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[Warning: The following contains spoilers for the latest episode of Outlander. Read at your own risk!]
Outlander‘s central couple Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) Fraser have been through every trial you could think of, from war to natural disasters to even being separated across time. While they’ve had various nemeses over the course of the series so far, no single person has caused the couple as much torment as Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) did — at least until now, that is.
The Season 4 premiere of Outlander introduced viewers to the pirate Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speleers). At first he seemed merely like a down and out thief who ended up on the wrong side of the British imperial hammer, and he used Jamie’s own outlaw past and distaste for the British to gain the Frasers’ trust. But after the couple helped him escape from the noose, Bonnet returned to rob the Frasers of their possessions — including Claire’s wedding ring — and murder one of the crew members in the process.
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“I think he is a real manipulative opportunist,” Balfe told TV Guide. “He’s driven by greed.”
This experienced manipulation is what makes Bonnet so dangerous. When Black Jack was introduced in the Season 1 premiere, it became immediately obvious how villainous he was by his attempted rape of Clair during their first encounter. From that point on, no one let their guard down around him. Randall constantly surprised viewers with how dark he was willing to go, but you always knew whenever he was around that our heroes were in danger, even if you didn’t know just how bad things would get.
Ed Speleers, Outlander
While Black Jack will likely always remain the most evil person to come into Jamie and Claire’s lives, Bonnet will challenge them in a way that they haven’t been before. Other enemies of the Frasers, like Geilis (Lotte Verbeek) and Comte St. Germain (Stanley Weber), provided inconvenient obstacles for the couple, but Bonnet is the first person since Randall capable of psychologically and emotionally haunting them; although his methods couldn’t be more different.
For the most part, Claire and Jamie were aware of where they could expect to encounter Randall (his surprise arrival in Paris being an exception), and his role within the British forces required him to adhere to strict behavioral codes while in public. Bonnet, on the other hand, is subject to none of these guidelines. He can waltz in and out of Jamie and Claire’s lives as he pleases. And as an outlaw, he’s not restricted by any etiquette or decorum, even in the public eye.
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It also remains unclear exactly what the pirate wants. He put in a lot of effort to return for Claire’s rings, and while a solid gold and a solid silver band probably fetched a pretty penny in 18th century, were they really worth putting together a crew, tracking the Frasers down and killing a man to get? It seemed like Bonnet did it more to hurt the people who saved his life and prove to them that he could and would take whatever he wanted. But if that’s the case, what else does he want?
That looming question makes Bonnet a real wild card, which is something that Jamie and Claire haven’t had to deal with before. But they’ll have to figure out to how to handle him, and fast, because they’re looking after more than just themselves now. And according to Balfe, Bonnet’s return will wreak havoc on their entire family, which goes beyond anything Black Jack was capable of doing.
“He ends up infecting this entire family,” Balfe teased.
Outlander continues Sundays at 8/7c on Starz.
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Source : TVGuide
