Ep 1. The Battle Joined

The Battle Joined is the first episode of the third season of Outlander. The episode opens with a harrowing scene where we see the Battle of Culloden, where the Scots are being defeated by the English. We see Jamie (Sam Heughan) fighting on the front lines, and we know that he is one of the few Scots who will survive the battle.

The episode jumps back and forth in time, as we see what the characters have been up to in the years since the battle. We see Claire (Caitriona Balfe) in Boston in 1948, still trying to make a life for herself without Jamie. She has married a man named Frank Randall (Tobias Menzies), and they have a daughter named Brianna (Sophie Skelton). But we can see that Claire is still haunted by her memories of Jamie, and she feels like she will never truly be happy without him.

Meanwhile, back in 1746, Jamie is lying injured on the battlefield. He is badly wounded, and we see him struggling to survive. The battle scenes are intense and brutal, and we get a real sense of the horror of war.

Eventually, Jamie is rescued by some of his fellow Scots, and we see him struggling to recover from his injuries. We also see that the aftermath of the battle is just as brutal as the battle itself - the English are killing any surviving Scots they can find, and Jamie is forced to hide out in a cave for weeks.

Eventually, he is discovered by some English soldiers, who are surprised to find that he is still alive. They take him to a nearby farmhouse, where he is treated by a young French woman named Claire (yes, we've seen this name before). Although this Claire is not the same as the Claire we know and love, we see that Jamie is drawn to her nonetheless.

The rest of the episode is mostly spent focusing on Jamie's recovery. We see him struggling to come to terms with the loss of his friends, and we see him grappling with the fact that he is now a fugitive. We also see him begin to remember his time with Claire, and we know that he is still deeply in love with her.

Overall, The Battle Joined is a powerful and emotional episode. Although it is difficult to watch at times, it is also a reminder of why we love this show so much. The performances are outstanding, and the writing is just as strong as ever. We can't wait to see where the season goes from here.