Outlander Season 3 Episode 1, “The Battle Joined,” may be nearly the perfect episode of Outlander. Mary and Blake break down Culloden, Jamie and Black Jack Randall’s silent final fight, Rupert’s goodbye, and Claire’s impossible restart with Frank.
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Full spoilers for Outlander Seasons 1-3, including Wentworth, Faith, Culloden, and Black Jack Randall’s death. Content note: This episode discusses Black Jack Randall’s violence, sexual assault, abuse, and the trauma he causes Jamie and Claire. We discuss those events through the lens of story, character, and adaptation, not to excuse or romanticize them. In this…
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Diana Gabaldon makes reference to “trust” more than 60 times in the first two books of the Outlander series alone. (Trust me, I used Kindle Search to count.) It appears in all manner of references, like this simple-yet-powerful declaration Jamie makes to Claire in Outlander:“I decided to trust you instead.” Considering that trust is defined…
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Full spoilers for Outlander Seasons 1-3, including Wentworth, Faith, Culloden, and Black Jack Randall’s death. Content note: This article discusses Black Jack Randall’s violence, abuse, sexual assault, and the lasting trauma he causes Jamie and Claire. We discuss those events through the lens of story, character, and adaptation, not to excuse or romanticize them. Black…
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Outsiders don’t fit in. That is their key characteristic. They fly solo through life. As humans, we conform to the expectations of the group(s) we belong to as this makes it easier to fit in and be accepted. But not everyone does so successfully. Like a dark thread in the weft of a plaid, outsiders…
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Please do NOT leave this page; not just yet. Yes, this piece is about the F word, so sit down and bear with me because I just had to run the gauntlet of the bored expressions of the first class passengers as I headed to my tiny space allotment in coach, measured in mere inches,…
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Written by: Anne Hawkinson It’s summer, the heat index is unapologetic, and we’re in the very real throes of Droughtlander. What’s an Outlander-obsessed gal to do but hibernate indoors and commit to re-watching every episode. . . again? I just hope my DVDs don’t melt in the player from overuse. On one of my many viewings,…
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Full spoilers for Outlander Season 2, Episode 13, “Dragonfly In Amber.” This discussion is spoiler-free for the books, but full spoilers for the television episode. I’m just going to say it plainly: “Dragonfly In Amber” is simply a breathtaking episode of television. That is the review. That is the thesis. That is the whole thing….
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Full spoilers for Outlander Season 2, Episode 12, “The Hail Mary.” This discussion is spoiler-free for the books, but full spoilers for the television episode. Quick answer: Outlander “The Hail Mary” works because Claire and Jamie are still making desperate plays, but the season has reached the point where history is closing every door. Jamie…
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Full spoilers for Outlander Season 2, Episode 6, “Best Laid Schemes.” This discussion is spoiler-free for the books, but full spoilers for the television episode. Quick answer: Outlander “Best Laid Schemes” works because every plan Claire and Jamie make finally turns against them. They tell Murtagh the truth, fake smallpox to sabotage the wine deal,…
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