BOMB Episode 101: "Providence" (SPOILERS!)

Here are my reactions to Episode 101 of OUTLANDER: BLOOD OF MY BLOOD, titled "Providence". Unlike my OUTLANDER episode recaps, I will not be doing detailed scene-by-scene recaps for BLOOD OF MY BLOOD. What follows are my general reactions to the episode.

*** SPOILER WARNING!! ***

There are SPOILERS below! If you don't want to know yet, stop reading now.

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I thought this was a terrific episode, and a real treat, in many ways, for those of us who have been waiting many years to see Jamie Fraser's parents' backstory in more detail. I loved almost all of it, except for the last few minutes (more on that below). Here are some of the things I particularly noticed.

Red Jacob's cause of death: "Died mounted on a maidservant" - It's been done before in movies and TV, of course, but I laughed out loud in surprise, not expecting that.

The whole cast is terrific! Ellen MacKenzie is instantly likeable, IMHO. She's a wonderful character, and I liked the interactions with her father very much.

Dougal cut a man's finger off for raiding the MacKenzies' cattle?!? Yikes. He's a ruthless young man, no question about it.

Murtagh is just wonderful! Diana Gabaldon says he's her favorite character in BLOOD OF MY BLOOD, and I can definitely see why. I love his smile, and his exuberant outlook on life, so different from the dour older version of Murtagh that we're used to.

Lord Lovat is excellent, as I expected.

The brief scene with wee Angus and Rupert was cute, but I definitely could have done without it. There are more than enough parallels and "Easter eggs" for the fans in this show already.

Colum and Dougal together are riveting to watch, and thoroughly believable. Two thumbs up! I love the relationship between these two, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it.

Murtagh looking at Ellen: "I can only see her."
Mrs. Fitz: "Then close your eyes." - Great line!

Brian and Ellen's first meeting was wonderful just wonderful!! I love the way they can't take their eyes off each other. I have no idea how close this is to Diana Gabaldon's version of the scene, of course, but to me it FEELS like she must have written it.

The scenery by the stream where Brian and Ellen met again is just gorgeous! "The bridge could be our chaperone" is a great line.

When Ellen asks his name, Brian hesitates -- not just because his father, Lord Lovat, hates the MacKenzies, but because his best friend, Murtagh, is attracted to Ellen, too. Awkward, to say the least!

"I dinna care if it's fate or divine intervention that brought us together. If I had to bargain with the devil himself to spend a moment more with ye, I would." This is a terrific line, but Jamie Roy's delivery is rather flat, monotone, as if he's just reciting the lines. I expected a bit more passion in his voice. (Minor point.)

I was glad to see the boar's tusks following Murtagh's big success at the tynchal. But I could have done without the Murtagh and Jocasta scene, which is clearly there as a treat for the fans who loved the relationship between those two in the OUTLANDER TV series. (I've never been one of them.)

I like the way Ned Gowan tries to be the voice of reason whenever Colum and Dougal argue ("Don’t leap to conclusions" about what's become of Ellen, etc.), and Dougal just ignores him.

The confrontation with the Grants was more or less what I expected. It's hard to follow the action sometimes, when I'm still trying to keep the characters straight.

"Such dramatics!" Mrs. Fitz says. "Worthy of Shakespeare." She's right, of course. Brian and Ellen have been giving off major "Romeo and Juliet" vibes since the moment they met!

"If only ye had a c*ck," Red Jacob says. I laughed out loud in surprise at that. But it's a little sad, too, that Ellen is held back by society's expectations of what is proper for a woman.

"My father is dead, and so is his word." Good line.

I like the bit with the birds, which ties back to Claire's first meeting with Colum at the very beginning of OUTLANDER:

As I entered, my attention was drawn at once by an enormous metal cage, cleverly engineered to fit the curve of the wall from floor to ceiling, filled with dozens of tiny birds: finches, buntings, tits, and several kinds of warblers. Drawing near, my eye was filled with plump smooth bodies and bead-bright eyes, set like jewels in a background of velvet green, darting among the leaves of oak, elm, and chestnut, carefully tended trees rooted in mulched pots set on the floor of the cage. The cheerful racket of conversing birds was punctuated by the whir of wings and rustle of leaves as the inhabitants flitted and hopped about their business.

(From OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 5, "The MacKenzie". Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

But I totally wasn't expecting the sudden transition to Henry and Julia AT ALL!!

Up to this point, I would have given this episode a VERY enthusiastic "I loved it!!" I was thoroughly enjoying it, up to the moment where they switched to Henry and Julia's timeline. The last part of the episode seemed tacked on as an afterthought, just to give Julia and Henry some screen time and to provide a cliffhanger.

The woman who runs the inn (mentioned in passing) - could that be a very young Mrs. Baird? This was too reminiscent of her, IMHO. Also, Henry and Julia are in Scotland on holiday -- why? a second honeymoon, like Claire and Frank? Again, the parallel is unmistakable.

Julia's voice sounds remarkably like Caitriona! It's sort of eerie at times.

Julia is pregnant?? So does that mean the writers are going to have her give birth to a daughter who will grow up to be Fanny's mother, providing an explanation for the song at the end in OUTLANDER Episode 716? I hope I'm wrong, because this seems REALLY contrived, and I don't even want to speculate further about it. Just noting that in the books, there is no hint whatsoever that Claire ever had any siblings!

"I'll be back before you know it" - famous last words! Again, the parallel to Claire is obvious. She goes off to pick forget-me-nots, and that's the last time Frank sees her for three years.

Finally, if you pay close attention, you can spot both Henry and Julia in the 18th-century scenes in this episode! I didn't realize that until someone pointed them out to me.

It was a great start to the show. The whole cast is terrific, the costumes and the cinematography are gorgeous, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Brian and Ellen's storyline.

Look here for my reactions to BLOOD OF MY BLOOD Episode 102, and please come back next week for more!