The first lines immediately gave me goosebumps: “I wished I were dead. And if I’d kept my eyes shut, I could have almost touched the edges of oblivion. But I’d made a promise and had to keep it. Even if it meant living a life I no longer wanted. He was gone. They were all gone. The world I’d left only moments ago was now dust”.
I’ve read book 2, though not as much or as often as books 1 or 3 ( my best favourites in the series) , so I wasn't expecting great surprises and I wasn’t sure how I would react to the premiere. I’m not really a fan of the French part of the saga, so honestly I was there hoping the TV series could help me change my mind on that, since it had already happened watching series one re other details I was not very keen on. Well, this first episode based on Dragonfly in Amber had me totally smitten. So very well crafted, acted and cut. I knew what would happen and still I was there surprised and in tears both for the gripping storyline and for the remarkable achievements of our super talented cast and crew.
A Shakespearean openingThe curtain opens and as in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, after the first two minutes you already know you’ll have to watch everything through very special lens, “Through a glass, darkly”.As in Shakespeare the audience is immediately warned they are going to watch a story with a very sad ending and informed how tragicly the two star-crossed lovers will end up. In Outlander season 2 premiere we are immediately reminded that Diana Gabaldon didn’t write a fairy-tale-like romance. Those who expected to see Jamie and Claire happily sailing toward France with their luggage of hope and love are quite brutally pushed off their pink cloud into an abyss of sorrow and disconcert.Claire’s painful scream among the stone at Craig Na Duhn is one of the saddest moments I’ve experienced as a TV watcher. Many more to come, I know, when the circle will be finally – but not definitely – closed. You’ve read the book, MG, brave yourself, you can do that!Back to the futureWe’ve seen her cope with the loss of Frank, crying by the fire at Castle Leoch, facing the fact of being lost in the 18thcentury with sharpness, bravery and resiliance at the beginning of series 1. But in episode one of season 2, back to 1948, Claire is just as we’ve never seen her: pale, helpless, haunted, creepy, confused, angry, furious, wandering around completely lost. Her desperation at discovering that the British won at Culloden is heart-wrenching. We (I mean, those who have read the book) know what she is thinking now, what that defeat means to her. Have you carefully watched what shooting suffering Caitriona’s face conveys in those awkward, painful, heart-breaking spasms?
Frank, at last! Don’t get me wrong, Jamie is still the hero of my heart in this series and not only. What I mean is that after seeing this version of Frank I can’t be mad at him as I often was while reading. This is not the same Frank we are presented with in Dragonfly in Amber. Tobias Menzies and the screen writers of Ron D. Moore’s staff gave us a different Frank, made him lovable, someone you truly sympathize with, no matter how much you love Jamie and Claire as a couple.
Brilliant are those moments in which Frank reminds Claire, as well as the viewers, of his ancestor, Jack Randal. Glimpses of Black Jack in his behaviour! However, in the first half of the episode Tobias Menzies gifts us with an incredible variety of emotional shades: anxious Frank, happy Frank, furious Frank, betrayed Frank, puzzled Frank, understanding Frank, generous Frank, hopeful Frank, jealous Frank, reasonable Frank, shattered Frank, crying Frank, in love Frank.
Hand in hand back in time againAnd then Boston, and those hands reaching out for one another, touching and grasping: Frank and Claire are ready to start all over again. “One more step”, he says. But suddenly and magically Claire and the viewers are taken away, back in time again. Claire’s helpless, numb gaze vanishes, she smiles. The hand she grasps belongs to a gorgeous, tender, red- haired familiar face: Jamie is back! And when he reappears, I’m done! I can’t resist nor stop my tears this time, and when even strangled sobs comes out, I must ook around to check if I am completely alone as I think.
Secrets, lies and new enemiesIt’s the destiny of all the secret agents: their lives become a net of lies. They must pretend and hide the truth to everyone, even to the people they love. This is Jamie’s greatest worry: he and Claire will have to lie to everyone to get to their goal, boycotting the Jacobites. They start warning Murtagh , who has accompanied them to France and who trusts both Jamie and Claire with his life. They can’t tell him much though, apart from the aim of their plotting and lying. Murtagh is deeply disappointed. No, not an honourable path ahead, Jamie thinks. First honourable Jacobite who falls into their net is Jamie’s cousin, Jared. He trusts Jamie and believes to his new interest in politics immediately. How could he possibly doubt Jamie’s hate for the English and the Hanoverian king after being shown the scars on his young cousin’s back and body? He offers Jamie and Claire a home and a part of his earnings in the wine trade, if they accept to take care of his house and business while he travels to the West Indies. Perfetct solution. Moreover, he will introduce Jamie to the Jacobite leaders in Paris.
I can’t wait for next episode, now. Are you ready for Jamie & Claire and the red dress?