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'This Is Us' Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: We Just Learned Something Huge About Jack's Death


You’ve been waiting for months, and it’s finally here: This Is Us season two! Yes, America’s favorite form of catharsis is back (and weepier) than ever. I’m still reeling from all the info revealed in this premiere, so let’s just dive right in, shall we?

The episode opens with some familiar—but, damn it, so effective!—emotional pull tactics: Randall’s late father, William, is writing a book of poems for his son as Rebecca drives the teenage Big Three to a diner where Jack (and his goatee) are waiting. Remember, Rebecca and Jack got in a huge fight last season because that random dude from Rebecca’s “band” kissed her. Well, it turns out they didn’t resolve their differences because Jack’s temporarily moving to Miguel’s remote cabin, which is only just a little bit creepy.

The kids are (rightfully) pissed. Teenage, hickey-covered Kevin asks Rebecca and Jack if they’re getting a divorce; they say no, which I don’t exactly believe. The Pearson family is in complete shambles at this point, and I’m sad about it. I’m also bored. This episode is kind of dull so far?

At the cabin, Jack’s complaining to Miguel about the state of his marriage while making a depressing futon. He tells Miguel not to put sheets on his bed because “sheets are for long-term guests.” This is both gross and unnecessary. Jack insists Rebecca will call him to make up, but I bet $1,000 that she doesn’t call until episode five because this show loves to Drag. Things. Out.

Cut to Rebecca eating breakfast with the Big Three teenagers alone. No one’s talking, so Rebecca suggests they go see a Tom Hanks movie because…that’s the answer to all family disputes? I mean, maybe she’s right? Should I go watch Terminal the next time I fight with my mom?

In a flashback from last season, we learn teenage Randall—the best teenager by a mile—knew about the fight Jack and Rebecca had. He warmly offers Rebecca some candy during the Tom Hanks movie, and Kevin made a sick incest joke about this that I’m just going to blaze past. Teenage Kevin is low-key the worst, but I definitely would’ve had a crush on him in high school because I’m a masochist.

“We’re gonna give ourselves over to Tom Hanks,” – Rebecca

As always, the adult Big Three stories are more interesting. Randall, Kate, and Kevin are all turning 37 this year—this show loves a good birthday theme!—and their issues are more intense than ever. Randall wants to adopt a son, but Beth isn’t here for it. In fact, she’s so not here for it that she reads Randall for filth inside the adoption agency, saying that he only wants to do this to rectify his own childhood. Honestly, I lived for this shade. RuPaul would’ve been proud.

Sharing a cigarette in the parking lot, Randall says his adoption bug isn’t going away and Beth needs to get on board. Hmmm, not the best communication strategy, Randall (but he looked hot AF in this scene, so I’m good).

“I’m not throwing down with you in an adoption parking lot,” – Beth, living icon

Adult Randall visits Grandma Wig Rebecca to learn more about his adoption. Rebecca says she originally wasn’t down with adopting Randall, but she came around. She frowns approximately 6,000 times in this scene, which is strange because her monologue is supposed to be hopeful. Either way, I’m crying, so this friggin’ show is doing its job.

Meanwhile, Adult Kevin is in L.A. filming what looks like the worst movie alive. I think he’s proposing to a robot in it? His girlfriend, Sophie, was supposed to come out and visit for his birthday, but she can’t because of her mother’s M.S. Sophie seems more upset about missing potential Kardashian sightings than seeing her boyfriend, which I understand 100 percent. Kevin then makes some eerie joke about Sophie not sweating missing this trip because the Kardashians are like “Gremlins.” “By next week, they’ll be a bazillion more of them,” he says. This is very ironic given, ya know, this week’s news.

Adult Kate wants to sing, and, honestly, the world needs a pop star like her. I want her to release an electro-pop banger and have it climb the charts. She has to start small, though, so she attends a minor singing audition on her birthday but bails when she sees the skinnier, more conventional-looking competition. A totally understandable reaction—but for some unacceptable reason this angers Toby when she tells him. He has no right to police her emotions! And, more importantly, he’s ruining the fancy L.A. dinner Kevin planned for the two of them. He rented out an entire restaurant! That’s some fancy-people shit!

Toby and Kevin get in a huge, cringe-y fight about who should be “taking care of” Kate. It’s gross, and thankfully Kate steps in to proudly announce she doesn’t need any scrub to push or coddle her. She then goes back to the audition to “wipe the floor with those bitches.” Yes, that’s a literal line she said, and I’m squealing.

“The sexiest thing about you is how sexy you make me feel,” Kate, on Toby (aww, but also meh)

She goes to the audition, sings, and the male director blows her off. At first, Kate thinks it’s because of her size, and she claps back at the director with an incredible monologue. But he then lets Kate hear the backup singer for the gig, and she’s, like, a million times better than her. So, no, she didn’t get the job, but it’s because of her ability—not her size. TBH, I’m here for this twist.

Kevin explains that he has a hard time letting go of his sister because being a great brother is the only thing he’s naturally good at. This is sweet, but a little weird because he’s 37. Also, he was brilliant in The Manny, so this is a straight-up lie.

In the plot twist everyone saw coming, Beth finally comes around to the adoption, but she has one request: They need to adopt an older kid who the world has turned its back on. Honestly, this is such warm, surprising development in their storyline, and I have nothing snarky to say about it. Beth and Randall are the best.

“We’re perfectly imperfect,” Randall, on his relationship with Beth

Meanwhile, back in the ’90s, Jack goes to the bar Rebecca used to sing at and asks if there’s any room in the lineup for a solo female act. The bar owner says no because it’s the ’90s, but honestly if he heard Mandy Moore’s “In My Pocket,” he’d change his mind.

Then, Rebecca actually goes to Miguel’s sketchy cabin to talk to Jack. She says she’s upset and shouldn’t have let him leave. Apparently, Jack’s been drunk for “weeks,” and he admits he has a problem that he needs to handle before coming home. He says he needs to fix this on his own and slams the door—but Rebecca says they’ll fix it together. OK, this is a genuinely poignant scene, and I’m tearing up. Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia have amazing chemistry.

But wait…we just panned to the teenage Big Three at a later date, and Kevin’s wearing a full leg mask. WTF?! And the Pearson house is completely destroyed from a fire! WTF again?! And Rebecca’s crying! What’s happening? Does this mean Jack…died in the house fire? The episode, of course, fades to black before answering anything. And just like that I’m hooked again. Ugh, Dan Fogelman and his tricks.

Parting thoughts: They’re really going to drag out Jack’s death, aren’t they? Whatever. I’m here for it.

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'The Big Bang Theory' Season 11 Episode 1 Recap: Amy and Sheldon Get Engaged


Within the first five minutes of tonight’s Big Bang Theory premiere, diehard Shamy fans got the answer they had been waiting all summer for when—spoiler!—Amy accepted Sheldon’s proposal. But that’s not all: Bernadette and Howard discovered they are going to be parents again (!!!), a mere nine months after the birth of baby Halley.

In fact, that scene—the one with Bernadette and Howard following her surprise pregnancy announcement—might be one of the show’s funniest and most iconic moments in its 10-year history. (Honorable mention to Penny and Leonard’s reaction to the Wolowitz’s urging them to start their own family.) Perhaps the only downside was Sheldon being a complete ass later in the episode, when Amy was shown more attention by colleagues at a work dinner than him. But more on that next week…

Until then, we wanted answers on how that proposal scene came to be, the story behind Amy’s very forgiving reaction to the Nowitzki kiss, and whether or not Bernadette’s pregnancy will be different the second time around. Here, Big Bang‘s executive producer and show runner Steve Holland fills us in.

Glamour: Sheldon’s proposal was so perfect, as well as how the entire scene unfolded. How long did it take to get that scene right, from the writers’ room to editing?

Steve Holland: There was a version of it that went on a little bit longer. There was a few more flashbacks from Sheldon, but it started to feel less fun the longer we teased it out.

Glamour: It was interesting Amy didn’t really question why it took Sheldon kissing another girl to instigate the proposal. Was your perspective that she just understands him so well that this really wasn’t a big deal?

Steve: I think so, because we certainly talked about that. Early in discussions, there were talks about how upset she was going to be when she finds out this news. Ultimately, it felt like she knows Sheldon so well that we didn’t think sexual jealousy was really a thing she would feel. This is something she has wanted for so long, and it was such a surprise, that it was hard to imagine her response was ever going to be negative or jealous or upset or “I’m not going to say yes if that’s the only reason.”

PHOTO: Michael Yarish/Warner Bros.

Glamour: I know you don’t plan too far in advance, so I’m not even going to ask when the wedding might be…

Steve: Thank you! [Laughs]

Glamour: But do you see this being a long engagement? It seems there’s a ton of story to play with.

Steve: There are a ton of stories. What’s made this show easier for us to write is that these characters have grown, so there’s always new stories to tell. I don’t think they’re going to married in episode five, but I think there are stories to be told, like how does this couple plan a wedding? How does Sheldon, who has ideas about everything and likes to control everything, what kind of groom is he going to be? There’s a lot of interesting stories to mine there.

Glamour: With Melissa’s pregnancy, I love how you decided to weave that into the story. Tell me about the backstory there. What it was like watching Simon and Melissa do that scene?

Steve: [Laughs] It was one of my favorite scenes to watch. It was fun to write, but it was super fun to watch just the “yes,” “no,” “yes,” back and forth. We talked to Melissa when she told us she was pregnant and were trying to figure out if we were just going to put her behind laundry baskets and hiding behind couches for a season—and then we thought, why not dig into it? It’s really unexpected to get pregnant again this quickly…that’s a shock for anybody when they have a nine-month-old, so it seemed like that would be a really fun curveball to throw them. I love both of their reactions. There’s sort of a little bit of horror and shock before acceptance, but that scene was great to play. We had scripted a bunch of the yes’s and no’s and at some point we said, “Just play with it. If you want to keep going back and forth,see how it feels and how long we can keep this going.”

Glamour: It was so authentic to see Bernadette’s struggle with becoming a mom last season, so will we see more of that in season 11?

Steve: Yeah, we got a lot of great feedback from that, which was comforting because we tried really hard to make that feel real. Certainly having a second baby this close together, a lot of that stuff will come up again. Bernadette has worked so hard to get to this place in her career, and now there’s a second baby. What does that mean? We definitely want to explore more of those issues and find ways to do them that are different than we did them last time.

Glamour: There’s a theme in this episode about dealing with other’s success or big milestones. This isn’t the first time Big Bang has tackled the subject, but it’s a refreshing topic that you guys haven’t forgotten about.

Steve: Right, you’re happy for your friends—but at the same time, it makes you feel bad.

Glamour: What was the motivation behind having Sheldon’s outburst or Raj opening up about his loneliness?

Steve: It seemed super interesting for Sheldon and Amy. You know, how does Sheldon deal with his fiancé’s success? He obviously loves her and is proud of her, but he’s so ego-centric about physics and his place in it, that it seemed really interesting to push him a little bit. And then some of those other stories just fed off of that; it seemed like it really worked thematically. As they get older and as people start moving forward in these new stages of their lives, how do your friends deal with those things? There’s a fine line between are you hiding your success or are you trying not to rub it in your partner’s face? Where is that line, and what’s acceptable?



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Outlander Season 3, Episode 3 Recap: A Major Character Dies in a Shocking Twist, But Alas, Still No Sex


The article centers on Season 3, Episode 3 of Outlander: “All Debts Paid.” If you’re not yet caught up with the show, be warned: spoilers abound.

The title of this week’s episode, “All Debts Paid,” ends up being quite prescient for Jamie, Claire, and Frank, as loose threads are tied and we end up well positioned for a Jamie-Claire reunion in the hopefully near future. Though many questions are answered in this week’s episode, the grand tease continues, which is to say there is no sex in this episode. None. The struggle is ever so real. The action in this episode alternates between the 18th century and the 20th century, moving years forward at a time, and we finally see much of what happened to our three musketeers during the twenty years Jamie and Claire are apart.

Jamie isn’t faring so well back in the 18th century, but it could be and has been worse. (Outlander has never been afraid of subjecting the show’s characters to all manner of trauma as a means of advancing the plot.) At the top of the episode, Jamie is in an English prison and there is a new governor—Lord John William Grey—whom Jamie, somehow, doesn’t recognize. Yes, this is the same Grey who owed Jamie a debt of honor. (He turns up at the most narratively convenient times, doesn’t he?) In prison, Jamie is the clear leader of the Scottish Highlanders, but the English still see him as the notorious “Red Jamie.” Murtagh is revealed to be still alive and among the other Scottish prisoners. Though he’s sickly, he still has the sharp wit we’ve come to know and love.

In a feeble attempt to create a bit more plot during this episode, there is a rumor of a cache of gold King Louis supposedly sent to the Jacobites, which is hidden somewhere in the Highlands. A raving old man, Ducan Kerr, was found wandering the moor, talking about the “cursed” gold, which intrigues the new governor. Grey knows that if he finds the gold, he can improve his standing with the crown. He summons Jamie, who speaks Gallic and French, to translate what the old man is saying. At first, Jamie declines, what with being honorable and uninterested in helping the English. Then Grey offers to have his irons removed, and to provide the sickly Murtagh with a blanket, and I guess when you’re in prison, it’s the little things, so Jamie agrees.

Kerr doesn’t say much that makes sense but he does mention a “white witch” who “seeks a brave man,” and “will come for you.” Jamie, of course, knows Kerr is talking about Claire. When Grey demands to know what Kerr has said, Jamie says the old man was speaking of white witches and superstitious nonsense. That answer doesn’t satisfy Grey, who threatens to make Jamie talk, but considering all that Jamie has been through, he is not impressed. Basically, he stares Grey down and is all, “Do your worst,” and that’s that.

PHOTO: Aimee Spinks/STARZ

Grey invites Jamie to dine with him, as the previous governor did, and they enjoy a meal of pheasant, carrots, and dinner rolls. Jamie also asks for permission for the prisoners to hunt by setting snares when they’re cutting peat, and to gather watercress. Grey agrees to these conditions and it seems the men are becoming tentative friends. Later, in the cell, Jamie shares the details of the meal with the other prisoners and one asks him to go slow so he can “savor every morsel.” It’s all very grim.

On an outing to cut peat, the prisoners create a distraction and we realize Jamie’s request for the prisoners to hunt was, in part, a ruse for him to escape, which he does. Grey is incensed and tries to hunt Jamie down, to no avail. A few days later, Jamie sneaks up on Grey as he is relieving himself, and Jamie makes clear that he finally remembers who Grey is. He tells Grey that he didn’t really want to escape, he just wanted to see if Claire might have found her way back to him. In not finding Claire, he had no motivation to do anything but return to prison. Jamie gives Grey the opportunity to follow through on his promise to kill Jamie, kneeling in front of him. Grey picks up his sword but refuses, saying, “I am not a murderer of unarmed prisoners.” As with this season’s premiere, Jamie’s death wish is denied and thank goodness for that. There is still amazing sex to be had between he and Claire.

During another cozy evening together, Grey and Jamie play chess before a roaring fire. Grey admits he lost a very close friend during the Battle of Culloden, and it’s obvious he means he lost a lover, when he laments, “Some people you grieve over forever.” It’s certainly interesting to see the show introducing a queer character in the 18th century and the only shame of this storyline is that it is, as queer storylines often tend to be in popular culture, grounded in loss, sorrow, and unrequited feelings. Certainly, queerness in the 18th century was not accepted by society and the show is being accurate, but the point still stands. True progress for us in this time will be marked by more queer storylines that don’t doom queer characters to lonely misery.

As they chat, Jamie admits Claire was his wife and was never truly in danger when he and Grey first met (in Season 2, when Jamie pretended to threaten Claire’s life to make Grey talk). During a quiet moment, Grey gently places his hand over Jamie’s and Jamie stills. The effects of the trauma he suffered at the hands of Black Jack Randall clearly still linger. In a hoarse whisper Jamie says, “Take your hand off me or I will kill you.” Just like that, any friendship these two might have shared disappears. Jamie excuses himself and Grey is left alone, crying. Of course.

Shortly after that, the prison is shuttered and the Highlanders, including Murtagh, are shipped to the colonies to work as indentured servants, where after 14 years they can earn their freedom. Grey takes Jamie, however, to a different location—Hellwater, where Grey will check on Jamie every quarter to be sure he’s well looked after. It’s all an elaborate way of discharging the debt he owes Jamie, though he cautions Jamie to go by another name as he starts his new life. That’s how things are left in the 18th century.

In Boston, things are increasingly tense between Claire and Frank, as they try to make their marriage of inconvenience work. Frank prepares a traditional English breakfast for the family to remind daughter Brianna of her roots and Claire, feeling warm toward Frank, asks if he wants to see a movie. Frank admits he’s already seen both movies Claire suggests and we learn that Frank and Claire have come to an agreement. They are married but living separate lives, free to see other people. “I’m being discreet, Claire,” Frank says and that’s that. Claire is quite surprised and it’s interesting to see her grappling with this new reality where Frank isn’t just sitting around pining for her. For once, Frank has done something unexpected; he has a bit of tooth to him. Unfortunately, that tooth gets longer and sharper as the episode goes on. Hell hath no fury like a man scorned.

Claire and Frank Randall Outlander Episode 303

PHOTO: Aimee Spinks/STARZ

On her medical school graduation day, Claire and Frank have a small gathering at home. The party is meant to move to a restaurant but Frank can’t go because of “work.” Frank, unfortunately, is a terrible liar and claims he had the reservation time wrong. Lo and behold, his side piece, Sandy, shows up during the party. Claire tries to smile it off and ushers everyone off to the restaurant but later that night, both she and Frank are drunk and angry and they have what is clearly a long-simmering argument but in the well-mannered way that English people fight. Claire says she was humiliated; Frank tells Claire that this turnabout is fair play because she has convinced no one that they are a happy couple. Claire asks Frank if he has fucked his “harlot” in their bedroom and Frank says, “I think our bedroom is far too crowded already, wouldn’t you agree?” With that question, we see that it was never going to be possible for Claire and Frank to work out. They had good intentions about staying together, but good intentions are never enough to make a marriage work. Jamie was and always would be standing between them. Claire suggests they divorce but Frank refuses because he will not lose Brianna. Onward, the marriage of inconvenience goes, but it is clearly a much darker, colder relationship.

Claire and Frank celebrate Brianna’s 16th birthday, and then, it is 1966, and Brianna is graduating from high school. Claire is home after a difficult surgery when Frank has some news—he wants to take Brianna to England. Frank admits he has been offered a position at Cambridge. Claire is immediately stressed, saying she can’t up and leave her job, her patients, etc., and Frank drops the bomb—he’s not asking Claire to join him. Frank asks for a divorce, and admits he is going to marry his side piece, Sandy. As you might expect, there is cruelty left in him yet. He tells Claire that between medical school and her job, she hasn’t really been there for Brianna—as if that is a justification for taking her child from her. They have another terrible fight and Claire says Frank is free to divorce her, but he cannot claim adultery.

More bitter words are exchanged and finally, Frank says, “You couldn’t look at Brianna without seeing him, could you? Without that constant reminder, might you have forgotten him, with time?” Claire admits, “That amount of time doesn’t exist.” It is a chilling moment, at once true, and the most precise and cruel thing Claire could say to Frank. Frank grabs the keys and angrily leaves the house. With Brianna entering adulthood, there is nothing tethering Claire and Frank together and it’s painfully clear, as Claire points out, that Frank was just biding his time, waiting until he could be free of a marriage that was a pale shadow what he’d wanted with Claire. In the end, it seems like Frank stayed in the marriage more to punish Claire for not loving him the way she loved Jamie, rather than to be a father to Brianna.

Later that night, Claire is called into surgery. When she comes out of the operating room, her colleague Joe Abernathy is the bearer of bad news—Frank has died in a car accident. Claire runs to his side, and alas, it is the gesture Frank waited their entire marriage for, too little, too late. Claire tells him she did love him, very much. “You were my first love,” she whispers, before kissing his lips.

Frank Randall Outlander Episode 303

PHOTO: Jason Bell/STARZ

And just like that, the episode is over. In some ways, it is a relief that Frank is out of the picture, but as with the show’s portrait of Lord Grey as the tragic gay man, killing Frank off is the simplest way to advance the plot toward an inevitable Claire-Jamie reunion. I cannot help but wonder how much more nuanced and textured this show’s storytelling would be if the writers didn’t always take the easy way out.

Roxane Gay is the author of Bad Feminist, Difficult Women, and most recently, Hunger. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times.



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Outlander Season 3 Episode 2 Recap: So Much Wanting and Not Much Having


The article centers on Season 3, Episode 2 of Outlander: “Surrender.” If you’re not, get caught up with the show, be warned: Spoilers abound.

The third season of Outlander is painfully disinterested in instant gratification. This week’s episode is all tease and foreplay. To be fair, there is some sex in this episode but it is not at all the sex we are yearning to witness. Instead, there is awkward sex with eyes wide shut as the show continues filling us in on what happened with Jamie and Claire Fraser during the two decades they were apart, also known as the longest tease in the history of romance novels.

As the second episode opens, we’re in Scotland in 1752. Fergus, Jamie’s nephew Ian, and the housekeeper Mary’s son Rabbie MacNab find a gun that belonged to Rabbie’s dead father and argue over who gets to shoot it first when the damn redcoats appear. Among them is a Corporal MacGregor—a Scotsman serving in the English army, and he’s exactly the asshole you would expect him to be.

The redcoats remain hell-bent on finding Red Jamie, a.k.a. “the Dunbonnet,” a.k.a. the sexiest man on the highlands. After volleying a few threats at Jamie’s family, the redcoats arrest Ian simply because they can.

Where is Jamie? He’s living in a cave in the woods, regressing to his primordial form—hair down to his shoulders, a thick beard, and a demonstrable aversion to bathing. As he’s gallivanting through the woods, smelling what I hope is dirt but is probably feces, Jamie spies a buck, kills it, and brings the spoils of his hunt to Lallybroch tossed over his shoulder, as one does. He sees his sister, Jenny, tending to the garden and for a moment, Jamie imagines she is Claire, which is… incredibly awkward and veering into Game of Thrones territory if you think too hard about it.

Jamie spends most of this episode silent and brooding—living that emo life, 18th century style. When he does talk, he sounds like Christian Bale channeling Batman, hoarse and growly. We get it; he’s miserable. Outlander has never really been subtle and this episode works overtime to make it clear that Jamie has lost all the fire and fight he once had.

PHOTO: Aimee Spinks/STARZ

Jamie goes native

When Jamie stops by Lallybroch to handle the ledgers, Jenny just happens to be in labor. Fergus, Rabbie, and Jamie see a raven as they are doing their chores, and apparently it’s bad luck to spot one while a child is being born. These three musketeers grab the gun they found and kill the raven. As good luck would have it, the bird dies with a single shot. As bad luck would have it, the Redcoats in the vicinity hear the gunshot.

Jamie scolds the boys but Mary MacNab intervenes and takes the gun. Jamie goes to see his sister who has just delivered a baby boy. Even though she just birthed a baby without an epidural, Jenny tries to set Jamie up with Mary and get him laid. Jenny is the most Ride-or-Die sibling in the game. Jamie is having none of it and who can blame him? We saw how incredible the sex was between him and Claire. Accept no substitutes.

Suddenly, Redcoats are all over Lallybroch, looking for the gun they heard. Jenny plays dumb and Jamie hides in a nearby hall holding the newborn baby, trying to keep him quiet. When the Redcoats realize Jenny just had a baby, they demand to know where the baby is. She lies, saying the baby was stillborn. The captain doesn’t believe the story but Mary saves the day by claiming the pistol was hers, that she killed the raven because of superstition.

Ian is eventually released from jail and Corporal MacGregor smarms and makes threats while eyeballing young Fergus. A little later, Fergus sets off into the woods, but danger lurks. The Redcoats are hiding behind some bushes and before long they are following Fergus, thinking he will lead them to Red Jamie. Fergus is a bright boy—too bright for his own good. His stroll becomes a jog and the Redcoats’ stalking turns to full-on chase, with Fergus talking a whole lot of shit to the Redcoats. Reader: this doesn’t end well.

Jamie overhears Fergus and the Redcoats, and watches helplessly as they grab Fergus, pinning him against a log. MacGregor raises his sword and chops Fergus’s left hand off. It is truly one of those “that sure escalated quickly” moments. And to tie it all with a bow, the last shot of the scene is poor Fergus’s hand lying on the forest floor. (Side note: Another Game of Thrones moment? What is it with these hit fantasy shows and hand-chopping? Freud would have some thoughts.)

Jamie runs to the fallen boy, channels Nurse Claire, and applies a tourniquet before bringing Fergus back to Lallybroch. Though Fergus is going to live, Jamie is beside himself. Years of silence overwhelm him and he falls to his knees, sobbing in Jenny’s arms. I believe Dr. Phil would call it “a breakthrough.” When Jamie checks in on Fergus, they have a sweet little chat, all things considered, and Jamie reaffirms his promise to always look after him. Fergus tells Jamie he’s finally acting like himself. All it took was a brutal amputation!

As they stare into a crackling fire, Jamie and Ian have a chat about phantom limb pain and Ian says what we all know—that Claire was Jamie’s heart and without her, he is lost, living with the pain of something that is gone. Jamie decides he can no longer risk his family’s lives and tells Jenny and Ian they need to turn him in so at least they can get the reward money. Jamie is back, indeed, and ready to run right back into the fire.

Later, Mary MacNab shows up at Jamie’s cave for a visit, bow chicka wow wow. She gives him a good shave, cuts his hair, and finally, Jamie has his sexy back. After Jamie washes himself in the creek, thank God, Mary offers herself to Jamie in an exquisitely vulnerable moment where she says she isn’t trying to betray what he had with Claire. Jamie, who hasn’t had sex in like seven years, succumbs and who can blame him? His eyes are closed and he’s crying but Jamie explains that’s just how he does sex. Mary is gonna get hers so they get down—sweetly, tenderly, like two people who haven’t been laid in forever. At least that’s what I am guessing because we don’t see any of it. I choose to imagine the cave walls were quaking.

When he returns to Lallybroch, freshly groomed, Jamie pretends it is his first homecoming. Everyone puts on a really good show and the Redcoats actually believe Jenny would betray her brother because the Redcoats are not very smart. It looks like Jamie is, once again, going to be behind bars and who knows for how long. Outlander is not a show that is afraid of subjecting its characters to an infinite amount of drama or suffering. Every time you think Jamie has been through the worst, the show asks us to hold its beer.

In mid-century Boston, Claire can’t sleep because she is having sexy fantasies about sexy Jamie, all naked and thick with muscles and giving her that “come fuck me” look she clearly craves. Alas, she is actually in bed with boring Frank and that, my friends, is the very definition of tragedy. On one particular night, Claire is in need of some loving. She tentatively reaches for Frank and before he can ruin anything by jabbering, she strips off her nightgown, straddles him and gets hers. It’s all very depressing because while Claire can close her eyes and make pretend, we can’t.

Outlander Season 3 2017

PHOTO: Aimee Spinks/STARZ

At least the baby makes Claire happy?

After having Millie Nelson and her husband, Jerry, over for dinner, Frank and Claire are feeling a bit amorous as they share a nightcap in front of the fireplace. Claire, never shy about taking the initiative, steps out of her underwear and pulls Frank’s hand between her thighs. It’s almost a sexy moment, but as they’re fucking, Frank keeps asking Claire to open her eyes and it’s like, Dude, first of all, most people have sex with their eyes closed, and second of all, just enjoy the ride and let the woman think of Jamie as you bone her! But no, Frank can’t let Claire do Claire. “When I’m with you, I’m with you, but you’re with him,” Frank says. Just like that, the moment is over.

After her wild adventures in the 18th century, Claire is not satisfied by being a wife and mother, so she decides to do something more—enroll in Harvard Medical School. She’s not the only anomaly; there’s also a black man in the class. As everyone takes their seats, the men are openly hostile because they know Claire is about to put their mediocrity on blast. She handles it with aplomb and when the black student, Joe Abernathy, enters, he sits right next to Claire. It’s a page right out of the Grey’s Anatomy episode when Richard Weber and Ellis Grey became pals because no one in their medical school cohort respected them for daring to not be white men.

In another bedroom scene at the Randall home, Claire and Frank now sleep in separate twin beds, which is just … sad. Throughout the episode, it’s clear that Claire and Frank are trying their damndest to make their marriage work, but Jamie Fraser is always between them.

If there is one thing that Jamie, Claire, and Frank have in common, it’s that they all desperately want the very things they cannot have. Frank is yearning to be the only man in Claire’s heart; Jamie is yearning to have Claire by his side in all things; Claire is yearning to be by Jamie’s side in all things, and, as she explains in a voiceover, to be part of something bigger than herself. The thing is—no one is yearning for Frank. He is, as he has been since Season 1, the odd man out. Given how Season 2 ended, it seems like that’s what Frank is always going to be.



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'Outlander' Season 3 Episode 1 Premiere: New Season, Nothing to See Here (Yet)


The article centers on Season 3, Episode 1 of Outlander: “The Battle Joined.” If you’re not get caught up with the show, be warned: spoilers abound.

The first season of Outlander made us all believe this was going to be a show about hot sex on the Scottish highlands between time-traveling British nurse Claire Randall and her dashing lover (now husband), Scottish Highland warrior Jamie Fraser. But things took quite the turn when Jamie Fraser ran into the sadism of Black Jack Randall. Throughout the second season, the show’s tone was much darker; there was much more at stake than the tension of whether or not Claire would ever find her way back to her own place and time, or how much sex Claire and Jamie would have. Instead, we were concerned with matters of fate, history, and fortune. We were innocent in the first season, and then we were not. All the while, the show grew wildly in popularity because of the melodrama, the men in kilts, the intricate plots, the historical imagination, the exceptional production values—but mostly the sex, because for once, we have a show where men’s bodies are as gratuitously displayed as women’s bodies and it feels celebratory, not exploitative.

When we last saw the Frasers in Season 2, they were exiles from Scotland and living in Paris. Claire’s costumes were exquisite, as were her devious plans to both support and upend the Jacobite rebellion so she and Jamie might preserve the Highland way of life. This was always the crux of the show—Claire knows how things turn out for nearly everyone she encounters in the 18th century and as such, she is in the position of trying to protect those she cares for most from a history she likely cannot change.

Throughout the second season, we see Claire and Jamie trying to reconnect after Jamie’s trauma. The couple fights to hold together when their daughter is stillborn and they face enemies new and old. And then, they travel back to Scotland, still both leading the rebellion and trying to undermine it. Alas, their efforts are for naught. As the finale ends, the Battle of Culloden is nigh. Claire returns, through the stones, to the 1940s and her exceedingly dull husband Frank so she and Jamie’s child might live.

It has been more than a year since the second season of Outlander ended—so long, in fact, that the show’s more passionate fans refer to this time as “Droughtlander.” And what a drought it has been—no Claire, no Jamie, no bagpipes to soothe us.

PHOTO: Aimee Spinks/STARZ

Jamie faces Black Jack Randall at the Battle of Culloden.

From the outset of the Season 3 premiere, know that not much happens nor does this episode pick up where the Season 2 finale left us—with Claire visiting Scotland in 1968 with her daughter Brianna, discovering that Jamie did, indeed, survive the Battle of Culloden, and vowing that she would go back to 18th-century Scotland. In other words, the drought may be over but our lips are still parched. The show knows what we want and they are going to make us wait for it, though I have no sense of how long that wait might be.

The first episode of Season 3 opens in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden. Across the moor, we see dead bodies, mostly Highlanders. Redcoats wander amongst the bodies, occasionally stabbing at men who are still alive with their bayonets because nothing says “honor” like attacking helpless men. Slowly, the camera pans to Jamie, amidst all those dead bodies, fairly close to death himself with a Redcoat lying on top of him. Suffice it to say, Jamie has looked better. The only satisfying glimpse we get throughout the episode of his impeccable body is of his exceedingly well-defined pectoral muscles. That’s it. The struggle is so very real.

As he lies there, gaunt and gasping, Jamie recalls the actual battle of Culloden. The Jacobites are being bombarded and Jamie implores the utterly ineffective Prince Charles Stuart to allow the men to charge so they can have a fighting chance. Then, the Jacobites charge the Redcoats and it’s blood and gore, flesh and blades clashing. The sound effects are very…vivid.

Suddenly, amidst all the fighting men, Jamie spots Black Jack Randall, and it’s on like Donkey Kong. The men run at each other and a battle within the battle ensues, like a war version of Inception. Black Jack injures Jamie with his sword, but in the end, Jamie is victorious. The Redcoat lying atop Jamie on the battlefield is, in fact, the corpse of Black Jack Randall. It’s kind of a disappointment that Black Jack’s death—something most of us have been wanting to see for two seasons—is relatively anticlimactic, but at least we have the relief of knowing he won’t smarm about the world with his sadistic impulses.

As Jamie lies among the dead, it begins to snow, and he hallucinates that Claire is walking toward him. He keeps moaning pathetically—and let it be known, this is pretty much all he does for the entirety of the episode. “Are you alive, Jamie?” Claire asks, and before he can answer, he realizes it is actually Rupert, his clansman, speaking to him and saving his life.

Outlander Season 3 2017

PHOTO: Aimee Spinks/STARZ

Claire and boring Frank scout a new apartment.

And then, we are in 1940s Boston. Claire and Frank Randall are looking at a new house where they might make a home. Frank is as charmless as ever as he waxes on about all the meals Claire will prepare for him in their new kitchen. It’s like, Shut up Frank. She barely tolerates you, let alone has any interest in feeding you. Months later, Claire is struggling to light the gas stove. She is heavily pregnant and in none too good a mood. She sits, defeated, on the couch, staring into the fireplace…and has an idea! Before long, she has found firewood and is cooking Frank’s dinner in the fireplace, as one does. She has also met a neighbor, Millie Nelson, who chats with Claire as she prepares dinner. Millie simply cannot believe Claire is trying a new way of cooking without knowing if Frank likes it or not. Imagine, not centering your life and choices around your husband’s desires! What madness. Throughout their conversation, we are reminded just how regressive gender roles were at the mid-century. If ever there was an argument for day drinking, this window into life as a 1940s housewife makes it. And it only gets worse.

The Randalls attend a party where Claire meets Frank’s boss—a man who is, like most of the men we’ll see in Boston, total trash. During a conversation about politics, Claire dares to offer an opinion about the upcoming election between Truman and Dewey, and the boss snarks, “Professor Randall, you’re going to have to pay closer attention to your wife’s reading habits.” A profoundly sexist conversation follows where the boss makes it clear that he has nothing but contempt for women, and Claire makes it clear that she has nothing but contempt for her husband’s boss. She seems downright miserable—trying to be a good wife, yearning for Jamie, and having to deal with the patriarchy.

Over breakfast some time later, the cracks in the Randall marriage really begin to show. Claire tells Frank she wants to apply for American citizenship, and when Frank tries to touch Claire’s belly, she flinches. They argue, and Frank wants to know when Claire is going to stop freezing him out. When he snaps, “I’m not the one who’s been fucking other people,” Claire throws an ashtray at Frank’s boring head, and he escapes to work. Before he leaves, he asks Claire to go or stay, so long as she does what she really wants to do. He doesn’t mean that, of course, and that’s what’s so terrible about Frank. He pretends to be the good guy, the understanding guy, but really he’s just passive aggressive and resentful.

Outlander Season 3 2017

PHOTO: Aimee Spinks/STARZ

The cracks in the Randall marriage are really starting to show.

Back in Scotland, Jamie, Rupert, and other Jacobites take shelter in a nearby barn. Jamie remains close to death. Things are grim. The Redcoats find the Jacobites and one Lord Melton gives them an hour to prepare for execution. As is the British way, the executions are very well mannered. The men give their names to a clerk, and then are brought outside, propped up against a pole, and shot. Jamie continues dying and looking deathly. Before it’s his turn to be executed, Rupert comes as close to forgiving Jamie for murdering Dougal as he can, and then goes to meet his fate with his characteristic sass.

When it’s finally Jamie’s turn to meet the executioner, Lord Melton is presented with quite a dilemma. Turns out, Melton’s brother is John William Gray, a man whose life Jamie spared. In return, Gray promised Jamie that he owed him a debt of honor. He decides to spare Jamie’s life, sending Jamie to Lollybroch to reunite with his family. Jamie Fraser is both the luckiest and unluckiest man in Scotland.

Back in Boston, Claire goes into labor. In the hospital, she is ignored and condescended to by the obstetrician, who asks Frank how far apart Claire’s contractions are—even though Claire is the one who knows, what with it being her body and all. In the delivery room, she is alone with the medical team and despite her protests, they sedate her, saying, “When you wake up, you’ll be a mother.” If there’s a moral to this story, it’s that it has generally sucked to be a woman at every single point in history.

When Claire comes to, she is frantic, wanting to know if her baby is dead or alive. And then Frank appears, holding her daughter. Frank and Claire come to an understanding of sorts, vowing to make this a fresh start—as if that’s even possible when we know how incredible the sex between Claire and Jamie was. As the new parents fawn over the baby, the nurse asks, “Where’d she get the red hair?” It’s as awkward a moment as you might imagine and also the ending to a really underwhelming episode.

Given what we know from the Season 2 finale, Claire is going to make her way back to Jamie, but the third season premiere offers no hint as to how or when that is going to happen. Jamie is back at Lollybroch; Claire is stuck with boring Frank. I still haven’t read the books so I have no idea what’s going to happen next, but stay tuned for next week where hopefully, Jamie will be more naked and also more alive.

Roxane Gay is the author of Bad Feminist, Difficult Women, and most recently, Hunger. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times.

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'Bachelor in Paradise' Season 4 Episode 4B Recap: The Twins Are Here to Shake Things Up


It’s the second to last Bachelor in Paradise episode, you say? It’s the final countdown!

As you might remember from last night, Kristina left, and everyone who is still on the beach is happily (and heterosexually) coupled up. Jaimi, the chill bisexual with a septum piercing from Nick’s season, arrives to stir things up. Using the bi chick to break people up and add last-minute drama is kind of cheap, ABC. Bi people deserve to find love, too, not just cause drama. Still glad she’s here, though. I’m also going to use her presence as an excuse to post one of the better musical achievements of our era:

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Everyone is like, “What if Jaimi asks a girl on her date?” But Jaimi makes an even more dramatic decision: Diggy. On their date, Diggy tries to guess Jaimi’s ethnicity. (She’s black and Italian, BTW.) They also talk about her fluid sexuality and Diggy’s open-mindedness. They get along and kiss and that’s pretty much the date!

PHOTO: Paul Hebert

“The Twins” (Emily and Haley) from Ben’s season arrive. They’re honestly more terrifying than the little girls from The Shining, and not even as well dressed. But they have a date card to use !!!TONIGHT!!!!! so it’s game on. The twins are, of course, friends with Amanda and very popular among the boys because they’re blonde and have boobs and there are two of them. In her pinched, nasal way, Amanda explains who is who and what is what, from Scallop Fingers to Murder Face. I cannot for the life of me tell these women apart and will be referring to them as Blue Dress and White Dress from here on out.

“Our vaginas are different.” – Blue Dress

The twins are planning to move to LA (of course) and occasionally speak in unison (of course). Blue Dress asks out Jack Stone and White Dress asks Dean, but Dean says no because he has learned his lesson! But then he notices that White Dress is hot and kinda pushy and mostly hot and has blonde hair, so what could he possibly do? A man can only take so much. He’s only human!!!!!!!! Undeterred, White Dress asks D-Lo’s permission to ask Dean on a guilt-free date, and D-Lo’s like, well, that’s pretty much up to Dean because she knows that Dean’s a fuckboy and a fuckboy’s gotta do who a fuckboy’s gotta do.

Dean turns White Dress down, again, so she finds Tickle Monster Jonathan napping, wakes him, and asks him out even though she hates him. These poor twins. All the good guys are taken, plus they forgot their Brandy Melville tops at home, so things are just not going well. THEY FORGOT THEIR CUTE BRANDY MELVILLE TOPS AT HOME, I TELL YOU!!!!!

“Turns out they’re dating shallow, ugly whores.” – White Dress on the
guys she and Blue Dress originally liked. Wow, these girls are like, really, really mean.

As Christen walks on the beach, Wells pretends to dry a glass and does his best David Attenborough impression because I’m pretty sure they’re trying to sell us on Wells as the next franchise lead. Moving on, let’s check in with Taylor and Derek! They are still in love, busily acknowledging each other, and kissing. Look, I’m happy for them, but Taylor needs to not say she’s “finally” getting her happy ending at the age of 23.

The twins changed into date night outfits, so now they are Striped Shirt and Other Shirt. After consulting with his better angels, Jack Stone decides he doesn’t wanna go on the date and lets both down at the same time even though only one asked him out. Honestly? I don’t think he can tell them apart either and doesn’t remember which one is his. The twins start insulting him and yelling at him; Striped Shirt decides she’s “over it.” They both run away, and Jack starts kissing Christen, and then the twins start throwing scallops onto the trail because they want attention. This is so fake! Much like the twins’ hair color!

The next day, everyone is still happily coupled. My favorite is Adam and Raven. Chris Harrison rolls up to drop a bomb: This is their last day in paradise a.k.a. the show got too boring, and they need a finale!

Parting Thoughts: Tonight’s episode was only an hour, so please spend some of your extra time watching this…



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