ONC Administrators’ Choice Awards – The Best & Worst of Episode 411, If Not For Hope

This week the admins for Outlander North Carolina will be focusing on Episode 411, If Not For Hope. Our voting contributors this week are Susan Jackson, Stephanie Bryant, Nancy Roach, Tara Heller, Mitzie Munroe, Blair Beard, Harmony Tersanschi, and me, Beth Pittman. Now for the envelope please…

Blair: When Fergus declined Murtagh’s request for him to fight with him, my heart warmed. Fergus turned him down, so that he could stay with Marsali and Germain.

Susan:  At first, I answered this with “Claire and Jamie making up,” but when I remembered the scene w/ Fergus and Marsali, and seeing some of her mother in her, but the good part (there has to be some good in Laoghaire, right?), I think her encouragement to her husband is my favorite.  I wish they’d show more of Fersali.

Stephanie: The River Run scenes with Lord John Grey!! (Except for one) Love his interactions with Bree. Of course, when he enters the dining room along with his own musical accompaniment!

Nancy: When LJG enters the room to the disappointed glares of the other single men at the dinner party.

Mitzie: It would have to be when Lord John Grey made his grand entrance at the dinner party. Just seeing Forbes and Lt. Wolfe’s faces just lose all hope at that moment was just too funny.

Tara: LJ entering the dinner party and knocking the wind out of the eligible bachelors sails.

Beth:  The make up scene with Jamie & Claire. Sam is killing it this year and that scene was so beautiful and tender. Goes to show you don’t necessarily have to have nudity to have a perfect love scene.

Harmony: LJG’s grand entrance and the way everyone stopped what they were doing & eyed him down.

Blair: Jamie’s half comment/half question,  “I would be seen as a fearsome brute”, is memorable. His tone leaves room for Claire to comment otherwise,  but she shrugs and says, “that would be one side of the story.”

Susan:  I don’t recall the exact line, but I loved hearing Jamie compare his longing for Claire during the “lost” years to Bree’s separation from Roger.

Stephanie:  “LJG: “Thank you for waiting for me my dear” “Have you told them the good news?” You could hear a pin drop!

Nancy:  Marsali: “ I’ll have a whole man or none at all.”

Mitzie: Ian: “Do you think anyone will miss him”?  Jamie’s reply: “One thing’s for sure, he was someone’s child”. Ugg, that had me tearing up.

Beth: When Claire said “I’m sorry” to Jamie – twice. She had completely failed to take any responsibility for her role in the Roger fiasco so I’m so glad she apologized.

Harmony: LJG: “It’s only new because there is hope, and hope is at the very heart of love.”

Blair: Sophie Skelton captivates the episode. Brianna’s in an unenviable position of being an unwed mother to be, during a different time. Yet, she is a quick thinker and deflects attention from herself,  during Jocasta’s dinner party, to the silly suitors.

Susan: The actor who plays Lt. Wolfe was a hoot–his facial expressions should win an Emmy.

Stephanie:  David Berry, he can stand still and still be a great actor!

Nancy: I would like to give a shout out to all the supporting actors. They were all strong. That’s what makes a scene worth watching. (Loved seeing a Hobbit vie for Bree’s hand in marriage. Lol!) Lauren Lyle is really holding her own as Marsali.

Mitzie: I just absolutely loved watching Lee Boardman as Lt. Wolfe this episode. I had so much fun watching all of his movements like puffing his chest out and giving Forbes some interesting steely eyed looks across the way.

Tara: David Berry- I enjoyed seeing his acting in scenes without Sam. It was a whole other side of him. I appreciate him a lot more.

Beth: David Berry. Oh, how many different layers of Lord John Grey did he revealed to us in this episode??? Loved it.

Harmony: David Berry as per usual stole the show for me this episode. He is a class act & plays LJG phenomenally in my opinion.

Blair: I was feeling annoyed with Lord John Grey, but then he takes a turn and strides into Jocasta’s parlor to “save the day”! If the Lone Ranger’s,  “William Tell Overture”, had piped in, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Bree was happy, Jocasta was surprised, and Gerald Forbes was stopped in his tracks.

Susan:  Murtagh capturing Bonnet so easily–Bonnet is surely a wanted man, and him hanging out in plain sight, well, not a good move for him.

Stephanie: The opening scene with Roger in the shower. I kept thinking WHY?? Not sure except as a teaser for book readers? Was it a dream?? Still pondering it!

Nancy: Roger taking a shower. For a second I thought, “Don’t tell me the writers decided to stray that far from the books! Please have mercy! We’ve had enough deviations from Diana’s works!”

Mitzie: The opening scene with Roger in the shower. My brain went instantly into scramble mode to try and understand what I am watching and just when I thought I had an idea as to why the writers are having Roger back in the future he is instantly pulled back into the past. WHEW, that had me spinning for a moment.

Tara: Pantry scene- just not in character for LJ. He has more discretion.

Beth: Bree catching LJG in the wide-open pantry. I was not expecting it to play out that way at all.

Harmony: The scene with Phaedra & Bree. I loved Phaedra’s accent & the exchange between the two about Bree’s reasons for wanting to draw her. Very sweet & surprising moment.

Blair: I liked that there was time spent in different locations with the characters; River Run, the trail northward and Wilmington. The story development and scenery at River Run was my favorite.

Susan:  The theme of hope throughout the episode–we all need that reminder, no matter how bad things may be.

Stephanie: Seeing Bree as a young mother having a baby in the 1760’s. The transformation as she talks with LJG and Aunt Jocasta. She begins to understand the differences from her time to the present.

Nancy: The interaction between LJG and Bree. I love LJG and look forward to his scenes. However, I agree with others about the indiscreet sex scene being out of character for this very proper British Lord.

Mitzie: Seeing Bree adapting to her new norm at River Run. I enjoyed seeing her passing the time by drawing; seeing her dressed in her new dresses courtesy of her Auntie and watching her handle some tough conversations with Jocasta and LJG.

Tara: Seeing Bree at River Run and interacting with LJ.

Beth: This episode was about relationships. Bree & Jocasta, Bree & LJG, Marsali & Fergus, Murtagh & Fergus, Murtagh & Marsali and Jamie & Claire. Relationships are what make the Outlander books so wonderful and this episode was special because of that.

Harmony: Finally getting to see LJG and Bree together. Their talk on the porch was specifically what I enjoyed the most out of the episode.

Blair: What I did not care for was Aunt Jocasta’s eagerness to marry Bree off. Auntie was a product of her time, but thankfully, Brianna and Lord John made Lemonade out of the lemon suitors.

Susan:  LJG completely losing his mind and having sex with another man in someone else’s house, with the door wide open, and the “lights” on.  Completely out of character for LJG. I can imagine Diana Gabaldon shook her head when she saw that scene written in there. But that’s just the number one issue I had with this episode.  Oh, well.

Stephanie:  LJG out of character having sex in the hallway, no way that would happen!!

Nancy: Things I have problems with: How can Bree stay that clean when drawing with charcoal? Why weren’t Fergus and Marsali invited to the dinner party? Bree’s elbows on the table as she leans in to talk to LJG at a formal dinner party is out of character for her upbringing. I hear my mother saying “Mabel, Mabel, strong and able, keep your elbows off the table. This is not a horses table. This is a dining room table.” Lord John having indiscreet sex in an open area is out of character. Claire’s hairstyle. I picture book Claire with, long, loose uncovered hair or maybe in a long braid. When she wears that scarf, is this supposed to be her protest against slavery as black females were required to wear a turbin?

Mitzie: Seeing LJG in the pantry with the Judge. It was not in his character to do something like that and I can’t seem to figure out why the writers felt that scene needed to be filmed like that. It was just not necessary and kinda confusing.

Tara: The pantry scene and it just felt flat as most of the episodes this time in the season usually do for some reason. I heard it said that this could have been one of the first episodes that were filmed.

Beth: The scene at the dinner table with Bree playing the psychology game. I felt that was a waste of time other than to set the stage for my second least favorite thing which was the scene with LJG and the Judge. So, really both were unnecessary in my opinion.

Harmony: That’s an easy one, the sexual encounter between LJG & the Judge. It was completely unbelievable given the time they were in, as well as the status of both these men to be so openly intimate with one another where truly anyone could’ve stumbled upon them in the act. That was a major change that just didn’t work in my opinion.

Blair:  The last episodes are running in a dead heat for me. I cannot choose a favorite between.

Susan:  This is getting harder and harder to do with so many episodes! Lol This may be number eight on my list.

Stephanie: It’s one of my least favorite. You can tell the difference when Matt and Toni write the episodes, they’re always perfect!!

Nancy: I’m waiting until the end to rank the episodes.

Mitzie: 1st*409 / 2nd*405 / 3rd*403 / 4th*404 / 5th*407 / 6th*408 / 7th*411 / 8th*410 / 9th*406 / 10th*401 / 11th*402

Tara: I would have to say 5th.

Beth: Gracious! This is getting difficult. Probably in my bottom 5.

Harmony: I can’t give an exact number ranking, but definitely somewhere within the top 4 for me.

OK. There you have it! Now, it’s your turn. Tell us your thoughts about Episode 411, If Not For Hope. What did you like most? What did you like least? Tell us about it in the comments!