**This is not a spoiler-free review of this episode. This review is also from a non-reader, and any comments revealing spoilers from the books will be deleted.**
Jealous Jamie is back!
Episode 803: “Abies Fraseri”
Written by Madeline Brestal, Directed by Metin Hüseyin
SEASON 8 ONLY HAS 10 EPISODES??
I feel like the final season is moving a bit slowly, and it’s making me a bit nervous. Speaking of nerves, Jamie (Sam Heughan) is still PISSED about that-time-Claire-slept-with-John and he is NOT afraid to let her know it.
We do love a man in touch with his feelings, though, don’t we?
And that’s how I found out Lord John was my second da
Jamie’s RAGE was incited by an innocent letter Lord John (David Berry) sent to the Ridge asking if Bri could paint a portrait of Amaranthus (Carla Woodcock). He sneers about Claire’s “former husband,” which made me feel like I was watching an episode of “The Real Housewives of Fraser’s Ridge.”
I have said it before, and I’ll say it again — Sam does NOT get enough credit for his comedic chops.
Claire (Caitriona Balfe) is understandably like, “Bro, did we not just deal with a whole episode on this last season? You know we’ve only got seven episodes left, right?”
But like, in a nicer way, with her beautiful British accent.
I nearly passed out when Brianna (Sophie Skelton) roasted Claire for sleeping with Lord John Grey. I feel like the show hasn’t really addressed Bri and Roger (Richard Rankin) returning from the 1960s much yet, but it is nice to see Bri reunited with her mom again. I like that, even though she teased Claire about the whole Lord John situation, she didn’t doubt her mother’s experiences for a second, while her mother was in a different century.
I joke about Jamie, but that would be a hard thing to get past. After all, we saw that whole nightmare scenario from Claire’s POV, so it’s easy for us to understand that she was drunk with grief, and it meant nothing. Jamie’s had to wrestle with Frank’s (Tobias Menzies) ghost haunting him, and now a letter from the man he considered a friend? The man who slept with his wife when he was presumed dead?
In a way, Lord John broke the bro code, and everyone just kind of expected Jamie to just deal with it. Forgiveness takes strength, and right now, Jamie’s dealing with a lot of BS on the Ridge.
After a good old-fashioned Claire and Jamie squabble (I missed their fights, TBH?), the two reconcile in the sheets.
Can he just chill with the sad girls already?
I seriously think William (Charles Vandervaart) has a savior complex because he can’t save himself from his own melancholy. I’m not buying the sparks with Amaranthus. Didn’t her husband just die? (Or not die? I’m so confused.)
Although, major props to her for giving bugs a sense of pretty-girl whimsy. I’m not shocked that William is already head over heels for her, but I’m questioning her intentions.
STEP AWAY FROM FERGUS
Okay, so this guy Percy Beauchamp (Michael Lindall) has been a spy and, if I recall correctly, Lord John’s secret lover occasionally. Percy inquires about a Claudel Fraser, and all of a sudden, I’m WORRIED ABOUT FERGUS because Claudel is Fergus, right?
There are sinister games afoot, I fear.
Speaking of sinister, Fanny (Florrie May Wilkinson) was taunted by two men earlier in the episode. She immediately clocked them as British officers based on their arrogant attitudes. I loved that Bri immediately wanted to physically clock them when Fanny mentioned they were harassing her. Fanny is technically Brianna’s niece, so it was nice to see the traumatized child get the protection from her family she’s needed for so long.
The two men who harassed her, however, weren’t so lucky. Benjamin Cleveland (Turlough Convery), the annoying American from the last episode, ends up shooting both of them because he caught them smuggling guns into the Ridge.
Although I’m not mad about two child predators getting their just desserts, it is sinister seeing how colonial justice worked. While our current system certainly isn’t perfect, the scene with Cleveland clearly demonstrated why our Founding Fathers knew it was vital that citizens have the right to a fair trial.
Speaking of justice, Jamie discovers a letter in one of the dead men’s boots. He confronts Cunningham (Kieran Bew), who was hiding a DECODER IN HIS REVOLVER.
Jamie’s not-good-very-bad week just got a wee bit more stressful.
What’s chilling is Cunningham’s refusal to act guilty. He straight-up admits he’s still a Loyalist and asks Jamie to join him.
He really said, “UNO REVERSE.”
Jamie didn’t expect Cunningham to be so straightforward. What’s even worse? The fact that Cunningham’s proposition may be the safest one for his family. Cunningham slyly points out that many of the men on the Ridge are not loyal to the colonists. What’s a laird like Jamie to do? If he chooses wrong, he could end up on the losing side of the battle that Frank predicted in his book. Or could it be that Jamie unknowingly puts himself in harm’s way in an effort to avoid his death?
This is why people aren’t supposed to know about these sorts of things.
There’s also a really interesting subplot where Claire LITERALLY BRINGS A CHILD BACK FROM THE DEAD?? It belongs to Susannah Whitaker (Estella Daniels), who was unaware she was pregnant with twins. Her friend, Susannah, comes to Claire seeking help with her healing powers because Susannah is in danger without an experienced midwife.
I’m glad the show reminds us that this is a show LITERALLY SET IN THE 1700S sometimes. I find myself forgetting just because of Claire’s modernity — until Susannah’s husband Aaron (Tomisin Ajani) interrupts Claire’s midwife session with a COMPLETELY UNDERSTANDABLE, “Hey, y’all are white, and I am free, and my wife is free, and I am not jeopardizing my family because I can’t trust ANY OF YOU.”
It’s completely understandable, and yet, Susannah will die anyway if they don’t trust Claire. Jamie eventually puts Aaron at ease with a peace offering — whiskey.
Okay, but is Claire literally an Avenger now?
Until next time!
NEXT WEEK ON FRIDAY, MARCH 27TH, AT 8 PM ET: EPISODE 804: “MUSKETS, LIBERTY, AND SAUERKRAUT.”
Synopsis: “The Frasers and the MacKenzies prepare for battle; the Murrays are met with an impossible choice for their young family.”
