Outlander season 5 episode 10 review: Justice for Bree

Outlander’s “Mercy Shall Follow Me” finally closes the book on Stephen Bonnet once and for all, but it fails to give Brianna the justice she deserves.

Trigger warning: “Mercy Shall Follow Me” contains rape and sexual assault, which are mentioned in this review.

First thing’s first: Stephen Bonnet is dead and so is the god-awful storyline revolving around him. Maybe Outlander can finally, once and for all, stop using rape as a plot device. But before we dive into that, let’s discuss how we got here.

Back in season four, when Brianna first traveled through the stones and made her way to America, she crossed paths with Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speelers) in an attempt to get back Claire’s wedding ring, which he’d stolen when he had previously assaulted her.

Bonnet has been portrayed as almost cartoonishly, one-dimensionally evil. His hatred and violence toward anyone who crosses paths with him seem rooted in nothing more than a sense of “this is how men behaved in the 18th century.” And the stories revolving around him seem to be rooted there as well, a reminder that the past was a dark and unsafe place. (Which, yes, it was. But also, this is a show that has time travel in it. We can fantasize a little.)

In comparison with the show’s original villain, Black Jack Randall, Bonnet is not rooted in the central conflict with the government or Claire’s romantic entanglements in her past and future. Bonnet really is nothing but evil.

Then, suddenly, in “Mercy Shall Follow Me” there’s an 11th-hour attempt to humanize him that feels lazy at best and gross at worst. The episode begins with Bonnet and Jocasta’s attorney, Forbes (Billy Boyd), scheming to get a legal claim of Jemmy in order to steal River Run.

Meanwhile, Jamie and Roger have hatched a plan of their own. With the help of the very weird and creepy Mr. Wylie, the Frasers plot to have Young Ian pose under Jamie’s old moniker of Alexander Malcolm and meet up with Bonnet under the guise of smuggling whiskey.

But, when Bonnet’s men show up, Bonnet isn’t with them. At the same time that Jamie is realizing how sideways things have gone, Claire and Bree are foraging on the beach for naturopathic supplies when, of course, Bonnet shows up.

A perfect storm of chaos. In a completely unsurprising turn of events, after knocking out mother and daughter, Bonnet takes Bree hostage.

Bree wakes up with no clue where she is with Bonnet suddenly playing the nice guy, telling her he wants to do right by her and be a father to his son (Jemmy), proving this by giving her a dress and a box of creepy old-fashioned (though, modern for the 1700s, I guess) toys for Jemmy.

The next 12 hours basically play out like Beauty and the Beast if the Beast were a rapist, too, and not just a kidnapper. Under the guise of teaching him to be a proper man so they can be together, Bree “reads” Bonnet Moby Dick. (In reality, she basically recites it from memory. He can’t read, so he doesn’t know the difference.) There’s supposed to be some deep metaphor here about who the monster is, the hunter or the hunted.

But this really isn’t something that should be debated with a character that has been so singularly evil up to this point, treating every woman in his sight as nothing more than an object at best and a sex puppet at worst.

It is a great performance by Sophie Skelton once again, as limited as the material is. You can tell she is keeping everything boiled right under the surface, restraining all the fear in her eyes. It also showcases Bree’s smarts, something we’re just now starting to see since she’s really only been a character in contrast to the people around her.

Thankfully, Bree manages to avoid going to “bed” with him, buying her more time alone to hatch a plan. At breakfast the next morning, she tells him she wants to go to Jemmy and bring him back so they can all be together.

He seems to believe it and says he’ll go to Wilmington and find them a place and that they can seal their promise with a kiss. Brianna takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as she kisses her rapist in order to save herself and her son.

But somehow, it’s not convincing enough, and he can tell she’s lying because of the kiss. (Eye-roll.)

And then, Outlander chooses not only to retraumatize Brianna but to retraumatize any survivors of assault and rape who may be watching by forcing Brianna to hear/watch Bonnet have sex with a prostitute after he turns on Bree.

There are many things that have upset me this season, but this is easily the worst choice the show has made. Jamie’s rape storyline was handled so sensitively and thoughtfully. It was really progressive and unique and unlike anything else I’ve seen on television.

Unfortunately, Brianna’s is the epitome of the rape-as-plot-device trope. Every ounce of her character has been formed through the people around her (her fathers, mother, Roger, and now her rapist) that the showrunners almost have no choice but to give us the male gaze on her trauma, too.

However, if we lived in Brianna’s head and voice in this episode rather than go through the pathetic attempts to humanize Bonnet, we could actually learn new and unique things about a character who has been underserved.

Thankfully, the Frasers are hot on the trail and soon find Brianna through the brothel the prostitute works at, just in time to save Brianna from slavery. (Yes, that actually happened. No, I don’t want to talk about it.)

While so much of Brianna’s healing was focused on Jamie and Roger’s vengeance, she at least gets to decide how to handle what happens to Bonnet once they finally capture him, deciding he needs to face justice (and die with the help of Tryon who still owes them one for accidentally hanging Roger).

The final moments of the episode reveal that Bonnet has been sentenced to die by drowning, a death that will hopefully lead him to suffer, as he was afraid of the sea, or something. (Again, eye-roll.)

But, of course, we know that won’t really be the end. After a tight shot of Bonnet’s face (with some good acting from Speelers as he panics, then looks shocked for a moment), there’s a gunshot to his head and he dies once and for all. FINALLY. The camera pans to reveal that Brianna is holding the rifle.

Even though Outlander wants us to believe that Bree got justice by being the one to shoot Bonnet, she was still so removed from the final chapter of this story. Surviving rape and assault isn’t as simple as shooting the attacker in the head. Closure takes years and is an ongoing, lifelong process.

To add to this, we didn’t even get to see Bree deliver the death blow, and thus, experience her catharsis. Instead, the final moments of “Mercy Shall Follow Me” focused on Bonnet’s face as he drowned alive, then the surprise as Bree came to the beach to kill him.

Bree herself is silent once again at the end of the episode. Instead, Roger asks, “Was that mercy or to make sure he’s dead?” (I mean, it didn’t need to be said, Roger. We can deal with ambiguity.) Bree doesn’t answer, and she shouldn’t have to. But it would be nice to hear how she felt instead of all these men around her.

Outlander airs on Sundays at 8 p.m. on Starz.