S05.E10: Mercy Shall Follow Me

[Athena]

Quote

Jamie and Roger implement their plan to eliminate the threat looming over them, but it goes awry.

Reminder: The is the book talk thread. This can include spoilers for ALL the books. If you wish to remain unspoiled for any of the books, please leave now and head to the No Book Talk episode thread.

[morgan]

This is how much I hate the Bonnet stuff....I don’t even remember what happened in the book (except for his actual death).  This episode could have been exactly like it or nothing like it and I wouldn’t remember.  Thank god he is done and we can move on.  

[GHScorpiosRule]

I fucking LOATHED this episode and fast forwarded all scenes of Brianna and Bonnet that I could. Oh boo-hoo, Bonnet didn’t have a mother or a father and was an orphan. What the fuck, Roberts? Trying to make him different from Black Jack? GIANT FAIL.🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

And I couldn't tell if Brianna all dressed up was a dream or not because when she woke up, she was in that blue gown and her hair was all scraggly.

The only positive is that Bonnet is DEAD. And I won't see him again.

And spare me, Roberts, with the ending being all about Brianna when she shot Bonnet and didn't answer Roger’s question. In the book she admitted she killed him out of mercy.

This whole season has been a huge disappointment. I'm not excited about the last two episodes. Or interested.

[nodorothyparker]

This is why it's generally a bad idea to go looking for those big closure moments authors like to write where you spill all kinds of maybe secrets about paternity to a known psychopath.  Especially if you're in a series where it's already been established that villains don't die on the first try but former hobbits do.

So since they decided to skip ahead in the series and bump Bonnet off an entire book early, they decided to throw everything but the kitchen sink of action cliches in there, huh?  Scenes of the heroines being stalked, check.  Jaime and Roger bickering over who gets to kill Bonnet and then neither actually do, check.  The villain they set the elaborate trap for not being where they expected him to be, check.  That same aforementioned psychopath forcing his victim into some gross playing house cosplay, check.  The hobbit killing was about the only surprise since Forbes also survives well into the next book.  I guess this means we aren't going to get one of my favorite book tidbits of Ian taking his ear and then carrying it around in his sporran as a convenient reminder that the Frasers chose to let him live despite his peripheral involvement in this mess.

While it was mildly funny Bree was pretending to read Moby Dick, which won't be written for another 80 years, and I do like it when the time traveling characters engage in these kinds of anachronisms, that she thinks it's a great story isn't a big selling point for how brilliant she supposedly is.  It's like three paragraphs of plot surrounded by hundreds of pages of everything you never really wanted to know about whaling.

[Quickbeam]

I’m so glad Bonnet is gone. I was completely afraid they’d stretch it out. Oh and as a Sophie hater, I thought she was ok in this. 

[ruby24]

I guess I can understand why they pulled this entire episode out of Book 6 just to get rid of Bonnet early. Even in the books you had to admit that story was being really dragged out when he got away again at the end of Book 5.

But...now what are the last two episodes going to be about? Maybe they are starting ahead on other plots from Book 6?

I also don't remember Bonnet trying to seduce Brianna or anything at all in the sixth book- he kidnapped her and was going to rape her again until he found out she was pregnant and that turned him off. They kinda just wanted to change around Bonnet's character and what he wanted for this.

Edited April 26, 2020 by ruby24

[toolazy]

So the bit with Ulysses holding Jocasta's hand and calling her by her first name - are we supposed to think that they're boning?  Or just friendly?

 

Because if it's the former, her affair with Murtagh makes no sense whatsoever.

Edited April 26, 2020 by toolazy

[morgan]

Omg he dies in book 6?  I really did block out his stuff.  

[nodorothyparker]

I wondered too when we saw Ulysses take her hand and call her Jocasta.  They're not really going ahead with that story, are they?  It's distasteful enough in the books with the power imbalance between them.  And because the show treated her thing with Murtagh like a grand romance she only reluctantly saw the better sense of, to have all that still out there in the background would be a nonsensical mess, even for this show.

All of Bonnet's weird happy family cosplay is a show only thing.  Book Bonnet also thinks Jemmy might be his, also because the nitwit told him so, but there's never really much sense that he plans to do anything about it beyond a bit of curiosity.

 

[Biggie B]

2 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

I was completely afraid they’d stretch it out.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but sweet baby jeebus, this episode was interminable. I don't remember a whit about how the Bonnet story played out in the books, but of course I knew he died, so there was utterly zero suspense or drama in this episode for me. It seemed to drag on so very slowly that I thought the episode was a two-hour special of some sort. Pretty much the only thing I truly enjoyed was the beautiful shots of the ocean while Claire and Bree were shell and sponge collecting - gorgeous. 

I've been enjoying this season but this ep was sub-par for me. I don't much care for the actress who plays Bree, and I recall when reading the books that her character was less than interesting to me, so an entire episode built around her was not terribly compelling. 

[Quickbeam]

Just now, Biggie B said:

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but sweet baby jeebus, this episode was interminable. I don't remember a whit about how the Bonnet story played out in the books, but of course I knew he died, so there was utterly zero suspense or drama in this episode for me. It seemed to drag on so very slowly that I thought the episode was a two-hour special of some sort. Pretty much the only thing I truly enjoyed was the beautiful shots of the ocean while Claire and Bree were shell and sponge collecting - gorgeous. 

I've been enjoying this season but this ep was sub-par for me. I don't much care for the actress who plays Bree, and I recall when reading the books that her character was less than interesting to me, so an entire episode built around her was not terribly compelling. 

No I was serious! I was afraid it would go on for years. 🤣

[Glaze Crazy]

I thought it was pretty good, for what the writers had to work with. In fact I think the writers have been doing a good job overall for this season. The last couple episodes have been better than average, IMO.

To me, the 3 middle books (what I call books 5, 6 and most of 7) are pretty convoluted and drawn out. Lots of bits of story from different perspectives and providing different information to feed the run up to the American revolution. I've read through them a few times and only now can appreciate them for what they do. (Wait until they get to the book with several different timelines for different characters, in different places, omg! I suspect they will be smoothing that one out considerably.)

Glad they chose to wrap up Bonnet's story now and didn't try to bring it back into the story next season/book when he finally gets his due, in the book timeline. I was also glad they were able to bring out Bonnet's fear or nightmare of drowning since, for me, that added even more to his final fate (book and show) until Bree goes out and shoots him.  Yes, she did give him mercy, even if she didn't want to say it on the show.

I know that the Forbes character, in the next book, is the one who actually kidnaps Brianna and gives her to Bonnet, so I'm good with that character being the one Ulysses kills, instead of the character from the book who really hasn't played a notable role in the show anyway. Other than that I don't think taking out Forbes right now really affects the future story lines. I guess we will miss the funny scene with Jamie, the tar pot and the broom vs. the mob in Hillsboro or wherever.

I think this episode really condensed a lot of plot points over two books and still managed to get the show to a realistic place to go forward to the end of the season. And to clear out some fluff from what might have been pushed to next season.

Edited April 27, 2020 by Glaze Crazy

[Linderhill]

Thank you, @GHScorpiosRule, you took the post right out of my hands.  I think this was the first time I had to force myself to actually watch an episode.  And I've read all of the books twice.  Bonnet was one of those characters that you sincerely loathe and and can't wait for him to die.  The PTB need to stop trying to humanize the truly reprehensible characters.  I never bought into Ronald's need to do more with Frank to make him more sympathetic when he was a dick in the books.  I've never been one to need my villians humanized or sympathized with.  

Watching this episode I kept yelling at Bri that she was an idiot and the manufactured scene on Ocracoke, just ugh.  I don't care that he was an orphan, that doesn't mean you have to be a murdering rapist. 

[Haleth]

Pippin, I’m so disappointed in you for throwing in with that scoundrel.

Bree, nobody loves Moby Dick.  Waaaait a minute  Moby Dick was published in 1851.  How does Bonnet have a copy?

Sophie is still a terrible actor.  Even Stephen Bonnet thinks so.

Bonnet is a rogue and a complete asshole rapist, but he was smart to buy the first property on the OBX.  (Were the Black Sails ships no longer available?)

Bree didn’t shoot him in the book, did she?

[Nidratime]

I haven't read book 6 yet, so I have no idea if Bonnet's death is the same here as it was in the book. Before this, I did know that his end involved him drowning and that Bree shot him. I'm just amazed that Jamie was relying on the law to take care of Bonnet, instead of just killing him outright. That shows a real difference to his position in Scotland where it was kill first, ask questions later. 

I have to admit I was surprised that Bonnet was going to sell Bree. Don't know why as I'm pretty sure he had no interest in keeping her around.

I had no idea when Moby Dick was written, and have never read it. I'm surprised Bree remembered enough of it to tell it as if she were reading. LOL! I would've slipped in some modern references in the midst of my desperation, but of course, how would Bonnet know?

 

 

[nodorothyparker]

25 minutes ago, Haleth said:

Waaaait a minute  Moby Dick was published in 1851.  How does Bonnet have a copy?

He doesn't.  Bree was holding a book called The Art of Husbandry about land improvement.  But she'd already determined that he couldn't read, so she could tell him it was any book she wanted to and since she and Claire had been talking about whales and Herman Melville earlier, Moby Dick it was.  She didn't have to remember the whole thing, just the broad strokes of the story.  It's not like he's going to know the difference.

She did shoot him in the book too.  His execution was fairly faithful to the book version of events.  It weirdly didn't look quite like I thought it would as I had imagined the pirate stakes sitting out on a sandbar or something but I'm not quibbling about that.

[Haleth]

1 minute ago, nodorothyparker said:

He doesn't.  Bree was holding a book called The Art of Husbandry about land improvement.  But she'd already determined that he couldn't read, so she could tell him it was any book she wanted to and since she and Claire had been talking about whales and Herman Melville earlier, Moby Dick it was.  She didn't have to remember the whole thing, just the broad strokes of the story.  It's not like he's going to know the difference

Ah, thanks. I didn’t care to strain my eyes to see what book Bree was reading from. 

[IndyMischa]

30 minutes ago, Haleth said:

Bree, nobody loves Moby Dick.  Waaaait a minute  Moby Dick was published in 1851.  How does Bonnett have a copy?

He had some random other book, and he's illiterate. She was rattling off Moby Dick from memory. 

This need to humanize Bonnett before killing him, is beyond infuriating. It also takes away from Bree's merciful gesture, sort of a reverse image of the "Greedo shot first" bs retcon. Stupid.

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, Haleth said:

Bree, nobody loves Moby Dick.  Waaaait a minute  Moby Dick was published in 1851.  How does Bonnet have a copy?

He didn’t. Brianna was just reciting from memory. The book was about husbandry- they showed us the title page on screen. 

59 minutes ago, IndyMischa said:

This need to humanize Bonnett before killing him, is beyond infuriating. It also takes away from Bree's merciful gesture, sort of a reverse image of the "Greedo shot first" bs retcon. Stupid.

I didn’t see it as a need to humanize Bonnett. I saw it as the writers showing the audience just how batshit insane he was, and completely unpredictable. 

[cardigirl]

5 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

This is why it's generally a bad idea to go looking for those big closure moments authors like to write where you spill all kinds of maybe secrets about paternity to a known psychopath.  Especially if you're in a series where it's already been established that villains don't die on the first try but former hobbits do.

So since they decided to skip ahead in the series and bump Bonnet off an entire book early, they decided to throw everything but the kitchen sink of action cliches in there, huh?  Scenes of the heroines being stalked, check.  Jaime and Roger bickering over who gets to kill Bonnet and then neither actually do, check.  The villain they set the elaborate trap for not being where they expected him to be, check.  That same aforementioned psychopath forcing his victim into some gross playing house cosplay, check.  The hobbit killing was about the only surprise since Forbes also survives well into the next book.  I guess this means we aren't going to get one of my favorite book tidbits of Ian taking his ear and then carrying it around in his sporran as a convenient reminder that the Frasers chose to let him live despite his peripheral involvement in this mess.

While it was mildly funny Bree was pretending to read Moby Dick, which won't be written for another 80 years, and I do like it when the time traveling characters engage in these kinds of anachronisms, that she thinks it's a great story isn't a big selling point for how brilliant she supposedly is.  It's like three paragraphs of plot surrounded by hundreds of pages of everything you never really wanted to know about whaling.

Er, lots of scholars would differ with your assessment of Moby-Dick. It’s one of the greatest American novels ever written, and I was thrilled with all the references to it. 
'Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee. Sink all coffins and hearses to one common pool! and since neither can be mine, let me then tow to pieces, while still chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou damned whale! Thus, I give up the spear!’

[aemom]

18 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

I didn’t see it as a need to humanize Bonnett. I saw it as the writers showing the audience just how batshit insane he was, and completely unpredictable. 

Same here. He was a nut that thought he could have the money and live in polite society. Once he realized that Bree was playing him, he sold her to that guy and was likely just going to try to get custody of Jemmy for himself. 

There was not a single second where I truly felt sorry for him. His backstory did help to explain how he became so royally effed up as an adult.

Edited April 27, 2020 by aemom
Typo

[SassAndSnacks]

2 hours ago, Linderhill said:

I never bought into Ronald's need to do more with Frank to make him more sympathetic when he was a dick in the books.  I've never been one to need my villians humanized or sympathized with.  

Preach!!!! Like, televangelist style, PREACH IT! F-ing Frank...

1 hour ago, nodorothyparker said:

It weirdly didn't look quite like I thought it would as I had imagined the pirate stakes sitting out on a sandbar or something but I'm not quibbling about that.

Yes to this, as described in the book. Also, LJG was there for it, so I was a little surprised that he wasn’t in this episode. They’ve added him in places where he wasn’t originally and left him out of this. But whatevs. 

I’m no fan of the saga of Bree and Rog, so this won’t go down as one of my favorite episodes ever. I won’t curse it like I do last season’s Through the Rabbit Hole/Hose-Beast shit-storm, but I won’t be checking this out on re-watch. Ed Speelers is really freaking good at being repulsive, and I commend him for that. The beach scenes were beautifully shot. But the rest... meh. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 4/26/2020 at 10:36 PM, Scarlett45 said:

I didn’t see it as a need to humanize Bonnett. I saw it as the writers showing the audience just how batshit insane he was, and completely unpredictable. 

On 4/26/2020 at 10:53 PM, aemom said:

Same here. He was a nut that thought he could have the money and live in polite society. Once he realized that Bree was playing him, he sold her to that guy and was likely just going to try to get custody of Jemmy for himself. 

But that's exactly why they did it. Roberts said just as much. That Bonnet wasn't as "evil" as Black Jack, who was just that: evil. With Bonnet, they wanted to "show" how he got that way. Which wasn't necessary and I don't see WHY. Bonnet is just as evil as Black Jack was. He never wanted to live in polite society. That was the writer's changing the character and what he wanted. 

 

On 4/26/2020 at 10:53 PM, aemom said:

There was not a single second where I truly felt sorry for him. His backstory did help to explain how he became so royally effed up as an adult.

And I don't give any good FUCKS why he was the way he was. I don't need, nor do I want to know what "caused" a villain to become a villain. Roberts and the writer of this episode did just that--to provide a "reason" to "understand" how raping, murdering asshole became a raping and murdering asshole.

Edited April 30, 2020 by GHScorpiosRule

[NJRadioGuy]

Peter's Evil Overlord List item number 4: 
Shooting is not too good for my enemies.

Live it, love it, and learn it, writers!

Like others, I couldn't get through this one without giving the fast-forward button a serious workout. I wasn't sure they'd actually end that miserable asshole this season but I'm glad they did. And for all the Sophie Hate on this forum, I actually like how she handled things at the very end. 

And it wasn't until the comments here that I realized that Gerald Forbes was Pippin! I knew I recognized his face from something, but the penny didn't drop until I read this forum. No second breakfast for him now.

 

Edited April 29, 2020 by NJRadioGuy

[aemom]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And I don't give any good FUCKS why was the way he was. I don't need, nor do I want to know what "caused" a villain to become a villain. Roberts and the writer of this episode did just that--to provide a "reason" to "understand" how raping, murdering asshole became a raping and murdering asshole.

I'm genuinely curious why you're so upset that they tried to give the character some depth. 

Let's be clear.  There's never any excuse for poor behavior.  There are reasons why certain people travel down the roads that they do, but in the end, they are still responsible for their actions.  So he got what was coming to him and I have no problem with that at all.

People will often complain when they watch a show/movie that has a villainous character that is too one-dimensional.  Here at least, they tried to flesh him out a bit.  Is that really so bad?  I don't think that it was to garner sympathy - it's very hard to be sympathetic to a character like that.

[Haleth]

I think the last minute, shoehorning in of a backstory for him is part of the problem.

 

[aemom]

4 minutes ago, Haleth said:

I think the last minute, shoehorning in of a backstory for him is part of the problem.

 

The main problem with Diana Gabaldon's books is that she often meanders around all over the place spending way too much time on nonsensical things and other times she doesn't devote detail where she should.  You can forgive that to an extent when you're reading a 1000 page book and skim over certain sections and sometimes things will finally get explained books later.  But you have to be a fan who's willing to make the commitment

But when you're trying to appeal to a general TV audience, trying to attract people who know nothing about the books, and will never read them, sometimes you need to make adjustments so that you don't lose the viewership.  If too many people drop off from viewing, then they'll cancel the show.  I already know a few people who loved the books, but can't stand the show and have stopped watching.

I guess they felt that this would help wrap up the character better.  Because I'll be honest, in the books, this dragged on WAY TOO LONG.  He should have been dead long before he actually was.

I personally have been happier with some of the changes that they have made in the show because the book dragged things out too much.  Other times, not so happy.  They won't always make everyone happy, but their goal is to be as honest as possible and keep a cohesive show that people will continue to watch.  I think that they are trying their best most of the time.

[cardigirl]

19 minutes ago, Haleth said:

I think the last minute, shoehorning in of a backstory for him is part of the problem.

 

I don't know that it was last minute.  He spoke of his background to Roger last season when Roger was on the ship with him. Bonnet had mentioned his nightmare of dying by drowning before, and also about his tough upbringing. Complicating his story makes him much more interesting, in my opinion, same with Frank, BJR, and with any of the characters.  It's good writing. 

I loved that he was so taken with the story Bree told him about Ahab chasing Moby-Dick for revenge and then losing to the whale, And her response, "Depends on who you think the monster is."  

[iMonrey]

What really bugged me was Bree just standing there whimpering while Bonnet fucked the prostitute. That was her opportunity to pick up the fireplace poker and whack Bonnet over the head with it. Repeatedly. 

Farewell, Bonnet. You will always be Jimmy the Footman to me.

[aemom]

27 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

What really bugged me was Bree just standing there whimpering while Bonnet fucked the prostitute. That was her opportunity to pick up the fireplace poker and whack Bonnet over the head with it. Repeatedly. 

Farewell, Bonnet. You will always be Jimmy the Footman to me.

True - but they kind of painted themselves into a corner on that one, because if she had killed him that way, then she wouldn't have shot him at the drowning post which WAS an important plot point.

[Vanessa1214]

1 hour ago, aemom said:

True - but they kind of painted themselves into a corner on that one, because if she had killed him that way, then she wouldn't have shot him at the drowning post which WAS an important plot point.

Plus she seemed to be suffering a PTSD episode as that was happening, so was probably not capable of doing much of anything. 

[Jodithgrace]

If you are going to "read," Moby Dick to a murdering rapist, you really have to start with "Call me Ishmael!" I understand that it would be a bit difficult to insert that into a third party narrative, but it just isn't Moby Dick without it!

I was glad that they didn't drag out Bonnet's story any longer. Now all they need is for Roger to find out that Jemmy is actually his son, and we can put paid to the whole plot. 

I didn't have a problem with Bonnet's backstory. It seems to me that Bonnet has always had this "poor little me," attitude to justify his cruelty. His childhood was crap, so he is free to act out any way he wants. It didn't make me any more sympathetic to him. And it didn't work on Brianna either, though she pretended it did. When she said that nothing could lower her opinion of Bonnet, that said it all. I assume that the house was guarded, which was why Bri didn't just escape during the night. it would have helped to have indicated that, however. One line, or a glimpse of a guard outside the door would have done the trick. 

I didn't hate this episode, but it wasn't my favorite either. 

[theschnauzers]

BJR was a psychopath, Bonnet was a sociopath (like Andrew Cunanan) which is what was intended for the background on him.

[CABINET]

Clearly they completely forgot that Ian and Bonnet are acquainted.

Ian wouldn't have to ask if Bonnet was there.

 

 

Edited April 28, 2020 by CABINET

[SassAndSnacks]

56 minutes ago, CABINET said:

Clearly they completely forgot that Ian and Bonnet are acquainted.

Ian wouldn't have to ask if Bonnet was there.

Strong point! Completely forgot this, too!

[GHScorpiosRule]

13 hours ago, theschnauzers said:

BJR was a psychopath, Bonnet was a sociopath (like Andrew Cunanan) which is what was intended for the background on him.

Black Jack and Bonnet are both psychopaths and sociopaths as far as I'm concerned. Also based on the definition I looked up for differences between the two, just for clarification. They both exhibit the characteristics for both. Anyway, when it comes down to it, they're both the same for me.

 

[Ziggy]

2 hours ago, CABINET said:

Clearly they completely forgot that Ian and Bonnet are acquainted.

Ian wouldn't have to ask if Bonnet was there.

True, Ian knows what Bonnet looks like, but he didn't ask because he didn't know.  He was playing a part.  Ian had to say something.  He wasn't supposed to know what Bonnet looked like, so ... good for him for playing his part.

Because Ian had minimal interaction with Bonnet, they were hoping Bonnet wouldn't recognize Ian if he did see him.

[tennisgurl]

I absolutely loath Bonnet, and hate every time he is on my screen when he isn't screaming in pain, so this was not my favorite. I actually think that Sophie is usually pretty solid (if not as strong an actor as the other leads) and I think she was good here, but I was just not as into this one as I have been most of the episodes this season. Maybe because the whole "playing house cosplay" stuff just seemed too...weird? It all just felt off to me, even if it was sort of part of a scheme to get Jemmys inheritance. At least his ass is finally dead and gone, and thats all I am taking from this, even earlier than expected I think. Ding Dong the shithead is gone! I swear, this whole family is cursed to get the horrible attention of every psychopathic sadistic rapist in the Western hemisphere. 

I dont really think they were trying to exactly make us feel bad for Bonnet, just give him some context, he was pretty much totally a sack of crap the entire episode, as he always is. I almost wonder if it was supposed to make him even more pathetic and awful, as he desperately tried to make himself sympathetic or deep, and not the speck of nothing that he is. Like I said, the whole thing was kind of weird in how it was done. He wants to play house with Bree, then realizes that she isn't into him, then bangs a hooker in front of her, then sells her to some other creep, it was just...weird. At least he finally got a bullet to the head, so presumably he is actually for real gone for good. 

I wouldn't have pegged Bree as a big Moby Dick fan! Its a great book, but it just doesn't seem her cup of tea, is she super into the mechanisms of whaling? I did like her her pretending to read it to Bonnet (and that he got super into it while totally not getting the point) but I cant believe she didn't start with ""Call me Ishmael"! Its one of the most famous opening lines in the western cannon! Its the one line that most everyone knows! 

There were some bits I liked. The madams nonplussed reaction to Jamie and Claire apparently showing up to start a threesome was funny (complete with the one hooker waving seductively at them) as was the Jamie and Roger banter/fight scene at the start of the episode. And the ocean with the whales looked so beautiful before Bonnet showed up to ruin everything by being himself. 

[SassAndSnacks]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I cant believe she didn't start with ""Call me Ishmael"! Its one of the most famous opening lines in the western cannon! Its the one line that most everyone knows! 

In Voyager, didn’t Dr. Abernathy quote that line? Was it during the forensic exam of what turned out to be Geillis Duncan’s bones?

[WatchrTina]

On 4/26/2020 at 8:32 PM, nodorothyparker said:

She did shoot him in the book too.

Did she?  I thought she rowed out in a boat and slit his throat.  So much for MY memory.

Like many of you I hated this part of the book (the whole, prolonged Stephen Bonnet saga) so while I hated 80% of this episode I am genuinely delighted that they brought that whole plot line to a swift and final conclusion.

As for Evil Pippin . . . words fail me.

On 4/27/2020 at 11:49 AM, iMonrey said:

What really bugged me was Bree just standing there whimpering while Bonnet fucked the prostitute. That was her opportunity to pick up the fireplace poker and whack Bonnet over the head with it. Repeatedly. 

But they'd already established that she was on an island and presumably there were more servants and minions of Bonnet's around, so if she killed him she still wouldn't have been in a position to flee to safety.  And given that he'd been threatening to rape her (again) I can understand her not wanting to interfere with him fucking a willing whore (instead of her.)

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

At least he finally got a bullet to the head, so presumably he is actually for real gone for good. 

A bullet to the brain AND drowned (we saw his arms out of the water with his head below the water at the very end.)  I'd say he's not only clearly dead, he's also most sincerely dead.

 

Edited April 29, 2020 by WatchrTina

[theschnauzers]

Now that this story arc’s been finished a whole novel early, which still makes my head spin, now we’ll have to see which of the Fiery Cross storylines are saved for season six and which have been dropped altogether. Likewise I, could only speculate what comes out of A Breath of Snow and Ashes, for season 6. We’ll have to see what the last two episodes are like, because, right now, after this episode, I haven’t a clue.

[cardigirl]

13 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I wouldn't have pegged Bree as a big Moby Dick fan! Its a great book, but it just doesn't seem her cup of tea, is she super into the mechanisms of whaling? I did like her her pretending to read it to Bonnet (and that he got super into it while totally not getting the point) but I cant believe she didn't start with ""Call me Ishmael"! Its one of the most famous opening lines in the western cannon! Its the one line that most everyone knows! 

 

I think part of it may have been being brought up in Boston and vacationing on the Cape (which they mentioned) or on Nantucket. I know that for me, when I go to New Bedford and see the town that Melville describes (although it is much changed), it does bring the book to life. Same for Nantucket. The whaling museums in both towns are quite interesting, and in New Bedford every year, they have a marathon live reading of the book, although that was started in 1997, so after Bree's time. 🙂 https://www.whalingmuseum.org/programs/annual-events/annual-moby-dick-marathon/

[pootlus]

I FFed through parts of this episode, which I've never done with Outlander before.  However I am very glad that Bonnet is dead.  It was dragged out interminably in the books and I'm happy they bought it forward.  Makes me hopeful for some of the other interminable passages (cough, most of An Echo in the Bone) might be 'improved' too.

[SandyToes]

On 4/26/2020 at 7:32 PM, Glaze Crazy said:

Glad they chose to wrap up Bonnet's story now and didn't try to bring it back into the story next season/book when he finally gets his due, in the book timeline. I was also glad they were able to bring out Bonnet's fear or nightmare of drowning since, for me, that added even more to his final fate (book and show) until Bree goes out and shoots him.  Yes, she did give him mercy, even if she didn't want to say it on the show.

Agreed. It was so frustrating in the books to have him keep coming back. Over and done. Wish we'd seen him suffer in terror a bit more before Bree shot him.  Never liked how she snuck out and shot him in the book, and I did like how they left it ambiguous here. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

16 hours ago, SandyToes said:

Never liked how she snuck out and shot him in the book, and I did like how they left it ambiguous here. 

Ambiguous, how? Her reason for killing him? Because she did kill him. Nothing ambiguous about that.

[SandyToes]

Yes, the reason.  The rifle in her hand made it clear she shot him. God knows Roger couldn't have. I didn't care for the mercy aspect in the book. 

[WatchrTina]

Quote

I FFed through parts of this episode, which I've never done with Outlander before.  However I am very glad that Bonnet is dead.  It was dragged out interminably in the books and I'm happy they bought it forward. 

I totally agree.  I'm doing a re-watch today in the run-up to the new episode and when this one started I was filled with dread, but I think most of what I was dreading was in the book and NOT in the show.  The Bonnet/Jemmy/Brianna plot-line is without a doubt my least favorite through-line in all the books.  I'm so glad it's over.