Can somebody tell Claire she is NOT a Time Master?

While Claire may have fallen through time, she's letting the idea that she can change the future get the better of her, and on Outlander Season 2 Episode 5 she takes things so far that it looks like her marriage to Jamie might be in jeopardy.

SPOILER ALERT! I know enough about the books that they go on for a loooong time, so their marriage isn't anywhere near over. But making it more difficult in the meantime is surely just frustrating for the both of them.

"Untimely Resurrection" was one of the swiftest hours of Outlander Season 2.

It was pretty much singularly focused on one event, and that streamlined the feel of the installment. The party was over before it even began.

By the end, I had even forgotten about St. Germain, and he's a bad dude. 

Prince Charles had a big idea to get 10,000 pounds sterling from doing some wine business with Germain. Jamie would take the lead. Geez, you could have cut the tension between Jamie and Germain with a knife.

Jamie thought using the La Dame Blanche name (which he gave to his wife to remain faithful, as we chatted about on the Outlander Round Table) would be a way to get Germain to admit to orchestrating the attack on Claire and Mary. Heck, when Jamie brought it up, Germain didn't even deny it. That was easy.

We also learned the dinner party was a success, even if it was a complete disaster.

The entire point was to get Sandringham to think very little of Prince Charles. Mission accomplished. But if the Prince keeps scoring other benefactors, that won't matter anyway.

And, we're watching all of this knowing it doesn't matter. We've already seen on Outlander Season 2 Episode 1 Claire go back to the future to discover Culloden still occurred with heavy losses. 

But with every breath Claire uses to try to change the future for Scotland, she's working just as hard to keep it the same for Frank. 

When she eventually brought it up to Jamie, he noted that himself. It's getting confusing.

What I can't figure out is why Claire is so certain that Mary wasn't always intended to marry Alex. After all, he's very ill and will not live long. Mary is very young and will live very long. Claire only had two names on a family tree.

She's starting to get a little punch drunk with this power to insert herself into the timeline to either set things straight or change them. What changed with Mary that she thought needed changing? She needs to have a little faith in time playing itself accordingly.

The entire scene with Claire and Black Jack was absolutely brilliantly played, though. 

Claire, surely you of all people can step outside the passions of the moment and appreciate the sublime preposterousness that would guide us to a meeting at the French Court.

Black Jack

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Tobias Menzies plays Black Jack and Frank as differently as Tatiana Maslany the many different clones on Orphan Black. I do not, for a single second, think the same person is in both roles. Now that Randall has been taken down a peg or two with his injury, the grinding of his jaw is a perfect touch.

It was so incredibly uncomfortable watching Jamie and Randall feign small talk in front of the King and his army. The hair on Claire's neck has to be standing up. Jamie at first tried to avoid eye contact, but bringing himself to look made that scene all the better.

The laughter practically killed Randall when King Louis brought him to his knees. "Oh the English are so literal!" It was even better knowing he was in pain on his way up and down to the kneeling position.

What will happen next? How will Jamie forgive Claire for stopping him from bringing solace to the pain he has suffered since he was in the hands of Randall?

Was it fair of her to "tit for tat" her own husband, asking him to give to her the life of Black Jack Randall in return for the two times she saved his? For Frank, of all people? 

While I understand her logic, I'm not sure she could have hurt Jamie more if she tried. 

She needs to stop her belief that she alone holds the key to the future. She'll realize it all, I'm sure, when she's back with Frank and sees just how little their actions impacted events as they unfolded. 

But for now, she's just making her own life a little more miserable, and Jamie's as well. Certainly that's not her real plan.

What do you guys think? How would you rate St. Germain in correlation to Black Jack? Was it fair of Claire to ask Alex to step aside and not marry Mary? Was it fair of Claire to ask Jamie to wait a year to kill Black Jack?

Hit the comments!

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.