We’re back! Outlander Season 7 episode 12 ‘Carnal Knowledge’ is the best episode of the second half of the season so far, as it takes care of showing us William’s reaction to the truth, how Lord John and Jamie’s friendship was broken forever, and how, amid all that tempest, Jamie and Claire’s love grows stronger every day. Ready?
Here we go!
The Taste of Betrayal in Outlander Season 7 Episode 12 ‘Carnal Knowledge’
Outlander Season 7 Episode 12 ‘Carnal Knowledge’ deals with the consequences of the end of the previous episode. Unfortunately, we don’t get a confrontation between William and Jamie at the beginning of the episode, as the scene doesn’t exactly continue from the last episode. However, that is a good thing because we could see the ramifications of everything that happened come to them gradually.
So, Jamie tries to keep the British from finding out about his presence in the city and practically drags Lord John with him as cover while thanking him for taking care of Claire. Jamie knows that he can always count on and trust him when it comes to his family. John never fails him… only Jamie finds out that he did, in a big way. In Outlander Season 7 Episode 12 ‘Carnal Knowledge’ Lord John can no longer bear the burden, the guilt, and the relief of seeing Jamie alive, he can’t let him think that he simply helped Claire when they were in each other’s arms the night before, so he confesses it to Jamie. And he doesn’t believe it, in fact, he laughs, almost as if the idea was the funniest thing because of how ridiculous it was. And that hurts John’s pride.
Yes, he is in love with Jamie, deeply, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t capable of pushing boundaries with a woman and if that happened with Claire, of all people, it was because of him, because of Jamie, it was because they were able to find comfort in each other, for a moment, John made love to Jamie, if only in his head and in his heart, and he’s not going to let Jamie take that away from him, or sully it, so he screams at him, he screams the truth in his face, throwing his words like darts, where he knows they will hurt Jamie the most, and he makes it clear that he doesn’t regret it for a second.
Jamie, who can barely begin to wrap his head around such a betrayal from his best friend and can barely believe that Claire was able to be with John, reacts violently in Outlander Season 7 Episode 12 ‘Carnal Knowledge.’ He begins to beat John up and wants to kill him, he really wants to end his life by his own hands, for daring to touch Claire, to be with her. Jealousy and betrayal cloud his judgment, and we don’t know what would have happened if those Continental soldiers hadn’t shown up.
However, even though those soldiers save John’s life, they soon become a threat to him. Jamie tries to keep him from being taken prisoner, but there are still many things that need to be sorted out between them, Jamie still wants blood and the beating he gave him didn’t feel like enough, so he wants those soldiers to leave him alone so he can deal with John in his own way. But when things start to get complicated, Jamie has no choice but to leave things as they are, for now, however, something inevitably changes between them. Jamie’s warmth towards him and that special affection he professed for him is no longer there. And it hurts.
MORE: Here’re the reviews of Outlander Season 7 episode 1, episode 2, episode 3 and episode 4!
A Love That Transcends Time
Later, it’s time for Jamie to confront Claire and the two of them give us the best scene of OutlanderSeason 7 Episode 12 ‘Carnal Knowledge.’ Jamie is furious with John and Claire, but he’s also jealous, he just thinks that someone else touched Claire, that John caressed her, that he brought her to ecstasy…he goes crazy. Completely crazy with jealousy and rage. He can barely stand to think about it without wanting to kill the bastard. So he needs to hear it from Claire’s mouth, he needs to know what happened, how it happened, why it happened…every little detail, even the morbid ones.
There is nothing that will make Jamie not love Claire or separate from her, that is out of the question, but he needs to know that it wasn’t important to her, that it was not like what they share. And for that he goes to the last consequences, even offending Claire because he is completely out of himself. The point is that a part of Jamie understands it, didn’t he do the same with Mary in that cave? Just the need to feel that physical connection in a vulnerable moment. Jamie knows what it feels like, and how it feels, and he also knows that he is being unfair to Claire because she did not reproach him, but he can’t help it. Jealousy is killing him.
When in Outlander Season 7 Episode 12 ‘Carnal Knowledge’ Claire explains to him, and confesses that she was letting go, Jamie is even surprised but, again, a part of him understands because he would do the same if Claire was ever gone and when Claire tells him about how she found comfort in John, in a moment of shared pain, how he stopped the bleeding that was her life at that moment, Jamie understands her more than ever.
Jamie knows Claire and he knows that her body sometimes finds more solutions than her heart, that was partly how their love began for her. And yes, he acts like an idiot because during those moments, with everything that has happened, his jealousy gets the best of him but when push comes to shove, it doesn’t matter, nothing matters. Claire is his just as he is hers. Forever. And he can understand this, Jamie can understand why it happened but he also needs to somehow re-cement that bond that Claire and he share, as an affirmation that they belong to each other, and no one else…and Claire is more than willing to do that.
MORE: Here’re the reviews of Outlander Season 7 episode 5, episode 6, episode 7, and episode 8!
Like Father Like Son in Outlander Season 7 Episode 12 ‘Carnal Knowledge’
If Jamie is out of his depth in Outlander Season 7 episode 12 ‘Carnal Knowledge’ William feels the same. He feels like a fraud, a lie, his whole life is built on lies, the people he trusted the most have betrayed him, he no longer feels like he can trust anyone, and he doesn’t even know who he is anymore. But he does know that there is only one person who will tell him the truth: Claire. And when she does, everything becomes somehow worse, more real.
William wishes he could go back, he would give anything to not be Jamie Fraser’s son. For him, Jamie is a Scottish rebel who doesn’t deserve his respect, much less his love. And so many mixed feelings make him absolutely out of control. Where there was order before, now there is chaos, there is violence. In this way, he is violent with Jane the first time he meets her. He doesn’t mean to, he doesn’t want to hurt her in any way but he’s just not himself and he has these angry outbursts that he can’t control.
But what happens with Jane isn’t the worst thing William does in Outlander Season 7 Episode 12 ‘Carnal Knowledge.’ By chance, he meets Rachel and Ian, and knowing that they’re engaged…that destabilizes him even more. William loves Rachel. He knew that she had a thing for Ian but he didn’t imagine that they were so serious. Suddenly, it occurs to him that Ian is lying, not only to him but to Rachel too and he’s not the ideal man for her, so he hits him with all his might. Ian is the scapegoat for all the rage and pain that William feels right now, mixed with jealousy. And it feels good to do something that he’s been wanting to do for a while.
Ian has no plans to hit back, against all his instincts, but when he hears William speak with such contempt of Jamie, who is like a second father to him, as if William hates the very thought of the fact that he shares blood with him, Ian can’t help himself. No one insults Jamie in his presence, and William takes it out on Ian again…until Jamie forces him to make amends.
When Jamie finds out what’s going on, he doesn’t hesitate. Even though it hurts him, he understands how William feels about him and he’s going to respect that, but he’s not going to let William settle the score between them with Ian. So he doesn’t hesitate to threaten William to force him to give in, even though it hurts his soul to do so. But what hurts Jamie the most are William’s final words, making it clear to him the contempt and hatred he feels for him, for being his son. And this broke our hearts too.
MORE: Here’re the reviews of Outlander season 7 episode 9, episode 10, and episode 11!
Other Stuff in Outlander Season 7 Episode 12 ‘Carnal Knowledge’
- “Sir.” A stab hurts less.
- Jamie and Claire’s fight felt like the first two seasons and we love it!
- Finally some more explicit action between Jamie and Claire! We’ve been waiting YEARS for this.
- Jamie’s words to declare his love to Claire…we swear, there is no man more romantic than Jamie Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser. There’s a reason he’s the king of men.
- Of course, when he wants to act like a jerk, he knows how to do it too. That slap and Claire’s words were more than deserved.
- We liked Jane.
- That soldier will not forget that William prevented him from spending the night with Jane.
- William is as noble as his father. And we mean both.
- The way William scorned Jamie hurt us to the core. We understand, but it hurt.
- Ian always defending his uncle. We love him!
- Rachel putting the dots on the i’s for William, what a Queen!
- You can always count on Denzel to help you escape.
- The way John laughs with pure relief and joy telling Denzel that Jamie is alive…our babies are together in a parallel universe, we’re sure.
- Jamie as a General of the Continental Army…will be interesting.
Outlander Season 7B airs on Fridays at 8:00 PM ET/PT on STARZ.
