Outlander Cast: The Hail Mary – Episode 66

Posted by Blake Larsen

Hosts Mary and Blake discuss episode 2.12 of Outlander entitled, “The Hail Mary.” In this episode you’ll learn all about: why Blake is the most awesome person on the planet, why Mary gets a LOT of bells this episode, the fine line between plot and character, why we wished for more momentum going into the finale and much more!.

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10 Comments

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Kathy Van Wesep
· Reply

June 28, 2016 at 12:18 AM

Blake, I agree that this episode was another one to wrap up loose ends like 211. Although well written and brilliantly acted and directed, we were left flat at the end. I loved your idea about Murtagh suggesting to Jamie that there is only one option left and that is to slit Charlie's throat. Even for book readers who know that is an option Claire and Jamie discuss, it would have been very fitting for the suggestion to come from Murtagh as they turned around for the 12 mile slog back to Inverness. The other thing missing completely in this episode was any sense of longing or urgency between Jamie and Claire related to the probability that these may be the last 3 days they would have together for all time. It would not have taken much at all, maybe one minute for a heartfelt embrace, a few words of tenderness and longing, but we got nothing. Talk about flat. I have missed this all season and not even on the eve of Culloden do we get any emotion from Jamie and Claire related to their personal stakes in this. They are busy trying to save the Highlanders, and ease Colum and Alex's pain, yet they don't give one moment to tend to each other's needs. They are going to cram it all into the finale. So much has been brilliantly done this season to adapt a very difficult book. Perfect casting, brilliant acting, beautiful costumes, sets, cinematography, directing and development of secondary characters we have grown to love like Murtagh, Rupert, Angus, Colum, Dougal, Frank and BJR, but with all of that excellence, Ron Moore and his writing room took so much away from the central characters of Jamie and Claire and that they have often been overshadowed by the secondary characters and storylines. The essential thing about Jamie and Claire is that they need each other as much as they need air to breathe. They have a deep connection that transcends time and space that expresses itself in a spiritual way but very importantly in a physical way. With the exception of a few instances, this energy that fuels their relationship has been absent or barely given a nod. These characters and their relationship which is extraordinary in the books has been diminished to the ordinary and for that I am disappointed.
Charlotte Marks
· Reply

June 28, 2016 at 4:59 PM

Blake, could you please stop comparing Outlander to Game of Thrones? They are totally different series, and comparisons are not only unfair to both, but irrelevant. I don't watch GoT and frankly couldn't care less about it.

As for this episode, I don't know if you listen to Ron Moore's podcast, but he confirmed something about it that I thought while watching: it's not only the story of brothers dealing with death, but symmetrically involves Claire and Jamie. Alex/Jack + Claire; Column/Dougal + Jamie. I'm with Mary here on how this episode was NOT "meh" because you think it should have been a buildup to Culloden; again, Outlander is not GoT. Culloden is a given. We know it's going to happen. The emphasis is not on the battle itself, but on what will happen to our characters.

And speaking of characters, something Moore said in his podcast struck me as to why he wanted to produce this show, AND why some Outlander readers have trouble with the rest of DG's series. Most of those readers are Romance fans. Romances are courtship stories. When the courtship ends, so does the story. In Outlander, that's only the beginning. It's the story of a relationship, and Claire/Jamie are the core, but so-called "secondary" characters are a huge part of it. Too much, for many readers. I've seen many "I just read Outlander over and over" comments, or "I stopped after Voyager," because the story expands well beyond its "Romance" beginning. Moore said (and referenced Battlestar Galactica, if you want perhaps a more relevant comp) "secondary" characters are important to him, which would make DG's series irresistible.

Lastly, I have to laugh at your discomfort at calling DG "herself." My husband is a native of Belfast, and that's a term used regularly in Britain whenever you're speaking of someone in/with authority. Gabaldon is, of course, in the world of Outlander, Herself indeed.
chelsea baldini
· Reply

June 28, 2016 at 1:58 PM

How you feel about Black Jack and Claire, I somehow feel about Jamie and BPC;)
BlakeLarsen
· Reply

June 28, 2016 at 11:14 PM

Charlotte! Thanks so much for your thoughts. As for banning "herself" it's just a long running joke Mary and I have.

But as it relates to your thoughts about GoT – I appreciate where you're coming for
. But I will address your thoughts on the Listener Feedback episode ????
Charlotte Marks
· Reply

June 29, 2016 at 12:31 AM

No worries, Blake. Honestly, the himself/herself comments from my in-laws confused me for a while (along with their insistence on foisting tea on me every time I walked in the door – I can't stand the stuff). "Your man" is another Britishism that used to drive me mad (MY man? WTF?).

As for GoT, generally that would be right in my wheelhouse – I love Miedeval-type sword-sorcery type stuff – I've read LOTR about 50 times – but I watched the first episode and thought it ridiculous, and haven't watched it since. Can you convince me to give it another chance?
Jude Sargent
· Reply

June 28, 2016 at 10:58 PM

Very well written, well thought commentary. I guess when I most dislike Outlander, which in general I really love, is when it reselmbes G.O.Thones in the excessive violence departement. This was a great episode because it got back to the feeling content of the story, and was light on the fighting and violence, plenty of which are coming if they film the battle of Culloden. I am not as fond of Voyager, as of the first 2 novels, but will probably hang in there hoping they find their way back to the centrality of the Claire Jaime relationship.
Last12C
· Reply

June 29, 2016 at 6:23 AM

Wow, gotta totally agree with Charlotte regarding the GoT comparisons. These are two completely different stories, one written by a man, the other written by a woman. The focus is going to be understandably different. With that said, I also adamantly disagree with the comments regarding the lack of intimacy between Jamie & Claire. This episode takes place over a short 3 day period. There is barely time for sleep or food, much less the sucking of faces. It is focused on not 2, but a 3 beat of death vignettes that are very important to the story line: Colum/Dougal, Alex/BJR and J&C's desperate hope to change the future – their future. These 3 stories ran chronologically parallel to one another, not sequentially. Jamie's got to do what is true to his nature and Claire has to do what is true to her nature. Along the way they meet briefly to serve as a source of support and solidarity for one another and yes, tenderness.

I'm with, Mary! I'm leavin' Jamie to the young lassies and boarding the Murtaugh train! Choo Choo!

Momentum? This episode built the emotional connection between the viewers and the characters to a fever pitch, so that they CARE about what will happen in the final episode. It's not all about exciting Action, but also about the relationships that we have with the characters. I'll choose that story anytime.

Mary, BPC did have a GPS! His name was John William O'Sullivan. BPC did not get lost, he was misled because O'Sullivan wanted to face the English at Culloden Moor. He never supported the surprise attack. He only agreed on the condition that he and BPC led the 2nd column, and then he botched the job in order to get his way.

Blake, Patience! There are reasons why Murtaugh is not inciting Jamie to slit BPC's throat.

Trivia: Time loops are not allowed in Gabaldon's Theory of Time Travel.
Debrianna
· Reply

June 29, 2016 at 6:46 PM

I would give this episode 2.5 stars and agree with Blake's comment about lack of momentum being what was wrong with the episode. I'm a huge Outlander fan, I wait all week to watch the new episodes, and have read 7 books (so far), so I knew what was in store. I was interested to see how the lineage of Frank Randall would be revealed, and whether they’d explore Claire's guilt about tearing apart the two young lovebirds and betraying her friend. But I felt the episode just plodded along, and the snippets of conversation between Jaime and Claire seemed to lack the intensity I’d imagine they’d have knowing this may be the last 3 days together. I felt like Claire and Jaime talked to each other like co-workers who had a job to do, and I wanted to explore Claire’s growing sadness and doom, and Jaime’s panic as he grasps at anything to change history and keep his family intact.

Alas, instead, I found myself oddly disconnected by the brotherly dramas that were unfolding that seemed to dominate the episode in a distracting way.
Linda Watson
· Reply

July 1, 2016 at 2:00 AM

I, for one, love that the show has become so much more that Jamie and Claire's story. I love that each of the "secondary" characters has been given the time to tie up their storylines and for the actors to shine a bit.
Florida Rose
· Reply

July 1, 2016 at 9:46 AM

Hey guys. I have an outlandish theory about the finale. The showrunners and the stars have said that there would be a storyline about a book character that will be a surprise to both book readers and non-book readers. They've also given a hint that the storyline will answer questions that even book readers have. I've seen people theorize that it could be about Geillis Duncan or BJR — and that could be true. But, I think that we will see Master Raymond again! Master Raymond was the only character that really didn't get closure in the book or tv show. He was simply banished from France. We don't know where he went or what happened to him. And, there was also a clue in an earlier episode when he told Claire that they would see each other again in this life or another. I think Claire thought he meant he'd see her in the afterlife, but I think he meant he'd see her in another time — maybe the 1960s! I think Master Raymond knew that Claire was a time traveler and he is too. What do you guys think?