#malva christie

[twistedshipper]

🌿Jessica Reynolds as Malva Christie in Outlander 🌿

[cajon-desastre]

Sometimes it's hard to tell what derails a train and with life, it is the same.

Sima B. Moussavian. As the moon began to rust

[gotham-ruaidh]

Did Clair and Jamie ever figured out how Malva knew about his scares on his back and especially his burn mark on his left chest? I mean C believed J didn’t do what he was accused of, bu those details must have pussled them

It's implied in A Breath of Snow and Ashes that she somehow watched Jamie bathe outside in a stream, which is how she saw his scars.

In the series, we do see her watch Claire and Jamie get...busy in the barn, so presumably that's when she saw them.

[outlander-online]

From LionsGate on IG :

“Outlander, but make it horror (I’m scared.)”

[thewingedwolf]

MALVA DIED BECAUSE SHE LOVED CLAIRE. THATS WHO SHE LOVED ALL ALONG, NOT HER EVIL FATHER OR HER TWISTED BROTHER OR EVEN IAN OR JAMIE, IT WAS CLAIRE WHO SHE FIRST FELT AND RECEIVED REAL, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE FROM

[ocegion]

I think one of the worst offender cases of protagonist-centered morality in Outlander is Tom Christie.

Tom Christie is a character who is, in a lot of senses, a puritan religious fundamentalist. He believes joy and happiness are stuff of the devil, basically, and he abuses his daughter Malva because she fails to fully comply to his beliefs. He physically abuses her, states repeatedly that she's a witch, a whore, pretty much a demon and I don't think he made any attempts to hide any of this from her. He literally states she was hell-cursed from the womb, because her mother was a whore and a witch who deserved to be executed. When Malva died, he refused to let her be buried in the church graveyard because it would be unfair to poor christian people to have such a vile presence next to them.

But. It turns out he liiiiiiikeeeeeeeees Claire (yass queen slay) so like. Well he can't be such a bad guy right? And the show does, on more than one ocassion, clearly present him in a sympathetic light, Because liking the protagonist is, clearly, a far more relevant thing than abusing his daughter, as far as the show is concerned.

There's a scene with him saying that his late wife was, quote, a witch and a whore who didn't deserve his love, but Claire does. Meanwhile, the show plays soft melancholic music on the background. I believe this says it all.

[cookie-de-baunilha]

people placing malva christie side by side with characters like bonnet and BJR and people believing percy wainwright to be evil are in fact MY villain origin story

i’ve been in the TRENCHES for these two don’t even try me

[ladywynneoutlander]

That's a wrap on S6E3, Temperance!

These thoughts on the episode contain SPOILERS from the books and likely season 7! 🚨

I find myself thinking of women, and the choices they have to make. Marsali chose to struggle with children alone rather than enable Fergus's drinking. It worked out in the end, but she couldn't be there for him and the babies, and it nearly cost Fergus's life.

Claire is choosing to keep her trauma to herself and it is damaging her and driving her to unhealthy outlets.

Malva is trapped in a home where she is degraded by one man and the object of unhealthy obsession by the other. She seeks escape through manipulation and deceit rather than confide in those who could possibly help her.

Brianna isn't a focus of this episode, but we've seen her talents be dismissed. Yet she continues to be herself.

I don't know where I am going with this, except that each one of us makes choices for ourselves that ripple outward into our homes and communities, and because of that each of us are so important. Doing for yourself by asking those around you for help isn't actually selfish, because that self-love could prevent ripples of pain from ever reaching those around you.

I hope that makes some sense. I think I agree with Mr. Christie that fiction is valuable indeed, especially as a catalyst for thought and discussion.

Have a great weekend. Hope you join on Sunday for episode 4.

Lots of Love 🧡,

LadyWynneOutlander

[heatherfield]

Confession: I never watched episodes 6.07 and 6.08 of "Outlander" last year. I knew they were intense (since I'd read book 6, "A Breath of Snow and Ashes") and I kept putting it off. Before I knew it, season 7 has already started.

I meant to read "An Echo in the Bone" ages ago but I'm finally reading it now, and it's fun to return to this world—plus, it's become a kind of tradition of mine to read an "Outlander" book in the summer. I'm about 2/5 into "An Echo in the Bone" and I'm enjoying it so far (although I'm not a huge fan of the Lord John Grey and William sections, ngl, at least right now).

But yeah, I finally watched episode 6.07 a day or two ago and it starts off with Claire over Malva's murdered body and I'm like yikes, no wonder I was putting this off 😂. But there's also some levity and breathing space even as Claire is dealing with her demons. I always like seeing Brianna and Roger, and it's nice when they aren't having to deal with a crisis of their own for once. And Lizzie and the Beardsley twins are in a pickle and it's kind of funny to see that Claire and Jamie have very little patience for it all.

It is very strange to see Archie and Mrs. Bug as just a normal part of Fraser's Ridge, having read all of "A Breath of Snow and Ashes" and the first part of "An Echo in the Bone." And I'm also soaking in the gorgeous Big House set because I love it and I love Fraser's Ridge and I'm sad to see it go. 😭

Also, how is the shoot-out and the Big House burning down two separate incidents?! I think I've blended them together in my memory.

Jumping ahead to book 7: I immediately recognized the name Beauchamp, and the book spells it out very clearly that he (Percival?) could be Claire's ancestor. BUT, I took an embarrassingly long time to recognize the name Randall. RANDALL. How the heck did I miss that one?! I am happy to see to see Alex and Mary's child come back (I'm assuming), and Frank's ancestor. I wouldn't expect anything less. I also love seeing Bree and Roger and their family at Lallybroch in 1980. ❤️ I'm veeeeery curious to see what their story is for the next three/four books since I really have no idea what happens for them. I also love the idea that Roger's father might have been lost through time.

Meanwhile, shit's about to go down in episode 6.08. 😭😭😭 I'm kind of glad I don't have to wait for season 7!

[twistedshipper]

from the start, they knew you were wrong.

[always-outlander]

Outlander 7x02 Thoughts & Easter Eggs

Spoilers below the cut for “The Happiest Place on Earth”

Wow, what an episode! There’s so much to unpack here but I will start by saying that I deeply enjoyed this one. A lot of direct from the book dialogue, some plot that was reworked and-in my opinion-for the better. Brilliant acting by many but especially Sam and Cait. It had a lot squeezed into it but let’s get into it.

Alan Christie

To start, we finally had the resolution for Malva and learned that Alan not only assaulted and abused her for her entire life, but was also the one who killed her. This was such a sensitive storyline and to have those flash backs with Malva made me emotional. Jessica Reynolds is a wonderful actress and her Malva was perfect. This scene was the first one I could feel the pain point of having to end season 6 prematurely. The gap between Malva’s death, followed by the hiatus, to now reach the culmination here almost made the impact of Malva’s death take a back seat to the beginning of these new storylines. You can feel that 7x01 and 02 were meant to be a part of that ending, but what can you do 🤷🏻‍♀️ that’s me being nit picky.

But back to Alan. This was almost exactly what happened in the books and I was happy that Young Ian made such a brief appearance. That spacing between episodes likely made people forget that he had a little romance happening with Malva, but his honor once again rang true with his actions here.

Major continuity error with Claire’s wig though– only when she is burying Alan does her hair grow 3 inches, then magically is cut again for the remainder of the episode.

Mrs Bug

Book readers know the upcoming storyline with Mrs. Bug, and we set the foundations this episode when Wendigo and his men come to the Big House in search of gem stones. There they uncover Arch Bug’s hidden gold (which is very significant later on). I loved seeing this preview of what is to come.

Mandy’s Birth

Amanda Fraser is born and we get a very quick moment of happiness for this little family, when the hammer drops that she has a serious heart condition that Claire cannot fix. This is the impetuous behind the MacKenzie’s and the Frasers separating for what I assume will be majority of the season. The scene with them all at the stone circle was very touching and I felt like Cait and Sam’s acting shined brightly here. The best part for me was the quote from Jamie taken directly from the books where he tells Claire

“For your sake, I will continue–though for mine alone…I would not.”

I also deeply enjoyed the Disney tie ins from the book, the humorous moment where Jamie tries to understand how a giant rodent is meant to be fun for children, and his wishes to Jemmy to give a mouse named Michael his regards. All direct from the books, and delivered perfectly.

Bree meets William

The moment we’ve (I’ve) been waiting for, WILLIAM has graced our screens. Though it was short, I squealed when I saw him and Lord John together, especially him in his red coat. You can certainly see the resemblance and while we have yet to see his acting chops on full display, Charles appears to be a perfect casting. He has the cocky confidence of a young Jamie Fraser down pat, I’m curious to see what other nuisances he brings to the role.

Lord John and Jamie

This scene was touching and so well done, Sam and David have always had such great scenes together and really made this relationship between these two men such a beautifully complicated thing. John has long been trying to convince Jamie to do the right thing and fight for the British, but you can see his true intentions here more than ever. If Jamie fights for the British, he can protect him. When Jamie chooses to fight opposite John and William, he knows he cannot.

In a last act of love and friendship, John returns the gem to Jamie from his escape at Ardsmiur. Something we know meant so much to John. His love for Jamie will always win out in the end, and I loved that the scene had room to breathe at the end. John crying alone in his room, and Jamie’s pause outside the door and his watery eyes was perfectly done.

Claire’s Breakdown

In the last scene of episode 1, Claire and Jamie have a discussion about Tom Christie and his confession. In the show, they chose to end that scene with Claire going to sleep while Jamie takes revenge on Richard Brown (and what a badass scene that was). In the books, the moment ends with Claire and Jamie trying to be intimate again, and Claire having a breakdown.

The show has now taken that scene and moved it into episode 2, which actually felt a lot better to me having watched it this way. I was sad that this moment was removed from episode 1 but beyond happy to see it here because it was another wonderful showcase of Sam and Cait’s acting and Claire and Jamie’s love. In the books, Claire cries because she is sad for Tom, for Malva, for Frank. Jamie tells Claire to weep for them because you “canna keep a ghost at bay. He tells her to let them in and grieve for them so she can heal.

In the show, Claire cries for the loss of her family –Fergus and Marsali, the MacKenzies, and Jamie mentions Faith, Murtagh, his mother and brother. They have both lost so many, and he encourages her to cry for them. To me this was so much more poignant and relevant to the events of the episode. I really loved this change.

The Throwing of the Gem

Another iconic scene the we finally got to see brought to life was when Jamie gives Claire the gem stone and tells her that she can go with Bree, or go back if he should die. The acting in this was so perfect and in the books, Claire throws the stone far into the woods to prove to Jamie once again that she is never leaving him. I enjoyed his little jab that she should probably go and recover it.

Wendigo Donner

The return of Wendigo Donner finally closed the loop on the big house fire, and I’m so excited to see how the beginning of episode 3 starts. The highlight of this scene for me was the callback to season 3, when Claire is pretending to be abducted so that Jamie can get what he needs from Lord John Grey. In this scene (and in the books) Jamie is lying to Donner about not having gemstones in the house, but then changes his tune once Claire’s life is in danger. He leans into the ‘disgruntled husband upset with his wife’ tune and tells Donner that Claire hid all the stones while he was away, so she is the only one who knows there location (thus making it impossible to kill her). The humor in Claire’s eyes made me laugh in an otherwise tense scene.

We get much of the same dialogue and story beats as the books here but the one subtle change happens when Jamie finds out that the man in their house is in fact Donner and not some random group of men looking for money. As soon as he hears his name, he lunges for Donner to seek revenge on what he had done to Claire.

In the books, Claire slips out of Donners arms and lunges after him, with Jamie holding her back at the waist. They try to plot an escape but one thing leads to another and Jamie actually kills Donner with a knife before the ether explodes. In the books, it is because Young Ian lit a match to help illuminate the dark room everyone was sitting in. Big change, subtle change, but one I’m interested in seeing them explain next episode.

All in all I loved this one, I’m enjoying the changes made and the pacing of this felt better than the first episode. Would love to hear your thoughts!

[sassenach77yle]

That blackened day...

Mistress Fraser told us what she would have said about Malva at her funeral. I won't have a eulogy, and I don't know what sort of burial awaits me. But... I do wonder what you might have said about me.

Tom...

Please.

I would say that Thomas Christie was an honorable Scot...

a leader of men in his own way, though he didna ken quite where to lead them. Stubborn as a damned mule... but despite our differences, a man I respected and whose respect I hope I had in return.

Season 7 episode 1 ~ I life well lost.

[thewingedwolf]

i can appreciate thomas seeing in claire and jamie, two thoroughly improper people who have lived sinful lives, basically every virtue he has ever held dear and being completely unsure of how to move on from his whole world being turned upside down but also, i just do not like this man at all he suffers from aunt jocasta syndrome which is when we take this really heinous aspect of someone’s personality and ignore that, it’s just window dressing, and give them an arc that is about something completely different and we never deal with or even acknowledge that a core part of this person is just being a super evil piece of shit.

what i will say is that i appreciate that despite all the harm malva did to claire specifically, claire is still loudly and stubbornly in that girl’s corner. she sees so clearly that nothing but evil has been done to this child her whole life and even as thomas is giving his last confession, she will not let him paint malva (and her mother, also clearly a victim of abuse) as the whore to claire’s own madonna. shuts it down every time he tries it, even as she’s begging him not to confess. claire’s capacity for compassion is really amazing but also her dedication to defending the women around her makes me love her.

[gotham-ruaidh]

I was wondering if you could share your thoughts and guesses on the season 7 tittles

Well, the first batch of episode titles were released a few weeks back:

As to what comes to mind for each of them:

The conclusion of the Malva storyline

Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth. There's a beautiful scene in A Breath of Snow and Ashes where Brianna and Jem and Jamie are talking about Mickey Mouse. And when the MacKenzies go back through the stones, Jamie asks Jem, if you see a big mouse named Michael, please give him my regards

Death Be Not Proud - that's the title of a sonnet by John Donne. Makes me wonder if this is the episode where we'll see the Big House burn, along with Donner's return (and death)

Tom Christie calls Claire this, in An Echo In The Bone. I doubt he'll still be in the picture by then, but I can see just about any man using this phrase to describe Claire

No earthly clue

Crossing the ocean to Scotland? Saratoga?

Return to the 20th century to see the MacKenzies all happy. This "practical guide" is something we see Roger and Brianna talking about in An Echo In The Bone

This *has* to be Claire returning from Scotland, and receiving word of Jamie's death. Meaning we get the marriage with Lord John. The awkwardness. I wouldn't think the season would end on a down note - so perhaps the final scene is the one I've been dying to see since the series was announced: [Lord John] "I have had carnal knowledge of your wife." [Jamie] "Oh? Why?"

[contemplatingenjoyingoutlander]

OUTLANDER EPISODE 702: Two villains meet their untimely ends

Watching the second episode of season 7, I realize how much I've missed the show. They packed a lot into this episode. There were all the feels associated with Amanda's birth, the MacKenzie family saying goodbye to Jamie & Claire, Wille and Bree meeting at last, and Jamie severing his relationship with Lord John because of the war.

But there was plenty of dark drama too, starting with Allan Christie's confession and death, and ending with the Big House on fire.

So I thought I'd take some time to dissect the tangled paths that led two Outlander villains to their deaths in this episode--and to consider the choices that some Outlander protagonists made regarding these villains.

Ian's Retribution for the death of the "bairn" he once thought was his

Episode 702 started with a death, which proved to be apt foreshadowing for its ending.

Allan Christie's death in this episode is very much like the one in the book. Alexander Vlahos brought a good mixture of sleaziness, despair, and infantile anger to his portrayal of Allan.

Cait deftly portrayed Claire's enormous frustration at being put in a situation where she had to stop a man from killing himself, whom she probably wished would die for his crimes.

Finally, John Bell as Ian fully embodied his role as a Mohawk warrior. He was believable in how he stolidly disposed of Allan for having killed the "bairn" he had originally thought was his, but which he still thought "deserved to live." There was nary a sign of the carefree, mischievous lad Ian used to be. (Sadly there was also nary a sign of the boy who was distraught when he thought he accidentally killed someone in the print shop fire.)

Allan Christie was a horrible human being, who had gotten away for years with the incest of his sister Malva, and eventually with Malva's murder and the death of her unborn bairn. [The flashbacks illustrated the creepy brother-sister story perhaps too well--I was extremely uncomfortable watching them.]

Furthermore, Allan's attempt to hide his guilt almost resulted in Claire being hung for a crime for which she was innocent. It also indirectly led to his father's sacrifice to protect Claire.

Still, Claire, ever the physician who takes her oath to preserve life seriously, went above and beyond the call of duty by wrestling the gun away from Allan before trying to talk him out of suicide.

But Claire's valiant efforts were in vain because Ian made the decision to step in and grant Allan his death wish.

Ian's code of justice comes from both the Scottish Highlands and the Mohawk nation; therefore, he does not appear to have any qualms about taking the life of a murderer.

But there are issues I had with Ian's decision, besides the ones I have about his playing judge, jury, and executioner.

Although I agreed with Claire's decision to try to stop Allan from killing himself, I had issues with Claire's suggestion to Allan that he run away.

What I wished had happened is that Ian and Claire had worked together to take Allan to justice. In doing so, they could have cleared Tom's name. Even if they believed that Tom was dead, his memory deserved not to be tainted by a murder he did not commit.

However, I do appreciate that Claire felt that Tom's sacrifice had also (probably unwittingly) spared his son from having to die for Malva's murder. I don't think Tom knew that his son had killed Malva, but the end result was that Allan was free. Claire clearly thought it would have been a waste of Tom's sacrifice, if his son took his life.

Yet, I still wish that Ian in particular had chosen a different course of action, one that didn't involve Ian and Claire having to dispose of the body.

The irony could not have been lost on Claire that she had just escaped from an unjust charge of murder for one Christie, only to go on to help Ian cover up the murder of another Christie.

Both Claire and Ian were lucky that Mrs. Bug decided to help them rather than turn them in.

Wendigo Donner: The man who lost his moral compass in an uncaring past

We saw Roger in episode 701 meet Wendigo Donner, another time traveler, who had come back to help the 18th century indigenous people avoid the genocide that was to come. Unfortunately, Donner's plans went awry, and he ended up becoming a criminal, who didn't do anything to help Claire when she was kidnapped.

Brennan Martin as Donner did a good job of showing just enough of the decent man that Donner used to be to get the kind-hearted Roger to take pity on him.

Fortunately, Bree talked some sense into Roger, and he decided not to help Donner. We don't know what Donner would have done, if Roger had helped him to escape. But most likely, the end result would have been the same.

Despite Donner's crimes, Roger was sympathetic to him, because he felt guilty for some of the things he himself felt compelled to do (or not do) after going through the stones.

Still, Roger never lost himself to despair, anger and selfishness like Donner did. That's because the love of Bree, Jemmy, Claire, and Jamie helped to provide him with a moral compass as he confronted many of the hardships of living in the past. (It probably also helped that Roger was a minister's adopted son.)

Although it is clear that Donner had unselfish motives to travel to the past to help the indigenous people, when he arrived in the 18th century he was truly alone. The rest of "the Montauk Five" weren't with him--or weren't alive.

Unfortunately, unlike Roger, Donner never found a caring group of people in the 18th century to provide him with a moral compass to help him avoid losing his way, as he struggled with the difficulties of living in the past.

Over time, whatever concern Donner had for others took a back seat to his own needs, gradually corrupting him, and tragically leading to this:

The Big House finally did burn down on December 21, 1776. Not on January 21, 1776 as had been recorded. The colonial newspaper had gotten the date wrong.

The epicenter of all that the Frasers had built on the Ridge went up in smoke with the careless lighting of a match. A match that didn't belong in the 18th century, wielded by a man who didn't belong there either.

Still, I'm glad the show's writers made one change from the book in this scene. In the book, it was Ian who lit the match and accidentally caused the ether to explode (after Donner and his gang had been captured).

But it is far more fitting that the show's writers decided to literally show that it was Donner and his selfishness that ultimately made everything go up in flames at the end of his life--and of this episode.

[edited]

[cookie-de-baunilha]

me spreading the pro-malva christie agenda in 2023