I really wanted to like Lallybroch. The place had been teased for a few episodes, so it was always going to be interesting to see Jamie's ancestral home, and the storylines in the episode were intriguing and actually compelling.
For the first time in the series, the idea of one character being "frozen in time" to another is explored, and I think that's when this episode is at its strongest and when the most tension is created between Jaime and his sister Jenny. You can see it from the opening scene, Jaime's last memory of home is Randall's attack and it is at the forefront of his mind. He never stops and considers that in the time he's been gone, maybe Jenny has, I don't know, gotten married like Jaime has. Jaime is a jerk for much of the episode and in some sense, you can understand why, life has moved on without him and he hasn't yet appreciated that. He expects to come in and run the estate in his own way, yet doesn't respect the fact that the world of Lallybroch hasn't stopped in the time he's been gone. To him, it's a momentous start of his new life, and he expects to pick up where he left off before he was taken but to his family, they have been living in the day to day, they have a context and understanding that he doesn't have.
Speaking of being a jerk, my favorite storyline is actually connected the Reckoning storyline from episode 9, Jaime's maturity and learning of what it means to be a man. In episode 9, Jaime has to contend with many tough decisions and competing loyalties, and grows up by finding the courage to become his own man and set upon his own path, not the ones laid out for him by his uncles, or by the expectations of others. In the same vein, Jaime approaches his responsibilities as Laird with a childish immaturity. He idolized his father, as any son should, but finds himself trying to be someone he is not to live in the manner that he believes his father would have expected him to. It's such a relatable storyline because everyone has done things out of their character to try to please parent, or acted in a way they believed would make a parent proud. With help from his loving wife, Jaime finally wakes up and realizes what we already learned in episode 9, Jaime is his own man. He can define the role of Laird, the role of Laird does not have to define him. He doesn't need to conform to his expectations of what a Laird should be, because the most important things to him are his family.
Speaking of his loving wife, you can really see the impact that Claire's revelation has on Jaime and Claire's relationship. The two have been growing closer with each episode but you can now see that the wall between them has come down. More importantly, the two of them have a shared knowledge base, a shared secret that sets them apart from other. When they arrive at Lallybroch you can clearly see that the two of them are isolated, separated from the rest of the family, but united together. Claire listens to Jaime when he tells her that they shouldn't contradict each other in public, Jaime listens to Claire when she tells him that he's acting like a jerk and driving his family away. The best moments in the series so far have often been when Jamie and Claire are feeding off each other and working as unit, and this episode is no different.
Where it falls flat is that not enough time is spent on these aspects and too much is spent with yet more flashbacks of Jack Randall. Tobias Menzies always lights up the screen as Randall, but the flashbacks in this episode covered trodden ground that was already covered in much more compelling ways in prior episodes such as Garrison Commander and Castle Leoch. The flashbacks slow the pace of story and don't really add all that much in the way of new information that will have any impact moving forward.
For the first time in the series, the idea of one character being "frozen in time" to another is explored, and I think that's when this episode is at its strongest and when the most tension is created between Jaime and his sister Jenny. You can see it from the opening scene, Jaime's last memory of home is Randall's attack and it is at the forefront of his mind. He never stops and considers that in the time he's been gone, maybe Jenny has, I don't know, gotten married like Jaime has. Jaime is a jerk for much of the episode and in some sense, you can understand why, life has moved on without him and he hasn't yet appreciated that. He expects to come in and run the estate in his own way, yet doesn't respect the fact that the world of Lallybroch hasn't stopped in the time he's been gone. To him, it's a momentous start of his new life, and he expects to pick up where he left off before he was taken but to his family, they have been living in the day to day, they have a context and understanding that he doesn't have.
Speaking of being a jerk, my favorite storyline is actually connected the Reckoning storyline from episode 9, Jaime's maturity and learning of what it means to be a man. In episode 9, Jaime has to contend with many tough decisions and competing loyalties, and grows up by finding the courage to become his own man and set upon his own path, not the ones laid out for him by his uncles, or by the expectations of others. In the same vein, Jaime approaches his responsibilities as Laird with a childish immaturity. He idolized his father, as any son should, but finds himself trying to be someone he is not to live in the manner that he believes his father would have expected him to. It's such a relatable storyline because everyone has done things out of their character to try to please parent, or acted in a way they believed would make a parent proud. With help from his loving wife, Jaime finally wakes up and realizes what we already learned in episode 9, Jaime is his own man. He can define the role of Laird, the role of Laird does not have to define him. He doesn't need to conform to his expectations of what a Laird should be, because the most important things to him are his family.
Speaking of his loving wife, you can really see the impact that Claire's revelation has on Jaime and Claire's relationship. The two have been growing closer with each episode but you can now see that the wall between them has come down. More importantly, the two of them have a shared knowledge base, a shared secret that sets them apart from other. When they arrive at Lallybroch you can clearly see that the two of them are isolated, separated from the rest of the family, but united together. Claire listens to Jaime when he tells her that they shouldn't contradict each other in public, Jaime listens to Claire when she tells him that he's acting like a jerk and driving his family away. The best moments in the series so far have often been when Jamie and Claire are feeding off each other and working as unit, and this episode is no different.
Where it falls flat is that not enough time is spent on these aspects and too much is spent with yet more flashbacks of Jack Randall. Tobias Menzies always lights up the screen as Randall, but the flashbacks in this episode covered trodden ground that was already covered in much more compelling ways in prior episodes such as Garrison Commander and Castle Leoch. The flashbacks slow the pace of story and don't really add all that much in the way of new information that will have any impact moving forward.
