‘Outlander’ 4×11 ‘If not for hope’ review: Desperation

‘Outlander’ 4×11 ‘If not for hope’ review: Desperation

‘Outlander’ continues this week with Claire and Jamie still searching for Roger while Bree settles into her new life at River Run.

Last week’s episode of Outlander was a bit of an emotional whirlwind for the Frasers— especially after Bree found out what had happened to Roger. And unfortunately for Jamie, he and Bree didn’t leave on very good terms.

In fact, Bree set off to River Run without saying goodbye to her Da and it becomes pretty clear as the episode goes on that the fact that he’s yet to earn her forgiveness is weighing heavily on him.

For Bree’s part, it’s clear she’s not quite ready to forgive and forget just yet. One person who has earned her trust back however is Lizzie which is interesting given how big of a role she played in Roger’s fate.

There’s no denying that Roger wouldn’t have ended up imprisoned to the Mohawk if Lizzie hadn’t have told Jamie and Young Ian she was sure Roger was the man who’d violated Bree.

Lucky for Lizzie, Bree can clearly see it was an honest mistake and readily forgives her when she asks.

To Lizzie’s credit, she does try to make a case for why Bree should forgive Jamie, but it’s clear there’s more there to unpack.

The fact that Jamie took it upon himself to beat Roger to a pulp might have been easy to forgive on its own, but it’s clear what Bree is really having trouble with is forgiving and forgetting the fact that Jamie essentially insinuated that she hadn’t been raped at all.

All this of course was before Bree cleared up the fact that the man she’s in love with and her rapist were two different people. That doesn’t negate the fact that Bree was clearly very hurt by the things Jamie said when he jumped to conclusions.

One of my favorite things about Outlander is that even when characters are at odds, the series does a great job of showcasing both sides of the story. Maybe that’s why in this instance, it’s hard to decide whether to side with Bree or Jamie when it comes to this particular situation.

Though Jamie’s words were inexcusable, I do think it’s kind of ridiculous that Bree laid so much of the blame on Jamie and Ian and little to none on Lizzie who served as a catalyst for the whole debacle.

Regardless it seems as though Bree and Jamie will have to wait to mend their fragile father/daughter relationship until after Jamie returns Roger to her in one piece as he promised.

As for Bree, she seems quite content to brood over books and her artistry at River Run while she waits for the family to return from their mission to rescue Roger. Aunt Jocasta, however, is clearly having none of that.

In an effort to get Bree to socialize, she convinces her to attend a dinner party she’s throwing at River Run. But of course, if we’ve learned one thing about Aunt Jocasta, it’s that there’s always an ulterior motive whenever she throws a party and invites members of high society.

Just as she had with Jamie, Aunt Jocasta most certainly has a plan in mind for Bree. After introducing her to the guests who’ve come to dine at River Run, it soon becomes clear that Jocasta’s plan is to see Bree married off off to a man of status.

Lieutenant Wolff and Gerald Forbes don’t waste any time in making their interests known.

The real scene stealer here though is Lord John Grey who makes a grand surprise appearance at the gathering.

Later at the dinner table Lord John confesses that he stopped by because Jamie asked him to look in on Bree and because hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Bree doesn’t think much of Lord John referring to Jamie as an “honorable man.”

Though Jamie wrote to Lord John and asked him to look in on Bree, it’s clear he didn’t fill him in on some pretty big specifics. He doesn’t for example know Bree is pregnant until later when the pair find themselves in the parlor after Bree faints at dinner.

He also wasn’t aware that Jamie and Claire’s journey north was actually a rescue mission to save Roger from the Mohawk. There’s not much time for Bree to go into specifics of how Roger came to be traded to the Mohawk, but Lord John bids her goodnight with the promise of continuing their conversation in the morning.

Bree may have thought she was the only one keeping secrets, but later that night it soon becomes clear to her that Lord John is harboring a big secret of his own. While scouring the kitchen for a midnight snack, she catches Lord John having sex with Judge Alderdyce.

Bree doesn’t quite know what to make of the discovery although that changes pretty quickly the next morning when she wakes to Phaedra announcing Aunt Jocasta has given Mr. Forbes his blessing to ask for Bree’s hand in marriage.

In a last ditch effort to avoid getting married off to Mr. Forbes, Bree has Lord John meet her on the grounds where she wastes little to no time in asking him to marry her.

Bree tries her best to convince Lord John that their marriage doesn’t have to be anything more than a marriage of convenience. Despite her best efforts though, Lord John denies her requestion.

It’s here that Bree pulls out her trump card and confesses what she witnessed just the night before. She also threatens to out Lord John if he doesn’t marry her.

This moment in particular is one of my favorites in the episode because you can clearly see the desperation coming from both characters.

Bree is desperate to get herself out of a sticky situation that could find her aunt marrying her off to a man she does not love and has no desire to be with. She’s so desperate to rescue herself that she’d even go so far as to out Lord John despite knowing what it would cost him.

Meanwhile, Lord John exhibits desperation of a different sort. The desperation to keep his secret is something that can clearly be seen in his eyes when he asks Bree if she’d still out him despite knowing what it might do to him. The truth of his sexuality wouldn’t just cost him his title. Given the times, it’s a secret that could also cost him his life if word gets out.

The shared feeling of desperation born out of fear actually makes for a lovely common ground. That shared emotion is probably what helps diffuse the moment enough for both characters to have a sensible conversation in which Lord John explains why he can’t marry Bree, and Bree apologizes for threatening to essentially blackmail him.

It seems as though Bree is doomed to marry Mr. Forbes, if only for the sake of her unborn child’s future— that is until Lord John swoops in to save the day.

Before Mr. Forbes can propose, Lord John waltzes into the parlor and announces that he’s proposed and that Bree has accepted.

Overall, this episode of Outlander serves as a really nice introduction into the newfound relationship between Lord John and Bree. The characters play off each other extremely well and I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing them share more scenes together before the season wraps up.

Though this week’s episode of Outlander serves as another big episode for Bree, there are a few other key moments that kept me on the edge of my seat.

For starters, there’s the matter of Murtagh who kept good on his promise to track down Stephen Bonnet with a little bit of help from Fergus.

Though they managed to capture the man who’s been terrorizing each member of the Fraser family in turn, the plan doesn’t go as smoothly as it could. In fact, things hit a bit of a snag when a pair of officers stumble upon Murtagh and Fergus preparing to transport Bonnet in a back alley.

The run-in ends in both Murtagh and Bonnet getting arrested— something that could spell danger for Murtagh in particular given that his involvement in the Regulator movement has turned him into a wanted man. Hopefully this doesn’t spell the end for his character as it’s been fun to have him around for Outlander season 4.

And of course there’s Roger who didn’t actually step through the stones last episode. Instead, it looks as though poor Roger’s gotten himself recaptured by the Mohawk who’ve finally returned to their camp with their new prisoner in tow.

If Roger thought things would get easier for him once they reached their final destination, he was sorely mistaken. If the beating he takes toward the end of the episode is anything to go by, it’s clear things are only going to get worse for Roger from here on out.