IR TV Review: OUTLANDER - BLOOD OF MY BLOOD - EPISODE 4 (“A Soldier’s Heart”)[Starz]
The progression of "Outlander: Blood Of My Blood" is bathed in its own mythology but what makes it work even more compared to its predecessor is the seamless mix of how the two couples passing each other in the night and helping each other start to work. With Episode 4 entitled "A Soldier's Heart", the essence of survival on one side with Julia (Hermoine Corfield) and Henry (Jeremy Irvine) and other in the blossoming of the forbidden romance of Ellen MacKenzie (Harriet Slater) and Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy) is key of course. The functionality of whose parents they actually are is part of what is happening. What it also brings into play is the mythology of the fairy element which (though extraneous filters)n is the reason everything happening.
Both Henry and Julia in their own way use their knowledge practically when they can from 1914 which oddly informs their survival in 1714. Julia and Brian's progression actually speaks to the core of what the story is, of two different times speaking eye-to-eye but understanding their hearts will never intertwine and yet it feeds the story perfectly. This episode contains some of the best acting of the episodes so far since it is settling into the subtext of what people want versus what they can actually achieve. Obviously in this time period, the women have it much harder in terms of the power plays being made. But this is not "Game Of Thrones" and operates in more romantic gestures than that other series. While it scrapes the edge of razor, it won't step over the line because it does need to feed a certain romance despite the circumstances. Granted the notion of greed beyond their control or purview has the ability to corrupt absolutely but hopefully love can win out. A-
By Tim Wassberg
