The third episode of Season 2 of the British romantic time-travel drama “Outlander” aired on Starz on April 23 and it actually illuminated the growing rift between Jamie, played by Sam Heughan, and Claire Fraser, played by Caitriona Balfe, as a couple even as they continue to adjust to their lives in Paris.
Having been transposed to a new environment from the highlands of Scotland to the high society of Paris, Jamie and Claire were obviously groping for form as they try to find a meaning in their existence other than attempting to stop the Jacobite rebellion.
It also did not help when Claire learned from Murtagh in the episode that Black Jack Randall is still alive. Every fan of the show knows how Randall has devastated not only Jamie but also made a telling impact on their relationship during the Season 1 finale.
Claire is obviously conscious that she is no longer that unusual lady that Jamie described her to be in Season 1 while Jamie feels overly protective of his wife especially when she decided to volunteer her medical skills at a charity hospital, claiming to her husband that she needed a purpose, details the New York Times.
For his part, because his wife seems to be looking for her purpose, Jamie also asked Claire when does he get to feel good or find meaning in his day in that brief argument.
It also does not help the mindset of Jamie when he also learned later that Black Jack Randall is still alive.
An unenviable challenge
Because of its entirely different setting from its premiere season, “Outlander” Season 2 has become a precarious tightrope because the new characters practically embody every French stereotype.
These characters are overtly sexual, lecherous, cunning, frivolous and not much else. Thus, the TV series has the unenviable challenge of adapting incredibly dense source material from the second book of Diana Gabaldon entitled “Dragonfly in Amber” while making the new French characters more significant.
The third episode, which had the title “Useful Occupations and Deceptions,” featured the themes of duplicity, truth, and the things that people sacrifice when they lie. These themes further take on a deeper meaning.
Jamie is now pressured to get close to men like Duverney and Prince Charles in order to stop the Jacobite rebellion while Claire struggles with the ways her life has become conventional in the wake of their transfer to Paris.
The pair obviously needs meaning in their lives which they once found in each other. Somehow, the wounds that Black Jack Randall has left in their relationship made it more difficult to find it again.
Getting the raw deal of the marriage
Claire has also started to feel in the episode that she is getting the raw deal of the marriage especially when Jamie comes home reeking of smoke and cheap perfume after spending his night at a brothel. He has to anyway because of his wine merchant duties.
Her only big plan at that point is to find Jamie’s beloved wooden toy snake and hope a juicy piece of information falls in her lap during the tea, which was what happened during the episode.
One highlight of the episode is when Jamie commissioned a young pickpocket which he christened Fergus. Jamie asked Fergus to steal letters from Prince Charles, which he and Murtagh copy and try to decipher before returning them, details Refinery 29.
They wanted to know if Prince Charles is truly being supported by his fellow countrymen. They eventually sought the help and advice of Mother Hildegarde to shed light on a letter containing musical notes.
The letter disclosed that Charles does have some support and Jamie and Claire also figured out that it is the Duke of Sandringham who is his secret benefactor. While it is indeed a huge discovery, it was nonetheless a complicated one.