8.5

Outlander – Prestonpans – Review

Outlander – Prestonpans - Review

Our Rating

S02E10 - Prestonpans8.5
Trusting in Claire’s knowledge of “history,” Jamie leads the Jacobite army into a critical battle with British opposition near the town of Preston. Meanwhile, Claire attends to the dead and dying, a reminder of the truest costs of war.
8.5

The battle has begun, in this week’s Outlander – Prestonpans – Review

Warning: This article contains spoilers from last night’s episode of Outlander. Read at your own risk.

This week’s episode was shot beautifully. I am sure the men of Outlander enjoyed bonding as men do in the setting of “war”. Graham McTavish portrayal and showing the savage side of Dougal was mind blowing, but saying goodbye to an old friend was hard.

“WAR LEAVES A BITTER TASTE. NO MATTER THE OUTCOME.”

JAMIE FRASER

I feel as if I am constantly repeating myself how incredible the scenery of Highlands is and how much of a role it takes in each and every episode and this week’s episode was no different.

Outlander: PrestonpansMuch of the episode was all about war preparation, and to be honest, this fangirl blocked most of it out. I know it’s part of it and we need to understand all that’s going on, but without an understanding of war, it was all background noise to me. We found out not all the players involved are all on the same page. We saw Jamie as a leader, subtly having Dougal test the meadow area to see how they can proceed.  We learned exactly how far the guns would shoot, and how brazen Dougal is, as well as he wanting to get closer to his Prince (Andrew Gower). Dougal succeeded in getting close to the Bonnie Prince, even if it was just for a brief moment.

While the troops were preparing, we got our dose of comic relief from Angus (Stephen Walters) and Rupert (Grant O’Rourke), as usual as they were sitting around. Angus was watching others bond before the battle, on who get’s what what if they don’t come back. Angus wanted to give Rupert his sword as well as “his woman”, Rupert wanted no part of it.

On a confusing level the Prince who is British man, fighting the British was insistent on Claire and the women taking care of the wounded. This would later infuriate the savage also known as Dougal.

We saw wee Fergus (Roman Berrux) wanting to do his part and fight, and even sneak off to help the cause. Frantic Claire (Caitriona Balfe) finds the lad shellshocked after the battle was over looking numb at the fact he thinks he killed an English Soldier.

Outlander - Prestonpans - Review

CREDIT: © 2016 Starz Entertainment, LLC

The centerpiece of Prestonpans is its titular battle. Philip John, who made his Outlander debut last week, has quite the eye for battle shots, directing the most action-packed parts of the episode with an eerie elegance. The battle is nothing short of spectacular, the one part that sticks out is as the camera follows young Fergus, bewildered by the chaos and gore that surround him—chaos that’s silent and in slow-motion…until it isn’t. As the sound and real-time speed snaps back, we’re thrown into a visual storm, blades clashing, blood spurting, men crying out in pain and in the fevered rush that comes with battle.

Outlander - Prestonpans - Review

CREDIT: © 2016 Starz Entertainment, LLC

The battle lasts just 15 minutes according to Jamie and Murtagh, and those minutes are smushed into even fewer in the episode, and yet the extreme violence and intensity of all the battle scenes make them feel much longer than they are. No doubt, those 15 minutes must have felt like a lifetime to someone like young Fergus, who never could have imagined the bloodshed he was walking toward. Thrown in fog, the battle is disturbingly beautiful. Dougal Mackenzie and the other men—including Jamie—indeed seem to revel in their attack, understanding the horrors of it all but being drawn to it nonetheless. Dougal most of all becomes consumed by his thirst for slaughter. Manic and righteous, he walks amid the carnage when it’s all over, driving his sword into any redcoats who might still be drawing breath. He even mercilessly guts the British soldier, Lieutenant Foster (Tom Brittney) who helped him and Claire back in season one. Dougal is not to be fucked with.

While we all know too well all wars come with a body count — even fake ones on TV Shows — so it was to be expected that not everyone was going to make it out of Outlander season 2 alive. The shock value for us on who we were forced to say goodbye to in this week’s episode — the fiercely loyal and unapologetic horndog Angus Mhor, was hard to take.

 

Although Angus and his ale-bellied bro Rupert appear in the Outlander books, they play much less significant and different roles in McKenzie clan life. In the series, the characters became ride-or-die fighters for Dougal as well as much-needed comic relief. The highlanders managed to heckle their way into our hearts as well as that of author Diana Gabaldon, who called them the “1800s version of Laurel and Hardy.”

Observations

  • Jamie champions Dougal at the same time as exiling him. Jamie is becoming quite the expert leader.
  • Does anyone else flinch every time the prince says “mark me?” The prince is just so sniveling and self-righteous, and it’s basically his catchphrase, it irks me to no end. I think we should make it a drinking game. Anyone with me?
  • The prince is also a terrible leader.
  • Claire realizes that being right about this battle means she’s also probably right about Culloden. Despite their best efforts, history seems pretty set in stone.
  • Rupert’s face in the final shot is devastating.
  • Even though Dougal is exiled, I don’t think we have seen the last of him this season.

What did you think  of Outlander – Prestonpans? We want to hear from you lads and lassies in the comments below!

About author(s)

Jenn

Jenn is a Book Lover, Fangirl, Daniel Cudmore's Number one Fan, and Ricky Whittle connoisseur and the "chairwoman" of #TheWhittleExperience. Co-Owner of FANdomConsultants.com. When not found traveling to and from NYC (my home, my heart), reading, or writing on one of the several sites she owns, she's usually on Tumblr stalking Ricky Whittle gifs and scouring the Internet for more goodies on Dan. Jenn is also a budding artist and has her own studio where she creates some fandom made goodies. Follow her on Twitter, & Instagram.