Post by Contributing Author, Harmony Tersanschi
“‘How shall I tell ye what it is, to feel the need of a place?’ He said softly. ‘The need of snow beneath my shoon. The breath of the mountains, breathing their own breath in my nostrils as God gave breath to Adam. The scrape of rock under my hand, climbing, and the sight of lichens on it, enduring in the sun and wind.’
His breath was gone and he breathed again, taking mine. His hands were linked behind my head, holding me, face-to-face.
‘If I am to live as a man, I must have a mountain, he said simply.’” (Diana Gabaldon, DOA)
………And a mountain ye have finally found.
We start off episode 403 in 1970 Inverness with Roger playing his guitar (swoon) then handing the keys to his childhood home over to Fiona and her new husband. “I may not read tea leaves like my grannie…..But I can see ye’re in love with her”, ummm yasss Fi, you tell him! What a great start to this episode, I have certainly missed seeing Roger & hearing that accent, as I’m sure many of us have.
We’re then transported back to River Run where Jamie & Claire are bidding farewell to Aunt Jocasta. This was my only issue with the entire episode, the addition of the unneeded conflict between Claire & Jocasta. Again, the harshness of Claire’s attitude is not something that I’m fond of regarding the series, however I was happy to see that it quickly dissipated once River Run was out of sight. On another note, I don’t think I can put into words how much I adore John Bell as Young Ian. He has fully filled the roll in my opinion & is an absolute joy to watch! Listening to him plead his case to Jamie on why he should be permitted to make his own decision regarding the place he will call home, was no exception. Fantastic!
Now on to what I’ve been waiting for all season, yes I know we’re only just now three episodes in, but I have been looking forward to this since reading DOA this past summer. Bree & Roger are reunited once again & on their way to Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. I loved the parallel of them being in present day N.C. while her parents are also in 18th century N.C.! A slightly awkward and tad stiff performance from Sophie in season three has been replaced by a confident & completely natural embodiment of Bree in this episode. I mean, she totally killed every scene she was in & I couldn’t be happier! The looks between the two, the chemistry, the flirting, the “Minister’s Cat”, the passion, the fight, was all done seamlessly! These two have already brought some of my favorite parts from DOA fully to life and there’s so much more in store. I of course can’t conclude my thoughts on Roger & Bree without mentioning the performance! I was completely lost in Roger’s voice as he sang, and Bree’s expression perfectly mimicked every other woman’s face at the festival, including my own, while he serenaded us all. I had to apologize to my hubby for the sighs of delight that were coming from my mouth as I briefly forgot that he was sitting right there next to me. Luckily he doesn’t mind my Outlander/Jamie/Roger obsession. Although, it’s more lucky for him than it is for me, because no amount of disapproval could come in the way of my ultimate swooning over Roger’s voice, both singing & speaking.
Back to our two main characters, Jamie & Claire who are now wandering the woods for a place to call home. Otter Tooth & his skull made their appearance much sooner than I had imagined albeit I fully enjoyed how it was handled within the episode. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and very reminiscent of trails that I’ve personally found myself on since making North Carolina my home. “Jamie look, strawberries”, Claire calls out to Jamie which was all the sign he needed to realize that they had finally found home. A home soon to be called Fraser’s Ridge.
To say that I enjoyed this episode would be a vast understatement! The show once again has sucked me in and I found myself wishing it was much longer than a mere 62 minutes. This has now made my anticipation for what’s yet to come even more extreme, please excuse me while I shout “BRING ON THE TIME TRAVEL!”
Harmony was born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl, but found her forever home in the mountains of North Carolina in 2017. She is married to her “Jamie” and the mom of two boys whom she homeschools. Harmony discovered Outlander while Season 2 was showing on Starz, and instantly fell in love with Jamie and Claire’s love story. I’m her spare time, she enjoys being with her family and getting outside to explore their new home in the mountains.
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