It is an intriguing story. Outlander follows the story of Claire Randall, a combat nurse, who is on her second honeymoon in Scotland with her husband Frank, when she accidentally travels 200 years back in time to the 18th century through some standing stones and finds herself in the middle of the Jacobite Uprising. Once there, she has no option but to marry, and later fall in love with, a Highlander called James Fraser. Claire has to come to terms with life in a different century before she has to go back and deal with the life she had left behind, once again.
The book series on which the story is based was inspired by Doctor Who. Diana Gabaldon, the author of the series, has said that she first started writing Outlander after watching an episode of Doctor Who which had Patrick Troughton, the second Doctor, and a Highlander assistant called Jamie McCrimmon, who James ‘Jamie’ Fraiser was inspired by. Who doesn’t want to watch a show inspired by Doctor Who?!
The show is developed by Ronald D. Moore... oh, you know, just the man who helmed the majorly successful and cult-favourite Battlestar Galactica series.
The characters are the focal point of the show, especially since most viewers already know the outcome of each incident and it isn’t easy to keep up the suspense. Not only did the book series start in 1995, the events in history are also written on stone. So what the show does is stick to the historical events and the fantasy fiction and leaves it up to the characters to draw in the viewers, a task that they perform brilliantly.
Claire Randall/Fraser is an inspiringly strong female character. She was a nurse during World War II and when she is displaced to a time when women were little more than homemakers, she refuses to be relegated to the kitchen. She earns the respect of the people using her nursing skills and is never afraid to speak her mind, even when she knows she won’t be seen in a kindly light. She is not afraid to stand up for what she thinks is wrong and it is a pleasure to see a character who is sexually empowered and is the one who is the more knowledgeable and skilled one in all things sexual.
Caitriona Balfe, who plays Claire, is the perfect choice for the part. She is a fantastic actress who brings so much fire, spine and pain into the character of Claire. It is a treat to watch Caitriona’s on-the-edge performance of a woman torn between two worlds and two men. Oh and she is ethereally beautiful.
Jamie Fraser is a king among men. Charming, rougish, well-built, loyal, protective and completely in love with Claire, he is not someone you’d expect in 18th century Scotland. He treats Claire with respect and values her opinions, and he is ready to go through anything to keep her safe. He doesn’t care if she is not a virgin. As he says, “as long it doesna bother ye that I am”. And when Claire tells him the truth about herself, he chooses to believe her, despite the element of time travel.
Sam Heughan, who plays Jamie, is not only gorgeous, he is a fantastic actor too. You could tune into the show just for him. Tall and strapping, with a head full of fiery ginger hair (that wig could be a reason by itself), pretty blue eyes, and a body to die for. But don’t go just by looks, he plays Jamie well too. Never once does his romance seem silly, or his valour superficial and that scene where he is raped by Black Jack Randall and the days after is just traumatic to watch.
The chemistry between Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe is phenomenal. There is no show on television at the moment that can compete with the chemistry between Jamie and Claire. Yes, move over Jon and Dany, we have a new ship sailing. So powerful is their romance in the show that it is difficult to believe that they are not seeing each other in real life. That farewell scene at the end of season two, where Jamie and Claire part so that Claire can go back to the future to give a safe place to their yet unborn child will tear your heart out. That’s the kind of romance we want.
There is a lot of sex and it is scorching hot. Jamie and Claire have a lot of sex and none of it feels gratuitous. Maybe it is the extension of that chemistry we talked about, but there is no way you are not going to get hot and bothered watching them at it. Whether it is the awkwardness of first sex on their wedding night, Jamie’s first oral sex, or make up sex, it is all incredibly steamy. And the best part is, that unlike Game of Thrones, the nudity is pretty equal for men and women.
The costumes are great. There is just something about men in skirts, and there is plenty of kilt-wearing strapping men in the show. Once it moves to France, there is of course the charm of period French costumes.
Tobias Menzies’s breakout double act as Frank Randall and Black Jack Randall. You cannot help feel for Frank, the husband who loses his wife one fine day and gets her back three years later pregnant with another man’s child, whom he accepts and brings up as his own. And you cannot but loathe his ancestor Black Jack, the man who is the very definition of evil. Whether he is sexually assaulting a woman, or raping Jamie or a young boy, or flogging people to an inch of their lives, he is a difficult man to watch. And Tobias steps between the two characters effortlessly.
The supporting characters are also people you get invested in. Whether you are hating Dougall MacKenzie for being a prick to Jamie and Claire, laughing at Angus Mhor and Rupert MacKenzie’s antics or awed by Murtagh Fraser’s loyalty, there is no way you are not going to be affected by their fate.
There is a lot more to Outlander than romance. There is enough intrigue, battles, blood and gore to make even Game of Thrones fans happy. Especially the second season which moves to France and is literally a game of thrones, with princely plots being hatched in brothels and crazy kings.
It is shot in the gorgeous countryside of Scotland. The show, even without the beautiful people in lead, would be stunning just for the locations. Excellent cinematography adds to the allure.
The show has some famous fans, including A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, who is a very vocal fan of the show. “If you haven’t been watching OUTLANDER, you’re missing a terrific TV series. Gorgeous to look at, and the performances by the three leads are terrific,” GRRM wrote in his personal blog.
Giving it more geek credentials than having the man behind Battlestar Galactica at the helm is the fact that William Shatner, Captain Kirk from Star Trek, is also a fan.
Chandreyee Chatterjee
New episodes of Outlander Season Three are now available for streaming on Netflix every week
