Outlander 5×11 “Journeycakes” is, in many ways, a transition episode. There’s a lot to set up for the finale, for next season, for what is, perhaps, another part of this journey for The Fraser family. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t highlights, even in an episode that seems to be, for the most part, setting up even more.
This season’s Outlander has been a bit uneven, pace wise. The first few episodes were a tad slow, the middle of the season has felt like a high speed car chase, no time to even breathe, and then there’s this hour. I have no doubts the season finale will be another rollercoaster, but for this hour, you – and the characters – can mostly breathe.
As a long-time TV reviewer, however, this bodes badly for the finale. If we’re breathing now, that means we won’t be breathing next week. Outlander has alternated between so called “good” endings, and the horrible-no-good endings, and at this point, it seems like we’re due for a bad one.
Let’s hope I’m wrong.
For now, here are some takeaways from “Journeycakes”:
- This could have easily been the season finale. I don’t think we would have been very happy during the hiatus, had it been, but it could have.
- A lot of things we’d been waiting for happen in this episode. A lot of them. Including a conversation between Jamie and Brianna that I think they might have been setting up for the entirety of the season (not that I agree with the setup, more of them wouldn’t have made this moment any less).
- I still think Fergus and Marsali are criminally underused.
- This show is very, very good at bringing back characters you’d almost forgotten and having you go “oh, so this was the point of this dude!”
- A wild Lord John appears!
- The reality of life for women in those days is once again at the forefront of the storyline.
- We’ve rarely gotten to see as much of Jamie and Claire as grandparents as we do this episode. Imagine that, grandparents.
- Ian has a couple of especially poignant scenes in this episode, which was to be expected considering his book 5 storyline is really the only one that hasn’t been completely resolved.
- This book is called “The Fiery Cross” for a reason.
- Big departure from the books coming. Or is it?
Are you excited for “Journeycakes”? Share with us in the comments below!
Outlander airs Sundays at 8/7c on Starz.