Editor’s note: This article was submitted for publication Fall 2018. This is a late upload.
By: MacKenzie Taylor
The Starz series, “Outlander,” finished airing its third season back in December of last year. The show is based on the “Outlander” novels by Diana Gabaldon. The series stars Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall, an English combat nurse from 1945. The series opens with Claire on her honeymoon in Scotland with her husband, Frank Randall, played by Tobias Menzies. They visit the ancient stone circle of Craigh Na Dun, and when Claire touches one of the stones she is thrust back into the time of highlanders in 1743 Scotland.
Upon her arrival, she has her first encounter with Captain Jack Randall, an ancestor of her husband who is also played by Tobias Menzies. Captain Randall, otherwise known as Black Jack Randall, is a captain in the English army and has quite the nasty reputation across Scotland. He tries to assault Claire upon their first meeting, but Claire is rescued by a member of the MacKenzie Clan. She is taken to a small cottage where a group of Scotsmen are waiting, and here she meets Jamie Fraser, played by Sam Heughan. Jamie, a young man in his early twenties is a wanted fugitive. He has endured brutal whippings at the sadistic hand of Black Jack on two different occasions, and has been hiding out with the MacKenzie Clan ever since. Claire is suspected to be an English spy, so she is brought back to Castle Leoch where the rest of the MacKenzie Clan resides, and is forced to work as the castle’s healer. Claire is desperate to get back to the stones and back to Frank, but matters become complicated when she has to marry Jamie in order to be protected from being handed over to Black Jack as English property.
My sister has been telling me about “Outlander” for years, but I always just brushed her off and assumed I wouldn’t like it. I finally agreed to start watching it with her at the beginning of August, and I was proved so very wrong. This show is fantastic for so many reasons.
The first thing that stands out to me is the casting. Heughan and Balfe have the best chemistry out of any TV couple I have ever seen. The connection between the two of them is so believable, and when they fight it is raw and real. Claire and Jamie as individual characters have just as much intrigue. Claire is an extremely intelligent woman, and her skills are really put to the test when she has to lie convincingly about who she really is and where she comes from. Jamie has been through a lot in his life, and by the end of season one he is just this tragic and broken character. Heughan makes you believe Jamie’s inner turmoil, and you can really see just how affected he is by what’s happened to him.
Menzies is another cast member who just makes me adore this show. When he’s playing Frank, all you can see is Frank, and vice versa when he’s playing Black Jack. It’s the same face on two vastly different characters, and Menzies fully commits to both roles. There are times where Black Jack just makes you want to crawl out of your skin because he’s such a sadistic and twisted character. It’s such a contrast to the devastating character that Frank becomes after losing Claire. Menzies plays both characters flawlessly, and I sometimes found myself still holding onto Black Jack even when Frank was on screen.
This show is filmed on location in Scotland and this really adds to the believability. They shoot in various kinds of weather and conditions and really don’t shy away from all the mud and grime of Scotland. The locations are truly breathtaking and they fully immerse you in the show. The costumes on the show add to the immersion because they are so detailed and fit in perfectly with the different time periods. The soundtrack that accompanies the show is absolutely gorgeous and the timing of the music is always perfect.
I went into this show not having read the books, and some of the things that happened really caught me off guard. Certain events even resulted in verbal outbursts of surprise, rage, sadness, or sometimes all of the above. This show had me hooked from episode one, and I love the journey that Claire and Jamie have taken from when the show started to where they are at the end of last season. I highly, highly suggest checking out this show because it is unlike anything else I have seen, and the acting and atmosphere building is top notch. I would honestly suggest “Outlander” to anyone who is looking for a new series to watch, regardless of what genres you usually watch because it has a little bit of everything. Season four of “Outlander” starts airing Nov. 4 on Starz.