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TV Review: Outlander 2.13 “Dragonfly In Amber” (Finale)
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Outlander 213-04

Outlander
Season 2 Episode 13: “Dragonfly In Amber”
Directed by Phillip John
Written by Toni Graphia and Matthew B. Roberts
Created by Ronald D. Moore
Based on the books by Diana Galbadon
Starring Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Tobias Menzies, Duncan Lacroix, Graham McTavish, Richard Rankin, Sophie Skelton, Grant O’Rourke, Romann Berrux, Andrew Gower, Scott Kyle
Starz
Air Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2016, 9:00pm

Two weeks ago on Outlander, Jonathan Randall and Mary Hawkins (Tobias Menzies and Rosie Day) married as Alex Randall’s (Laurence Dobiesz) dying wish, then BlackJack furiously punched his brother’s corpse. Colum (Gary Lewis) came to the war to name Jamie (Sam Heughan) Laird McKenzie before killing himself with poison that Claire (Caitriona Balfe) reluctantly gave him. Dougal (Graham McTavish) was a mess. Jamie made a last ditch effort to avoid the Battle of Culloden, to no avail. And now… what we have all been waiting for.

Warning! Spoilers for the season finale of Outlander below.

Outlander 2.13 “Dragonfly In Amber” review: The scene opens in 1968 Scotland with Roger (Richard Rankin) at the wake of his father, Reverend Wakefield (James Fleet). 1960s Claire is there, looking older, but perhaps even more beautiful. He can’t stop staring at … Brianna (Sophie Skelton). He is mesmerized. When Claire leaves them, there are obvious sparks. They end up staying, but Claire can’t sleep with all the ghosts in her mind. Roger joins her in the middle of the night, shaken when Roger mentions that the Reverend was fond of some rare editions about Prince Charles Stuart and the Battle of Culloden. He tells her he is a McKenzie and asks her “How did you do it? Finally say goodbye to that one person you loved most in all the world?” He is referencing Frank, but she…

“Whether you want to say goodbye or not… they’re gone, and you have to go on living without them.”

Flashback to Jaime walking besides foolish Prince Charles Stuart (Andrew Gower) in the early hours of April 16th, 1746. He tries to convince him to give it up. Charles gives him a Bible reference. There’s no turning back. Culloden will happen. Claire proposes to kill Charles Stuart with yellow jasmine. Dougal overhears. “You filthy whoring witch.” This is no surprise. He lived and breathed the cause.

In the present, Roger and Brianna drive on, visiting Ft. William, the prison of Jamie’s suffering. It gives Brianna the chills, with good reason, unbeknownst to her. Brianna asked Roger about her father. He remembers him vaguely. She tells him about this lockbox – letters from Roger’s father. It talked about an incident that was big and terrible. Roger offers up his father’s journals.

Claire does a bit of her own sightseeing. She visits Lallybroch, and can hear the voices, envisioning Jamie standing there. Claire’s next visit is to the hall of records and she sees the deed transferring Lallybroch to Jamie Murray. She also searches Roger Mckenzie’s ancestry.

Claire teases Brianna about how handsome Roger is. He really is. I mean, I know the show had to cast a good-looking guy for the second love story of this love story, and I did like Roger in the books, but he paled next to Jamie. Rankin might also, but he’s off to a good start.

Brianna hears a fervent speech at the university waiting for Roger. Her name is Gillian Edgars. Giving a lecture about the heroes of old, and the battle of Culloden. “I am Bonny Prince Charlie!” It’s Geillis (Lotte Verbeek). When they get back to the house. Brianna and Roger looks through the Reverends things. Jackpot! They find a Randall box.

Back in time, Dougal is furious and vicious. He spits out insults. Graham McTavish is so good in this scene, brimming with rage and sorrow as his love turned to hurt and hate. He draws his sword and swings it at them wildly, telling Jamie to come to him and he’ll just kill Claire. Jamie finally gets the best of him with Claire’s help, and they kill Dougal together. Jamie cries. Rupert (Grant O’Rourke) finds them, so Jamie asks for a 2 hour reprieve.

“I’ll give you 2 hours, and then I’ll damn your soul to a fiery pit.”

1960s Claire goes to Culloden House and sees her “Dragonfly in Amber.” Claire walks to the battle site – marked by a stone that says “Clan Fraser.” Claire speaks to Jamie about Brianna. “You made me go and live a life I didn’t want to live.” She sits and tells him her 20-year story.

“Goodbye Jamie Fraser, my love.”

Brianna finds the article that her mother was found after 3 years. She confronts Claire, convinced she came back to Scotland to find Brianna’s real father. She’s not wrong – sort of. Roger comes in and is obviously uncomfortable, but Brianna already depends on him.

“Yes. There was another man and I loved him very much.” She promised Frank she would never tell Brianna, because she was completely Frank’s daughter.

“Jamie loved you very much.” We all know this, as it’s why she ended up returning to Frank. She tells Brianna the whole story. Claire is quite the storyteller this episode.

Jamie tells Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) about Dougal, then signs the deed of Lallybroch over to to his nephew, sending Fergus with it. “Stop for nothing, except to sleep.” I cried when they said goodbye to Fergus (Romann Berrux), their son. Throughout the season, it has always been the Fergus scenes that have gotten me.

Claire finds the protest flyer and visits Geillis’s house. Her husband is a wreck and falls asleep. She steals some notebooks. This scene, in the books as well as the novel, always seemed quite weird, although I do understand the rationale.

Jamie tells Murtagh to bring the men away from battle. He will send Claire to safety and then will come back to die. Murtagh said he’s coming back to Culloden too. “I’ll be dying with you.”

Brianna wants to know about Jamie, “Tell me about him.”

Claire does. “I didn’t intend to fall in love.”

Roger’s ancestors are Geillis and Dougal. Although Brianna and Roger don’t believe her (but Roger kinda does), they go to the stones and see Gilly vanish through. She burned her dead husband as a sacrifice, and went through. Roger and Brianna can hear the buzzing and finally believe her. There’s really no way to make Brianna believe that without her seeing it.

Jamie wants her to go back through the stones. He knows she’s pregnant. “No! I can’t leave you!” He makes her remember her promise to go to Frank.

Jamie and Claire arrive at Craigh na Dun, and have a heartbreaking parting. His message to Frank: “Tell him I’m grateful. Tell him I trust him. Tell him I hate him to the very marrow of his bones.” Heughan gets the greatist lines. He can’t come with her. He does not hear the buzzing. And it isn’t where he belongs. He will wait 200 years for her.

“I’ll find you. I promise.”

Sigh…

They hear the sounds of battle. “Lord. You gave me a rare woman. God I loved her well.” The music crescendos as they are together for the last time. They say their wedding vows. This is a very intense scene as I knew it would be. He’s crying too.

Brianna believes her. She urges Roger to give her some research. He tells her that after the battle, one Fraser leader lived – James Fraser. “I have to go back.”

I loved the music of the late 60s mixed with the lovely score for the battle day score. I was hoping we would see Claire reunite with Jamie at the end of this season, as the piece that was different. This season, while basically following the book, gave us enough differences to keep readers surprised as well.

What a season it was! I am delighted that we will get at least two more seasons. We all better reread Voyager and Drums of Autumn in anticipation of the next 2 years. Season 2 was my favorite season and Dragonfly was my favorite book. I am excited to see the Frasers reunite, and the other stuff that should happen (that I am not going to spoil.
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Image Gallery

Video

Outlander | Episode 213 Preview | STARZ


On “Dragonfly in Amber”: The day of the Battle of Culloden has arrived, and Jamie must do everything he can to save the ones he loves.

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