#s5e05

[evrikka]

That moment when he said Vecna is hunting your sister and your girlfriend

Lukas: Mike:

[bren-the-chicken]

I think me and lassie would get along well simply because I too enjoy cars as well as driving like a maniac

[steven-universe-hugs]

[badly-explained-merlin-plots]

The Disir - “What can we live without?” “Mordred, probably”

[johnnys-green-pen]

[foxmoulder]

the post-modern prometheus but make it colored

[cornergasoutofcontext]

Karen: Is this the man who stole your cabbage?

Woman: Kind of. He had a hat.

[contemplatingoutlander]

“Perpetual Adoration” (Episode 505): When the show exceeds the books

I was blown away by Episode 505. Here are some of my thoughts about the episode. (The biggest spoilers can be found under the cut.)

An Exceptional Interweave of the Graham Menzies, Penicillin and Perpetual Adoration Storylines

From my perspective, the books in the Outlander series are usually better than the show, simply because they afford more time to develop the subplots. But there are some times that the way in which the show’s writers modify and condense certain storylines improves upon them. I believe this is the case for the writers’ decision to tie together the Graham Menzies, penicillin and perpetual adoration storylines in episode 505.

In the book, Graham Menzies’ death also contributed to Claire taking a leave of absence from the hospital, but under more morally ambiguous circumstances. (Graham, who is dying in the book, asks Claire to euthanize him and she does.)  By changing Graham’s death to an unexpected allergic reaction to penicillin, the show avoids the debate about euthanasia and is able to tie the story in with questions raised about Claire’s decision to create her own penicillin in the 18th century.

In the books, Claire creates penicillin but I don’t recall her going through much soul searching about whether or not she should do so. I’m glad that Bree had raised these questions with Claire early in the season and we have seen Claire continuing to struggle with whether she should possibly change history that drastically by introducing a drug that would not be available until the 20th century.

The show was also better able to illustrate how difficult it was for Claire to grow and isolate the penicillium mold (at least I don’t recall much detailed description of that in the book series--it’s been quite a while since I read those passages). 

Finally, the Graham and penicillin storylines are all tied together with the perpetual adoration storyline. In the books, Claire participates in perpetual adoration early on in her return to the 20th century. In the show, she only starts participating in the perpetual adoration because of Menzies’ death. But her doing so in this episode is the writers’ symbolic gift for book readers, because it hails back to the first time Claire learned about this practice in the book, which happened to be when she met Father Anselm. It was the book version of Father Anselm who helped Claire to believe that it was okay for her to do what she thought was right in the past, irregardless of its potential effects on the future, trusting that God had allowed her to travel through time for a reason and it was all a part of God’s plan. 

So when Claire isolates the penicillium mold in the 18th century, she believes God has answered her prayers and it is all right for her to use penicillin in the past--knowing it can save some people who had previously died and kill a small number who were allergic to penicillin and wouldn’t have otherwise died.

[The rest of this post can be found under the cut.]

Roger, Bree and Jemmy Also Tie Into the Central Three Storylines

Although it was painful to watch Bree and Roger fighting about Bonnet and Bree’s belief that he is probably Jemmy’s father, there was a tie in with the central storylines. Graham Menzies death propelled Claire to invite her daughter to Britain so that she could finally tell her the truth about her biological father. Claire’s memories back in time help to guide her to give Roger good advice about whether to tell Jemmy the “truth” about Bonnet. Her advice also helps Roger to realize he does not want to be “careless” with “the time” he has left with Bree. 

In the past, it is Claire who needed the advice, and both Joe Abernathy and Father Beggs (another call back to Father Anselm) served in the capacity of advisers to Claire, helping her to realize what was important to her (i.e., the love she shared with Jamie and the outcome of their love--their daughter Bree).

Jamie, Lieutenant Knox and the Question of Which Was the Righteous or Good Man

My heart is breaking about how Knox and Jamie’s relationship was resolved. Jamie always does what he feels he must to protect the ones he loves but I couldn’t help but feel that Knox did not deserve what happened to him, merely because he felt obligated to do his duty. (However, maybe the show’s writers had Knox kill the Regulator earlier in the season, so he would not seem a completely innocent victim of circumstances,)  

Knox asks which of the two of them is the “righteous” man.  Knox believes they cannot both be righteous. But I believe they both were generally righteous men whose circumstances put them at odds with each other.

Still, neither was a purely “good” or “righteous” man. Knox and Jamie have some dark aspects to their natures (as do most human beings). Knox showed his darker elements when he killed that Regulator. Jamie’s actions regarding Knox at the end were understandable but also displayed Jamie’s darker tendencies. That these two men who were so alike ended up with such a tragic resolution to their “friendship,” still has me reeling. 

“The Impetuous Pirate” vs Stephen Bonnet

It is noteworthy that the show’s writers worked The Impetuous Pirate a “romance novel” that Claire reads in Voyager (1997/ 2004) into the plot during an episode when Bree confides to Roger that Bonnet “haunts” her and that she “see(s) him everywhere.”

What Bree describes is part of a PTSD reaction of her having been raped by a pirate (Bonnet). This is a completely different reaction than the one the heroine has in the mid-20th century romantic fantasy The Impetuous Pirate. In that “novel” the pirate insists on having sex with the heroine Tessa--and of course in true “rape culture” fashion, it is implied that Tessa secretly wants to have sex with the pirate, despite her protests. 🙄

The stark contrast between the reality and the fantasy is nicely symbolized by the writers choosing to mention The Impetuous Pirate in this episode.

Finally, Wee Adso!

Seeing wee Adso at the end of the episode, helped me feel better about what happened earlier between Knox and Jamie. However, I have only one objection to how the show introduced Adso.

In the books, Jamie finds Adso deep in the forest. This time, he finds him in an alley behind the building where he has just murdered Knox.

Jamie has a conscience and he frequently thinks about the people he has killed. I hate to think of Adso as being a reminder to Jamie of what happened to Knox. 

On the other hand, maybe Jamie’s finding Adso helped Jamie to remember at a very difficult moment that life goes on and even if he had to take a life he could feed and help this kitten continue to live and grow up. I’d prefer to think that this is what Adso would bring to mind for Jamie whenever he remembers how he found him.

[edited]

_______________

source for photos (before edits): Outlander Online