Dust Bunny

That was perfect. I have been waiting for this episode for a year, probably even more than the print shop. Jamie as father figure is one of my favorite forms of Jamie. Loved the title card. I squealed so loud, when I figured out what was being carved. Better choice than the book's horse. "The Scottish Prisoner" shout-out. And Hal and John on the same screen together! Definitely a treat for book readers. David Berry is a gift to this show. His Lord John Grey is better than anything I imagined in my head. And now, when I reread the books, I can imagine him. His chemistry with Sam is great. You can really see a camaraderie forming there. "Stinking papist" scene. So glad that was included. It needs to be introduced now, to pay off in season 7. :) And TWO "dinna fash"es. This makes me excited for book 9. I'm craving Jamie and William bonding. Sam's acting all the way through was spot-on. This episode is an emotional roller coaster for Jamie, and Sam brought his A+++ game. For me, this is easily top 5 episode material, maybe top 3.

I love seeing those three boys, in the first clip. I'm excited to see the younger generation come into their own.

I loved the lack of dialogue with so many of Jamie's scenes. Appropriate for the memories, and it also conveys Jamie's lack of strength. At the Culloden memorial center, there's a 360 video of the battle. You stand in the middle with the English on one side - eventually 3 sides - and the Scots on the other. I got physically nauseated watching those cannons and muskets do their work. As soon as the English fired in the episode, I felt that same nausea. The battle was really well done. Did Jamie dream that Claire touched him on the battlefield? That shocked me, because it was her touching his nose that got him to realize she was real, in the print shop. Same thing, after Laoghaire shot him. I know dreaming you are touched isn't the same thing as being touched, but I was still surprised. It was about 30 seconds, but I think the scene of Frank writing the Reverend confirms to me that book Frank learned everything quickly, and he raised Bree, anticipating she'll go into the past. "Red Jamie" + "Where did she get the red hair?" = Frank is not a dummy. In that moment, I loved Frank. No, he's not Jamie, but he's a good guy, and he got screwed. And he never trapped Claire in the relationship. In fact, since he made her promise not to research anything, only he would know about Bree going back in time. He might have been protecting her - and Claire, as well - by raising her, in prep for her future. When he wanted to take Bree back to the UK, that might have been Frank knowing he didn't have much time left (heart condition), and he wanted to tell Bree about Jamie. The episode did a great job of making me detest mansplaining. I wanted to slug the dean and the doctor, so Moore's script was quite effective there. It created a great foundation for why Claire would want to gain more agency through being a surgeon. I'm 75% convinced Murtagh is alive. That was a gaping plot hole. Dammit. SOOOO good to have this show back. I squealed several times during the credits. Sláinte!

Yup, really good. Worth the wait - hang in there! I do too. I didn't think to check until later. Now I know, going forward. :)

The episode is up on the Starz app. :)

I've posted about this before; I agree with you 100%. (1) Culloden was a tragedy. War is hell. People die. Cultures disappear. Etc. Don't shy away from that reality. (2) Murtagh's death is formative for Jamie's journey. (3) I don't want Murtagh's presence to take away from the new characters we'll be meeting. Still, I'm preparing myself that Murtagh does return. It seems like something Moore would think is clever and surprising to the readers. If that's the biggest change from the books, I can live with it.

I was watching this on my laptop (the app was failing on my iPad). Captions helped immensely for this, at times. His exasperated quacking - especially about and to the babysitter - is one of my favorite parts. I hope he has a big presence in every episode.

Yeah, her writing really varies for me, too. The redundant novella-length one day in FC has turned off so many readers. On the other hand, I love the little detail of the ping from the stool's wood hitting the pie safe, when Jamie is kicking in fury in ABOSAA. Some details can really annoy me (diaper cleaning); others can also bring little lovely moments (the discovery of Adso). I agree with you guys. I'm in it for the story and characters, not the writing.

Oh, good deal. Thanks for providing that context and clarity.

This is a buzzkill. From EW, about TCA: Anyone know if there's the typical 6 season contract?

I'll just flat-out say it pisses me off. SDCC has always annoyed me a bit. It's haves vs have-nots. This world needs more socialism, and that includes the entertainment industry.

Of the three, Sam doesn't look like he's in his 40s. He looks like he's in his 30s. I bet the makeup folks were erring on the younger side. Easier to age him up as the seasons (hopefully) continue.

It's super-quick, but LJG seems perfect to me. Compassionate, thoughtful, considerate, with a strong presence. His eyes - whew. Oh - of course that was Geneva. I thought it was Mary, for some reason. Agreed. It's cherry-picking, to whet our appetite. I bet it's a 2:1 Jamie:Claire the first several episodes. Jamie's story is so much more fleshed out than Claire. Since this is probably all we get of Tobias, I hope we find out how much Frank knows. That shot of him looking at the clock made me wonder if that's him knowing, with his heart condition, he's living on borrowed time. Of course, it could be the obvious reference to time-travel. Still, I'd really like to see what he's learned (records in the past, Brianna's family tree, etc), just like how we're going to actually watch Culloden happen, instead of hearing about it piecemeal over 6 books.

Did it fall outside the time parameters? Game of Thrones wasn't nominated either. Other than the Tonys, I'm skeptical of the academy awards anyway. I think politics or popularity are a big part of nominees and winners, not necessarily quality. It varies though (see "Moonlight" over "La La Land").

Thanks for adding the spoiler tags. Forgot which thread I was in.

I know we're a ways away from Season 4, but this gets me excited. I've been guessing/hoping one of the screen tests for Roger I'm really excited to see the chemistry between those two guys, even when it's the usual SDCC panel stuff.

Under the category of The Battle of Monmouth, I saw Hamilton in Chicago yesterday (flew there, just to see it). Yes, it is THAT good. I've listened to the soundtrack dozens and dozens and dozens of times, but nothing compares to seeing it on stage. Anyway, Lee and the Battle of Monmouth always has me recalling MOBY's version. Hamilton: "Instead of me, he [Washington] promotes General Lee. Makes him second-in-command." Lee: "I'm a general - whee!" Hamilton: "Yeah, he's not the choice I would have gone with." All: "He shits the bed at the Battle of Monmouth." Washington: "Everyone attack!" Lee: "Retreat!" Washington: "Attack!" Lee: "Retreat!" Washington: "What are you doing, Lee?! Get back on your feet!" Lee: "But there's so many of them!" Washington: "I'm sorry - is this not your speed?! Hamilton!" Hamilton: "Ready, sir!" Washington: "Have Lafayette take the lead." Hamilton: "Yes, sir!" Laurens: "A thousand soldiers die in a hundred degree heat" Lafayette: "As we snatch a stalemate from the jaws of defeat." And so on. That part always amuses me, thinking about how Diana portrayed it on MOBY. I love historical fiction. And historical hip hop.

That's awesome. I'm a breast cancer survivor, and Diana reached out to me a couple times during treatment, after my mom went to the Arizona bookstore. I'm praying for your friend. If you feel ok sharing, can I ask her first name? God already knows, obviously, but I always like to pray for folks by first name.

Well said. I like the idea of wider berth. In general, I'd like the ratio of bliss/joy to angst/pain higher than it's been. We had, what, 10 minutes of Lallybroch in season 2 (which included several shots from season 1). Don't get me wrong, the tragedy of Culloden needs to be shown (I've posted about that before), and the 20 year separation is vital and valuable to the story. And I absolutely love experiencing Jamie's journey. But then I want them to dwell in the joy of reunion. I want a shot of them catching up on the ship, little moments like that. We've lost little moments in the first two seasons to focus on things like "The Garrison Commander". And it doesn't have to be Jamie and Claire. I loved the scene of Fergus and Murtagh discussing women. More of that.

I like the scene; I agree that it's a nice bonding between Jamie and Bree. I dislike the physical moment. Jamie could have hurt her or the child. I get the point of it: to show Brianna she couldn't over-power Bonnet. But I've always pictured it being just short of violent.

I'm listening to Davina Porter's reading of Voyager (again). I really hope they cut the angry-sex-after-Laoghaire-shows-up-that-is-quite-close-to-rape scene. I hate that scene. Hearing it, I just think "What is wrong with you, Diana?" I hope they just verbally fight, Jenny interrupts, Jamie walks away, etc. The other scene that always bugs me is when Jamie throws his pregnant daughter around to show her she couldn't stop her rapist. He's a farmer and is watching a cow having trouble calving. That soon-to-be-grandbaby is already his blood. What the hell. It's like something out of "Gone with the Wind." Sometime adaptations can be good.

If only people would channel that energy and obsession for doing something good for their community.

I just got a friend addicted to the show. She binged it 2 weeks ago, and she's already craving season 3. She's going to start the books soon. It's the first time I've brought in a new Outlander viewer-soon-to-be-reader. Fun feeling. September seems a long way away, but time goes way too fast. I figure Droughtlander is an opportunity to try a new hobby or two. "Use the time," as the insomnia episode from "Family Ties" said. Or listen to Voyager 4 times in row.

I deleted the show from my DVR a few days ago, after finding out they really did eat a goat (per a Sandra interview). Zeke's tweet was retweeted a few times, so I had to come here and see what happened. Looks like I made the right decision. This show sucks. It's a fucking game. Get a conscience, producers.

I was amazed at how diverse Scotland's landscape was. There was a forest by Blair Castle that seemed to show up out of nowhere. It looks a bit like your second picture, Petunia846. On the one hand, I'm glad they're sticking with Scotland, to boost the economy and support local jobs. On the other hand, and the article addresses it, I wonder what this will do to the land. Stirling is gorgeous. I'm sure the contracts, as the article suggest, will cover the nitty-gritty of land preservation. (And I can guess how filming can be much more preferable for land conservation than quarrying.) Still, one of my favorite parts of Scotland is how wild and untouched so much of it is. With the recent collaboration of TravelAdvisor and VisitScotland, I'm already worried too much tourism will lead to what's happened to American national parks. The cool places are now packed with people. The producers love Scotland, so I'm sure the show will honor and protect the land. I guess I'm just hoping that fans will honor it too. #keepScotlandwild