Outlander: By the Pricking of my Thumbs Books Included
April 12, 2015 10:36 PM - Season 1, Episode 10 - Subscribe
Jamie hopes the newly arrived Duke of Sandringham will help lift the price from his head, while Claire attempts to save an abandoned child.
While the story is still moving in the same direction as the books, there were a few rewrites to events in this episode: Laoghaire's treachery is more obvious. The paternity of Geillis's unborn child is more widely known. A duel is fought, followed by a less civilized brawl. Collum is really pissed at Jamie. A legal document bearing Claire's signature becomes part of Black Jack's history.
In other news, the sex is back to sexy non-violence.
While the story is still moving in the same direction as the books, there were a few rewrites to events in this episode: Laoghaire's treachery is more obvious. The paternity of Geillis's unborn child is more widely known. A duel is fought, followed by a less civilized brawl. Collum is really pissed at Jamie. A legal document bearing Claire's signature becomes part of Black Jack's history.
In other news, the sex is back to sexy non-violence.
the duke is such a delightfully obnoxious buffoon, so i assume he turns out to be a very terrible character indeed.
posted by poffin boffin at 10:48 PM on April 12, 2015
posted by poffin boffin at 10:48 PM on April 12, 2015
There were so many differences from the book this episode, I found it hard to stay caught up in the show itself. Aside from all the Sandringham stuff, I don't remember anything about book-Dougal's wife, or that he was actually in love with Gellis or that anyone knew about the pregnancy yet. And Claire got tricked into going to visit Gellis by an appeal for her healing skills, not just a vague "I need you" note. Considering what happened the last time she ignored Jamie's 'stay put' directive, the show-note didn't seem like enough of a reason for her to leave the castle.
Maybe it was the lack of voiceovers that made this episode feel so off for me. I guess they didn't go back to Claire's narration because there were too many scenes that she was not a part of? I missed them though, really hope they bring them back next week.
posted by oh yeah! at 5:17 AM on April 13, 2015
Maybe it was the lack of voiceovers that made this episode feel so off for me. I guess they didn't go back to Claire's narration because there were too many scenes that she was not a part of? I missed them though, really hope they bring them back next week.
posted by oh yeah! at 5:17 AM on April 13, 2015
Book-Dougal's wife did die, and there is a scene where Claire asks if Geillis killed her, too, and Geillis says something to the effect of, "I didn't have the chance yet but I was planning on it."
I was not a very big fan of this episode. The differences from the book were too much for me, and I too miss Claire's voice. I read somewhere yesterday that they included all that stuff with Sandringham and the duel because during this period in the book, they're all off hunting and we don't get any details about what's going on, so they felt like they had to make things up to bring that part of the story into focus. Fair enough, I guess, but I still didn't like it. Although it was nice to see Jamie kicking some swordfighting ass. And I do like the Sandringham casting.
posted by something something at 5:53 AM on April 13, 2015
I was not a very big fan of this episode. The differences from the book were too much for me, and I too miss Claire's voice. I read somewhere yesterday that they included all that stuff with Sandringham and the duel because during this period in the book, they're all off hunting and we don't get any details about what's going on, so they felt like they had to make things up to bring that part of the story into focus. Fair enough, I guess, but I still didn't like it. Although it was nice to see Jamie kicking some swordfighting ass. And I do like the Sandringham casting.
posted by something something at 5:53 AM on April 13, 2015
I find I end up liking the show much better on my second or third viewing (uh, I kind of have a problem), the first time I am too distracted by the differences from the book. I didn't like this one at all on Saturday night, but enjoyed it more last night. I feel like it doesn't work that well as a cohesive episode, though. I liked a bunch of individual scenes, but overall it was a kind of slow and just moving people around to get them into place for next week or future plots. Dougal's massive freak-out didn't really work for me, but the Duke was spectacular. Also, now in the middle of the night Claire was able to sneak out of her bed and bedroom with Jamie sleeping (presumably? doesn't he sleep super lightly and wake up leaping for his dirk at the slightest hint of something amiss?), and she also got out of the castle unseen, but this was totally impossible when she was actively trying to escape earlier in the season? I know I need to suspend my disbelief, I just didn't love the whole Geilis dancing in the moonlight bit, and the logistics of Claire being there seemed a stretch.
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 6:03 AM on April 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 6:03 AM on April 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I am definitely going to watch it again because I agree on the uncohesiveness. I thought it was unclear why Claire went to see Sandringham at all - nothing really happened in that scene. How did she get there? And where is this giant English manor so close to Castle Leoch? More voiceover would have helped there, and also when Claire seemed hesitant to sign the document describing Randall's crimes. Surely she was considering there that if Black Jack were killed, Frank might never exist - but I feel like that implication would be lost on people who hadn't read the books.
posted by something something at 6:30 AM on April 13, 2015
posted by something something at 6:30 AM on April 13, 2015
The voiceover on this show is the worst. Claire is like something out of R Kelly's Trapped in the Closet, constantly narrating for the audience things that are clearly visible on screen.
Also, this episode went to the "ladies sure be psycho about their men" well a bit too often for my liking.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 8:57 AM on April 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Also, this episode went to the "ladies sure be psycho about their men" well a bit too often for my liking.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 8:57 AM on April 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
I have been watching every episode at least twice too, because I want to get every possible nuance of every possible scene. I have seriously read the books around once a year since about 1998. I...have a problem.
It feels like, in general, everything is stepped up a notch from the books. Collum and Dougal's tensions in the books are niggles compared to the show. Collum's concerns about Jamie as heir to the chieftainship are more muddled in the show but certainly their relationship is way less friendly. Geillis' little hints to witchcraft are SO much more overt. I don't know how much of it is a need to telegraph stuff to non-readers and how much is just a natural transition to TV, but it does grate at times. Geillie is much cooler in the books, even at her most dastardly. And it would be nice to have her trying to figure Claire out, like in the books, because everyone has just taken her at her word despite being this weird, opinionated independent and educated woman who curses a ton.
I can see too how they're setting up the Jamie/Laoghaire thing in the future by REALLY REALLY emphasising how much Claire doesn't want them together, so that's obviously going to be massive later.
The Claire/Sandringham thing wasn't clear at all. I figured she was doubtful about Jamie's written statement having any effect (and she was right), but it was interesting that her go-to was blackmail. She's playing a pretty risky game, using BJR against him.
Having said that, I actually kind of loved the Duke, aside from the instant dumping of his second after leaving him to defend his own character and then get attacked by three of those nasty McDonalds. Typical McDonalds.
posted by tracicle at 10:45 AM on April 13, 2015
It feels like, in general, everything is stepped up a notch from the books. Collum and Dougal's tensions in the books are niggles compared to the show. Collum's concerns about Jamie as heir to the chieftainship are more muddled in the show but certainly their relationship is way less friendly. Geillis' little hints to witchcraft are SO much more overt. I don't know how much of it is a need to telegraph stuff to non-readers and how much is just a natural transition to TV, but it does grate at times. Geillie is much cooler in the books, even at her most dastardly. And it would be nice to have her trying to figure Claire out, like in the books, because everyone has just taken her at her word despite being this weird, opinionated independent and educated woman who curses a ton.
I can see too how they're setting up the Jamie/Laoghaire thing in the future by REALLY REALLY emphasising how much Claire doesn't want them together, so that's obviously going to be massive later.
The Claire/Sandringham thing wasn't clear at all. I figured she was doubtful about Jamie's written statement having any effect (and she was right), but it was interesting that her go-to was blackmail. She's playing a pretty risky game, using BJR against him.
Having said that, I actually kind of loved the Duke, aside from the instant dumping of his second after leaving him to defend his own character and then get attacked by three of those nasty McDonalds. Typical McDonalds.
posted by tracicle at 10:45 AM on April 13, 2015
"She's playing a pretty risky game, using BJR against him."
But that was weird, because the mention of Black Jack only momentarily fazed Sandringham and it was her asking about the jacobite gold that pressured him into reconsidering. But that doesn't make much sense as a threat, given that she'd be betraying Dougal if she disclosed this to the crown.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:28 PM on April 13, 2015
But that was weird, because the mention of Black Jack only momentarily fazed Sandringham and it was her asking about the jacobite gold that pressured him into reconsidering. But that doesn't make much sense as a threat, given that she'd be betraying Dougal if she disclosed this to the crown.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:28 PM on April 13, 2015
I'm liking this show a lot but I really wish Claire/Catrina would have more than two facial expressions - sex face and worried/mad face. Sometimes the latter is for the former. I mean I kind of got the sense that book claire was having some fun.
posted by bluesky43 at 7:43 PM on April 14, 2015
posted by bluesky43 at 7:43 PM on April 14, 2015
Sandringham figures into non-Claire scenes in The Exile; he wears clownish tartan and narrowly misses being killed by a boar.
posted by brujita at 5:07 PM on April 15, 2015
posted by brujita at 5:07 PM on April 15, 2015
I watched this episode last night in my preparatory rewatch for Season 2 and I liked it a lot more than I remembered.
I'm pretty sure they added the written legal complaint against Randall, complete with Claire and Jamie's signatures, so they can have Frank find it as evidence that Claire's story is true. It's never been clear in the books how and what Frank discovered, but this is an easy way to verify the whole thing, and it's plausible he'd even run across it by accident in researching his own ancestry.
posted by something something at 7:03 AM on March 21, 2016
I'm pretty sure they added the written legal complaint against Randall, complete with Claire and Jamie's signatures, so they can have Frank find it as evidence that Claire's story is true. It's never been clear in the books how and what Frank discovered, but this is an easy way to verify the whole thing, and it's plausible he'd even run across it by accident in researching his own ancestry.
posted by something something at 7:03 AM on March 21, 2016
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Hello, patriarchy. We have porn too! Get over it!
posted by olinerd at 10:42 PM on April 12, 2015 [2 favorites]