Jamie's godfather reeks terribly of "last great speech before I die". I hope I'm wrong...But Claire is also right--Mary would be better positioned as Blackjack's widow. The thing is, Claire's belief is predicated on the fact that Blackjack will die at Culloden. Something tells me that the one thing that Claire WILL manage to change is the death of Blackjack Randall. That would be hugely ironic. However, since Tobias Menzies has been so freaking brilliant on this show, I wouldn't mind keeping him longer. ******************* Mary Hawkins telling Claire off for coming between her and Alex was satisfying. (And it was good that Claire admitted what she'd done wrong.) I'm glad she's grown up. But sister cannot catch a break! First the rape, then Alex dies, then she's married to Blackjack. She might be the most unfortunate person in the entire show. I thought for sure that Jamie and the others were being led into a trap by Blackjack. I'm glad they gave the evil sadist some redeeming value--his love for his brother. It helps to flesh him out a little. I thought it was interesting that Alex knew about his brother's dark soul but still cared for him. I think that Colum and Dougal also genuinely love each other. However, unlike the Randalls--where Blackjack is clearly the alpha dog-- both the Mackenzies are strong-willed, so they have had a sibling rivalry for most of their lives. I felt bad for Dougal--he never told his brother while he was alive how much he looked up to him and loved him, and now he will not be able to do so. Even Blackjack got to do one final, major favor for his brother to show his love. This was a slower episode, but I think it it wrapped up a couple of things well. The fate of Geillis Duncan--she's burnt, but her child is alive. (Good to know that they were not completely barbaric with the witch trial and allowed the innocent child to be born.) Frank's ancestry is resolved and he is safe. By the way, isn't it odd that the priest officiating Mary and Blackjack's wedding didn't think it strange that the bride was crying the whole time? Surely he should have some qualms about performing a wedding that way? However, I'm not sure that Dougal will accept Colum's decision about inheritance and guardianship of Hamish. Assuming he survives the war, he may make a claim for Leoch. In any case, I don't see how Jamie could be Hamish's guardian. There is documented evidence that he is a traitor and I'm sure King George will strip him of his title and lands. He wouldn't be allowed to live peacefully at Leoch or Lallybroch. I half expected Laoghaire to show up again as Colum's washerwoman. As Jamie was trying to persuade Prince Charles to attack the English before Culloden, I was thinking, "Jamie, this is the time you should be claiming your wife has special powers of seeing into the future and has seen that a great disaster would befall them if they don't do the surprise attack!" After all, he's used the witch thing a couple of times. What's one more time? I laughed at Prince Charles thinking he was so clever with taking his best bottle of wine to serve Cumberland for his birthday. You can see the look on the general's and Jamie's faces that they realize they are dealing with an idiot! LOL. He would get lost in the woods! It's a common device in TV adaptations to only share what people know right when it becomes relevant for the plot. It's annoying, but I can live with it, because it works for the medium and helps with the pacing.

I enjoyed the Great Gatsby storyline and thought that the actress who played Kay was perfect for the role. She's the best version of Daisy I've ever seen! Morse as Nick and the guy who played Bixby were also wonderful. I wonder if other episodes will also be linked to famous novels.

I had that same exact reaction at first. WTF Jamie! Then it occurred to me that perhaps drawing back for the winter is what led them to Culloden. I'll have to read up on the history. I think the Lord General thought he made the best decision he could have done with the information they had. At the same time, if you are going to rebel against the king, you better not fall back for winter. Why would the Enlish troops stop for the winter? They would continue to advance and use their size advantage. Particularly since the Scottish lowlands and Northern England did not rise up in support, they would have retreated and become sitting ducks. Anyway, what a great episode! I enjoyed all parts of it (after I stopped yelling at Jamie in the beginning.) Even the part with the valet knocking the wig off made me LOL. Little did I know then how prophetic it was. I thought the dentist thing was pretty reasonable. She's a healer and has to do all kinds of healing. Unfortunately, the only dentistry she knows is to floss and brush teeth regularly and to extract teeth. I felt bad for Rupert, reminiscing about Angus. :( Badass move by Dougal, leaping onto Rupert's horse! My regards to the stuntman! I love it when shows allow someone other than the main hero(es) to be heroic. This episode had a lot of that. It was smart of Claire to use her English accent to save the group. I was hoping the Fergus would go with her as her French servant, because he is much better at deception than she is. but oh well. BTW, wasn't it awfully careless of the Redcoats to not check the church for any other people? I laughed when Murtagh asked what we've all been thinking--that Jamie taking Claire to wife had led him into danger more than once! I enjoyed seeing Munro again. When the Redcoats took her to the house, I was a little worried that Blackjack would be there, and I was pleased to see Mary Hawkins instead. Very, very glad to see her smiling expression and FLAT stomach. By the way, how does an English duke have his estate in Scotland--or are they still in Northern England? I was floored that Sandringham ordered the attack in Paris. i couldn't quite understand the rape of Mary. Did he not realize she would be with Claire? or did he simply not give orders to leave her alone and the men he hired took advantage of the situation? Mary's virginity was an important bargaining chip for arranging a marriage alliance. I cannot believe he was so careless with her. It was really satisfying to see both Murtagh and Mary get their vengeance, though I could have done without Murtagh displaying Sandringham's head to someone like Mary Hawkins. Now we just need to get a similar scene with Jamie and Claire killing Blackjack.

I actually liked Jeremy season 1, especially when he dropped his camera to protect Rachel from that crazy ex of the lady who killed herself. He's angry with Rachel at the moment for repeatedly jerking him around (and he's behaving like an unprofessional jerk)but I suspect he will get over it soon.

It's not super common, but shows with a lot of social buzz, like Game of Thrones or Outlander have been doing it. Hollywood is very risk-averse, which is why we get a lot of sequels. It takes them a long time to go even one inch off of the path they know.

True, but they seem to specifically show their romantic moments getting interrupted. At least, that's my impression. And the pregnancy seems to be a pretty important plot point. Doesn't need to be graphic, but given how much time was devoted to them not being intimate, some reference to it would be appropriate in my opinion. It could even have been a joke by Rupert and Angus :( about them going at it in the middle of a war zone. By the way, they have shown Jamie going to the bathroom in this episode AND the previous one!

I've got a little buzz on from my "Mark me" (read: Mock me) drinking game. ;) As much as I will miss Angus, it made sense for us to see a major death. This is a war and our friends cannot be completely unscathed. RIP Angus. I will miss the great bromance of the show. I'm glad that Fergus got a lesson in what war really is --with minimal impact to his well-being. I hope this means he'll stay away from the fight going forward. Somehow, I doubt it. Loved Dougal's fanboy behavior towards BPC, It's interesting that they ended up using Dougal's Highland form of fighting in this battle, not Jamie's disciplined style. Dougal's testing of the the mud was also impressive. I got the impression that Jamie always intended for him to do it, not Jamie himself, and kinda thought Jamie manipulated him into taking that risk. Was I mistaken? I will say that Dougal definitely does not lack for courage, but I hated what he later did to Jeremy Foster, my favorite redcoat! After, Dougal's display, I was worried that Jamie had put him in a position of influence with BPC, and that BPC might use his to replace the general. Luckily Dougal's big mouth took care of that. I do agree with BPC that he has to balance defeating the English with the fact that he is claiming them to be his subjects. However, that's not exactly a motivator for his troops. I am worried that he is just using the Scots and if he wins will end up screwing them over somehow. He does seem to not think so highly of them. I also think he needs to understand that after a battle his men's blood with be up and they may say violent things about the enemy. So there has been no evidence if Jamie and Claire having sex--they seem really busy. How is she going to get pregnant with the child she mentioned in Episode 1 of this season? I feel like that needs to happen before the end of this season, even though there is no guarantee that we get back to that point in the story this season.