So...not so happily ever after. 

Not that we expected any differently, did we? Getting Jamie and Claire back together on Outlander Season 3 Episode 6 is really just the start of the adventure. Now it's time for the good stuff.

I don't just mean the sex. Don't get me wrong, that was great, even if it did take far too long to get a shot of Sam Heughan's tush. Damn those long eighteenth century shirts! 

Things got really steamy, real fast. This was the first time that I felt like the "soft-core porn" accusation sometimes leveled at the show might be accurate. Or maybe that's just because I watched the episode so many times. The things I do for you guys...

To be fair, the writers did make us hold out for a good chunk of time. Geordie may have been aghast at their behavior, but he and his goiter need to consult a dictionary about what an orgy consists of. That may have been the tamest moment the two shared!

Geordie: I quit! I'm Free Church. Working for a Papist is one thing,, but working for an immoral papist is another.
Jamie [trouserless]: Geordie...
Geordie: Do what you like wi' yer own soul, man, but if it's come to orgies in the shop, it's come too far. [bell tolls] Oh, God's tooth. It's not even noon.

• Permalink: Do what you like wi' yer own soul, man, but if it's come to orgies in the shop, it's come too...

Geordie gave us one of my favorite moments. With our heroes separated and being emotionally tortured by the guy high atop the thing, there hasn't been a lot of levity of late. Geordie brought that back, along with Lesley and Hayes.

I love the dynamic between Jamie's two men from Ardsmuir. Okay, so it doesn't make a ton of sense that there's two of them since they were all supposed to be shipped off to the colonies, but I like them enough not to care.

My fingers are crossed that they stick around for a good long while and become our new Rupert and Angus (R.I.P.) and that Claire gets a chance to help Geordie with that goiter. 

Claire: What is it?
Jamie: I thought I'd lost hold of myself altogether and pissed myself, but it's all right. Just spilled the alepot again.

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The levity didn't stop with secondary characters though. My favorite part of the love scenes wasn't the super sexy stares, the grunting, the flesh slapping. I mean, yeah, that was hot. Really hot.

But the moments of awkwardness that Jamie and Claire contend with were real. And the humor that they accept that awkwardness demonstrates the depth of their relationship. You have to be very secure with a person to laugh at them in bed and expect things to continue. 

They may be secure with one another again, but they do still have some air to clear. Jamie is clearly hiding something from Claire; it doesn't just have to do with the scary looking guy ransacking his room. 

So, this is where it's hard to ignore that those of us who have read the books know what the secret is. We're in the club with Fergus and Ned Gowan. But this is a SPOILER FREE ZONE! Not to mention that Ron Moore, et al., may decide to handle the detail a little differently. 

With that in mind, let's focus on the good aspects of this secret: Ned Gowan will be back! And Fergus is all grown up, and hot, and still calling Jamie "Milord!" 

Claire: I hope Fergus wasn't too shocked by my reappearance. I didn't know what to say.
Jamie: Well, you, uh, told the truth of it. You did go to America.
Claire: I thought it might be wise to leave out the whole '200 years in the future' part.
Jamie: Wee transgression.

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One thing that's bothered me is that Claire never really talks about missing Fergus. She never tells Bree about him. I mean, I get that Jamie is all important, but Fergus was basically their adopted child. It rubs me the wrong way that their relationship is overshadowed by her and Jamie's. 

So you get why I was disappointed that Mr. Willoughby got more screen time than our beloved French gutter rat. That quick encounter in the street was not even close to satisfying. 

Willoughby does prove to be an interesting character. Obviously. It's a miracle that none of the strays that Jamie rescues turn out to be boring, ho-hum types, hmm? 

Right now he's a bit of a contradiction though. I mean, he's supposedly three sheets to the wind at this pub, harassing the barmaids with a bizarre fetish, but then he's holding a rational in-depth conversation with Claire? 

I appreciate some of the thoughtfulness that's going into the character, and the attempts to avoid stereotypes so far, but that stretches the imagination quite a bit. For now, I'm going to reserve judgment, but I hope the writers find an even keel for Yi Tien Cho.

After (supposedly) coming clean with each other about the past twenty years, and meeting some of Jamie's new compatriots, Claire must have been shocked to find herself being threatened with rape...again.

Really, how does she keep finding herself in that situation? It's uncanny! 

Claire's penchant for running into the worst brutes Scotland has to offer isn't her fault this time though. I hope that she has some strong words for Jamie on Outlander Season 3 Episode 7 ("Crème de Menthe"). 

I did not come here to make love to you once. I came back to be with you.

Claire

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After dealing with the threat quite handily, Claire gets to show off her upgraded medical skills, but not everybody is impressed. Jamie really doesn't seem to grasp the concept behind the Hippocratic oath. 

He also really doesn't understand the concept of responsible adulthood, at least not when it comes to respecting other people's parenting methods. Claire will have to spell out why he's wrong about involving Young Ian in the smuggling business.  Hopefully, she can work out his motives behind doing so.

Speaking of Young Ian... His father comes looking for him! Yes, that means that Ian Murray is back. Is he going to buy the load of shite Claire's been peddling about running away to the colonies? He may be willing to let it lay, but I doubt Jenny will when she catches wind of her good sister's return!

Jamie: I couldna look at ye and keep my hands from ye, nor be near ye and not want ye.
Claire: Is that how you felt the first time we lay together?
Jamie: It's always been forever for me, Sassenach.

• Permalink: It's always been forever for me, Sassenach.

If you somehow missed "A. Malcom," you need to hurry up and watch Outlander online! Right now! Go! And don't forget to catch up on past Outlander reviews while you do your makeup work!

Once you've watched the requisite 37 times, come back and join the conversation below! 

Was the payoff worth the wait? Who is your favorite new character? Is Jamie even hotter with glasses? We want to know what you thought about the reunion to end all reunions!

Elizabeth Harlow was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She left the organization in October 2018.