‘Outlander’ Recap: ‘Brotherly Love’

11/30/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caitríona Balfe and Joey Phillips as Claire Fraser and Dr. Denzell Hunter in Episode 710 of ‘Outlander’ – ‘Brotherly Love’. (Photo Courtesy of STARZ.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 710 of ‘Outlander’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

One particular concept in storytelling that has evolved in a fascinating manner, is time travel. Simply because this concept has become a staple in science fiction, and it is used in a manner that makes life every easy for the characters that deal with it. For when someone goes back in time in sci-fi, they know what’s coming and they can work toward preserving a timeline and avoiding a paradox, and that gives them incredible intelligence and makes them quite the hero since they do indeed use their vast knowledge to save all of space and time, to the point… where some of these stories simply don’t have high stakes to them. Simply because, everything is laid out so carefully, that there’s minimal room for conflict or surprise.

Which is why the STARZ series, Outlander is such the breath of fresh air. For its time travel moments defy the norms and offer no sense of comfort and minimal knowledge of the past. For the show acknowledges that it would not be a pleasant ride, and that it would be impossible to know every moment that lie ahead to truly save the day. Which indeed gives rise to real conflict, and real surprise and incredible drama, as evidenced by this week’s episode. For ‘Brotherly Love’ used that lack of detail to bring Roger MacKinzie into the thick of some fascinating situations. The kind where old haunts came around full circle, as did old family members. Since we enjoyed cameos from Lotte Verbeek and Graham McTavish and Roger was also treated to a stunning surprise.

In that, he may be about to encounter his father, since everything in this time period indicated that this is where his father went to, and that’s powerful and wild stuff that adds depth to the notion of time travel, and it didn’t end there. For the arrival of Claire and Young Ian in Philadelphia, saw Young Ian deal with a great deal of surprises. Such as the fact that Rachel was still in town, and he merely needed to find her to tell her he loved her. Not to mention, he did get word from back home that his father finally succumbed to his consumption and that he was gently laid to rest by Jamie no less, before Jamie went off into the world to prepare for his own voyage to the City of Brotherly Love. But the biggest surprise of all for Young Ian, lie in the fact that darkness was waiting for him in this town.

John Bell as Young Ian in Episode 710 of ‘Outlander’ – ‘Brotherly Love’. (Photo Courtesy of STARZ.)

Because Bug found his way to this city, and once he learned that Rachel was here and that Young Ian had come ashore with Claire, he put a grand plan for revenge into motion. One that kept him close to either party as they searched for one another and when the moment was right, he struck true. And had it not been for a soldier with a massive crush on Rachel, her and Young Ian’s reunion and declaration of love might have never happened. And while, at first glance, that might seem as though it doesn’t relate to the time travel trope being refreshed here, it does, the long way round. For that kind of chaos cannot be accounted for and that kind of hate is something that no one can predict. It is just part of the chaos of life and that’s the thing… one cannot prepare for that, no matter how well they might know what tomorrow might look like.

Which was brought home by Claire’s journey here. For while she did an amazing job of healing in this town and stepped in to help with the American army by utilizing what the redcoats were ignoring, because of knowledge, all hell broke loose in this tale. In part because, word got back that the ship that Jamie was traveling to America on, sank in the middle of the ocean, with a loss of all hands. Which made it clear that her love was gone, and she was of course, devastated, and posed with quite the unique request. For she was also about to be arrested in this story for helping the American side in the war effort and John requested, that she marry him. To avoid any trouble and to likely satiate a desire he harbors for her since he did go the extra mile to be ready for her arrival.

But what mattered most here, is that the core time travelers in this story, didn’t walk into the past with unlimited knowledge that would allow them to easily solve their problems. They only know of tomorrow at large and not the little surprises along the way, and no one could. For in the end, we are always at the mercy of life and the chaos of the universe, no matter how much we know that made for a supremely human and shocking story. One that does have us wondering if Jamie is okay or if this show just made a bold decision in its penultimate season. But before we speculate further, we can celebrate a refreshing tale. One that reminded us why this series is so unique and so different from other time travel stories, and it of course, will have us counting down the minutes to next week’s tale. To learn the fate of the love of Claire’s life. Until next time.

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