TV Show Review

TV Review: OUTLANDER: Season 2, Episode 4: La Dame Blanche [Starz]

Stanley Weber Caitriona Balfe Outlander La Dame Blanche

Outlander La Dame Blanche Review

Starz’s Outlander La Dame Blanche TV Show Review. Outlander: Season 2, Episode 4: La Dame Blanche belonged to Le Comte St. Germain (Stanley Weber). Though in the background of many scenes in La Dame Blanche, Le Comte was the central player, pulling strings in the shadows for and against other characters and situations, none more so than Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe).

The groundwork for Claire’s poisoning was well-laid by the second episode of this season. When it happened, the viewer wasn’t sure if it was a miscarriage or not until they saw the Le Comte’s face and his complete lack of reaction to a woman in distress. Le Comte was high-born thus he might bypass coming to the aid of a plebeian in need but Claire was patrician yet he did nothing. Quite to the contrary of assistance, Le Comte had a curious detachment to what was transpiring, like a bored spectator watching a gaming event (which was ironic since the incident happened in a highfalutin gaming room and Le Comte was, in fact, a bored spectator at a chess game).

As an inquisitive viewer, I have a question about Claire’s damaged carriage wheel. Was Le Comte behind it? Looking at what happened afterwards, it was the only thing that made sense. Le Comte knew they would walk back to Claire’s residence, taking the most straight-forward route, and had men laying in wait. Those men were there, waiting for Claire (supposition at this point). That attack was not random (supposition). Instead of killing Murtagh Fraser (Duncan Lacroix), they bludgeoned him. They were told to do that (supposition). It would have been far easier to kill him yet they persisted with knocking him out so they could have their way with Claire and Mary Hawkins (Rosie Day), their true targets (supposition). Had Le Comte told the men to beat and rape Claire and Mary or were they taking ‘liberties’ with the sexual assault? The viewer was not expecting Rose to be violated but like with Jaime’s rape, Outlander proved itself to be no fairy-tale à la Game of Thrones. Rose’s rape will completely change her outlook on life, her budding romance with Alex Randall (Laurence Dobiesz), and her betrothal. She will not be able to look at any of those situations the same again.

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Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan)’s rejuvenation in La Dame Blanche following the news that Captain Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall was still alive was completely unexpected. Jamie’s head was far more level than anyone gave him credit for up to that point.

La Dame Blanche‘s grand dinner party, similar to the one in Frank Herbert‘s Dune in that different groups came to the table with differing agendas, was the entertaining event the entire episode had led up to. When the sitting arrangements were disclosed, it was an extreme test of will-power between Le Comte and Claire as their battlefield had narrowed to mere inches, suffused with pleasantries and idle conversation. Both showed their fangs but neither flashed them fully for the world to see, especially with other closely-listening dinner guests around them.

The crescendo of La Dame Blanche was a ludicrous brawl which had the effect of making light of a serious event some of the participants believed they were fighting over. It was comical but perhaps on purpose by the episode’s writer, Toni Graphia, because of the terrible events of the episode. He probably wanted to end the episode on a lighter note but imagine Game of Thrones attempting the same maneuver i.e. awkwardly shifting tone to humor after a poisoning, an archaic surgery, and a rape had transpired. It reminded the viewer of the gigantic narrative misstep in the finale of ShamelessLove Songs (In the Key of Gallagher) episode. The spectators to this event in La Dame Blanche saw no reason to stay and discreetly withdrew from the Fraser household. As a viewer, I saw no reason for this event to have happened at all. The episode’s ending would have been served better with a serious finale.

Leave your thoughts on this Outlander La Dame Blanche review and this episode of Outlander below in the comments section. For more Outlander reviews, photos, videos, and information, visit our Outlander Page, visit our Outlander Google+ Page, our TV Show Review Facebook Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, or “like” us on Facebook for quick updates.

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Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
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