‘Outlander’ Season 4, Episode 5 Review: ‘Savages’

Finally, with “Savages,” Outlander has given us the huge turning point it’s been building up to for the past four episodes: Brianna (Sophie Skelton) is soon to be reunited with her parents, one of whom she hasn’t even met in person yet. All I can say is: it’s about damn time! While I think her plan—or what we can safely assume is her plan—to warn Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) about their impending doom that’s to happen sometime in the next three to twelve years is a bit foolhardy, I’m basically on board with anything that gets her away from whiny, obnoxious, and yes, still deeply misogynistic Roger, who’s busy pouting back in 1971. So long, sucker!

To be fair, if Brianna does manage to find Jamie and Claire—and it’ll be a pretty big journey given that she’s going to come out in Scotland and will have to make her way to North Carolina somehow—she’s got a pretty great estate waiting for her for now. Fraser’s Ridge has come along nicely in the past few years and is a really nice place. Too bad it’ll be burned down soon.

This was an episode in which everything and nothing happened simultaneously. I’m unsure of the purpose of showing Claire running Fraser’s Ridge alone for most of the episode, other than to prove that she’s rugged and hardy and capable of holding her own (which is something we already knew since I’ve always seen her as the one who wears the pants in her relationship with Jamie). It was hilarious to see her suited and booted, so to speak, complete with shotgun as she waited for the crazy German dude to turn up for vengeance over his wife and child dying of measles. We get it, Claire’s a badass… kind of. While she’s admittedly taken pretty well to the homesteading lifestyle, she still remains hopelessly clueless about many of the social mores of the time.

I loved Claire’s friendship with the Cherokee tribal elder woman and the bond they shared as healer’s. I suppose that’s why it was so shocking when the German came not to kill Claire, but to offer her the elder’s scalp. I did not feel one ounce of pity when they burned his entire house down and shot him to death with arrows at the end of the episode. Xenophobia and racism have a long, ugly history in America, and this show, while primarily a fantasy series, often offers a very stark reminder of that.

You’d hope that the death of the Cherokee elder would be a bit of a wake-up call to Claire that she’s not the peacekeeper she believes herself to be. Her intentions may be pure but the America of the 1770s is not the America of the 1950s, and colonialists warring with Native Americans in an attempt to steal their land don’t really care about the kumbaya messages she’s spreading. I’m sure she’ll keep trying, though.

Speaking of stealing land, Jamie and Young Ian (John Bell) spent most of this episode off trying to find settlers to come live and farm at Fraser’s Ridge and end up finding out about a burgeoning political movement against the Governor that gave him his 10,000 acres to begin with. He was a bit of a shady character to start with so this revelation is hardly surprising, but it still sucks—especially for Jamie since the chances of him finding settlers for his land are pretty slim to none. Ah, I’m sure something will work out.

Anyway, perhaps the most delightful sight I’ve laid eyes on all season was the return of Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix), Jamie’s godfather and a lovely guy all-round. He happened to be working as a blacksmith in the town where Jamie’s hunting for settlers, and while he declines Jamie’s offer to live at Fraser’s Ridge so he can keep leading that weird and somewhat directionless political movement, he does at least come out and pay a visit, much to Claire’s pleasure. I hope he changes his mind, and I doubt they brought back Lacroix for such a short period, at least I hope not.

If there’s one point Outlander seems intent on driving home this season, it’s that the world is a cruel and violent place, and survival can sometimes feel impossible. Still, I’m sure the Frasers will have a little glimmer of hope return when and if they’re reunited with Brianna. Let’s just hope she gets there before the fire.

Jennifer Still is a writer and editor from New York who cares too way much about fictional characters and spends her time writing about them.

Watch Outlander Season 4 Episode 5 ("Savages") on Starz