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Meit all started with a vase. “I never lived long enough to justify having something so light,” said World War II nurse Claire Randall in the story, as she looked at one in a shop window during her wedding in Inverness. At the time, I didn’t want anything in the world like having my own vase. Did she buy it and live happily ever after with her beloved husband, the professor, Frank? What the heck! Instead, Claire discovers a magical magic circle, falls into the 18th century, falls in love with the hot Scot Jamie Fraser and embarks on an epic TV adventure.
Twelve years have passed since the adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander books gave us the time travel we didn’t know we needed. You can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief for its stars, Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan, whose chemistry has been growing amazingly in eight months (it took 17 months to film the first post-Covid). As it approaches the end of this week, the end is too late – but it’s goodbye to an amazing show.
At its inception, Outlander was the perfect seasonal drama: well-known, brave; continuous shooting of the Highlands; critical attention to history; cunnilingus in the ruins of the palace. But this magical twist in its first episode opened the story up to go bananas. And – in Claire’s words – “Jesus H Roosevelt Christ”, he did!
I gasped in disbelief when the first villain of the series, British warlord Black Jack Randall, was not only the parent of Claire’s first husband, Frank, but was also played by the same actor, Tobias Menzies. (She was also sad, obsessed with Claire’s new husband, Jamie, who eventually abused and raped her – but more on that later.) Fortunately, Claire is a woman who can navigate around such shocking situations. It’s also a walking, talking book – which is very fortunate for someone trying to survive the sticky terrain of history.
He and Jamie do everything they dream of doing together: escape from a witch trial; trying to stop the Battle of Culloden; moving to Paris to trade with the king; living 20 years apart; reunite, survive shipwreck and settle in Carolina; prepare for the invasion of America. Despite all this, these two still look like supermodels well into their 60s! But it’s the little moments, too: Claire playing Jamie’s life; Claire shows the wonder of wax to Jamie (your pot of honey?” he asks, confused. “You have given birth!”); Claire accidentally discovered penicillin 200 years before Alexander Fleming. The only thing that the two disobedients cannot do together is time travel: only Claire can go back and forth across the rocks, which caused such a long distance.
Beyond being entertaining, there’s a lot to honor Outlander, from Emmy-winning costumes to digging deep into the politics of the times it brings us. Jamie and Claire’s unwavering connection, however, is what makes the show. Yes, there is a lot of sex – the scene of the wedding night alone, in which Claire teaches the virgin Jamie how to make love, left fans lighthearted (“I said I was a virgin, not a monk”). But how delightful it is to see two horned people head over heels and completely equal in relationship: “Oh Sassenach, I am your master, and you are mine,” says Jamie. (Sassenach, Gaelic for English outlander, is Claire’s name.)
That said, a lot of criticism has, rightly, been leveled at Outlander for its performances. rape. From the moment she arrives in the 18th century, rape is a constant threat to Claire – then, in the winter season, she is raped by a group of men. And it’s not just Claire: the whole episode focuses on Black Jack who tortures Jamie, then in the series young Fergus is raped, as is Claire’s daughter Brianna. Balfe said that the play “perhaps (is) not always successful” but he stands by the decisions that include such issues: “I don’t think you can imagine that these things don’t happen.”
Such criticism has not stopped Outlander from becoming a global phenomenon – its first series has been distributed in 87 territories and is the largest with US audiences. The prequel series, Blood of My Blood, launched last year – and a 10-minute sex video – and the second season is in production. VisitScotland says “Outlander Effect” has increased its tourism activities in the past decade. Recording location report that visitors have doubled – and some say 60-fold. Outlander’s legacy is undeniable.
What about that last story? Indeed, I got out of Outlander in the fifth season, after an episode proved to lose the plot (they find a cabin in the forest and it plays like a horror series on Netflix). But this is a show I have a soft spot for so I used it as a litmus test for potential partners. Show me the best Jamie and Claire moment and I will cry for hours. I have an Outlander mug that I got on a trip to Linlithgow Palace. I’ve talked to a star a few times and had to keep it together, when I asked her what a good day she was having Scotland if it was, Heughan hosted an alfresco fish dinner in Skye. (That was when I went from vegetarian to pescetarian.)
So, out of nostalgia, I’ve been watching the last series. Although now it is slowly slowing down, with sexual images suitable for yawning, the absurdity continues: Jamie and Claire – in a way – met a young girl who believes that she is their granddaughter, which means that their daughter, who was thought to have died in Paris decades ago, survived … Mountain. Will this be his destiny? Thoughts are swirling on the Internet – maybe Claire will resurrect him (hopefully not as it was last time), or his magical appearance in the first episode will finally be explained.
This is Outlander, though. Anything could happen. There are only two last things I ask for: a return to Scotland and a final declaration of love for Sassenach.
