Episode 712: Carnal Knowledge

Is this perhaps the most Lord John we’ve ever had in one season? Yes. Am I complaining? Unequivocally not. Brace for impact, let’s revisit Episode 712.

Warning-Contains spoilers from Outlander Episode 712: Carnal Knowledge.

This whole episode hinged on David Berry saying *that line* (the one with the “f” word, in case you are wondering) with as much passion and anger as required by the source material, and I’m happy to report he more than delivered. And, listen, we can definitely understand Jamie’s side of things (especially if you read the novel, which gives quite a bit more context for his inner thoughts), but I’ve always been Team Lord John on this one. Jamie was dead. Claire was bereft. Lord John is a good guy. The end?

Well, not quite. Because then we wouldn’t have a story. But I wish we had a bit more of the story? I was admittedly a bit disappointed that Jenny wasn’t secretly waiting at the bottom of the stairs in the William-Goes-Berserk scene. No Hal, no Dottie. No Patience or Prudence or Benedict Arnold. Which…I get it. This episode encompasses a whopping twenty-five chapters of Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, so cuts had to be made…I suspect the production budget would have been blown out of the water otherwise. But I missed Claire kidnapping an asthmatic Hal.

But what we got was still a fantastic episode. Like other Outlander episodes that focus on themes of identity (The Garrison Commander, Blood of My Blood), most of this hour involved two-person scenes reminiscent of a play—Jamie and Lord John, Claire and William, William and Jane, Jamie and Claire, etc.—all of them seeking to understand. Carnal knowledge in this episode applies to its more obvious sexual definition, but also to the knowledge one has of their own self. Carnal derives from the Latin carn, meaning flesh or corporeal, and our characters this hour ask questions about who they are and where they stand…what is the meaning and purpose this body? Who am I (or what are we) if our understanding of it has changed with new knowledge?

Knowledge is enlightenment but it is also dangerous, as demonstrated by the apple tree symbolism during the title card. Eve sought enlightenment and was tempted by the forbidden fruit, but with that knowledge came an understanding of shame and pain and fear. As a confused William stumbles around Philadelphia this episode, we see those same emotions spring from his own enlightenment. The truth…the carnal knowledge…has upended him. And one could potentially argue that the “fall from grace” for this whole mess began with Geneva…wasn’t she a woman, like Eve, desperate for knowledge? However extremely flawed she was (and I previously wrote extensively about her here), she was ultimately a woman who wasn’t content to spend the rest of her life in a gilded Eden. Since Genesis, it seems, it is carnal knowledge that upends us all.

What then, this episode appears to ask, do we give up to make space for that new knowledge? Indeed, nearly every scene this hour involves the “giving up” of information, people, objects, or emotions. Secret messages are passed, physical objects change hands, and friends are passed to foes. When an exhausted William ultimately finds himself back in Arabella’s room, he emotionally seems to have given up as well.

William and Jamie’s stories mirror each other this episode, and soon after William flies off the handle we see Jamie do the same—William smashes a chandelier and Jamie smashes Lord John’s face. They are both angry and confused, unsure of where the revelation of carnal knowledge leaves them. And while Jamie’s age buffers him from too significant of an identity crisis, Lord John’s confession does put a wrinkle in the timeline of Jamie and Claire’s marriage. Then again, what else is new…I suppose Frank might have a few words to say on the matter.

In any case, Jamie hands Lord John over to a dubious and bloodthirsty group of Continentals—a friendship, given up. They, in turn, hand Lord John over to Colonel Smith, who in turn handcuffs him and considers hanging him. But not before having the camp surgeon examine him, who luckily turns out to be Denzell Hunter, who in turn sneaks Lord John a knife with which to free himself.

William glowers around Philadelphia, self-labeling himself as a bastard because there is a certain comfort in self-pity. There is also comfort in a brothel, and we are introduced to Arabella (wonderfully played by Silvia Presente) who undoubtedly has more strife in her life than William and is thus somewhat humored by his petulance. That is, until he throws yet another tantrum in her room and destroys her dress and a wine decanter.

On the outskirts of the city, Jamie is processing his new knowledge while simultaneously delivering new knowledge to Daniel Morgan, who in turn delivers Jamie to George Washington, who in turn conscripts Jamie into service for the Continental Army. This is an interesting parallel to Lord John’s story, as both men are ultimately handed over to officers who bind them in different ways—Lord John is literally bound and Jamie has once again become a soldier against his intentions.

But, really, you can’t say no to George Washington, especially after he remembers you from a single meeting eight years ago. Remember that horrible play, he laments to Jamie? Listen, George, there are worse things that could happen to American presidents dragged to mediocre plays by their wives.

William’s mood goes from bad to terrible when he runs into Ian and Rachel the next day and discovers that not only are they betrothed, but they knew about William’s parentage all along. This is just too much for William, who lashes out at both of them and turns Ian over to British soldiers. And that makes our third character this episode handed over to the military.

Ian catching a glimpse of Jamie (and realizing he is alive) as he is escorted away was a very sweet moment. As he did in Blood Of My Blood, Jamie cowers William into behaving and securing Ian’s release.

Feeling even more morose, William finds himself back at the brothel, nauseatingly listening to Captain Harkness extol the pleasures of rape. And to ensure that Jane doesn’t have to endure Harkness’s sadism, he hands over his gorget to the madam, who in turn hands Arabella over to William.

And Arabella, whose name is actually Jane, provides William the company he didn’t know he wanted. He has fallen from grace—emptied of his heritage, his military insignia, and his identity—and she provides a salvation of sorts.

The concept of salvation carries forward when Jamie returns to Chestnut Street to confront Claire. But she asks for understanding, not forgiveness. Jamie also seeks to understand, needing the details of what transpired. Here he is asking for the knowledge of the incident—the carnal knowledge—because he seeks the enlightenment that knowledge will bring. Unlike most other things in this episode, this marriage is one that will not be given up.

Claire touches on a theme of this episode early on, when she diplomatically tells William that Geneva and Jamie loved each other as best they could. And ultimately that is the knowledge this episode asks us to understand—we learn to love each other as best we can. Because human beings are messy and we have all fallen from grace. We all carry the burden of that original sin. We are petty and jealous and irrational and we often hurt the ones closest to us. But when we have given up that which is important—friends, lovers, identity, independence—we fight to get them back. And we try to love each other as best we can.

Sláinte.

Screencaps provided by Outlander Online.