BOMB Episode 107: "Luceo Non Uro" (SPOILERS!)

Here are my reactions to Episode 107 of OUTLANDER: BLOOD OF MY BLOOD, titled "Needfire".

*** SPOILER WARNING!! ***

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

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This episode was a vast improvement over last week's! The mood of unbearable grimness and despair is finally starting to lift. The characters even smile occasionally. <g> Here are some of the highlights:

The title of this episode, "Luceo Non Uro", is the motto of Clan MacKenzie, meaning, "I shine, not burn." The episode opens just before the baptism of Julia's baby boy. Brian and Julia hold a secret ceremony in which the baby is given the name William Henry Beauchamp. Officially, to the world at large, he will be known as Simon Fraser. (Traditionally, the heir to Clan Fraser of Lovat always bears the name Simon.)

Davina and Julia are acting now almost like besties, even giggling over their plans to put something in Lord Lovat's food to decrease his sexual desire. Such a quick change didn't seem realistic to me, but I'm glad they are at least able to be friends now.

I didn't expect Rob Roy! What a breath of fresh air he was in this episode. <g> The actor, Jamie Sives, is terrific.

Julia singing "I Like to Be Beside the Seaside" made me go "NOOOOO!!" in reflex the first time I heard it, because of all the controversy over the ending of OUTLANDER Episode 716. But thinking about it further, it does make sense. Julia is Claire's mother, after all, and it's appropriate that she would sing that song to this baby, just as she sang it to Claire.

I liked the scene between Murtagh and Brian, but I didn't understand why Brian stayed on the ground through the first part of their argument. That just seemed awkward.

Now that Lord Lovat has his legitimate heir (documented in the parish register), it seems to me that Julia is expendable, from his point of view. He hired a wet nurse to care for the baby. He doesn't actually need Julia anymore -- particularly if he can't perform in bed. <g> That might be a good thing. It could free Julia up to be able to escape, if and when she and Henry finally find one another. But suppose Henry and Julia do find each other? I could see LL agreeing to let Julia go, but insisting on keeping the child, this "future king" and heir. That would be heartbreaking for both Henry and Julia.

I thought some parts of the plot were predictable, like Julia finding a letter in Henry's handwriting (I've been expecting that ever since Episode 104, when we first saw an example of Henry's correspondence), but it was still enjoyable to see how the pieces came together.

Henry has come to his senses, FINALLY!!

"This time has stolen from me. It's taken my wife. It's taken my child. The life that I fought for is gone. There is still someone who needs me. I must return to her. I must get back to the stones. To Craigh na Dun."

I have been waiting all season for him to come to that conclusion, so I was very glad to see this! Even if he doesn't succeed, it's important that he wants to go back. He has found something to live for.

The falsified dates in the parish register didn't surprise me (it reminded me a little of Jamie, just before Culloden, putting a false date on the Deed of Sassine transferring title of Lallybroch to his young nephew) but I was taken by surprise when Lovat's henchman, Balloch, killed the minister. It's totally in character, though. There will be no witnesses to say the baby isn't Lovat's legitimate heir.

Favorite Brian moment: when he fired his pistol into the floor of the meeting room, causing everyone to rush out into the streets. That struck me as a very Jamie-like thing to do.

Favorite line from Lord Lovat: "Scruples are for the weak." What a succinct description of his outlook on life. Yikes!

I liked the way they brought the Jacobites into this episode. Nearly thirty years before Claire first saw Dougal collecting money to support the Stuarts, it's clear that he's already a passionate supporter of the Jacobites. And we know the 1715 Rising is coming soon.

I found the big meeting of the Jacobites a little confusing because it's hard to tell the clansmen apart when they're all dressed alike. I didn't realize until someone pointed it out to me that the man who called out, "I say the time HAS come!", followed by something in Gàidhlig which I believe translates as "Long live the Stuarts", was Marcus MacRannoch, whom we met earlier this season, and will see again, many years later, in OUTLANDER Episode 115, "Wentworth Prison".

Brian and Ellen still barely have a moment together in this episode. That's disappointing. We only have three episodes left in this season! Are they EVER going to get together?

The show has (so far) been surprisingly uninterested in telling the story of Brian and Ellen's relationship. They seem to want this to be Julia's and Henry's story, for the most part, with Brian and Ellen playing only secondary roles. But that's not at all what we were led to expect based on the pre-release marketing, including the official key art for this season, which prominently features Brian and Ellen right in the center of the frame.

It's been very disappointing for those of us who were hoping they'd focus more on Brian and Ellen's romance and developing relationship. Their romance, such as it is, seems to have been put on "pause" since the handfasting.

But I liked Ellen's reaction to Mrs. Fitz finding the bit of Fraser tartan among her things. Snatching it away, saying, "No! It's mine!"

At least it appears (for now, anyway) that Lord Lovat won't stand in the way of their relationship, since he's happy that it's going to cause a "ruinous scandal" when the Grants find out. But I thought Lovat hugging Brian was ridiculous. He doesn't normally show affection for Brian at all.

Finally, I loved the fact that this episode ended on a (dare I say it?) HOPEFUL note, with Julia finding the letter written in Henry's handwriting. Her joy and relief at realizing that Henry is alive and somewhere nearby is just infectious!

It was an entertaining and somewhat suspenseful episode, and I am delighted beyond words to see less of that dark, grim, depressing vibe in the show this week.

Look here for my reactions to the other BLOOD OF MY BLOOD episodes, and please come back next week for more!

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