We’re back! Outlander 6×05 “Give Me Liberty” is an episode that shows the difficulty of dancing between two glasses of water for Jamie, Claire, and the rest of the Fraser family while Malva begins to show her true colors. Time for a review!
Here we go!
BETWEEN TWO GLASSES OF WATER
In Outlander 6×05 “Give Me Liberty” Jamie must learn to dance between two glasses of water to survive. But for a man as loyal, honorable, and true to his word as Jamie, it’s not easy. Especially when he has to lie to a good friend. Jamie feels dishonest, and dirty in some way.
But he’s doing what he should do. He’s clear that if it weren’t for what Claire and Brianna told him about the future, he would be true to the oath he made to the Crown because he is who he is. But knowing what he knows, he can’t do it. No again. Culloden split his family in two and separated him from Claire, from his heart, and left them dead in life. That’s not an option this time.
He isn’t going to sacrifice his family for a fight that is destined to fail. If to protect them and keep them together he must betray his oath… so he will. His first duty is to his wife and his family, he will never put that oath in jeopardy again.
But Jamie plans to dance between two glasses of water on his own terms. He isn’t going to lie to Lord John, they both owe each other sincerity. And he’s also not going to allow a person who’s just trying to make a living to be tortured and killed. That isn’t a cause he wants to fight for. And this shows, once again, what a good man Jamie Fraser is and why he has our hearts from the second one.
“YOU COULD LOSE YOUR LIFE”
With this in mind, Jamie knows that he must confess the truth to Lord John. During Outlander 6×05 “Give Me Liberty” John tried to ignore the feeling that Jamie was a rebel. He tried to find excuses for his behavior because he couldn’t conceive of a scenario in which the two of them would become enemies. Not with him. He would never be able to raise his weapon against Jamie.
But he confesses what John already knew and he can’t ignore it anymore. It’s a fact: they’re enemies. They must be. But for John, Jamie’s struggle is incomprehensible, there is no way the rebels can win, and his cause…is not worth his life. His life. What happens if Jamie ends up dead?
John loved Jamie in silence for years. He knows that Jamie doesn’t reciprocate, since his heart belongs to Claire, but he’s content to be his friend, to have him in his life, even if it is from a distance.
But he can’t conceive of a world in which Jamie Fraser is gone. Lord John can get on with his life, loving him without having him, knowing that he is alive and happy somewhere else. But he can’t live in a world where he doesn’t exist.
And John can’t join him either. His honor and his sense of duty prevent him. Jamie can’t have John as an enemy either, but there’s no other way to do it. Jamie must fight for the rebel cause, and bet on the winning horse, and John’s honor prevents him from doing anything but being loyal to the Crown. So Jamie asks him for one last favor, in honor of their friendship.
John can’t deny him anything, he would do anything for Jamie Fraser, he would even give his life if he had to, so he agrees to bend the rules a little so he can live. At least one more day.
“IF SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN TO MY SON…”
Jocasta was always manipulative and cunning. More often than not, her hospitality and her help had an ulterior motive, a price you weren’t able to see until it wasn’t too late. But she also had a heart and was able to selflessly help the family.
She had a heart and Murtagh helped her find it and realize that it was still there. Murtagh made her use it, to love him, to be a little less…opportunistic. But Murtagh’s death took that away from her, it took all away.
Jocasta’s life was full of lies, it was a peaceful life but not happy or full. With Murtagh, she knew love, true happiness… and it was taken from her too soon. She had to return to her life, the role she was destined to play.
So she became even colder, even more, manipulative and opportunistic. She lost her heart. If she used to be able to show real kindness, now she has no problem using her family and managing them as pawns for her own ends, regardless of the risk they may take.
Outlander 6×05 “Give Me Liberty” is proof of this. Helping Fergus and Marsali wasn’t selfless, Jocasta had an ulterior motive that puts Fergus and the entire family at risk. But Jocasta doesn’t care, not anymore.
Jamie knows her and he knew there was something behind that help, it had to. But he didn’t imagine this, Jamie didn’t imagine that she had deliberately put Fergus and his family, her family, at risk and that she doesn’t care at all what happens to them.
We would like to say that we’re as surprised as Jamie by her behavior, but the truth is that we are not. Jocasta was always capable of this, only no one wanted or could see it.
BAD MEMORIES
Claire tries to make a normal life after everything that happened to her, and she finds it mostly easy. There’re many things to do, many things to think about with a war brewing and the problem of playing both sides. It’s easy to occupy her mind…until it isn’t. Sometimes Claire can’t help but remember…it’s just a word, a smell, a comment…and she remembers.
In Outlander 6×05 “Give Me Liberty” Claire’s memory is not as she expected. She doesn’t think of the forest, the blows, the covered mouth, the smoke… but a less violent but equally disgusting scene: the rape she suffered at the hands of the King of France. And yes, I said rape.
That’s what it was. For there to be a violation, violence or force is not needed, but lack of consent. Claire didn’t consent to sleep with the King, she did so only for him to free Jamie. As soon as there is a condition, a quid pro quo, there is no consent and, therefore, it’s rape. It’s the first time that Claire sees what happened for what it really was.
In this way, Jamie wasn’t only raped by Black Jack, but also by Genieve – remember that he only slept with her so that Genieve wouldn’t give him away – in the same way that Claire wasn’t only raped in that forest, if not also by the King of France.
And we’re glad that Outlander 6×05 “Give Me Liberty” made it clear, albeit subtly, but still. It was something the show needed to point out after years of fandom talk about it.
NEED TO ESCAPE
Claire’s memories in Outlander 6×05 “Give Me Liberty” make her need to return to the present, to the here and now… and she isn’t able to do it without a sedative. Claire didn’t realize it but she became addicted to ether or whatever sedative she had on hand.
She is no longer able to calm down and dispel memories without something chemical in her system. And from there to her not being able to avoid using it without reliving a traumatic memory is only one step.
From the way he looks at her, Jamie realizes that she’s not in all her senses as she walks up to his side. He knows that she’s going through something and he’s more and more worried… but, at the same time, he doesn’t want to pressure her, he wants to give her the time and the choice that she come to him because she wants it. Although that is killing him little by little. And when this blows up…it won’t be pretty.
“WANT TO STAY FOR DINNER, MR. MACKENZIE?”
Roger rules! Yes, I know. I don’t even recognize myself in these words but it’s the truth. Roger finally learned to be the man we all expected him to be from the beginning. And Outlander 6×05 “Give Me Liberty” is further proof of this.
Both sides of this story are understandable, Roger’s position and Brianna’s. Roger wants to help, to feel useful. He’s not an ordained minister but he’s…the closest thing they have to one at the Ridge and he feels that way. Roger knows that he was born to be a minister, to help people with whatever they need. And with those intentions, he approaches Amy and Aidan. She’s alone with her children and needs a lot of help.
But Amy begins to see Roger as a potential provider for her household and a father to her children. He’s so loving and protective of Aidan…the boy looks up to him. Besides, he always treats her well, she can talk to him about anything, he helps her when she needs it, and he’s handsome. Roger is, without a doubt, a good catch.
However, he’s also quite naive because, in his goal of helping and being carried away by his heart, Roger didn’t realize Amy’s intentions, the malicious rumors that began to spread through the Ridge, or how much he’s is hurting Brianna.
Roger isn’t interested in Amy just… he wanted to help her. But he has to learn to differentiate between helping and becoming, unintentionally, the provider of a family that is not his own.
“I WANT TO SPEND MY TIME WITH YOU”
That’s precisely what Brianna is upset about in Outlander 6×05 “Give Me Liberty. She and her son need Roger. Jemmy wants to play with his father and she wants to share with him her dreams, her day, her frustrations, her joys, Roger is her husband for God’s sake. And yet he’s helping another woman, in another house, playing with a child that is not his.
Brianna knows that Roger would never be unfaithful to her, but she is clear that Amy is interested in him because she sees him as someone who will protect her family. And Brianna just wants Roger to realize what’s going on and how she feels. Brianna wants Roger to show her that her feelings matter.
And that’s precisely what Roger does. He listens to her and understands her feelings and that’s what makes the difference. He’s never going to do anything that makes Brianna uncomfortable, so he didn’t hesitate to put limits on Amy, making her get the message but making sure someone kept helping her. Roger realizes his mistakes, and can recognize them and fix them, making it clear that the first thing for him is Brianna… and their two children!
We’re happy to welcome a new Mackenzie, and the scene where Brianna breaks the news to him couldn’t be cuter. We neither confirm nor deny that, although it cost us to do it, we ship them. Will it be a boy or a girl?
“THEY WILL BELIEVE ME”
If in the previous episode we believed that Malva was sinister, in Outlander 6×05 “Give Me Liberty” she exceeded all limits. What the hell was that? It’s clear that she’s to blame for the love spell they found in the woods—in true Geillis fashion—but who does she want to tie up? Not for a second do we believe that it’s Henderson.
Where did she get that corpse? It’s clear she dug it up. But you have to be beyond madness to unearth a corpse and dismember it little by little to perform a twisted ritual of love. I mean, we knew something was unsettling about Malva but we didn’t imagine something like this.
She’s… vile. And not only because of what she’s doing with the corpse but also because of the blackmail that she didn’t hesitate to do to Roger… blackmail born of a lie.
Malva is very capable of taking advantage of the circumstances to invent a lie and drag whoever she/he is through the mud to get what she wants. If she would be able to come up with something like that, what else is she able to come up with?
Malva appears to be a timid, and innocent young woman with a father who physically abuses her. But the only truth is the physical abuse because she’s a petty, sibylline, perverse, cruel, false, and cunning woman. Too cunning…
We don’t know how this will end but it doesn’t give us a good feeling…
COLONEL BOGEY…
When we thought that Outlander 6×05 “Give Me Liberty” couldn’t surprise us more, the last scene comes. This mysterious man, the thief who stole the gem from Flora, is singing a song that is not from that time. Therefore, he’s a time traveler! Who is he and what does he want?
At first, Stephen Bonnet’s name popped into my mind but we saw that pig die at Brianna’s hands and he wasn’t a time traveler. Could be one of the bastards who raped Claire? If I remember correctly, one of those bastards wasn’t from that time. And what is he looking for? Gems are used to travel. Whoever he is, is he thinking of coming back?
This mysterious time traveler is here to cause trouble. We just hope the Frasers will be okay.
Other Stuff In Outlander 6×05 “Give Me Liberty”
- I love Brianna and Marsali, they’re so cute.
- Jamie referring to Fergus as his son gives me a lot of feelings. It will always give me feels.
- It hurts me to see Jamie’s face when John is proudly talking about William. John speaks proudly as only a father would because he’s William’s father in every way that matters. And while Jamie loves knowing his son is okay and John loves him, it also pains him to know that he will never have the right to be his father.
- A gold dream… Does Jocasta have gold hidden or was it just a dream?
- Why did Jocasta look uncomfortable when Claire started talking to Mary?
- Jamie will be an incredibly good rebel leader, he was born for it.
Outlander season 6 airs Sundays at 9PM ET on STARZ.