Claire uses her medical skills to aid her escape from Castle Leoch - and with Jamie's help, she tends to an ill child. During an evening's entertainment, a story gives Claire hope for her freedom.
There was bound to be a major culture shock when Claire traveled from 1945 to 1743. "The Way Out" wonderfully encapsulates that idea through the oft-discussed debate of science and faith. Because of her modern day (circa 1940s) medical knowledge, she knows that a young boy is poisoned and not possessed by the devil. And yet, the community of Clan MacKenzie don't have that knowledge. They are willing to believe in possession because it's the only kind of rational explanation they can think of. The village priest is a vicious and domineering man who wields power over the town because he's the only one who can save their immortal souls. They are all willing to believe because they don't know any better. Then Claire presents a better solution and Mrs. Fitz trusts her nephew's life in Claire's hands - and it works. The boy lives and Claire is officially deemed a miracle worker. The people are now holding her up because she has been able to heal unlike anyone else they've ever met.Unfortunately for Claire, that means Colum and the rest of the village won't be willing to see her leave. She desperately wants to get back to her own time and to Frank. She makes nice with the people of this community in the hopes that it will earn some good will with Colum. She's willing to do anything to help these people. She shows compassion to everyone. Seeing a kid punished by getting his ear nailed in the public square is horrifying to her. And yet it's the everyday excitement for these people. Geillis is willing to help Claire lessen his punishment but she's more than willing to just pass it off as not a problem she needs to be concerned with. She has a curious mind and Claire perplexes her. Don't they have this same kind of punishment where she comes from? She wants to dig into Claire's past. But Claire is unwilling to get that close to anywhere in this time. Jamie is her knight coming in to "rescue" her in the nick of time. But he's also willing to act on her compassion for the boy nailed and the boy poisoned.
So now, she's stuck here because of how well she does her job. The only alternative is to tell the people she's gotten close to the truth: that she comes from the 20th century. And she just cannot picture that conversation going well. She would be labeled a mad woman or a witch. It would be better to be friends with these people than seen as the one thing they fear the most. But the bounds of this community are now closing even tighter than ever before. That is very despairing. They wish to celebrate and she just wants to be alone and in her own pity that she'll never be able to leave. She ends up at the musical gathering yet again. Her energy and devotion to her mission is renewed through the translation of a song that mirrors her own journey. That was a great moment to conclude on. Yes, it's fun to just live in this world with her. But her journey is the most important part of the series. She should never be too comfortable in this place when she doesn't belong here in this time. She is now willing to die trying to get to her home. That should add another level of direness and excitement in the next episode.
Some more thoughts:
- "The Way Out" was written by Anne Kenney and directed by Brian Kelly.
- Geillis was pushing those thoughts about not understanding everything a lot, wasn't she? A hint at the future, perhaps?
- I love that Frank is sending Claire off to war in the train station opening and not the other way around. They comment on that too. But it's exactly the way I would want that scene to be a part of this episode. If it were the traditional way, I wouldn't care for it.
- Anghus is definitely the more entertaining Scot who's tasked with following Claire everywhere that she goes.
- The flatulence stuff with the guy deciding the punishment for the young boy was a bit much.
- The connection between Claire and Jamie is heating up. They got awfully close when she was drunk and he walked her back to her healing chambers. But she's not jealous of seeing him with other woman. She's just jealous of their intimacy.
