OUTLANDER - SEASON 5
Outlander season 5 premiered February 16th 2020 Created by Ronald D. Moore Starring Catriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Duncan Lacroix, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin, Ed Speelers
“Reunited at last, Season 5 finds The Frasers settled in their new home at Fraser’s Ridge - but they must soon fight to protect the new colonial life they have created for themselves and others. A sense of dread brews as civil unrest foretells the upcoming Revolutionary War. With inescapable ties to the crown, Jamie is ordered by Governor William Tryon to hunt down and kill Murtaugh, an originator of these disturbances. Jamie must find a way to conceal his relationship with Murtaugh and do his duties for the crown, for his family’s sake. Brianna and Roger are haunted by Stephen Bonnet who threatens their happiness, and Roger struggles to earn Jamie’s respect and find his place in this different time. Claire continues to use her modern medical knowledge to help those in need, testing the cosmic balance of time and space.”
This is a trigger warning - the following review discusses sexual assault.
Outlander returns with a strong, mature and beautifully crafted fifth season.
The show continues to evolve and grow with its characters: after 20 years apart, Claire and Jamie are now adults in a stable, loving marriage, something we rarely see in long-running television shows. They’ve built and settled into their new home together in colonial America and are finally reunited with their daughter Brianna and son-in-law Roger. It’s a welcome change of pace following the previous season’s travel between continents and across seas, and yet season 5 in no way lacks in dynamism. The struggles and obstacles Jamie and Claire face together this season are almost entirely external: the civil unrest between the settlers and the regulators, Jamie’s loyalties to the crown, and the general dangers of the 18th Century. Armed with the knowledge of the upcoming American Revolutionary War, its prelude and outcome, we experience this feeling of dread and unease alongside them. What will they do with this knowledge? Where season 4 acknowledges this forthcoming event, season five confronts it head-on (albeit a few episodes in) and uses it as its central story-line with more concentrated, episodic story-lines stemming from it. By doing this, the overarching narrative this season feels more structured.
It's reminiscent of Outlander’s earlier seasons, like the Battle of Culloden: once again Jamie and Claire find themselves facing a major historical event, but this time they know fully well that there is nothing they can do to delay or stop it. Although season 5 brings that sense of familiarity, these changes in pace and tone bring a fresh feeling to Outlander, which isn’t easy for a show several seasons in. One episode in particular at the start of the season is a full-on horror thriller, resulting in a terrific, entertaining chapter.
Meanwhile, newlyweds Brianna and Roger experience their own difficulties. This season kicks off with their wedding, where they learn that Stephen Bonnet is still very much alive following the previous season’s finale. Disappointingly, Brianna’s entire arc this season evolves around the aftermath of her assault by him. Although it is important to depict the psychological impact of such a trauma, sexual assault is too often used as a plot device (more of this further on) and it would be nice to see Brianna with another story-line. With that being said, Sophie Skelton does deliver some strong, heart-felt performances. Stephen Bonnet makes for a chilling villain, the very knowledge of his existence weighs heavily on all of the Frasers’ minds as they fear his unpredictability, viciousness and eventual retribution.
Roger has a satisfying, well-rounded arc this season as he attempts to find his place in a time that he is undoubtedly ill-suited to, and earning his father-in-law’s respect is no easy task. Brianna and Roger have matured a lot since their introduction and this season is all the better because of it.
A production of the highest calibre, with style and substance
Once again the exquisite set design, magnificent costumes and cinematography embellish the beautifully crafted script. Outlander continues to deliver a production of the highest-calibre, each element is designed to perfection to create an immersive and alluring world. This season brings Fraser’s Ridge to life: from Claire’s medical clinic to their almost finished abode, the surrounding 18th Century colonial settlements and more. The detailing of the costumes, the props and even scenes depicting the production of goods such as candles or glass proves once more that Outlander as one of the most impressive and visually pleasing period shows around.
Spoilers for the season 5 finale below. Trigger warning for rape and sexual assault.
The 5th season finale of Outlander features a harrowing, brutal sexual assault scene. Outlander is no stranger to such distressing story-lines, with both Jamie and Brianna having experienced such assaults in previous seasons. Sadly rape and sexual assault is often used as a plot device to spur another character into action (usually a male character), or to get revenge on the survivor’s partner. After Brianna’s story-line these past two seasons, we had hoped that it would be something we wouldn’t have to witness again. Yes, it is important to accurately illustrate the dangers of the times, how normalised and accepted such horrors and behaviours were (and are still today), and the healing required after such trauma. However, it is disappointing that once again we have another assault which will undoubtedly be used as a plot device: season 5 ends with a promise of revenge by a future villain, a narrative pushed forward by the suffering of a woman. (Disclaimer - I have yet to read the book series by Diana Gabaldon)