Outlander TV Series - Why the Hype?

Hello, dragonflies! 

I'm quite liking the process of discovering hyped things and writing "Why the Hype?" articles - I'm thinking that I can call my hyped book reviews that as well! Make it a little series of sorts! 

SO A few months ago I was really bored with what was on Netflix - I wanted a good series. Having watched basically all of Sasha Alsberg's rave videos on Youtube about a certain series, I got curious and started it. 

I started watching Outlander... 

And finished watching it in about a month. Seasons 1-4 inclusive. Considering that each episode is near an hour long. 

I have no life now do I? 

Going through the internet (and following fan pages) about the series, I noticed that it's reputation is mostly based on the romance aspect. And sure it's a part of it. But there's so, so much more, and I hope that no one decides not to watch the series 'because it's romance'. 

So in today's post I'm going to just talk about Outlander, and try to give a few points explaining why the series is so hyped. 

Sing me a song, of a lass that is gone, say, could that lass be I? 

For those of you who don't know, Outlander is the story of Claire Randall, a nurse coming home after World War 2, who goes on a second honeymoon with her husband Frank. On their trip to Scotland, she somehow goes through time, to 1760's highlander Scotland, a few years before a deadly battle at Culloden. She gets taken in by MacKenzie clan where she meets James Fraser, who she marries for safety reasons. This is about their journey through time and space, visiting different countries in a surprisingly active moment of world history. 


Let's start with what the media seems to highlight: the romance. 

Now I'm not someone who particularly likes intimate scenes in tv. I've skipped some way explicit parts. But sometimes, just the chemistry between the two main characters Claire and Jamie (Jamie omg) was just so incredible! You can feel the love between them, if it only be from a glance they share, the sacrifices they make, or their comfort around each other. There's some lines in the show that absolutely made me feel things in the same way that a good quote in a book does, for example words shared between Tessa Will and Jem. "I've become jealous of the rain itself" is a line that Jamie says to Claire at one point in season 4, for instance, when they're been apart for a long time. - My heart did a thing at that point, hahah! Their togetherness is something that transcends everything and I can only hope to find a Jamie someday. Ugh the feels <3 

Oof my heart

Next bit: The history

This show has taught me so much! It may not be 100% historically accurate, but the show does an incredible job of raising awareness of this time period. I loved learning about the Highlander lifestyle, there was something so mystical about it that just makes me want to visit Scotland asap. The times in France were fascinating. In seasons 3 and 4 things turn to the Caribbean and the United States: for me it was a slightly less bunch of episodes, but it still did an incredible job of raising awareness of the American slave trade and origins of racism, including why it was such a tricky problem to solve, as well as the whole settlers way of life and discovery of the country. 

I personally really loved the presence of the Native Americans. In my opinion, the show really showed a good story behind them: they were neither glorified or degraded with was really nice to see, as there is a really big problem in the states nowadays with the few Natives there are left: many are being so marginalised it hurts to read about. 


And now: the brute honesty

This show is full of trigger warnings: murder, rape, torture, heartbreak, beatings, racism, as well as some smaller trigger warnings for the squeamish people: broken bones, blood, surgeries, sex, etc. 

This show shows (no pun intended) the way the world was in the 1700s, and, in many ways, still is. It didn't sugar coat things, especially in the first season. The very end of season one was probably the darkest, most unsettling thing I've ever watched. I was heartbroken and sickened and was trembling for a good 2 hours afterwards. (Screw you Black Jack). 

Usually this stuff really turns me away from a book or show. It's one of the reasons The Perks of Being a Wallflower really didn't appeal to me. However, this is very well balanced with the incredibly happy times, funny moments and heart warmth. 

I guess I enjoyed the honesty because so many modern shows tend to sugarcoat 'bad things' in life. We can all pretty much understand that in the 1700s, women had less power, racism was more exploited, and slaves were 'normal'. Sure. But this show did good in not being afraid of showing the darker sides of these truths, but in smaller, manageable examples. These were usually surrounded by good events. It was also genius-ly balanced by Claire's reactions. As a modern woman she mirrored our surprise seeing the extent of racism, for example, or the horror of abuse. She served as a really good mirror for my thoughts through the show, which made the bad things more manageable. 

Now for some random spoiler-free notes

- Jamie is adorable (and beautiful omg). He has the funniest reactions to things and puts his heart and soul into all of his reactions. He's fiery and fierce and just an incredible character. 
- Claire is incredible - strong-minded and very smart and passionate. She's a model for confidence, 100%. 
- In general, all of the side characters are inspiring in some way or another. Murtaugh's loyalty, Young Ian's wonder for the world, Jenny's persistence, Fergus's cunningness... they all have a quality and bring a true plus to the show. 
- The cinematography is so lovely - the scenery shots, as well as just the general way in which it was filmed was something I truly appreciated. 
- It was addictive. Between the crazy plot advancement (Cus yes the plot is also really interesting!) and just the yearn to see more of the 1700s and of character quirks, I binged this several evenings. 
- Incredible battle scenes. 

Now I'm going to do random notes as spoilers! I'm going to try to be relatively chronological. 

- The Scottish accent got to my mind. I was thinking in the accent for the entire time I was watching the show, especially in seasons 1 and 2! 
- I had a little bit of a hard time getting on board with it all especially in the WW2 setting. Not too sure why. 
- I now understand why people keep talking about the wedding episode. That was something! 
- The witch trail was so tense I could not stop watching. Geilis was a cool character and this episode was absolutely fascinating. Can't ever forgive Laoghaire though. 
- I love everything about the Lallybroch episodes - Jenny is incredible and it gave such a good setting!
- The Wentworth Prison episode made me feel sick. Just the first five minutes made me pale. Randall is vile in every sense of the word - the hand nailing was so bad, but I think the absolute worst was the separation of Claire and Jamie while he was being tortured the acting by all three actors was absolutely phenomenal in these moments. 
- The first episode of season 2 killed me - why was she back in England and pregnant?! I died. 
- The whole moment in Paris was super cool - the charity hospital, meeting Fergus, the dealings with royalty... it was all done super well... and then Randall returned. 
- The 'Faith' episode broke my heart. 
- Jamie seems to love prisons. 
- I was so happy once they were back in Scotland! 
- The whole build up and event of the Culloden battle was so cool. You could really see the emotions of every character. 
- But the separation between Jamie and Claire made me cry
- AND THE EPISODE WHEN CLAIRE VISITS THE FRASER GRAVE MADE ME CRY MORE THAN ANY TV SHOW OR MOVIE EVER THAT WAS NOT OK "See? No tears" yeah no Claire that's a lie

My live reaction

-Brianna is annoying but Roger is cool 
- the whole 'Let's find Jamie' semi-montage was fun 
- the reunion was so awkward but kinda precious
- I still hate Laoghaire
- It broke my heart when Claire realised that the skeleton she saw in the 1980s was Geilis whom she had killed. 
- I had less emotions for season 4 even though I binged it in 4 days! Like I said loved the Native American side, and the honesty of the white supremacy. Otherwise it wasn't as 'wonderful' as the first two seasons. 
- Some lines did make me swoon though oh dear. 


That's it! Oof it's a long post! 

Stay bookish!