Outlander Review: If Not For Hope (Season 4 Episode 11)
Unlike poor Lizzie, Outlander Season 4 Episode 11, “If Not For Hope,” isn’t looking to jump to any conclusions just yet.
Despite the finale looming over Season 4, this episode doesn’t care to rush itself, nor does it care to get ahead of itself. It is safe to assume Outlander’s newest installment walks so the next two episodes can run.
“If Not For Hope,” takes on a lot of tedious plot developments but makes the best of its more lusterless moments with hope, wit, and the ever-charming Lord John Grey.
Brianna is showing but her pregnancy is far from the worst of her worries.
Jocasta arranges what can only be best described as a 17th century themed episode of The Bachelorette for Brianna and while the thought of Brianna being forced to marry an older man without even a rose or a decent salary for competing is horrifying, her time spent playing is quite entertaining.
I especially love the psychology game she plays with the men at the dinner table.
This little diversion offers a playful change of tone from the grimmer fate of Roger and invites a cheeky way of demonstrating Brianna’s character while making men uncomfortable — and who doesn’t love seeing men in petticoats squirm.
Outlander ushering in characters like Phaedre and Lord John Grey helps to compliment the uglier parts of Brianna’s brashness and self-loathing.
John is always a welcoming face and it is no surprise he steals the show once again simply by being present.
There is something wonderful about Lord Grey’s ability to convey everything he has to say in one simple look. Most of his conversation with Brianna at the dinner table isn’t even spoken out loud and yet it is easy to follow his train of thought as long as you don’t get lost in those beautiful eyes.
And we finally get to see John get a piece of the action with a steamy sex scene of his own. Much of Jamie and Claire’s romantic development hinder on these scandalously crafted scenes and it’s nice to see Outlander give John a proper moment with a man that is true to this show’s nature.
The best parts of “If Not For Hope” depend on sidelined characters eager to get back in on the action.
Fraser Ridge has been such an important part of this season that anyone outside of the land’s barriers can feel like worlds away and their storylines even further. So it is a refreshing change up to see Outlander dedicate a good chunk of the episode to Fergus, Marsali, and Murtagh.
It is always interesting to see a new dynamic introduced to the show and we have yet to really see Marsali and Fergus in an established family dynamic.
We also get to see Marsail put her own fears aside about the Regulators and offer her husband the chance to feel whole again. It’s even better to see Fergus turn the chance down to be a committed father.
Something tells me this simple decision will have a greater impact down the road for Fergus, especially if he is demonstrating early signs of depression, and yet there is an eagerness to see how this choice caters to the plot in the grand scheme of things.
Finally, we get some kind of development on the Regulators storyline and how Fergus has managed to get himself caught up in the cause. Unfortunately, this storyline is still overshadowed by Bonnet’s presence and is not nearly enough build up to Murtagh’s arrest.
Which is why the best of this episode also demonstrates the worst of this episode.
The need to throw all these mismatched storylines in at the final hour feels offputting and tedious in its conviction at times where screen time falls to storylines that have not properly been developed.
The formatting of this episode is much like the layout of This Is Us with multiple stories taking place at one given time.
From what that show and parts of this episode can demonstrate, when this kind of hodgepodge formatting works it’s amazing but when it doesn’t it feels like a scattered jigsaw puzzle — a puzzle with matching pieces spread too far apart to fit together at times.
None the less, when “If Not For Hope” finds its groove everything seems to come together.
Coming full circle from the premiere with Claire, Jamie, and Ian back on the road but this time under darker circumstances is a nice touch and one that helps round out this back half of the season.
This episode has high hopes and strong execution. Here’s to hoping the remaining episodes show as much spunk and unpredictability as Brianna did at that dinner table!
What did you think of this episode of Outlander? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Outlander airs Sundays at 8 E/P on STARZ.
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Alicia Gilstorf
Alicia is a writer from Canada. She credits her passion for TV and film to superheroes, workplace comedies, cheesy holiday movies, and coming-of-age stories. Keep a lookout for her coverage of Ghosts.