Two Takes: Outlander “La Dame Blanche” 

Some key words essential to the latest Outlander: Baby Names. Chess. Cascara. Cuckoo Clock. Sheep’s Knuckles. Blade of Grass. Mystical Necklace. Soixante-neuf. La Dame Blanche.

The episode features a breakthrough in Jamie and Claire’s relationship which leads to an intimate connection, a major revelation involving Charles and Louise, a dinner party from hell, more of that dastardly St. Germain, and despair and devastation for Mary Hawkins.

Tina: I’m exhausted. So much happened in “La Dame Blanche.” It’s a near perfect episode. There’s a standout Moment of Goodness in my mind. I wonder if we’re in synch on what it is. And I really love a lot of the dialogue. So anytime I can, I’ll try to highlight some of my favorite lines starting with…

Jamie: “You’ve given me something to hold on to. Something to look forward to and that’s a gift. Thank you. Truly.”

Kara, I thoroughly enjoyed Jamie’s reaction to finally finding out Black Jack Randall’s still alive. This bit of news makes him happy. He wants to be integral in making that death happen. He hated not being a part of it initially. Now he can. The truth sets him free, so to speak. Black Jack’s not the only one who’s alive. Jamie starts to live again, too. This is why it’s my Moment of Goodness. Well, actually, it’s all the scenes where Claire and Jamie break down their walls and work through their issues. I agree with him. What took her so long to tell him?

Kara: That moment definitely didn’t go as expected, although I have to admit I was having some issues with Claire. Her husband has been through a horrible trauma and for a second, it seemed like Claire was making it all about herself. I know it’s been hard for her, though, feeling like Jamie is right there physically but that his mind is still back in Scotland in a way. It’s so important to me that they reconnected, because I’ve been missing that something fierce — mostly their deep emotional connection, but also the sex.

Tina: To be fair, Claire was a bit upset about the whole “soixante-neuf” / biting on his thighs at the brothel situation. It took Jamie a bit to get to the heart of the matter but once he did, I feel like he got his point across. You could see him struggling to bring down his walls enough to tell his wife what he was feeling. He says what Black Jack did to him…it was like that part of him that made him him was infiltrated. It was like his “fortress had been blown apart.” And that’s what it’s been like for him ever since.

Jamie: “Naked. Alone. Trying to hide under a blade of grass.”

He sleeps in another room but she goes to him later that night. And they make love. And you’re right. It’s deep and it’s emotional. It’s intimate. They are able to reestablish their connection. It’s about their bodies. And her baby bump. And finding each other. It’s beautiful. The conflict is resolved and they are the better for it. I like seeing couples work through their s–t. She coaxed him out of from under that blade of glass. And he’s able to rejoin life. I also loved that quick moment between Murtagh and Claire where Murtagh says Jamie’s happy. Claire tells him she told Jamie about Black Jack. I think she said something about not knowing what he was worried about. Hilarious.

Kara: I loved that moment. In fact, I love it any time we get a bit of humor or an unexpected laugh. I mean, I love that this is a drama, but sometimes it gets dark and dreary — which, again, makes sense considering the subject matter and the times. But sometimes you just need to laugh. Which brings me to Fergus. That kid knows so freaking much. Because he’s, in essence, a street kid. He’s had to learn the hard way. He knows how to read people and he’s incredibly canny for someone so young. The fact that he schools Murtagh so expertly on women is genius. Fergus knows that Mary’s in love, but that she’s sad. Fergus knows Suzette is also in love. But she’ll show her “affections” to any man who deigns to darken her doorstep. If he’s taking suggestions, I want Fergus to get a serious read on St. Germain. We need to know what he’s up to.

Tina: Fergus is one of my favorite parts of the book. So I’m happy he’s turning out to be an awesome presence on the show as well. As for St. Germain, he’s proving to be quite the nuisance. But he’s crafty, too. He goes around staring and looking all menacing. Is he the one causing trouble for Claire? I’m sure he is. But I can’t say with a hundred percent certainty. Is he responsible for the Cascara in her drink? I looked it up. It’s really more of a laxative. Regardless, not cool to do to a pregnant woman. Is St. Germain responsible for the attack on the way home from L’Hôpital des Anges? I don’t know. Poor Mary. That’s the thing I wasn’t happy with in this episode. Another sexual assault, Kara.

Kara: Same. It seems like Mary’s doomed to a horrible life. If she ends up married to Black Jack Randall, I literally can’t think of a worse fate for such a sweet girl. And because she was raped, she’s ruined. She obviously didn’t invite the attack and as we can see, she’s horribly traumatized by it. But because she’s no longer a maiden, she’s damaged goods in the eyes of polite society. So ridiculous. At least Claire’s looking out for her. But I wonder who those masked brigands are and why they’re so scared of Claire. Thank God she wasn’t attacked as well, but that was only because they were afraid of her. I’m not surprised that Claire’s reputation precedes her, but do they think she’s a witch or has some kind of magic? In either case, I’m sure she’ll be able to track them down and discover their identities soon enough. After all, we saw that one of her attackers had a very distinctive birthmark on his hand.

Tina: So many great questions. We don’t know why those attackers referred to her as La Dame Blanche (The White Lady). We don’t know who the guy with the birthmark is. We don’t know if St. Germain is behind any of this business. Having all these questions isn’t frustrating at all. Actually, it’s like reading a good book. We’ll get to the answers eventually. I’m intrigued by it all. Okay. There are still so many things to talk about. There’s that early scene between Claire and Master Raymond. And, of course, there’s Charles/Louise, the monkey that bites, and the drama-filled dinner party. Pick your poison. What should we talk about next? (Like how I used the word “poison?” Figured it was appropriate considering what happened in this episode.)

Kara: Oh so appropriate. Let’s talk about Master Raymond first as the Charles/Louise/de Rohan triangle ties in nicely with that disastrous dinner. So we know Master Raymond is being watched, which is why he shows Claire into the backroom where they won’t be observed. I understand her hesitation to go; she’s just been poisoned. But Master Raymond claims he doesn’t know the servant he sold the Cascara to and I believe him. What makes this scene especially interesting to me is when he brings out the sheep’s bones. Claire is familiar with this ritual because of the time she spent with her uncle in Africa, but there the Zulu used chicken bones to tell the future. While Master Raymond can’t see Frank’s fate, we know Claire will meet him again — which we’ve already seen. So it makes me wonder what kind of revenge Jamie thinks he’ll take on Black Jack, if Frank’s existence isn’t in doubt.

Tina: What else interested me about that scene is how Raymond uttered the words, “I’m fascinated by things not of this time.” It’s like he knows Claire’s different. But the fact that he said Claire will see Frank again had to shock her. I can only imagine what she’s thinking now.

Something else the apothecary did for her was give her a special necklace. Whatever the stone in this necklace is made of might have some magical properties, because it’s supposed to change color in the presence of poison. It made me think of mood rings. That’s a whole different century, however. The necklace Raymond gave her free of charge could prove useful at the Fraser’s dinner party. It’s already been revealed that Louise and Charles Edward Stuart are having an affair and Madame de La Tour is preggers. So Jamie and Claire both come up with the idea to use this bit of spilled tea to their advantage. Which leads to them questioning their methods:

Claire: “Oh god, does this make us bad people?”
Jamie: “The way I see it, we’re doing a bad thing but for a good reason.”
Claire: “Isn’t that what all bad people say?”

I guess it serves them right because that dinner party était un grand désastre, to borrow from the French. And I don’t even know if I borrowed it correctly. Basically, we all know that evening went so very wrong.

Kara: Not only is Claire forced to sit next to St. Germain, which makes the entire dinner incredibly awkward, but Charles doesn’t even expose himself as Louise’s lover. Was it all for naught? When Mary wakes up from her drug-induced sleep and Alex is a little too forceful with her, things go downhill fast. It seems like he’s attacking her, so she runs. And as they fight and she screams bloody murder, the entire dinner party comes to investigate. Not only does it seem like Alex is forcing himself on Mary, but now Jamie must fight off her indignant father and his friend. And to make matters worse, Charles leaves with St. Germain. Have the Frasers just lost Charles’ favor? Sacré bleu. What a mess.

Outlander airs Saturday nights at 9/8c on Starz.