Come sail over the sea to Skye with us this summer, as we take a trip through the stones to the first season of the television adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander book series. First published in 1991 with Outlander, Gabaldon’s multi-genre novels features the time traveling love story of Claire (Caitriona Balfe), a 1940s woman who finds herself out of time and place in Scotland in the era of the Jacobite rebellion. The U.S. pay TV network Starz debuted the Outlander TV series in 2014, with the show concluding its fifth season last year. In celebration of the ninth novel out this autumn and the sixth season of the TV series debuting in early 2022, we’re spending our 2021 summer vacation at Castle Leoch.
All good stories begin at the beginning, so let’s kick things off with the series premiere, “Sassenach.” Be warned that our recaps may contain spoilers for both the novels and the TV series.
It should also be noted that Outlander is very much an 18+ series, with graphic violence and sexuality throughout. Our recaps will include content warnings as appropriate.
1. Turn Up The Volume
One of Outlander’s most iconic aspects is its music, provided by Bear McCreary (known for Battlestar Galactica) and nowhere do we see that more in the opening themes. The lyrics are the Skye Boat Song, a poem about Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) from Benbecula to the Isle of Skye as after defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. (Strap in, a lot of this show is going to be a history lesson.) Vignettes of past and present flash before us on the screen, giving us a taste of what is to come, before returning back to post-war Scotland and 1940s big band on the car radio. This switch from past to present gives us a taste of the conflicting dual identities of Claire, a woman with one foot in the 20th century and another (as we’ll see by the end of this) in the 18th century.
Throughout the seasons, this basic structure of the opener remains, even as the background music changes to fit the era, suggesting that Claire’s search for permanence may be rooted in values and beliefs, rather than a place.
2. A Vase and a Hand
This TV adaptation is produced by Ronald Moore of Battlestar Galactica fame, someone who knows a thing or two about bringing a fan favorite to TV. He has to strike that balance between bringing on board new fans and those who’ve hung on Gabaldon’s every word since that first Outlander book in 1991. While Claire’s narration does its part to introduce us to her, husband Frank Randall (Tobias Menzies of Game of Thrones and The Crown), and their world, smaller moments add all sorts of context about characters and relationships. Jumping on the hotel bed and flashing some stockings while exploring a castle show Claire’s playful side that Frank appears to reluctantly embrace. Her longing for a vase captures that stability that evaded her all her life. But it’s her conversation with a housekeeper, reading tea leaves and her palms reveal a divided woman: an interrupted lifeline and a divided marriage line that forks instead of breaking. In the moment, it’s silly entertainment, something Claire tries to shake off after she leaves. But watching this show in retrospect, knowing what comes next in Claire’s journey, adds a deeper and perhaps darker tone to these scenes – – suggesting that what Claire is about to experience has been predetermined.
3. Let’s Talk About Sex
By airing on a pay cable TV network, Outlander can get more graphic with sexual situations than on conventional television. So we do get to see all aspects of Claire and Frank’s second honeymoon, their attempts to bridge the literal and metaphorical divide the war brought the newlyweds through sex. Of note is what I mentioned earlier: Claire as the initiator. There’s perhaps a double message at play here. One side of the coin is the contrast between womanhood of the 1940s and the womanhood of two centuries prior that Claire will soon find herself in. The other side of that coin is to show that the two of them did have a loving marriage, which is something that didn’t come across in the novels. I’m more inclined to believe the former over the latter. There’s certainly affection and both are willing participants in it, but it still rings one-sided and antiseptic.
Continued below4. The Subtle Supernatural
Outlander takes great care in “Sassenach” to strike the balance of the belief in the supernatural: showing that the pagan rituals it is a part of the life and culture of Highland Scotland, but without trivializing it or making the residents caricatures for their beliefs. Since this supernatural is such a tentpole of the series, it’s necessary in order for the viewer to accept the Randall’s acknowledgement of a supernatural presence in their lives, whether it’s for entertainment or something more foreboding. The latter is on clear display when Frank walks home from an afternoon genealogy research session and sees a man in the rain staring up at their hotel window. This man disappears before Frank (and the viewers) get a look at his face. Figuring it could be a man Claire treated when she was a war nurse, the moment leads to a brief argument between the marrieds, with Frank professing that no matter what she may have done during the war, he will always love her and forgive her.
Here is another moment where re-watching the show adds a new level of subtext. The man’s build looks very similar to someone Claire will meet very soon, and knowing a thing or two about that relationship Claire has with that person, one wonders if Frank will live up to that declaration of love, fidelity, and forgiveness.
One of these supernatural-infused moments also features some clever camera work. Claire and Frank watch an early morning druid ritual at Craigh na Dun from a respectful, quiet distance, and we see the ritual the same way they do: as voyeurs to what Claire describes as “something ancient and powerful.” Blades of grass criss-cross the foreground of the scene, with the stones of Craigh na Dun interrupting the view now and then as the light rises. With this angle, the ritual is paid the respect, mystery, and wonder it deserves – – and a few hours later, the impact the location has on Claire’s life cannot be denied.
5. Stumbling (Through the) Stones
“Shall I meet you for dinner later?”
With that question and a kiss farewell to her husband off on another genealogy adventure, Claire finds herself back at Craigh na Dun on the hunt for a flower she wanted to study. It’s not just the flower that catches her attention, but a breeze and strange sound draw her closer to the stones. A quick fade to black and Claire seemingly wakes up on the ground next to the stones. All seems logical (except for her missing car) until she sees soldiers in 18th century garb shooting. It’s not the filming of a costume drama (what she initially suspects) once she has a close encounter with some live ammunition. And her inability to see the lights of Inverness confirms her fears: she’s traveled through time.
This introduction to Scotland in the 1700s provides us a sublime bit of casting: Tobias Menzies in the dual role of Frank and Captain Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall, Frank’s ancestor. It connects Claire’s past and present in a subtle way, but still providing contrast between the two worlds as Black Jack Randall is the absolute antithesis of Frank.
For all her anxieties about her predicament, wartime has taught Claire to be resourceful. She uses her maiden name when she encounters the MacKenzie clan so they can’t trace her back to Frank, effectively sets a dislocated shoulder and a gunshot wound (both belonging to a certain Jaime Fraser), and quickly covers for the knowledge she knows from the future. If she’s going to survive in the 18th century, it’s all she’s got.
The Lost Papers of Black Jack Randall (Our Afterthoughts Section)
- The show’s premiere in the UK was delayed for nine months, not premiering until late March 2015. The November 2014 Sony Pictures Entertainment hack revealed that the delay may have been due to sensitivities around the Scottish independence referendum vote taking place in September of that year.
- The events of this episode correspond with the first three chapters of the Outlander novel.
- There are no subtitles for the Gaelic we hear in 1743 for a deliberate reason: Ron Moore wanted the viewers to identify and experience Claire’s unfamiliarity with her new situation. (Ironically, Caitriona Balfe speaks fluent Gaelic.) Continued below
- ‘Sassenach,’ the episode’s title, is the Gaelic word for an outsider, particularly someone of English descent. It’s often a derogatory term.
We’ll see you next week for “Castle Leoch,” and do let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments.
As of this writing, the first season of Outlander is available for viewing on Netflix, where seasons 2-4 are also available (except in the UK). In the UK, the show is available on Amazon Prime Video UK. All five seasons of the show are also available via Starz (in the United States).
